McMaster Students Union
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The McMaster Students Union (MSU), is the central undergraduate student government at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Its roots lie in the McMaster Student Body, the original student government dating back to the opening of the University in 1890. The name was changed to MSU in December 1946.
At its inception, the MSU represented all students attending McMaster University. However, that changed with the establishment of the Graduate Students Association (early 1960s) and the McMaster Association of Part-Time Students (1979).
Somewhat curiously, the word Students in the name is a plural rather than posessive adjective and thus carries no apostrophe, a grammatical quirk unique amongst Canadian student unions.
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Scope
The MSU works to enhance both the academic and extra-curricular experience of its members by offering a wide array of resources, services and opportunities to McMaster students and through advocacy of student issues with the university administration and relevant levels of government. The MSU Constitution describes this as follows:
- The purpose of the MSU is to draw into a true society all students at McMaster University. In pursuit of this, it will foster activities and events which will enhance the University experience of its members and contribute to the life of the University as a whole. Further, it will seek to facilitate communication between the student body, the University and other organizations and will organize and regulate student self-government.
The MSU represents more than 16,000 students, each of whom becomes a member of the students union when registering in a minimum of 18 units of undergraduate courses (3 two-term courses, or equivalent) in an academic session. The University collects mandatory membership fees on the MSU’s behalf as a component of tuition/ancillary fees paid by students on registration. These membership fees amounted to $524 in 2004-05.
Governance
The MSU's Constitution (http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/cbp/constitution.php) and Bylaws (http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/cbp/bylaws.php) establish the political apparatus of the union and its component organs, while a separate collection of Operating Policies (http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/cbp/policies.php) define the functions of service-providing departments and the operating parameters of the organization.
The political leadership of the MSU is four sabbatical officers—a President and three Vice-Presidents (Administration, Education and Finance). These positions are filled by students, typically after completing three or four years of study, who take a year off classes to work full time in student government. The president is elected directly by the student body in annual elections held in early February, while the vice-presidents are elected indirectly in early April. Slates and/or political parties, though commonplace at many other student unions, are not a typical feature of the MSU's political culture.
The MSU's chief legislative body is the Student Representative Assembly (SRA), a 35-member parliament comprised of the president, vice-presidents, and 31 elected student representatives from 10 academic divisions of the University (Arts & Science, Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, Kinesiology, Humanities, Nursing, Science, Social Sciences, and Social Work). The SRA is the MSU's highest policy-setting body and has the sole authority to approve and modify legislation and elect officers other than the President. The Assembly is presided over by a Speaker (who is not a member of the body) and is falls under the purview of a House Leader elected from the SRA's membership. Six standing committees of the SRA aid the full Assembly in the legislative process.
The executive branch of government is the Executive Board, which is comprised of the president, vice-presidents, and five SRA members-at-large. The board, chaired by the President, supervises the functioning of the union's services and bureaucracy and performs planning and priority-setting tasks in a manner somewhat akin to a Westminister-style cabinet. With the exception of the President, the EB's membership is elected by and responsible to the SRA. In emergency circumstances and during the summer months it can operate as an executive committee of the SRA and exercise the powers of the full Assembly. Functional authority for full-time staff and the departments they supervise lies with the Corporate Board of Directors (see below) rather than the EB.
Corporate Structure
The MSU was incorporated in 1971 as a non-profit organization without share capital. For corporate purposes, including major financial decision-making and dealings with full-time staff members, the political organs of the union can reconvene in a corporate rather than political format—the Student Representative Assembly serves as the voting members of the corporation, with the four sabbatical officers assuming the role of a corporate Board of Directors. The Board oversees day-to-day operations and an annual operating budget of over $4 million.
Affiliated organizations
The MSU is a member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, which represents it in dealings with the provincial government of Ontario. It is a former member of both the Canadian Federation of Students and Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, leaving the latter in 2003 in a protracted and bitter affair.
Services
The MSU employs 25 permanent staff and over 200 part-time student staff. Its more than 30 operational departments include a restaurant-bar (Quarters), Child Care Centre, convenience store (The Union Market), copy shop (Design & Copy Centre), games room, newspaper (The Silhouette), radio station (93.3 CFMU-FM), Student Health Education Centre, and yearbook (Marmor).
Alumni
In 1986, former MSU activists established the McMaster Students Union Alumni Association – the first student leader alumni association of its kind in Canada – as a branch of the McMaster University Alumni Association.
External links
- Official site (http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/)
- University site (http://www.mcmaster.ca/)