[zhulander]

I'll bite.

Originally Posted by keenan87

They do have limited power but they are the mediating body between the students and the university officials that prevent them from doing whatever they want.

They talk about tuition and trying to keep it as low as possible. I can't remember 100% but I do know that they eliminated fees for something this year. Even if it was reduced by 40 dollars a student, that's a lot of money.

That's the problem with the SU, all they do is talk about keeping tuition lower. So they reduced a $40 fee but where were they in 2010 when UofC decided to charge a general student fee. A whopping $225 a term for these 'services':

By implementing the Student Services Fee, the University is eliminating the fees it charges students and graduates for a student transcript, the individual counselling fees levied through University Health Services, and the small levies it assesses through the Students' Union fee. The registration and thesis fees paid by graduate students are also eliminated.

They control the food court and Mac Hall as well as the Store which I think is reasonably priced. That also allows for a lot of students to find work during the year and help out and make some money after hours.

Mac Hall is the quite possibly the worst food court in a post secondary school in Canada.

They are responsible for the U-Pass as they are the ones that negotiate the contract

They have a terrible negotiator, the fees for the UPass have been steadily going up since 2009 from $85 -> $117. It's $58 now to replace a missing UPass up from $15.

The VP external is responsible to meet with corporations and to provide us with funding (helping tuition) and scholarships

You seriously think the VP external has any relevance in corporate funding and scholarships?

The VP academic takes care of how professors are doing their job and the USRI ratings decide a large portion of the salaries for professors.

How do they take care of how professor do their job? If the USRI is any indication, some of my professors should have been fired a long time ago.

The VP student life is pretty self explanatory. His job is to make the university experience more than just going to class and trying to succeed academically. They look after clubs and other events that being a part of really makes me realize that when I will be done my time here at the U of C, I will definitely have a lot of positives to look at.

They control the den and Thursden which is supposed to be very reasonably priced.

Student life is probably the only 'useful' thing they do.

They sit on city council meetings (more for President) and make sure that the city is considering the campus for their decisions. For example, Hardave talked Nenshi out of a new transit route that would have really made it difficult for students just this year.

Like I said, they don't have too much power and they aren't all corporate people, however, they are a body that do look after students indirectly and something that we can use. More than just people sitting down and having parties at least.

I'd like to know where all the SU general fees go. Always tons of rumor of mishandling of funds in the SU. I have no problems paying the ancillary fees however as all that stuff the majority of students at least get some benefits from.