Since the executive took office on May 1, we have been working hard to make sure that your student experience is extraordinary. Here’s a short update on just some of the things we have accomplished thus far.

President, Emelyana Titarenko (masupresident@mta.ca)

Since the start of my term, I introduced MASU staff training and cultural competency training for all our MASU staff and councillors and the residence and orientation leaders. I created a MASU Partnership Package to help us increase entertainment revenue and supported the planning of the Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaign. In September, I, alongside Elise, led the #DontCutOurFuture campaign to raise awareness of the cuts made to financial aid programs in New Brunswick. We also finalized the Budget Advisory Committee advocacy document which includes recommendations for RA pay increase, correspondence courses, a permanent Black Student Advisor-Diversity Educator position and Fitness Centre improvements. Additionally, work and planning for the Strategic Plan 2023 has begun alongside our VP Finance. Finally, I started to explore the Nimbus app (Uber but for tutors) to see if it could work on our campus.

Vice President Academic, Sam Unger (masuacademic@mta.ca)

In May, Sam created an advocacy document which includes recommendations on five key themes: mental health in the classroom, modernizing exam spaces, scholarships and bursaries, online learning and distribution credits which he presented to members of the University administration, deans, professors and staff. In August, Sam began to work with our graduate students to help with their advocacy and in December, a Graduate Student Representative position on the Student Administrative Council (SAC) was approved. Sam also started a conversation with Anne Comfort surrounding faculty mental health training which would improve the classroom experience for many. Accordingly, the Student Affairs Committee drafted a policy on content warnings and mental health in the classroom along with a policy on affordable classroom resources, which has had its first reading at the SAC.

Vice President External, Elise Vaillancourt (masuexternal@mta.ca)

Elise spent most of her mandate planning, organizing and executing the federal GOTV campaign alongside two student coordinators (Olivia Corrigan and Mearon Mulugeta) and a group of student volunteers. The campaign collected over 900 pledges which helped students get informed on when, how and where they can vote. Elise also sits on the University Experiential Learning Committee and ORBIS Outcome Committee which was established to plan a successful execution of a co-curricular record. A huge project for Elise has been the Good Food Box program which will be launched this February. The goal of this program is to offer students a pack of fresh produce at a discounted rate to help with healthy and affordable eating. Finally, Elise alongside Student-at-Large Jordan Takkiruq and myself participated in the New Brunswick Student Alliance advocacy week. We met with different key stakeholders within the post-secondary education system and brought forward recommendations within the themes of international students, Indigeneity and financial aid. The full document is available on nbsa-aenb.ca/.

Vice President Student Life, Venna Penney (masustudentlife@mta.ca)

This year, Venna along with the Pride Committee organized the first-ever Mount Allison Pride Week which was filled with different events including the Pride Parade. Venna has also organized and taken part in several trainings including the clubs and societies executive training, alcohol harms reduction training for orientation leaders, and the active bystander training for the football team. With her staff, she has had several successful campaigns and events including the Keep It Social Halloween campaign, “What to do in Sackville” mini reading week campaign, and the winter carnival featuring Delaney Jane. Venna has also emphasized supporting residence leaders and even hosted the first-ever Residence Leader Appreciation night. Accordingly, Venna helped advocate for having residence leaders attend a cultural competency training to help create a welcoming environment for all. Finally, through the various committees she sits on, Venna has been able to advocate for mental health, alcohol and cannabis harms reduction and accessibility needs.

Vice President Finance & Operations, Kevin Wong (masufinance@mta.ca)

Although Kevin did not spend the summer in Sackville, he still worked a few hours a week from home and managed to get several of our operating procedures reviewed. Although Kevin’s role is very internal, he has had great success in supporting his staff during the fall election and the first-ever MASU job fair. He has also been leading his committees in approving funding and making changes and improvements to our bylaws and operating procedures.

Vice President Communications, Lauren Doane (masucommunications@mta.ca)

In the summer, Lauren created our MASU Agenda and helped the Allisonian editors finalize the yearbook, on top of organizing a media team to help with orientation. Since then, she has created a proposal for a new MASU website, provided input on the Mt. A Website Advisory Committee and assisted in the execution of the GOTV campaign (just to name a few things).

To learn more about our work, come by council, read the minutes, shoot us an email or just come by the office! We look forward to another successful semester with you all.

CASA is a non-partisan, not-for-profit national student organization, established in 1995. CASA represents 280,000 students through undergraduate, graduate and polytechnic associations across Canada as it strives to advocate for accessible, affordable and high-quality post-secondary education. The Mount Allison Students’ Union (MASU) has been a member of CASA since its renewal in 2010, which was passed through a referendum after a temporary leave.

