Kamloops - Tuesday November 17, 2009 Thompson Rivers University Students' Union (TRUSU) launches the Drop Fees campaign, a campaign that will demand that all levels of Government take actions to reduce student debt and improve access to post-secondary education.

On Monday night over thirty student volunteers spent over three hours setting up a demonstration as a kickoff to the Drop Fees campaign. The demonstration would have seen students arrive on campus Tuesday morning to over 1000 brightly coloured wooden steaks, demonstrating the massive increases in tuition fees since 1999 and calling attention to the massive growth in student debt in our province during this period. However, during the night bad weather severely damaged the demonstration to the point where it had to be removed. "It is too bad, sometimes these things just happen I guess. The stakes would have been a great demonstration and a way to engage students in the fight for accessible education," said Natalie Reisle, VP External of TRUSU. " Weather may have ruined this demonstration but we have plenty of other things planned over the course of the next six months. Students and community members will see the Drop Fees campaign out petitioning in the community, performing banner drops, and engaging in door knocking and leaflet drops."

The main goal of this campaign is to build public support for affordable and accessible post-secondary education in British Columbia. To achieve such a goal, TRUSU will lobby to have the government drop fees to levels set prior to 2001, increase per-student funding to levels set prior to 2001, eliminate interest on Student Loans, and create a income-based BC Grants program. "The fact is, students are being taken advantage of. The more debt people take on the less they can participate in the economy upon graduation. Piling debt on students is short sited and not good for economic growth," said Kyle Bowman President of TRUSU.

On average between 1999 and 2009 tuition fees across the province doubled. In 1999 students at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) paid $1,328 for one year in tuition and ancillary fees. However, in 2009 tuition and ancillary fees have increased 212% to be $4,147. "It's shameful," says Bowman, "if tuition fees had increased at the rate of inflation TRU students would be paying only $1652, nearly $2500 less per year.  

TRUSU is a membership organisation of over 6000 students at TRU. Students at TRU are also members of the Canadian Federation of Students-BC and Canada's largest national student organisation, the Canadian Federation of Students

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Kamloops - This January the Thompson Rivers University Students' Union (TRUSU) will host back to school events on and off campus.

TRUSU will be holding its biannual ‘Kickstart' including a Movie Night, a Coffee Giveaway and the Tunes Against Tuition Fees DJ Night at Cactus Jacks Nightclub. This year approximately 7000 students are expected to attend the various events.

"I'm excited. We have worked hard to have the first ever Kickstart in the second semester and we are stoked to be throwing a Dance Party at CJ's", said Kyle Bowman President of the Thompson Rivers University Students' Union - TRUSU.

On Thursday, January 7, 2010 the Students' Union will be throwing the biggest party of the semester at CJ's Nightclub at 9:00pm with chances to win great prizes like iPods and gift certificates to the TRU Bookstore. On Friday, January 8, 2010 at 7:00pm you can find your Students' Union chatting with new students at the TRU Orientation Night.  And, on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 8:00 pm the Students' Union will be presenting the hit films ‘Superbad' and ‘Up' in the TRUSU Independent Centre (Students' Union Building).

 "One of the founding principles of the Students' Union is to provide high-quality, low-cost entertainment for our members and we have no doubt that we are going to more than deliver on that promise this January," stated Bowman.

The Thompson Rivers University Students' Union is the student membership based organization at TRU in Kamloops. It has over 7000 members and is member local 15 of the Canadian Federation of Students and stands in solidarity with over one-half million students in Canada.

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On August 31, 2009 members of the Students' Union joined faculty and staff of TRU at the Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops for a Day of Caring. 

"Starting bright and early, the crew of workers painted a massive upstairs playroom dedicated to recreation, crafts, painting and snacks for school-aged children. The huge room two coats of three vibrant new colours to update the area and refresh the walls, tables and cupboards. Meanwhile, more volunteers worked downstairs in the “Down The Hall” room, which over the years has been a wood shop and crafts area. The floor had never been restored, so it received two coats of bright new paint to refresh the room and clean up the space. The volunteers worked at a feverish pace to finish the first stages of painting all before lunch!

After enjoying a big BBQ lunch prepared by the Boys and Girls Club cook, the crew eagerly picked up the paint brushes again to put the finishing touches on the play room and Down The Hall room, before stepping outside into the scorching end-of-summer heat to tackle yet another project!

The insatiable volunteers helped unload a big storage shed that was being donated to the Boys and Girls Club by TRU - and had been built by TRU students from the Trades and Technology department! To be used in the newly-created outdoor play area for children 0-6 (the first of its kind for the Club), the shed got a fresh layer of vinyl siding, a labor of love for the eight remaining volunteers who worked against the clock (and the blazing sun) to have the shed ready for the eager staff at he Boys and Girls Club."

See the full news article at http://blog.unitedwaytnc.ca/

The past couple of months have seen many campaigns. We would like to thank all of our members for participating in them. From Vote Education to transportation lobbying, from green economy discussions to supporting our community through the United Way, TRUSU is committed advocating for our campus and community.

The Vote Education Campaign saw two elections this semester, the first being the Federal Election, and the second the Municipal Elections. Together as a unified student body we made sure that our voice was heard in the Kamloops community and addressed: post-secondary education funding, student debt, childcare, private/public water, sustainable transportation, gender equity in the post-secondary funding model, and much more. During the Municipal Elections the Vote Education Campaign consisted of awareness in regards to the election and the candidates, as in the Federal Election. Both campaigns had materials about where to vote, how to vote, and how to find out more information about the candidates. It was a great semester for Vote Education and it will be more exciting next semester with the Provincial Election in May.

