SFSS election results

Unofficial results are posted on the SFSS election website. Winners for all but the at-large positions have been decided:

President: Derrick Harder
Member Services Offier: Chris Sandve
Internal Relations Officer: Sean Magee
External Relations Officer: Graham Sasha Fox
Treasurer: Adam Lein

The winners for the at-large positions will be determined once all the mail-in ballots are received.

SFU winter break camps & clinics (ages 5-17 yrs)

SFU Recreation & Athletics is offering numerous Winter Break Camps and Clinics for children and youth ages 5-17yrs. NOTE: As the Recreation Office is CLOSED Dec. 25 - Jan. 1, it is recommended that you register before DEC. 22, 2006.

WINTER CAMPS (Jan. 2-5, 2007):
Winter Rec Camp (ages 5-7yrs & 8-12yrs)
Symphony Safari I - Music Camp (ages 5-10yrs)
Counsellor in Training (ages 14-17yrs)

WINTER CLINICS (Dec. 27 - Jan. 6, 2007):
Basketball Game Day Clinics (various ages)
Softball Christmas Clinics (various ages)
Volleyball Winter Skills Clinics (ages 9-16yrs):

All camp, clinic and registration details are online at http://rec.sfu.ca

SFSS candidate debate to be rebroadcast

The all-candidate debate will be rebroadcast on CJSF (90.1 FM) on:

• Sunday, December 17 at 8:30am
• Monday, December 18 at 12:00pm.

SFSS election debate this Thursday

The IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) just ruled that there will be a candidate debate this Thursday at noon in the Maggie Benson Atrium (the area near the Ladle). The IEC will try to have the debate broadcast in some manner for the benefit of students who can't come to campus.

SFSS election candidate statements now available

candidate statements are now posted on the SFSS election website. Click on the name of the positions that are up for election to view the statements.

Development planned inside BC provincial parks

Under it's 2006 "BC Park Lodge Strategy", The BC government has opened 12 protected provincial parks to private developers to build and operate accomodations inside wilderness areas ranging from 10-15 person huts to a 100-bed hotel with restaurant, marina and gift shop. Calls for proposals from developers opened in August 2006, and proposals have so far been submitted for Mount Robson Provincial Park (near Jasper; part of the UNESCO Canadian Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site), and Maxhamish Lake Provincial Park (near border to NWT; the only protected area in the Maxhamish Uplands ecosection). Ten other parks opened to development have not yet had proposals submitted by developers. Other parks may be opened for proposals under the Park Lodge Strategy at any time.

There was no public consultation into the BC Park Lodge Strategy, and this initiative has garnered widespead public criticism. For example, at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Annual General Meeting on October 27, 2006, representatives from over 95% of BC's municipalities & regional authories voted to express their opposition to these plans for development inside provincial parks. However, the Province appears to be pushing ahead quickly with this initiative despite its unpopularity.

If you'd like, you can write or email your MLA, or Gordon Campbell about this.

Premier Gordon Campbell
Legislative Buildings
Victoria, BC, V8V 1X4
Email: premier@gov.bc.ca

More information:
Friends of the Campaign for BC Parks
Wilderness Committee
Globe & Mail Article

Openings for students on Faculty Structure Task Force

There are openings for 1 grad, and 1 undergrad. As best as I can gather, the job of this task force is to try to figure out how to implement planned changes to the Faculties structure at SFU (this is "phase 2" referred to in a previous post about this task force). The Board will probably vote to recommend someone, so if you're interested, show up at the next Board meeting (probably Dec 21st), email an SFSS Director, or contact task force chair (& VP Finance) John Waterhouse directly. I hear that there will also be subcommittees formed later with other openings for students. Details: task force will operate from Jan-Nov 2007, and carries a fairly high workload (perhaps a 3 hour meeting every 2-3 weeks, plus reviewing proposals, etc).

SFSS by-election candidate info

[UPDATED] There are 2 more says of voting (Monday & Tuesday, Dec 18 & 19 on Burnaby campus). Here are the updated info sources on the candidates:

1. Candidate statements on are posted on the SFSS election website.
   
2. The candidate debate will be rebroadcast on CJSF (90.1 FM) on Sunday, December 17 at 8:30am and on Monday, December 18 at 12:00pm.
3. Some candidates spoke at the GIC (Graduate Issues Committee) meeting on Dec 6 - for those in Biology, I think Raul emailed out the GIC minutes this morning. Also, I was at GIC, so you can email me (cmoray@sfu.ca) if you have any questions. For those in other departments, ask your GIC rep for more info.
4. Blog commentary on candidates at StudentUnion.ca (mosty facts), and on Xenia Menzies' blog (mostly opinion).
   
5. Most candidates have posters up.
6. There is a Facebook discussion group on the election.

Update: senate task forces on faculty & academic structure

Office of the Vice President Academic
Tue, Dec 5, 2006 at 2:39 PM

I am pleased to advise you that at the meeting of Senate last night, the motions contained in the Final Report of the Faculty Structure Task Force were approved. This means that the next stage of the academic structure initiative will proceed. The Phase 2 Task Force on Academic Structure will be established by the Vice President, Academic and members appointed in consultation with the Senate Committee on University Priorities. We will begin the work of the Phase 2 Task Force early in January.

The Phase 2 Task Force will send out a detailed community announcement in early January outlining its membership, mandate, plan of action, timelines for submissions and processes for community engagement. I look forward to working with all members of the University community on this important initiative.

Sincerely,

Dr. John Waterhouse
Vice-President, Academic and Provost

How to Donate to United Way

From: Paulette Johnston
Date: Dec 5, 2006 1:07 PM

In response to several enquiries about this:

You can donate to the SFU United Way campaign with a credit card at http://www.uwlm.ca/default.htm

You can donate by payroll deduction by accessing the SFU pledge form at http://www.sfu.ca/united-way/donate.html Print it out and when you have completed it send to SFU United Way Administration, c/o Faculty of Applied Sciences, SFU Burnaby.

Many thanks in advance to all of you considering a December donation.

Changes to University Policies GP 13 (Ergonomics),

From: K.C. Bell
Date: Dec 4, 2006 3:12 PM

Please note that the following policy has been revised. A gazette of all policies can be found on the Internet at: http://www2.sfu.ca/policies/.

GP 13 -- Ergonomics (Effective Immediately)

This policy updates and replaces the earlier policy on "Office Computer Workstations" and reflects current standards in providing an ergonomically correct working environment.

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to Pat Hibbitts, Vice President, Finance and Administration, at 604-291-3381 or email pat_hibbitts@sfu.ca.

--

K.C. Bell
Director, Special Projects
Office of the President
Simon Fraser University
604-268-6877 (phone)
604-291-4860 (fax)
kbell@sfu.ca

More details on court proceedings & decision

To: Forum
Date: Dec 4, 2006 4:04 PM
Subject: more details on court proceedings & decision

Dear Forum,

Here is a more detailed summary of the court proceedings and the judge's decision.

The petition filed in Supreme Court regarding the validity of the resolutions passed at SFSS Special General Meeting (SGM) was heard on November 30 and Dec 1, and the judge's decision was delivered on December 4.

November 30 began with Don Crane giving his arguments on behalf of the Petitioners (the Directors impeached at the SGM). In the afternoon session, Susan Coristine presented arguments on behalf of Respondent Jan Gunn and interested parties, including remaining Directors Andrea Sandau, Joel Blok, Ben Milne, Ivy So, Heather Ball and Melody Li, and Forum Reps Adam Lein, Deena Rubuliak and Amy Homan. The judge asked a lot of questions to both Don Crane and Susan Coristine.

