McMaster Students Union
Encyclopedia
The McMaster Students Union (MSU), is the central undergraduate student government at McMaster University
, in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada
.
The MSU's offices have been located in four buildings over time. First in the Alumni Memorial Building (opened in 1951 as the campus' first student centre), then Wentworth House (1961-74), Hamilton Hall (a former science building renovated to serve as a student centre, 1974-2002), and the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC, 2002-present). Referenda in 1987 and 1989 approved a long-term levy that has funded approximately two-thirds of the $36 million capital costs of the MUSC. Ground for the new building was broken in March 2000 and the official opening took place in September 2002. A student fee retired the remaining term loan in 2010-11.
The MSU represents approximately 19,500 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. Fees, which are partially courseload-sensitive, are up to a maximum of $462.87 for the MSU, plus up to a further $405.31 in other university supplementary fees which are approved by MSU referenda [2011-12 fee schedule].
The political leadership of the MSU is four 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 by the Student Representative Assembly 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 comprising the president, vice-presidents, and 31 elected student representatives from nine (9) academic divisions of the University (Arts & Science
, Business
, Engineering
, Health Sciences, Kinesiology
, Humanities
, Nursing
, Science
, and Social Sciences
). 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 executive
branch of government is the Executive Board (EB), which comprises 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.
(since 1998), and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
(2001-04 and 2009-present). Prior to 1998, the MSU was Local 14 of the Canadian Federation of Students
.
), radio station (93.3 CFMU-FM
), Student Health Education Centre, and yearbook (Marmor).
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
, in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
History
The McMaster Student Body, the original student government, was formed in 1890 when McMaster University's official first registrants began their studies. In 1911 McMaster women, protesting gender inequality and not being allowed to vote in the general student body elections, elected a female representative student body and formed the Women's Student Body. In 1925, the number of day students began outnumbering the number of residence students. To ensure that both day and resident students were properly represented, the student government split in two bodies, the Student Body and the Residence Council. In 1946 the McMaster Student Body was renamed McMaster Student's Union. In 1971 the MSU was incorporated as a non-profit organization without share capital under the Ontario Corporations Act.The MSU's offices have been located in four buildings over time. First in the Alumni Memorial Building (opened in 1951 as the campus' first student centre), then Wentworth House (1961-74), Hamilton Hall (a former science building renovated to serve as a student centre, 1974-2002), and the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC, 2002-present). Referenda in 1987 and 1989 approved a long-term levy that has funded approximately two-thirds of the $36 million capital costs of the MUSC. Ground for the new building was broken in March 2000 and the official opening took place in September 2002. A student fee retired the remaining term loan in 2010-11.
Scope
The MSU works to enhance both the academic and extracurricular 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 represents approximately 19,500 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. Fees, which are partially courseload-sensitive, are up to a maximum of $462.87 for the MSU, plus up to a further $405.31 in other university supplementary fees which are approved by MSU referenda [2011-12 fee schedule].
Governance
The MSU's Constitution and Bylaws establish the political apparatus of the union and its component organs, while a separate collection of Operating Policies define the functions of service-providing departments and the operating parameters of the organization.The political leadership of the MSU is four 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 by the Student Representative Assembly 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
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
is the Student Representative Assembly (SRA), a 35-member parliament comprising the president, vice-presidents, and 31 elected student representatives from nine (9) academic divisions of the University (Arts & Science
McMaster Arts and Science
The Arts and Science Program is a highly exclusive interdisciplinary undergraduate programme at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario...
, Business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, Health Sciences, Kinesiology
Kinesiology
Kinesiology, also known as human kinetics is the scientific study of human movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, mechanical, and psychological mechanisms. Applications of kinesiology to human health include: biomechanics and orthopedics, rehabilitation, such as physical and occupational...
, Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, Nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
). The SRA is the MSU's highest policy-setting body and has the sole authority to approve and modify legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
and elect officers other than the President.
The executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
branch of government is the Executive Board (EB), which comprises 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
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
and performs planning and priority-setting tasks in a manner somewhat akin to a Westminister
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
-style cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
. 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 $13 million.Affiliated organizations
The MSU is a member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student AllianceOntario Undergraduate Student Alliance
The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance is an alliance of university student governments from across Ontario, Canada. Their common objective is to protect the interests of over 140,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students, and to provide research and...
(since 1998), and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations was formed in 1995 by several post-secondary institutions' student unions who had withdrawn from the Canadian Federation of Students and previously unaffiliated student unions...
(2001-04 and 2009-present). Prior to 1998, the MSU was Local 14 of the Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Federation of Students
The Canadian Federation of Students is the largest student organization in Canada. Founded in 1981, the stated goal of the CFS is to work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education.-Structure:...
.
Services
The MSU employs 36 permanent staff and over 200 part-time student staff. Its more than 30 operational departments include a restaurant-bar (TwelvEighty), First Year Council (FYC), Child Care Centre, convenience store (The Union Market), copy shop (Underground Media + Design), food bank (Mac Bread Bin), games room, newspaper (The SilhouetteThe Silhouette
The Silhouette is a student newspaper at McMaster University, located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is published every Thursday during the academic year, and once during each summer month. The circulation is 10,000 copies per week...
), radio station (93.3 CFMU-FM
CFMU-FM
CFMU-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 93.3 FM in Hamilton, Ontario. It is a campus/community radio station owned and operated by the McMaster Students Union at McMaster University....
), Student Health Education Centre, and yearbook (Marmor).