CUSA
The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) is the main student organization for undergraduate students and is a member of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). They run programs such as Foot Patrol, which provides safe walk escorts at night, and distribute funding to clubs and societies.
They also run Oliver’s, one of two pubs on campus, Rooster’s, a fair-trade coffee shop, and the Unicentre store, a convenience store and post office.
Erik Halliwell, CUSA president, said he would like first-year students to know about the services and programming provided by the association.
“We are here to represent and help you in any way we can,” he said. “It’s important that the next three to four years are informative, but also an area for growth and we hope to be a part of each students’ growth in a positive way.”
However, for CUSA, the 2008-09 school year was marred by two large scandals: the 2009 CUSA election and “Shinerama-gate.”
For years, Carleton has participated in the Shinerama fundraiser during frosh week to raise money for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In November 2008, CUSA council voted to pursue the possibility of raising money for different charities. The major controversy was due to the wording of the preamble of the motion, which incorrectly stated: “Whereas cystic fibrosis has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men.”
This incident extended beyond Carleton’s campus and made national headlines. It prompted Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente to describe Carleton’s student government as the “most idiotic” in the country.
Students rallied in support of the Shinerama fundraiser and CUSA held an emergency council meeting to overturn the motion, reinstating the fundraiser.
Brittany Smyth, CUSA president at the time, voted for the original motion and defended it to the national media. A petition to impeach Smyth circulated; however, a number of the signatures were declared invalid and a recall vote was not forced.
The issue was still salient when the CUSA election rolled around.
In February, after the polls closed for the 2009 CUSA election, two of the presidential candidates, Bruce Kyereh-Addo and Cameron MacIntosh, were disqualified for being found to have violated the electoral code. Halliwell, the remaining candidate, became CUSA president for the 2009-10 year, despite receiving fewer votes than Kyereh-Addo.
The result was a month-and-a-half long series of appeals to the CUSA electoral and constitutional boards, in which Kyereh-Addo challenged the offences.
The offences included allegations that he punched a hole in a wall and broke rules relating to campaigning on Facebook and the DC++ network (a file-sharing and chat network available to students in residence). Kyereh-Addo’s appeals were ultimately unsuccessful.
The elections also resulted in a split executive — the president, vice-president (finance), vice-president (internal) and vice-president (student life) were elected from Halliwell’s “Because it Matters” slate, while the vice-president (student issues) and vice-president (student services) were elected from Kyereh-Addo’s “Demand Better” slate.
Halliwell said he doesn’t see the split as a challenge, but as “an opportunity for the two competing slates to share a vision for the year and implement it.”
He said his goal is to have a successful year and that he hopes the councillors will stay informed about student issues.
For the 2009-10 year, CUSA is planning concerts and charity events at Oliver’s, another day of action protesting tuition fee increases, and a number of other events.
RRRA
The Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) represents students living in residence. RRRA runs Abstentions, the convenience store located in Residence Commons, and co-ordinates many of the residence social events.
The council consists of three executive members and floor representatives elected in late September by every undergraduate floor in residence.
Like CUSA, RRRA elections take place each year in the winter semester. The Rez United slate won a landslide victory in the 2009 election, which also had the highest voter turnout in RRRA history.
Chris Infantry, RRRA president, said some of his goals for this year include reducing prices in Abstentions and shortening line-ups at the late-night cafeteria Oasis. A bike-share program that was discussed for much of last year is almost ready to go — the bikes have been donated, but some maintenance is needed.
Infantry said one of his goals for next year is engagement, both with the floor representatives and the students themselves. The newly renovated RRRA office, with a lounge and TV, should help with that goal.
However, he said there will be additional challenges this year, due in part to the Tim Hortons franchise that opened in Residence Commons at the end of last year.
“I want them [first-years] to know we do run Abstentions, so any money they spend there goes back to us,” he said. “Support your student-run businesses.”
Although these student organizations are not officially connected, there is a frequent overlap of council members between the two, and they often collaborate on projects, one example being the CUSA/RRRA orientation week.