Susan continued her arguments on Friday Dec 1, and was followed by Ulf Ottho, representing Respondents Titus Gregory and Bryan Jones, and interested party Michael Letourneau. Don Crane was then given an opportunity to reply to the arguments of the Respondents before the court was adjourned to await a decision from the judge. On this day, the judge had few questions for Coristine and Ottho, however he asked Crane a large number of questions about his legal arguments. In particular the judge objected to Don's characterization of Forum "usurping" the powers of the Board, and that his characterization of the SGM as a "mob of students" (although Crane had quickly retracted the "mob" reference). There was a bit of a buzz at the end of the lunch break, when the three lawyers were informed that Wei Li had presented SFSS staff with a memo stating that they are not to assist with the by-election. This memo had halted the hiring of polling clerks for the by-election that was supposed to occur that day (students had stood in line for a long time to apply for these positions). Crane apparently spoke to Wei Li on the phone during the afternoon break in order to secure his pledge to retract the memo and stop interfering with the By-election. The judge asked whether an injunction was required, but Ottho said that the three lawyers were satisfied with Mr. Crane's full assurance that none of the Petitioners (impeached Directors) would interfere with the By-election in any manner having been stated for the court record. However, despite Crane's assurance, by 5 pm Wei had not retracted his memo to the staff.

In total, the arguments of the two sides took 9 hours. On both Thursday and Friday, there were approximately 20 supporters present for the Respondents, while the other side of the room remained empty except for Margo Dunnet, who attended on behalf of the Petitioners.

For the ruling on Monday there were approximately 20 supporters for the Respondents, but none of the Petitioners were there. The judge began by saying that there were three main questions before him to decide upon:

1) Was the Forum meeting held on September 27, 2006 – at which the SGM was called - invalid due to Glyn Lewis' purported cancellation?

The Judge first stated that past practice within the Student Society with regard to the cancellation of Forum meeting was, in his view, not determinative. He stated that the fact that Forum meetings had been "cancelled" in the past was not relevant to this case because they had not been legally cancelled but were properly viewed as having not occurred as no one showed up, and therefore quorum was not achieved. The Judge said that Glyn Lewis had no legal authority to cancel the Forum meeting, and that the evidence suggests that Lewis' real motivation to cancel the meeting was to frustrate the process that would lead to his impeachment. The Judge continued that if people were confused as to whether or not to attend the Forum meeting (as was one of the arguments made by Don Crane), this confusion was caused by the actions of Mr. Lewis and therefore the Petitioners could not take advantage of it to support their argument.

2) Was quorum met at this meeting?

The issue of quorum hinged on whether Forum reps who have handed in their resignations before their meeting need to have them ratified before they become effective. Don Crane argued that Forum had to ratify all resignations, and therefore only 15 out of 30 members were present at the Forum meeting of Sept 27th – not enough for quorum. The Respondents had stated that resignations did not need to be ratified. Therefore, with 2 resignations having been received before the meeting, there were only 28 members of Forum such that the 15 reps present did make a quorum. The Judge ruled that our by-laws and policies do not require ratification of resignations by Forum members, and that the Forum meeting of September 27 met quorum and was valid.

3) Should the court use its power to set aside irregularities when it's in the best interest of the Society to uphold the resolutions of the SGM (if irregularities are found re: points 1 & 2 above)?

The Respondents had asked that if the Forum meeting was found to have irregularities (i.e., non-quorate or due to the purported cancellation), that the court use its power to uphold the resolutions passed at the SGM anyway. The Judge stated that this was unnecessary because there were no irregularities with the Forum meeting of Sept 27th. He said, however, if he had found the Forum meeting to be invalid, he would have upheld the SGM, as the Respondents requested. The Judge noted that the Petitioners had used every strategy they could devise to frustrate the members from holding an SGM. In particular, he pointed out that the President should have called an SGM due to having received a petition signed by 9.8 % of the membership, as the By-laws only require 5% and are not in conflict with the Society Act as had been argued by the Petitioners.

The Judge then dismissed the Petition. The Respondents were awarded costs, which will be levied against the Petitioners as individuals (not against the Society).

The Judge's decision was more detailed, and will likely be available soon on the Forum website www.studentunion.ca/forum/lawsuit.html (where all documents relating to this case can be found).

Sincerely,

Forum Representatives:
Adam Lein
Clea Moray
Deena Rubuliak

SFSS impeachments upheld!

This email was just send to Forum:

Hi everyone,

This is a quick note to let you all know that this morning the BC Supreme Court ruled on the SGM. The judge dismissed the petition, and ruled that the SGM & impeachments are all valid. The judge also ordered that the individual impeached Directors pay costs.

We will send out a more details explanation of the judge's decision this afternoon.

Thanks!

Clea Moray, Deena Rubuliak & Adam Lein (Forum Reps)

This email was just to GIC:

Hello GIC,

Please forward this to your caucuses.

The judge has upheld the results of the SGM and the Forum meeting where the SGM was called. He said that even if the Forum meeting was invalid he still would have made the SGM valid because it was the true will of the people and Shawn, et. al., made explicit attempts to prevent us from doing what we are legally allowed to do. He also made the individual directors responsible for the costs of the trial.


Please encourage everyone to come out to the GIC meeting on Wednesday at 12:30 in the grad lounge to have a good round of applause in support of all your hard work and to discuss the next step in ensuring grad students have a say, namely in the by-election.

thank you,

Ben Milne and Joel Blok

Paper topographic maps to continue

A while ago I forwarded an email about the Federal Ministry of Natural Resources plan to discontinue the printing of paper topographic maps and switch to producing online maps only. As an update: on October 12, 2006, the Minister of Natural Resources stated that they have reversed this decision in response to a large amount of public protest: paper maps will continue to be produced. More info: CBC article or Maps for Canadians website.

- Clea Moray

Want to receive REM seminar notifications?

In a recent email, the Resources & Environmental Management (REM) department seminar organizers note that anyone can sign up to receive email notifications of their seminars by sending a request to rem-seminar-committee@sfu.ca.

- Clea Moray

Art and Social Change dialogue with Judith Marcuse

Around the world, the arts increasingly provide potent tools for creating positive change in the lives of individuals and the societies in which they live. Join us for this free public dialogue Animating Democracy: Art and Social Change with Judith Marcuse, choreographer and producer.

Thursday, December 7, 2006 | 7-9:30 pm
SFU's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 W Hastings St
Registration is required; call 604-291-5100
Web: http://www.sfu.ca/dialogue/current.htm#g
PDF: http://www.sfu.ca/~nmaha/MarcuseAnimatingDemocracy.pdf

Whether it is puppets used for AIDS education in Africa, dance and theatre performances that address women's and girls' rights in Pakistan or youth-created music that speaks about life in the streets of Rio, these practices can nurture hope and meaningful change - and are critical elements in the development of essential dialogue. Choreographer and producer Judith Marcuse will speak about some of these wide-ranging global arts initiatives, including her own youth-centred work and, with participants, will explore some of the issues in the field, particularly as they relate to voice, power and social change.