TRUSU hosted a round table meeting with the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Kevin Falcon. In this meeting green transportation and the UPass Program were discussed. TRUSU also lobbied for free public transportation for the day of official voting during the upcoming Provincial Election. Hopefully this is a possibility for the government and would increase access to polls during the election. TRUSU is currently following up with Minister Falcon.

During the past couple of weeks TRUSU was fortunate enough to participate in a dialogue put on by the province concerning youth and the green economy. During these discussions post-secondary education and its affordability, government policy and cap and trade were hot discussion topics throughout the meeting. The meeting also heard keynotes concerning the role of business in the green economy and the initiatives that business can take to become green and use the triple bottom line in British Columbia.

Lastly, TRUSU participated in the United Way Campaign this year. The United Way Campaign was very successfully thanks to all the members of TRUSU. We raised a total of $562.50 this year. We did this with the generous donations by students, and together with the United Way we will make an impact on the Kamloops community.

The campaigns of the Students' Union have had a great start this year, and we look forward to the opportunities in the next semester. Always remember that the successes we have had were possible due to the participation of members like yourself, and we will need to continue to stand together to achieve our goals in the coming months!

President

Bowman, Kyle 751

Mahil, Mantej 685

Vice President External

Reisle, Natalie 768

Selvaratnam, Yeshwant 643

Vice President Finance

Moryakova, Darya 699

Smith, Chianne 690

Vice President Internal

Cartwright, Justin 722

McLellan, Alex 686

Aboriginal Students' Representatives

Giguere, Robynne 671

Michel, Patrick 722

International Students' Representative

Mirzabekov, Jasmshid 735

Obbu, Neville 671

Women Students' Representative

Kaduhr, Crystal 680

Sweetnam, Jillian 732

Representative - Graduate Studies  

Erickson, Dan 763

Fok, Carmen 626

Representative - Arts, Science, Education, and Advance Technology

Munro, Bradley 688

Smylie, Katie 716

Representative - Business & Economics, and School of Tourism

Bezymyannaya, Maria 765

Shan, Ming Jun 640

Representative - Social Work, Nursing, Trades, and Division of Student Development

Stupich, Davis 736

Zhou, Zhiwei 713

Dear Members,

Congratulations! The UPASS Referendum achieved an amazing level of participation by members like you – more than ever before. You have demonstrated a sincere interest in making students’ voice heard.

In this referendum members sent a strong message that they value the UPASS, with 93% of voters in favour of the new agreement. These results demonstrate clearly that students value sustainable and affordable public transit. To make transit better, students like you must continue to speak out!

We have secured our UPASS, but our efforts to improve public transit for students are just beginning! We have won student representation in the transit planning process. More importantly, we have the participation of members like you. Together we must make the most of these opportunities. Speak out about your transit experiences! Let the City know when you need a bus to get to class! Let them know about a bus stop that you need! How can transit work better for you?

Your Students’ Union wants to here from you about your transit needs, where transit fails you, and how it can be improved. Send your comments to weride@trusu.ca and make transit work for students!

Kamloops - This September the Thompson Rivers University Students' Union (TRUSU) will host its biggest back to school series of events ever.

TRUSU will be holding its ‘Kickstart' (annual orientation events) including the Annual Back to School BBQ, an Outdoor Movie Night, and the 1^st Annual Tunes Against Tuition Fees Concert. This year approximately 7000 students are expected to attend the various events.

"I am excited. This year we have worked hard over the summer to make sure that Kickstart is a top quality event for our members", said Kyle Bowman President of the Thompson Rivers University Students' Union - TRUSU.

On Thursday, September 4, 2008 at dusk the Students' Union will be presenting Old School and 300 in a outdoor theatre featuring a full concert sound and an over twenty foot screen. On Friday, September 5, 2008 from the 11:00 am to 2:00 pm the Students' Union will hold the 21^st Annual Back to School BBQ featuring over 50 vendor booths, local entertainment, and free food. And, on Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 7:30 pm the Students' Union will host the 1^st Annual Tunes Against Tuition Fees Concert featuring The Stars. The concert will be free for all students' and will take place on campus. 

 "One of the founding principles of the Students' Union is to provide high-quality, low-cost entertainment for our members and we have no doubt that we are going to more than deliver on that promise this September," stated Bowman. 

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Kamloops - September 17, 2008 - The Liberal proposal for 300,000 student grants could help improve access to post-secondary education but may resemble the failed Millennium Scholarship Foundation.

"A system of up front grants would alleviate a lot of financial pressures that students face today if they were to be administered in an accountable and accessible way," said Kyle Bowman, President of the Thompson Rivers University Students Union. "For the sake of students, I would hope that this endowment is nothing like the controversial Millennium Scholarship Foundation because it was ineffective in its goals to increase access and reduce student debt."

The Liberal post-secondary education portion of their platform was announced this morning. The Liberals are making commitments to increase university research funding and create an endowment fund to administer 300,000 needs-based and income-based student grants. The platform also pledges a reduction in the interest rate charged on student loans during the first two years after graduation. Unfortunately, the Liberal plan is silent on the issue of tuition fees.

"Student debt and interest rates on student loans are out of control," said Bowman. "The liberals have made a commitment to take a step towards a better repayment scheme for Canadian students, but we are disappointed that there was no commitment to work with the provinces to cap and reduce tuition fees."

During the lifespan of the Millennium Scholarship Foundation (1998 to 2008), tuition fee increases eroded the value of their grants by over $1,000 (33%). Tuition fees have doubled over the past 15 years, and average student debt is $27,000 in British Columbia.

The Thompson Rivers University Students' Union is the student membership based organization at TRU in Kamloops. It has over 7000 members and is member local 15 of the Canadian Federation of Students and stands in solidarity with over one-half million students in Canada.

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