Federal advocacy is a key priority for MASU as we work to improve the post-secondary experience for our students. It is within the mandate of the vice-president external affairs to act as the primary delegate, while the president acts as the secondary delegate at the CASA table. This year, as the vice-president external affairs, I was elected to sit on the board of CASA as the director of equity, diversity and inclusion, which resulted in Miller becoming the primary delegate and the voice for the Mount Allison students.

During Advocacy Week, which this year was held from Nov. 26 to Nov. 30, Miller and I participated in bringing fresh ideas to Parliament Hill. This year, the week included meetings with 145 ministers, members of Parliament, senators, post-secondary stakeholders and the prime minister himself. In the meetings, Miller and I, along with the rest of the CASA delegates, brought forward six recommendations.

In the 2018 budget, the government committed to investing $5.5 million over five years to combat gender-based violence on campuses by creating a framework that prevents campus sexual assault. CASA recommended that the government instead create a standard through the Standards Council of Canada which would tell colleges, universities and polytechnics across Canada the minimum services they are expected to provide to prevent and handle cases of sexual violence in the best manner possible.

Over the years, the government has continued to strengthen youth employment. However, many post-secondary students are still not able to access many employment opportunities. This Advocacy Week, CASA has begun to advocate towards 100 per cent work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities by recommending that the government invest in expanding the Student WIL Program to include opportunities in non-STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields such as business, humanities, arts, social sciences and education.

When it came to international students, CASA recommended that the government exempt post-secondary institutions from Article 91 – which states that only authorized representatives can advise individuals on immigration matters – so that their staff can provide guidance and support for international students as they navigate the immigration system. Additionally, CASA advocated that the government modify the study permit to allow international students to participate in full-time WIL placements.

As more students strive towards pursuing graduate degrees, CASA recommended that the government creates an upfront, non-repayable grant for graduate students. Finally CASA and its partner, Quebec Student Union, recommended that the government increases funding in student-led research programs through the Tri-Agency (a conglomerate of the three Canadian government research-funding agencies) to give students more autonomy in their innovative research ideas.

The federal government shows openness and engagement towards championing student issues, and we witnessed this during the annual CASA Advocacy Week. A lot of support was demonstrated from members of the cabinet, MPs, senators, leaders of the opposition and stakeholders, which meant CASA had the opportunity to present the recommendations directly to the prime minister and minister of youth, Justin Trudeau. Trudeau not only attentively listened to our recommendations but also assured us that young people’s voices are being heard and that there is already progress being made on some of our recommendations.

For more information about CASA’s Advocacy Week 2018, visit casa-acae.com.

At the beginning of the year, the house executives select one student to be their SHARE hHouse rRepresentative. House rRepresentatives meet a few times throughout the year with the SHARE pPeer eEducation mMentor a few times throughout the year and discuss any SHARE- related issues that their house might be having, as well as what actions should be taken. BeyondOn top of that, hHouse rReps help promote the events, activities and other SHAREshare services within their residences.

SHARE Peer eEducators are a part of the Peer Educators Committee., Tthey meet every week and work towards organizing activities and initiatives that raise awareness aboutto sexual violence. Additionally, they take part in assisting with training sessionss and putting up posters around campus.

Walk Hhome volunteers are present at any big StudTUD events or campus house parties to offer students a safe walk home back to their residences.

If you are still not certain if volunteering with SHARE is something you would like to do next year, read some of the comments given from the current volunteers about their experience:

“Being SHAREshare rep this year was a very valuable and educational experience for me. The position allowed me to contribute in making Bigelow Hhouse a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone. I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to help continue important conversations on campus!” – Piper Langille, Bigelow SHARE hHouse rRep

“I originally joined SHARE as a house rep because I wanted to be part of the team that aided in bringing awareness about important issues around our campus and in Canada that often have a great deal of stigma surrounding them. – Sstigma that often prevents people from talking openly and positively about these issues. SHARE has taught me how to promote campaigns such as the REDress Project and the Love Shouldn’t Hurt cCampaign and resources on campus, as well as [how to] encourage and engage in positive conversations about them. Furthermore, it was great to see the support of the Windsor residents during various campaigns, such as when they signed a banner in support of healthy relationships that was hung in Jennings.” – John Briand, Windsor Hall SHARE hHouse rRep

“Volunteering as a SHARE peer educator has been an awesome part of my year. I have loved getting to know more about all that SHARE does for students, and being part of the team that draws attention to relevant sexual violence- related issues, for example, the Love Shouldn’t Hurt promotional campaign that we put on, that dealt with the topic of unhealthy relationships. Being on the team was a great way to come up with possible ways that the student body can be educated more on matters surrounding sexual violence awareness and prevention to create the safest space possible for Mount Allison University students. If this interests you, I encourage you to be a peer educator next year and help SHARE be an even bigger and better presence on campus.” – Meghan MacAskill, SHARE pPeer eEducator

If you have any questions about our services or how you can get more involved, email share@mta.ca!