Judith Marcuse, LLD, is the artistic producer of Judith Marcuse Projects and of the EARTH Project, an international arts initiative with youth that is exploring issues of social justice and environmental sustainability. As one of Canada's honoured senior artists, she has wide-ranging credits as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer that include work for dance, theatre, opera, television and film. In June 2000, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University.
As an artist, I know the transformative power, the connecting energy, and the healing, celebratory, revelatory, challenging, expansive and enlivening power of art practices - in their silences, their ambiguity, and the spaces they create - whether one is a consumer, a participant, a creator or an observer.
-Judith Marcuse, dancer, choreographer and producer

Supported in part by the ICBC Civil Economy Endowment.

--Nicole Mah
Program Assistant
Dialogue Programs, Simon Fraser University

Clubs Days sign up

Clubs Days sign up is now on: come by the General Office in MBC 2250 to sign up. Clubs Days will be January 16, 17, 18th, and you can sign up for two of the three days.

United Way donations (not going well...)

'Twas the month before Christmas
and all thru the campuses
United Way donations were waning....

Look around your community this winter and it's clear how much our donations are needed by homeless people, seniors, and the many children and families affected daily by poverty. These are the very people that United Way of the Lower Mainland helps.

But to be blunt: SFU United Way donations are not what volunteers expected.

There are 219 fabulous Burnaby donors (9.5% of staff/faculty), 19 wonderful Vancouver donors (11.4%), and 7 outstanding Surrey donors (8%). Thank you to all of you who have helped us reach 66% of the SFU donation goal to date.

Your community needs you. Desperately.

Although the "official" United Way month at SFU has ended, donations are very welcome in December. Consider purchasing one less gift on your Christmas list to make a one time donation, or join the growing list of SFU staff and faculty who make payroll donations and give a small amount all year long. As an additional incentive for December, the FINAL PRIZES have been held over to Friday, December 15. At that time we will be drawing from ALL donations made in November and December for:

A day's sailing with Dr. Nello Angerilli (Imagine: a chance to tell a V.P. what you really think!)
$100 in cold, hard cash donated by Roton Industries Ltd. on Granville Island
8 x 10 photo (of your choice) from LIDC Image Library
Stamp Collection donated by SFU Microstore - 65 mint stamps
Parking space at SFU Burnaby
Gift certificate for the Diamond Alumni Centre (2 of these)

This week's draw prize winner (the last of the weekly draw prizes) is Vivian Blackwell, with Document Delivery Service, Burnaby campus library. She has won a copy of Over Beautiful BC: An Aerial Adventure. Congratulations and thank you Vivian!

- Paulette Johnston

SFU bookstore 20% off sale (Dec 6 - 8)

It's time for the SFU Bookstore Birthday Sale! Three days: Wednesday, December 6 - Friday, December 8. 20% off everything (except course books, custom orders, value priced books, gift certificates, and sale items) - at all locations.

By-election poll clerk hiring confusion

For those of you who tried to apply for the polling clerk positions on Friday (after standing in line for a long time, I've heard), please read the 2nd paragraph of the post below this one for a partial explanation of why the hiring didn't happen on Friday as it was supposed to. In follow-up to that, I have not yet been able to get any confirmation that Wei Li has actually instructed the staff to disregard his earlier memo that had stopped the hiring. However, the court ruling is expected at 9:30 on Monday, at which point either (1) Wei Li will cease to have any power over the staff (SGM upheld), or (2) the by-election will be presumably be cancelled (SGM overturned - I consider this unlikely).

Assuming that the by-election is proceeding, polling clerks are still needed. I assume that there will be information out very early next week about the hiring of polling clerks.


-- Clea Moray

SFSS - 2nd day in court - ruling on Monday

I attended the afternoon session of the 2nd day of the SFSS court hearing today. According to those present in the morning session, Coristine (attorney for Respondent Jan Gunn and unimpeached Directors) finished her arguments, Ottho (attorney for Respondents Titus Gregory and Bryan Jones) presented his arguments, and Crane (attorney for the Petitioners - the impeached Directors) began his reply to the arguments of Ottho & Coristine. It was reported to me that Ottho pointed out to the judge that if the Petitioners lose the case (i.e., if the SGM is upheld), then the Petitioners will have incorrectly named the SFSS as a Petitioner, and so the Respondent's request that the Petitioners pay "costs" should be interpreted as the individual impeached Directors having to pay instead of the Society. In the afternoon session, Crane continued his response, ending at approximately 3:50 pm. Court adjourned at that point. The judge stated that he would present his decision with reasons on Monday Dec. 4th at 9:30 am. (Once again, everyone is welcome to attend - Vancouver Supreme Court @ 800 Smithe St., between Howe and Hornby).

There was a bit of a buzz at the end of the lunch break, when the three lawyers were informed that Wei Li had allegedly presented SFSS staff with a memo stating that they would be disciplined or discharged if they assisted with the [by-election or specifically the hiring of polling clerks for the by-election - I'm not sure which] are not to assist with the by-election. This memo had halted the hiring of polling clerks for the by-election. This by-election is to elect new Directors to the indisputably vacant positions of President and Health Sciences Rep, and also (pending the court ruling) to the positions disputedly vacated by the impeachment of 6 Directors. Advanced polling is scheduled to start next week, and hiring for polling clerks was supposed to occur today. To the best of my knowledge, none of the impeached Directors has given any prior indication that they object to the by-election. Crane apparently spoke to Wei Li on the phone during the afternoon break in order to secure his pledge to stop interfering with the By-election. The judge asked whether an injunction was required, but Ottho said that the three lawyers were satisfied with Mr. Crane's full assurance that none of the Petitioners (impeached Directors) would interfere with the By-election in any manner having been stated for the court record.

Overall, I am happy with how things went today. There have been no major surprises for me in the hearing so far - neither in terms of the arguments raised, nor in terms of the judge's reaction to any of the arguments. Barring the unexpected, things should be resolved with the judge's ruling on Monday morning.

- Clea Moray

New Registrar for SFU

I am pleased to report that the Search Committee for the Registrar and Senior Director, Student Enrolment concluded its work and recommended to the President and to the Vice President Academic, that Ms. Kathleen (Kate) Ross be offered an appointment without term to the position. The President made a similar recommendation to the Board of Governors on 30 November and they accepted the recommendation. Ms. Ross will commence her new position at SFU on January 22, 2007.

Ms. Ross is a knowledgeable and skilled individual who has worked in the post-secondary arena in British Columbia for the past 20 years, and in a leadership role for the past 16 years. At Camosun College she has served in a variety of positions with increasing responsibility, including Director of Cooperative Education, acting Executive Director of Human Resources, and most recently, Registrar where she effectively managed the implementation of new software support systems for student services and enhanced enrolment management. Her references were unanimous that she is a well-regarded individual, respected by senior administration, by her staff and by the faculty and academic leaders of the college. The Search Committee is confident that Ms. Ross will apply those qualities effectively at SFU and we very much look forward to her arrival.

regards

Nello Angerilli, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President Students and International and Acting Registrar

SFSS - 1st day in court

I attended the SFSS court hearing earlier today. Don Crane (attorney for the Petitioners - the impeached Directors) presented his arguments to the judge, and Susan Coristine (attorney for Respondent Jan Gunn and unimpeached Directors) presented the first half of her arguments. Court adjourned for the day at approximately 4 pm, and will resume tomorrow at 10 am. Tomorrow, Coristine will present the remainder of her arguments, Ulf Ottho (attorney for Respondents Titus Gregory and Bryan Jones) will present his arguments, and Don Crane will present his reply to the arguments of Coristine and Ottho. It's possible - but unlikely - that the judge will deliver his ruling tomorrow. More likely, he will take a few days to consider the arguments, and issue a ruling sometime next week.

