RE: “New CSES prez targets eng image,” March 5-11
Dear Charlatan,
As an engineering student who is involved with the Carleton Student Engineering Society (CSES) I have several problems with the content of the article and more so with the statements made by the president-elect of the society, Nicole MacDonald.
My main concern is that MacDonald – who was part of CSES council back in 2005-2006 – stated that she is embarrassed by our engineering society. I am not arguing that the society does not have its problems, but initiatives have been taken.
She stated: "The purpose of the CSES is to represent all of the engineering students. The problem is they’re not representing 80 per cent of the students [right now]." CSES cannot control student apathy. It has been an ongoing problem for years, initiatives have been made to try and involve those apathetic members.
Regarding our relationship with the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), I can say with confidence that the relationship has already improved. During frosh week, members planning Engfrosh worked along with two past CUSA co-ordinators to ensure that we avoid problems we have had in the past. We even tried to run a joint event, but due to time restraints this event failed to occur. The relationship doesn’t end with frosh week; events such as Eng Fridays have been revived with the collaboration of CUSA and CSES. The society has also worked with several other student groups this year as well.
Sincerely,
George Boulos
Carleton Engineering Student