A question for the DSU executives

On Wednesday the Dalhousie Student Union made some huge decisions without advertising in advance they were making them. They’re now going to ask the university to have every student at Dalhousie take a mandatory equity class, and Vice President (Academic and External) Jacqueline Skiptunis is working on a DSU Equity Policy.

We didn’t need the dentistry scandal to show us that the Dalhousie community has a lot of work ahead to build a more inclusive, equitable campus. Work on solidifying the union’s stance on equity could be a great thing.

But if the union wanted students to have any faith in what they’re doing, why would they not have announced they were voting on asking the university for a mandatory equity class? Why did they never advertise they’re working on an equity policy? Wouldn’t you want students to know about this so they can feel supported and well-represented, or ask questions if they’re concerned?

A draft of the equity policy presented on Wednesday includes this clause: “Student union solidarity is based on the principle that all members are equal and deserve mutual respect and understanding. As members of the students’ union, mutual respect, cooperation and understanding are our goals.”

If the DSU executives actually cared about student solidarity and keeping students included in their actions, then why, this year, did they never advertise (except in some cases where they did advertise these points after the Gazette asked them to):

• three positions of executive assistant for hire (pay: $1000 over two semesters)
• the position of divestment commissioner for hire (pay: $500 over a semester)
• two positions of Society Support Commissioner ($500/ semester)
• the position of Budget Commissioner ($500/semester)
• position of Campus Food Commissioner ($500/semester)
• position of Carleton Campus Director ($500/semester)
• the possibility of any student being on the elections committee
• the possibility of any student being on the executive review committee
• the results of the first Executive Review Committee report
• the DSU’s delayed Request for Proposal of SUB space
• the circumstances surrounding the first AGM of the year
• the results of the town hall on finance
• the results of the town hall on divestment
• the fact they are undertaking a huge divestment campaign
• the results of the Policy and Research Coordinator hiring
• their changes to elections policy
• the elections schedule
• the referendum schedule
• updates on the delayed SUB renovations
• details on council meetings before minutes are posted (which can take weeks)
• updated listings of councillors and announcements when councillors have been recalled
• the fact that the chair does not have a list of committee members even though DSU constitution says no councillor is to be on more than one committee
• results of the second Executive Review Committee report
• the fact that any student is eligible to contribute to the Executive Review Committee Survey
• university administration bypassing the DSU when choosing a student member for its Budget Advisory Committee because they had the wrong email for the DSU president
• the fact that all councillors are required to submit a monthly report
• the fact that nearly a third of all councillors failed to submit their first monthly report
• high rates of absences of certain councillors
• councillors being recalled and added to council (multiple occasions)
• salaries of DSU executive members
• the fact that the DSU is now divesting
• the fact they’re electing a first-year rep
• the fact they’re voting on a motion to support making an equity course mandatory for all students
• there is so much more, etc.

These are all points where your average student could have seen what was happening and been moved to become more involved with the union, but these opportunities were missed. Each DSU executive makes more than $30,000 a year and they employ a communications person. Yet, they did not advertise any of the above points except in a few cases where the Gazette asked them to first. The Gazette was able to communicate all of these points in the last year, when our combined staff salaries are less than $55,000 a year.

If the DSU want anyone to believe they actually care about students, they could start by making basic efforts to involve their membership – 10.5 per cent of whom voted in the last election, where one executive ran unopposed – in their activities.

So, I ask the DSU executives, why haven’t you done that yet?