- Clea Moray

Mexican Women and Globalization (Nov 30)

Women Confronting Globalization: Cultural Resistance, Fair Trade, and Human Rights
Thursday November 30, AQ 3153, 3:30-5:30pm

Cecilia Santiago Vera, social psychologist from Chiapas will speak on Mexico's indigenous communities developing new forms of resistance and the leading role women are playing on all fronts of the struggle.

Featuring:
Mujeres por la Dignidad (Women for Dignity)-Participating via video message, Mujeres por la Dignidad is a cooperative of several hundred Zapatista indigenous weavers in Chiapas, Mexico.

Beautiful hand-made textiles for sale to benefit Mujeres por la Dignidad and solidarity organizing in the US.

Mexico-US Solidarity Network staff person to facilitate presentation and provide English translation if needed.

Sponsored by The Centre for Labour Studies, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Latin American Studies and LAS Graduate Caucus, Centre for Global Political Economy, Department of Women's Studies, and the Centre for Sustainable Community Development

The Mexico Solidarity Network
(773) 583-7728 www.mexicosolidarity.org

*************
Tessa Wright
Department of History and Centre for Labour Studies
Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Phone : (604)291-3446 e-mail: tessaw@sfu.ca Office: AQ 6025
*************

Attending the SFSS court hearing

From: Michael Letourneau <mletourn@cs.sfu.ca>

Hi folks.

As some of you already know, lawyers for the impeached SFSS directors and the people they've brought a lawsuit against (Titus Gregory, Jan Gunn, and Bryan Jones) met in court on Wednesday and agreed on a hearing date for late next week.

Many students have expressed an interest in attending the hearing. We're sending this email to give you some information on attending: when and where, how to find the hearing, what (not) to expect, what to (not) do.

When & where
------------
The hearing will occur on Thursday, November 30 and Friday, December 1 (if necessary). The hearing will be held in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, in one of the courtrooms in the Vancouver Law Courts building.

The Vancouver Law Courts building is located at:
800 Smithe St. (between Howe and Hornby) Vancouver, BC
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=800+Smithe+St,+Vancouver,+BC&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=49.28088,-123.12247&spn=0.009645,0.027122

Hearings normally run from 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM, and then from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Please try to be at the courthouse at 9:45 AM for the morning session and 1:45 PM for the afternoon session.

How to find the hearing
-----------------------
We likely won't know until the day of the trial which courtroom it will be in. We advise the following procedure:

• Enter the courthouse via the entrance under the bridge that crosses Smithe St.
• There should be someone in that lobby who'll direct you where to go.
• If there isn't, then look for the bulletin boards at the far end -- there will be a list of courtrooms assigned to cases, and the hearing will be listed on there.
• If you still have questions, ask the court commissioner (the nice person in the bulletproof vest sitting at the desk in the lobby)

Hopefully, we'll have someone waiting closer to the courtroom as well who can direct you there.

What to expect
--------------
The particular type of court case that's being decided here is called a "petition". This is a type of streamlined court action that's designed for a quick response. Because of this, all of the evidence is usually submitted in advance, in the form of affidavits. Thus, you won't see people testifying as witnesses. Instead, the lawyers will be arguing the case based on the various laws, by-laws, and rules that relate to it, and referring to the evidence already filed.

If you're interested in seeing the evidence filed with the court, please see:
http://www.studentunion.ca/forum/lawsuit.html

What (not) to do
----------------
If you come to the hearing, please:

• come early
• turn off cellphones before entering the courtroom
• remain quiet during the hearing
• dress neatly
• be respectful at all times and to all parties

Please do not:

• use any sort of recording device in the courtroom -- they are _strictly_ prohibited -- this includes cell-phone cameras
• repeatedly leave and re-enter the courtroom

Finally, we should mention that the courtroom should be large enough to fit the _entire_ Forum, plus more. Many of you have expressed interest in supporting the opposition to this lawsuit: at this point, the best thing you could do would be to join us in court on Thursday and, if necessary, on Friday. If you can only attend one day, or even only a part of one day, that would be great as well.

If you have questions about attending the hearing, please contact us: Adam Lein (adam.lein@gmail.com) and/or Mike Letourneau (mletourn@cs.sfu.ca ) -- we are the liasons to the two lawyers opposing the petition.

We look forward to seeing you all there in court!

- Adam Lein & Mike Letourneau

CFS denies SFSS proxy vote at CFS national meeting

Below, an email I sent to the CFS today, in response to the email (below, below) from our CFS rep. The Board cancelled our delegation and assigned Capilano College as our proxy vote, and CFS, apparently motivated by an angry email from Margo Dunnet, has denied our proxy vote, although they did agree to cancel our delegation.
-----------------------------------
To the CFS,

I am writing to express my deep concern about the the report that you are denying the SFSS proxy vote (through Capilano) at the national CFS meetings. I strongly urge you to reconsider your position on this matter. As Bhuvinder Vaid points out, SFU students pay almost a half-million dollars annually to the CFS, and it unacceptable that we should be denied representation. I am the SFSS Forum representative for the approximately 150 graduate students in my department, and I will inform them of this concerning matter. I urge other department representatives to do the same.

Sincerely,

Clea Moray
Biology Graduate Caucus SFSS Forum Representative
Member, Canadian Federation of Students Local 23
M.Sc. Candidate, Biology Department, Simon Fraser University
--------------------------------------------------------------
On 11/24/06, Bhuvinder S. Vaid wrote:

Dear Shamus and Amanda,

I hope you are well.

After speaking with Shamus by telephone on Wednesday morning, I informed themembers of the SFSS Board of Directors (the unimpeached Directors) of thedecision by the CFS National Executive to not recognize the SFSS vote(transferred by proxy to Capilano) at the current national meetings.

When I spoke with Shamus, he informed me that the main reason not to respectthe SFSS Board of Director's decision to have our vote transferred by proxywas that National, recognizing the incendiary e-mail sent by Margo Dunnet,was thereby 'proceeding cautiously' by not recognizing the right of local 23to transfer our vote.

This action on the part of National is not only unwarranted, butunacceptable to the members of the CFS represented by local 23 and their~$400,000 in CFS membership fees.

Ms. Dunnet and her fellow impeached Directors of October 25th, havesabotaged the running of the SFSS since their removal - based almostentirely on their displeasure of being removed. Ms. Dunnet's e-mail, havinghad the affect of denying local 23 of its voting right at National is yetanother example of the malicious intent undertake by her and her fellowimpeached Directors to sabotage the proud contributions local 23 has made tothe CFS in the past and the future.

By paying heed to the e-mail sent by Ms. Dunnet, and thereby rescinding thevoting proxy of local 23 - SFSS, CFS National has effectively taken themembership fees of local 23 (~$200,000 to National, ~$200,000 to Provincial)into its coffers, while at the same time taking away local 23's right to berepresented.

The question I have been asked, and have no answer for is as follows: Whatare we paying our CFS Membership fees for?

I must inform you that if the local 23 proxy vote is not recognized at thecurrent National meetings, the question as to why the SFSS pays $400,000into an organization which is willing to strip it of its right torepresentation by the mere receipt of an 'angry e-mail' from aformer/impeached Director will be put forward at our next Board meeting.

At that time, if the local 23 proxy vote was not honoured at the Nationalmeetings, I will be recommended to the SFSS Board of Directors that theybegin the defederation process from the CFS - as any organization willing tosimply take the money of SFU students without allowing them their right tobe represented in how their money is to be spent, is an organization that Ido not personally believe represents the interests of SFU students.