Last week we started a conversation about consent, defining it as permission for something to happen or an agreement to do something. This week, we continue the conversation and answer three questions: Isn’t continuous consent awkward? How does consent apply in the cyber world? And finally, what about consent in a relationship?

Isn’t continuous consent awkward?

Some people think needing to ask for consent continuously throughout a sexual encounter is awkward. That is why it is important to talk about sex and what you hope to do during sex, before having sex. The premise is that to enjoy sex, and ensure continuous consent, you need to be tuned in. You need to be able to read your partner’s verbal and physical cues to know if they are still into everything. It is easier to ask for consent than to live with the guilt of traumatizing someone by sexually assaulting them.

What about dating sites? Social media? Sexting?

Consent to sexual activity needs to take place at the time of the activity, and face to face. You must agree in person. No one else can agree on your behalf. If you are exchanging sex stories, images or engaging in online sex, the same rules apply as in person. You have to have consent. You have to say yes.

What about if I am in a relationship?

Continuous consent also plays a role in a committed relationship. According to the Family Violence in Canada report published by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 80 per cent of sexual offences are committed by someone the survivor knows. In fact, most sexual assaults happen in cases where people are dating, are in a relationship or have been in a relationship. While in a relationship, your partner retains the right to reject any or all sexual activity with you at any point, regardless of what you have done or tried before. This may be for one time, a period of time or all of the time. Refusal of a given sex act does not imply a rejection of the relationship.

Long-term partners can have sex without an explicit contract every time, but should also agree that if one says “stop,” that means stop. Talking about sex is a crucial part of consent for many reasons, but a very important one is that it will help your partner know your likes and dislikes, and know when they have crossed the line.

If you have any other questions you would like to have answered about consent, feel free to reach out to Melody Petlock at share@mta.ca.

What is consent?

Consent is permission for something to happen, or an agreement to do something. It is required when two or more people have sex. Consent needs to be verbal, and requires saying a full and enthusiastic “Yes!” Consent is required continuously during a first sexual encounter and, within reason, all subsequent encounters. Neither going on a date nor several dates means you agree to have sex.

This means that if I said I wanted to do a certain sexual activity with you and then, five minutes into it, I said, “I changed my mind, let’s stop,” then you must immediately stop – with no further pressuring or convincing. Saying “No” or “Stop” or suddenly clearly not participating by lying still, moving away or rolling over does not mean “Try harder,” it simply means “I no longer consent to partake in this activity.” The messages meaning “No” can be verbal or physical. So read the cues and if they mean or suggest “No,” stop!

What if we are both drunk?

Sex is legal when the participants consent to it and are legally and mentally able to give consent. Consent means saying yes to something, provided that you are able to understand what you are agreeing to and can give your consent freely. If one or both parties are extremely drunk they will not be considered able to give consent. If either of you is too drunk or too high to completely know what you’re doing, then it’s impossible to have informed consent. If you or your partner is inebriated, you can’t give consent and you won’t know if you’ve truly got consent.

What if we are both part of hook-up culture? Does that not imply consent?

Discussing all of our sexual preferences, including what turns us on and what turns us off, may sound like something only deeply committed and intimate partners would feel comfortable doing. But some people are new to hook-up culture, and some may claim they are comfortable with hook-ups because they just want to try it out or do not want to look naive or inexperienced. In hook-up culture, it is still your responsibility to be sure you have consent.

Do I really have to ask and do they really have to say “Yes?”

Consent means affirmative agreement, not quiet acquiescence. Not saying “No” does not mean “Yes.” Not pushing away or resisting does not mean “Yes.” Consent needs to be verbal. This means that the word “Yes” needs to be said out loud. Simply put, the only way consent can be given is if the person says, “Yes,” including “Yes, I want to do this,” or “Yes, let’s continue doing this,” or “Yes, I like that.” Sex without that “Yes” is sexual assault. The only word that can be used to give consent is at the beginning of this column.

Still not sure you understand what consent means? Do you feel shy or awkward about what to say or how to say it? SHARE can help! SHARE can provide advice, arrange counselling, organize education sessions for one, three or any number of people, or even provide advice by text or email. Feel free to reach out to Melody Petlock at share@mta.ca.