In Solidarity,
Bhuvinder

Bhuvinder S. Vaid
SFSS Graduate Student Representative local 23 - Canadian Federation of Students BC Component Executive
Education Rep., Graduate Issues Committee (GIC)
http://www.educ.sfu.ca/egsa/
Chair, GIC Autonomy Subcommittee (GIC-AS)

SFSS bank accounts ordered unfrozen & final court date is set

Both sides of the SFSS Board have agreed - through mediation - on an arrangement to unfreeze the Society's bank accounts. Earlier today, the court ordered that this arrangement be put into force (meaning that the bank has to comply). This arrangement will be in effect until the court rules on the validity of the SGM.

With the agreement of all parties involved, the court hearing to rule on the SGM's validity has been scheduled for Thursday, November 30 and Friday, December 1, starting at 9:45 am on both days. It will occur at the Vancouver courthouse, room TBA. All are welcome to attend.

SFSS Notice of Elections Board of Directors

The following positions are currently contested but may become vacant upon a BC court ruling.
Executive: External relations officer, Internal relations officer, Member services officer, Treasurer

The following positions are vacant and uncontested:
Executive: President
Faculty & at large reps: Health sciences representative

For details concerning the duties of such positions visit:
http://www.sfss.ca/SFSS-Constitution.pdf
Term of office will be to April 30, 2007.

Nomination Period:
Open: Monday Nov 20th, 2006 - noon.
Close: Monday, December 4th, 2006 – noon.
Nomination kits are available at the SFSS general office (MBC 2250)

Campaign Period
Begins: Monday December 11th, 2006 – 10 AM
Ends: Friday. December 15, 2006 – Midnight.

Voting: Voting will take place during the week of December 18, 2006.

You must bring your student card or other photo ID to vote. Polling stations will be located in the Burnaby campus library, the AQ, the West Mall, the Harbour Centre Campus and the Surrey Campus.

TSSU Fall 2006 Election Result

For the Fall 2006 Election, since there are no contest for all the postions available, each candidates got over 50% Yes. Therefore I declare that all the candidates were elected to their respective postions listed as follows:

Clement Apaak: Coordinator
Jason Tockman: Chair
Aviv Ettya: Trustee I
Myka Tucker-Abramson: Secretary

The newly elected officers should take office on Nov. 27th , 2006.

-Xiujun(James) Li, Electoral Officer & Trustee II, TSSU, SFU

SFSS bank accounts still frozen - even the pub is at imminent risk!

In today's Forum meeting it was reported that the SFSS bnak accounts are still frozen. The bank had indicated a while ago that they would unfreeze the accounts if the contested/impeached Directors would relinquish signing authority until the court rules on the validity of the SGM. These individuals have categorically refused to do this, although it would in no way hinder their court case. Today or yesterday they were presented witht he option that an independent trustee could take over the signing authority in the interim. They have refused this option also. The remaining Directors are still working hard to try to find another interim solution, but if they can't find one by Friday, the result may include (1) the temporary closing of the Pub, the Ladle, and the Higher Grounds coffee shop, (2) all SFSS staff being temporarily laid off, (3) the loss of $20,000 in student bursaries. Note that layoffs would presumably include health plan coordinator Kathy Brackley, but that it *seems* at this time that no disruption of the health plan itself is likely to occur unless things aren't cleared up by the end of the semester (unlikely). If you would like to email the impeached persons with signing authority and ask them to relinquish their signing authority until the court ruling so that the funds can be unfrozen, their emails are:

Vanessa Kelly: vkelly@sfu.ca
Glyn Lewis: galewis@sfu.ca
Wei Li: wli1@sfu.ca
Shawn Hunsdale: shunsdal@sfu.ca

Reception: Bruce Anderson (Dec 8)

The Campus Community is invited to attend a farewell reception for Bruce Anderson, Executive Director, Human Resources. After 7 years with SFU, Bruce has decided to accept an exciting career opportunity at the City of Toronto. Please join us on December 08, 2006 at 4:00pm Halpern Centre for a reception to wish Bruce all the best.

CFS/Douglas College scandal on Global News - installment 3

Global news has broadcast a third installment on it's coverage of Douglas College Student Union financial irregularities and alleged CFS involvement. The video is available here (for the time being, at least!).

SFSS goes to court

On Wed Nov 8, the impeached SFSS Directors filed a petition with the BC Supreme Court, requesting that the Sept 27 meeting of Forum (when the SGM was called) be declared invalid, and hence also the impeachments & the SGM itself. The petition & the affidavit of Glyn Lewis are available online at http://www.studentunion.ca/forum/lawsuit.html

On Fri Nov 10, the remaining Directors met with a potential lawyer, but did not retain him. They are continuing to seek a new lawyer for the Society.

On Tues Nov 14, Don Crane (counsel for the impeached directors) filed a request for "short leave" (see below). Forum rep Adam Lein attended, along with Titus Gregory (Forum Chair, named as a Respondent) and Andrea Sandau (SFSS Director - University Relations Officer), and presented the following points: 1) It is the actions and procedures of Forum that are called into question by the impeached directors' petition. 2) If the impeached directors' request to abolish the Sept 27th meeting of Forum is granted, all those members who were ratified at that meeting will no longer be ratified. In effect, the petition would serve to disenfranchise democratically elected representatives of the student body. Either of these reasons is sufficient to show that Forum members are interested parties to this petition and need to be served. The court agreed; the impeached directors have been ordered to serve notice (see below) to the 28 members who were ratified at that meeting (includes me, the Biology Grad Caucus Rep). As a result, the court did not grant the impeached director's request for short leave, and court was adjourned.

At this time, Respondents Titus Gregory and Bryan Jones have retained Ulf Ottho as their legal representation. The extra time has given the Board of Directors an opportunity to seek legal representation for themselves as well. Also at today's court session, director Andrea Sandau filed an affidavit in support of Forum's actions and of the SGM. The Society's financial crisis was also discussed.

***********
Some useful Definitions & explanations:
Appearance: means that you will receive a copy of all documents and be notified of any further proceedings related to the case; that you wish to be heard (you have the right to file an affidavit). At this point, all the respondents, as well as some of the directors and some members of Forum, have filed appearances. Filing an appearance does *not* make you legally liable and does not impose extra responsibilities or risks on you.
Respondent: a person mentioned in the petition as appropriate for responding to the request the petition makes. In this case, *only* Titus Gregory, Jan Gunn, and Bryan Jones are respondents. People who file appearances would *not* be respondents.
Interested party: Any person with a stake in the outcome of the case. In this case, we believe that members of Forum are interested parties for the reasons stated above.
Affidavits: written, sworn testimony. Delineates *facts* from the perspective of the person filing the affidavit. At this point, two people have filed affidavits: Glyn Lewis (impeached MSO) and Andrea Sandau (URO).
Short leave: the law provides a timeline for this sort of case. It's intended to give all interested parties adequate time to seek legalrepresentation and prepare their viewpoint. Sometimes, urgent situations arise that require that the matter be decided as quickly as possible; in such scenarios, somebody can file for "short leave", which means the usual rules will be set aside. The impeached directors are asking for short leave in this case, citing the Society's financial crisis. However, if both sides can come to an agreement that resolves the crisis, short leave is unnecessary, and the Board will have a chance to acquire legal representation.
Being served: when you officially receive notice that you are considered an interested party in a legal action, you have been served. You can acknowledge this notice by "filing an appearance" (see above); this must be done within a week of being served. The court ruled that the Forum reps ratified on Sept 27th must be served fairly soon (in the next couple of days).

Dance performances at SFU

This Month at SFU The School for the Contemporary Arts presents two dance events:
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Falling Down - Choreography by Barbara Bourget
Kokoro's co-artistic director Barbara Bourget presents her work Falling Down two different ways: once as a trio with dancers Salomé Diaz, Ronya Lake and Kristine Richmond to the music of Sigur Ros, and as a solo with dancer Salomé Diaz to the music of Arvo Part. Barbara discusses how meaning in movement can be transformed by changing external forces such as performers, music, costumes and lighting.

SFU Theatre - Burnaby Campus
November 16 at 12:30
free admission
INFO: 604-291-3514
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Dances On The Hill
School for the Contemporary Arts at SFU presents a main stage dance event featuring the work of faculty Judith Garay (102 Legs) and Cheryl Prophet (Imagine a Thousand Things) alumnus Sara Coffin (Blindsided) and a piece by artist-in-residence Barbara Bourget. Choreographed for students in the Contemporary Arts BFA program.

SFU THEATRE - Burnaby Campus
Nov. 23 at 12:30 - free admission
Nov. 24 & 25 at 8:00 pm, tickets $10 /$7
info: 604.291.3514 or email: theatre@sfu.ca

Rimmerfest - An Evening to Celebrate Jim Rimmer & his Many Contributions (Nov 25)

November 25 - Rimmerfest - An Evening to Celebrate Jim Rimmer and his Many Contributions The Annual Yosef Wosk—Friends of Special Collections—Alcuin Society Lecture

Speakers include: Robert Bringhurst, Dick Kouwenhoven, Charles van Sandwyk and Denise Carson Wilde

Jim Rimmer's career stretches back over fifty years and has made him many friends: printers, type designers, publishers, students, teachers, design firms, type founders, librarians, and book collectors. Rimmer has published several books, the most recent being Leaves from the Pie Tree: Memories from the Composing Room (2006) in which he writes, "My fated collision with printing has been quite plainly one of the greatest blessings in a charmed life". During his career Rimmer has assisted many, has mentored many, has taught many and has been exemplary with his assistance to so many of us. As Will Reuter wrote, "Stay the course, Jim. You're unique".

Robert Bringhurst, author of the classic, Elements of Typographic Style, has written and spoken on poetry, Native studies, literature, the classics… Dick Kouwenhoven is the manager of Hemlock Printers, one of the finest presses in BC. Charles van Sandwyk is an internationally known illustrator. One of his recently illustrated books is The Wind in the Willows (2005). Denise Carson Wilde is an artist, designer and co-owner of Paper-Ya on Granville Island. Note: Jim Rimmer/Pie Tree Press papers are deposited in SFU's Special Collections.

Date: Saturday, November 25, 2006, 7:30 pm
Location: Fletcher Challenge Canada Theatre, Room 1900, Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street

Refreshments following lecture.

Reservations required: Free Admission – please reserve a seat by calling 604.291.4658 or
emailing library@sfu.ca

For further information contact:
Eric Swanick
Head, Special Collections
Simon Fraser University
604.291.4626 or eswanick@sfu.ca

Reading by Fiction Writer Annabel Lyon in Special Collections (Nov 16)

SFU Library presents: Reading by Fiction Writer Annabel Lyon in Special Collections

SFU graduate Annabel Lyon is one of Canada's most promising younger fiction writers. Her debut story collection, OXYGEN (Porcupine's Quill, 2000), was greeted with universal critical acclaim. Her second book, THE BEST THING FOR YOU, was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2004, again to high praise. Raised in Coquitlam, Annabel Lyon completed her B.A. at SFU in 1994 and went on to take an M.F.A. in creative writing at UBC, at a time when the program was producing such illustrious graduates as Caroline Adderson, Nancy Lee, and Madeleine Thien. She is a frequent contributor to numerous magazines and newspapers, including the Vancouver Sun, the Globe and Mail and Harvard Review, and is a regular columnist for Geist magazine; she also teaches writing.

Annabel Lyon will be reading from her work in Special Collections on Thursday, November 16, 2006 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Special Collections is located in room 7100 on the 7th floor of the W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby. Free! Refreshments will be served.

For more information contact:
Tony Power
604.268.6676 or power@sfu.ca

Privatizing the University: The Attack on Public Education (Nov 22)

Come join us for a talk on privatization on our campus and in our province. Wednesday, November 22nd, 2:30-4:30pm, MBC 2212. Snacks and drinks will be provided

BACKGROUND: In September of this year, a corporation named IBT opened the Fraser International College at Simon Fraser University's Burnaby Campus. FIC is a private enterprise that recruits international students to come study at FIC in order to later transfer into SFU. Many members of the SFU community are worried about the implications of this private-public cooperation agreement. Therefore students, teaching assistants, professors and employees of SFU came together to create the Public Education Alliance in order to create open spaces for investigation, dialogue and action with regards to these issues.

SPEAKERS:
Rob Clift - CUFA-BC (Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC): The provincial context of privatization of public education
Derrick Harder - Student representative on SFU Senate and Board of Governors: IBT/FIC, privatization, and the internationalization mandate of SFU
Scott Drake - SFU PhD Student: The impact of privatization at the departmental level

--
Public Education Alliance - PEA
gopubliceducation@gmail.com

Announcement re: the Executive Director of HR, Bruce Anderson

To: The Campus Community
From: Judith Osborne, Vice-President, Legal Affairs

Bruce Anderson, the Executive Director of Human Resources has informed me that he will be leaving the University to take on an exciting career challenge with the City of Toronto. Friday December 8th will be his last day at work. During the past seven years, Bruce has done a tremendous job for SFU and I'm sure that you will join me in wishing him well in his future
endeavours.

A search will get underway shortly for Bruce's successor. Dario Nonis, the Director of Employee Relations and Benefits will be the Acting Executive Director until that person is in place.

Sincerely,

Judith A. Osborne
Vice President, Legal Affairs
Simon Fraser University
Tel: 604-291-3924

Liszt Piano Recital: Slava Senyshyn and Alan Kogosowski (Jan 27)

I am very pleased to announce an all Liszt joint piano recital with the great and world renowned pianist Alan Kogosowski on Saturday, January 27th, 2007 at 7:30 PM at the Massey Theatre. As you will see below in this email, he has a huge international career and happens to be a great favourite of the Royal Family since the late Princess Diana befriended him and the late Pope John Paul for his masterful playing of Chopin. I feel very honoured that he has chosen me to pair up with him for this particular all Liszt recital. (We will also be playing a two piano recital at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, January 27, 2008. This recital will feature the works of Mozart, Schubert and Rachmaninoff. I am also looking forward to playing a joint recital with my wife, Dr. Susan O'Neill-Senyshyn, flautist, at the Chan Centre, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, April 6th, 2008).

The first joint recital on Saturday, January 27th, 2007 at 7:30 PM at the Massey Theatre (735 Eighth Avenue, New Westminster, BC. will be played in a hall that was built in 1949. It was the former home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra before it moved to the Orpheum. The
acoustics are excellent. This theatre is very closely located to the Skytrain (Expo Line Skytrain To New Westminster Station at Columbia).

Tickets will be sold by Ticketmaster (TicketWeb Canada, a division of Ticketmaster Canada Ltd. ("TicketWeb") for General Admission: $25.00 and $20.00 (Seniors and Students) and the area adjacent to the Dean's Office in the Faculty of Education. I am most grateful that Alana
Nordstrand and Devi Pabla will be handling the sale of a limited number of tickets (200). They have been very kind! Alan and I do not want to impose more on their time than is necessary. Tickets are also available through http://www.TicketWeb.ca as of Monday, November 13th, 2006. They may also be purchased over the phone at 888-222-6608.

Please note that proceeds from the concert will cover costs and fund other concerts (already mentioned) at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and possibly one other Benefit Concert to be announced at a later time and to be held at the Orpheum later in the next year. For more information about our current concert please see below:

Saturday, January 27th, 2007 at 7:30 PM at the Massey Theatre

A Liszt Recital

Two Sides of the Multi-Faceted Franz Liszt
Pianist: Yaroslav Senyshyn
Original Compositions by Franz Liszt:
Étude d'Exécution Transcendante, No. 11 ("Harmonies du Soir")
Annees de Pelerinage: Seconde Annee: Italie
Sur le 104e Sonnet de Petrarque
Annees de Pelerinage : Premiere Annee - Suisse
Chapelle de Guillaume Tell
Au Lac de Wallenstadt
Orage
Vallee d'Obermann

Intermission

Pianist: Alan Kogosowski
Operatic Transcriptions by Franz Liszt:
Reminiscences of Lucia di Lammermoor (1840)
Miserere from Il Trovatore (1860)
Reminiscences of Norma (1843)
Rigoletto Paraphrase (1860)
Waltz from Faust (1860)
Liebestod - Tristan and Isolde (Wagner, 1865) Liszt /Kogosowski

Yaroslav Senyshyn was born in Toronto of Ukrainian parentage. His studies began on the piano with the great Antonina Yaroshevich of the Kiev Conservatory. He studied with Damiana Bratuz, Howard Munn, Clifford von Kuster, Katherine Wolpe and Pierre Souverain. A recipient
of numerous scholarships and awards, he holds a Bachelor and Master of Music in Performance degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto respectively. As well, he completed a Bachelor of Education degree at the Faculty of Education, University
of Toronto and a Doctorate in Philosophy of Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Yaroslav Senyshyn's appearances have won him acclaim in many major concert halls throughout the world including New York's Carnegie Recital Hall, Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre and Massey Hall and the Bolshoi Hall at the Moscow Conservatory. Most recently he has
performed at Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Simon Fraser University (a scholarship benefit performance) at the SFU Theatre and was invited to give a special recital in Toronto to celebrate the joining of OISE and the University of Toronto. He has been featured in a Georgetown University radio broadcast in Washington D.C. on Canadian performers including Glenn Gould, Louis Lortie and Anton Kuerti. While playing at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., he appeared in the "Critic's Choice" column of the Washington Post and after his debut there was referred to as a pianist of "enormous power" and "sophisticated finger work". (The Washington Post) For other concert reviews and selected excerpts of Yaroslav Senyshyn's playing please see http://www.educ.sfu.ca/fri/Senyshyn/ and then choose the link
entitled "Pianistic Highlights, Reviews, Upcoming Concerts, and Sample Clips of Senyshyn's Recitals / CDs".

Senyshyn is an Associate Professor of philosophy of music aesthetics and moral education at Simon Fraser University's Faculty of Education. As well he has published extensively in international and national journals such as the Philosophy of Music Education Review,
Musica-Realta, Interchange, the Journal of Educational Thought, Educational Leadership, the Canadian Journal of Education, and other publications. He is Past President of the Simon Fraser University Faculty Association and a member-at-large on the national Executive of CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers). His performances have won him acclaim in major concert halls throughout the world.

Alan Kogosowski's career has been one of creative surprises. Not content to be one of the foremost pianists of his generation, he has spread his talents richly over many areas related to the great music repertoire he so ably commands. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Kogosowski conceived and presented the prestigious concert series Schubertiades at Sotheby's in London for
ten years. A recreation of the 19th century style of musical presentation, where artists and performers gathered in glamorous convivial surroundings and played their works in mixed combinations for friends and acquaintances, these concerts at Sotheby's soon acquired a cult following. Members of the Royal Family often attended, and the opportunity of viewing the latest art collections added an extra dimension of interest to the evenings. CD recordings, under the label Music From Sotheby's, were issued and became highly popular. Moving to America, Kogosowski restored and orchestrated two major works for piano and orchestra, by Rachmaninoff and Chopin respectively. Both were premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Neeme Järvi and broadcast nationally. The CD recording of the Rachmaninoff Concerto Élégiaque, went 'straight to the top of our list,' said The American Record Guide. These great additions to the concert repertoire were followed by a 6-part TV series on the life of Frederic Chopin, conceived, written and produced, as well as performed, by Kogosowski. This series was first broadcast in New York in 2003, and hailed by the New York
Times as 'outstanding.' The series is now available as a double-DVD set. Next came two important books - Genius of the Piano - Etude!, a comprehensive account of the life of Chopin as well as the history and the art of piano playing, and How to Prevent RSI - a pianist's
perspective for everyone" (available as e-books at http://www.kogosowski.com/a/index.php . You will also find excerpts of his playing www.kogosowski.com). Back in his home town of Melbourne, Kogosowski encountered a young Chinese soprano who reminded him of his adored Maria Callas, and they gave a joint recital juxtaposing great arias with operatic fantasies
for piano by Franz Liszt. This concert was broadcast to great acclaim, inspiring a magnificent new CD set, Kogosowski and Xiao Wang at the Opera. The combination of spectacular piano fantasies by Liszt with key arias from the operas sung by an extraordinary young artist is a
programming concept Liszt himself would surely have approved. Likewise, Kogosowski hopes that Sergei Rachmaninoff and Frederic Chopin would also have approved of the way in which he has brought new life to two great and important, but little known, compositions in their canon. From New Jersey, Kogosowski goes to Los Angeles to perform in a new play about Chopin and George Sand by actress and writer Diana Douglas (mother of Michael).
****************************************************
For a detailed seating plan, please visit www.seatadvisor.com/search

Main Entrance - 735 Eighth Avenue, New Westminster, BC

Just east of the 8th Avenue & 8th Street intersection. Watch for large reader board at street side & Massey Theatre awning above main entrance doors.

Free parking is available on school grounds after 3:30pm Monday to Friday and all-day on weekends. Enter parking lot on 8th Avenue just east of 8th & 8th intersection. Driveway is between theatre & Moody Park Arena.

Dr. Yaroslav Senyshyn
Associate Professor
E-MAIL: Yaroslav_Senyshyn@sfu.ca
http://www.educ.sfu.ca/fri/Senyshyn/

Literacy Benefit in Vancouver (Nov 22)

I am delighted to tell you about the Institute for Cross-cultural Exchange’s (ICE) first literacy benefit in Vancouver. Aubrey Davis, award-winning children’s author, will be appearing on the evening of November 22, at the YWCA, to tell stories that have been told for centuries in Afghanistan. Mr. Davis’ benefit tour, called “A Melon Grows in Kandahar,” will help fund ICE’s current campaign to donate high-quality books featuring the Afghan tales to literacy programs across Canada.

The programs that this event is benefiting will provide books, based on these stories and others like them, to disadvantaged children across Canada. A million Canadian children — nearly one in six — live in poverty, and many of them struggle with illiteracy. In the one year since its inception, ICE has provided over 5000 books to children at-risk, working through partner programs such as the YWCA, United Way’s “Success by Six,” Frontier College, and Calgary Reads.

This evening of storytelling is an opportunity to experience what we share with Afghan culture and can learn from it. These witty, provocative, often zany teaching-stories from Afghanistan offer a glimpse of a magnificent culture and its great contribution to the human story.

I hope you’ll join us at ICE’s first Vancouver benefit for children’s literacy.

For more information please contact me directly or visit ICE's website at http://www.iceeducation.org/engl/projects.html#events for a copy of our
flyer and press release.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Boden
Vice-President and Director
Institute for Culture Exchange
Tel. 604-421-3743

Electroacoustic Music Concert (Nov 10)

We have a busy week at SFU Theatre - Thursday is Scented Skies and
this Friday is our Fall 2006 Electroacoustic Music Concert:

UNDERCURRENTS & OVERTONES

In 8 channel surround sound, new electroacoutic works by SFU Faculty
Martin Gotfrit and Arne Eigenfeldt, as well as works by students,
guests and a live improvised piece by Stefan Smulovitz and Randy
Raine-Reusch.

NOVEMBER 10 at 8:00 PM
Tickets: $10/$7
SFU THEATRE ( Burnaby Campus)
info:604.291.3514 or email: theatre@sfu.ca

Dress like a Celeb for Darfur Dance 2006

Students and Humanitarian Activist,

Read, share and forward this information to all. You are invited to a
dance party for Darfur on Friday November 17. Also note that on Dec.
10 there will be global action on the Darfur issue.

What: "Dress like a Celeb for Darfur" Dance 2006

Dress Like: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Gorge Clooney, and Opera Winfrey [they support work to
SAVE Darfur], or your favorite celeb.

Time: 7pm -12:30am
Place: Highland Pub
Date: Friday November 17th, 2006
Mix: World Mix by Pub DJ, Apaak

Games and Prizes:
-Best Celeb Dress up Look a like
-Male Booty shaking
-Female Booty shaking
-Limbo competition
-Date auction, CSFDarfur founder, Apaak.

Guest of honour: Mariam from Oxfam Vancouver office.

Buy Tix in AQ, Convo mall SFSS general office or call Apaak at 778-895-9242

Bring a friend, a classmate, roommate, or date, to your campus Pub for a
good cause

-Clement Abas Apaak <caapaak@sfu.ca>

Panel discussions on citizenship

Just a reminder about the panel discussions on Wednesday and Thursday this week at Harbour Centre. Please note the change of room for these events. This event is free, but seating is limited. Reservations are recommended. E-mail cs_hc@sfu.ca or call 604-291-5100

An SFU Panel Discussion -- Citizenship and the Spiritual Sphere. Wednesday, November 8, 2006, SFU Harbour Centre Room 1600, 7:00 PM- 9:00 PM.

This panel discussion is the first evening public presentation of the Simons Student Citizenship Program. With the support of the Simons Foundation, SFU students were invited to submit written research proposals which focused on issues related to citizenship. The following panel discussion is the first public presentation of selected students' research work. SFU student panel presenters: Andrew Bingham, Eva Schubert, and Evan Smith Moderator: Douglas Todd, Ethics and Spirituality writer for the Vancouver Sun and previous Shadbolt Fellow in the Humanities at SFU. Invited speaker: Bonnelle Strikling, Department Head in the department of Philosophy at Langara College.

An SFU Panel Discussion: Citizenship and the Public Sphere. Thursday, November 9, 2006, SFU Harbour Centre Room 1600, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

This panel discussion is the second evening public presentation of the Simons Student Citizenship Program. SFU student panel presenters: Amanda Cawston, Susan Pell, Stephen Fielding, and Brianna Turner. Moderator: Michael Clague, previous director of the Carnegie Centre, Vancouver, and recipient of the Thakore Visiting Scholar Award at SFU. Speaker:
Barbara Arneil, Professor Political Science at UBC.

GIC social!

The GIC kindly invites you all hungry and thirsty grads to our semester social this Friday Nov 10th, from 4-8 at the lower lounge of the highland pub. As per usual Free pizza and cheap drinks will be available. Come out and mingle with other grads!

UniverCity's tree lighting

Dec 14, 4-7pm. At the Cornerstone Building. Refreshments will be served.

SFSS by-elections

An SFSS by-election will be held during the week of Dec 18. Nominations are open between Nov 20 - Dec 4 . Campaining runs from Dec 11 - Dec 15. The open positions are: President, External Relations Officer, Internal Relations Officer, Treasurer, 2 At-Large Reps, and Health Sciences Faculty Rep.

The Attar Project: Scented Skys (Nov 9, SFU Theatre)

School for the Contemporary Arts and Western Front New Music presents

Scented Skys: The Attar Project Tour

"... a captivating distillation of several kinds of loveliness..."
Alex Varty, The Georgia Straight

During the last decade, Parmela Attariwala has become one of the most original and compelling artists in Canada, creating her own riveting blend of Western and South Asian cultures. 2006 marks the centenary of the arrival of Parmela's family in Canada, and to celebrate, this remarkable violinist, composer and ethnomusicologist is now embarking on a cross-Canada tour.

Parmela's ensemble, The Attar Project, brings together the talents of dancer and choreographer Gitanjali Kolanad and tabla player Shawn Mativetsky. Together these three artists weave a beautiful tapestry of music and performance, intertwining contemporary composition and classical virtuosity with traditional Indian dance and rhythm.

Join us for a free afternoon concert with this remarkable group.

This Thursday November 9 at 12:30 pm
SFU Theatre – Simon Fraser University Burnaby Campus
No tickets or reservations required
For information call: 604.291.3514 or email: theatre@sfu.ca

The concert is 1 hour in length with a 20 minute talk-back with the artist after the performance

SFSS Updates

For those who are interested, regular updates about the SFSS situation are available on Titus Gregory's website, www.studentunion.ca

CSEE Annual Meeting: Call for Papers & Logo Contest

The second CSEE (Canadian Society for Ecology & Evolution) annual meeting will be held over three and a half days from May 17-20, 2007 at Victoria College in the University of Toronto. There will be 3 plenary talks, 3 symposia, 132 contributed talks, 2 poster sessions, and rooms for evening workshops.

In addition, CSEE is launching a contest to find a logo representing the Society. The contest is open to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who are members of the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. The First Prize is an award of $500 in support of research or travel expenses for attending the CSEE meeting.

Richard Dawkins on the Colbert Report

Richard Dawkins on the Colbert Report - "You can't disprove the Flying Spaghetti Monster".

ecology of speciation meeting (UK)

Good speakers list for this symposium, including Timothy G. Barraclough, Doug Schemske, Andy Purvis, and others.Registration deadline is 23 February 2007. Symposium dates are 28-30 March, 2007. More information is available on the British Ecological Society website.

SSE 2007 (Christchurch, NZ) Student Travel Awards

The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) is providing Travel Awards for 60 student SSE members to attend the 2007 Annual Meeting in New Zealand. The awards will be $750 US dollars each. Students will be able to use the award to defray travel or other meeting costs.  An application form can be found on the SSE website at http://www.evolutionsociety.org. The deadline for applying is January 15, 2007.

BoG & SFU Community Trust Election Results

Results have been declared for the recent elections for student reps for the Board of Governors and SFU Community Trust. The winning candidate for the position on the Board of Governors was Derrick Harder. The winning candidate for the position on the SFU Community Trust was Sean Magee.

--Clea