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Hello MRU students,

The start of another exciting summer is upon us. Whether you plan to start an internship, travel the world, or toss your grad cap up in the air, we hope you’ve been enjoying this well-deserved time and taking tons of photos to capture the countless memories 2024 holds. As it turns out, your Representation Executive Council (REC) has been doing just that, snapping pics as they advocate for what matters most to you, MRU students!

SAMRU’s Representation Executive Council is comprised of four students, selected by the Student Governing Board (SGB) and elected by students to serve the interests of all SAMRU members. From issues on campus all the way to the federal government, REC is the frontline for all things student advocacy.

From left to right, this year’s REC team is:

• REC Vice-President Student Affairs Anisa Tilston (she/they)
• REC Vice-President External Genri Liclican (she/her)
• REC President Tala Abu Hayyaneh (she/her)
• REC Vice-President Academic Fiona Chetty (she/her)

Keep scrolling through to see how your REC team has been advocating for you throughout the first months of their terms!

Alpine advocacy with CAUS

SAMRU is a member of the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), a provincial advocacy group composed of student representatives from five Alberta post-secondaries, who voice student concerns on issues including tuition fees and university funding. 

Representing SAMRU members as delegates, Genri and Tala joined CAUS in Canmore to meet and network with their new CAUS counterparts and learn the ropes of their new provincial positions. They were also joined by a couple of familiar faces on their trip!

Going national with CASA

After their networking in the mountains, REC was swiftly off to Ottawa, where they joined the Canadian Association of Student Associations (CASA) for its CASA Foundations 2024 meeting. CASA is a federal advocacy group of which SAMRU is a member, advocating for post-secondary issues and policy at the national scale. 

Once again representing your Students’ Association, Genri and Tala headed to the nation’s capital to attend CASA’s Annual General Meeting, vote on policies for the next year, and meet with their cross-country counterparts!

Making waves at the Student Leader Orientation

Following their return to Wild Rose Country, your REC President and VP External were back up to Edmonton for the annual Student Leader Orientation (SLO), hosted by Minister Rajan Sawhney.

The SLO is held annually by the Minister of Advanced Education to provide elected student representatives with the resources and connections to advocate to the provincial government over their terms.

On top of the world at the Healthy Campus Summit

Edmonton conferences weren’t reserved exclusively for Student Leader orientations and networking, however. Your VPSA, Anisa, took to the province’s capital to attend the Healthy Campus Summit. 

At the conference, she sat in on the discussions of more peer support networks and recovery programming on campuses, the implementation of reflective and humanizing dialogue in a university setting, and how your Students’ Association can make health services more easily accessible to students!

Seeing Green at the Green Line LRT

After years of preparation and construction, the City of Calgary has entered the final stage of Green Line LRT construction. Spanning from Eau Claire downtown all the way to Shepard in the southeast, this CTrain expansion will be vital for students looking to commute to campus efficiently with fewer transfers.🚆

Anisa, Tala, and Genri were invited to a sneak preview of the Green Line. Here, they met with City officials to share the student perspective and the convenience this train line will provide. They also got a preview of the new space-efficient train cars the Green Line will be using.

MLA meetups!

While many of REC’s early advocacy efforts have taken place across the city and even the country, they’ve been hard at work engaging with local politicians. 

REC met with NDP MLA Amanda Chapman to discuss student support networks as they transition into the post-secondary environment. Joining her was a staffer you may recognize—Travis Imber, a previous REC Tuition and Fee Consultation Committee (TFCC) volunteer.

Celebrating the class of 2024

As students prepared to receive their degree parchments and take the next step in their life’s journey, REC was in the crowds and on stage, sharing the biggest of congratulations with the class of 2024. 

Tala was present on the stage at convocation as MRU Board of Governors members, smiling proudly as she and her fellow students celebrated one of life’s biggest milestones.

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REC members are employed full-time in their respective roles for a year, which means every day involves advocacy and representation happening behind the scenes — all dedicated to improving your student experience at MRU. You can visit this link to learn more about your student representatives this year, along with updated position descriptions of each member of REC, position statements, and advocacy priorities, and you could even learn how YOU can become an elected student representative!

To follow along with your new REC team as they begin their 2024-25 terms advocating for you, stay glued to our socials @samrurec on X (formerly Twitter) and @samrubuzz on Instagram.

Are you looking for an opportunity to get involved with your REC team? This summer, your Representation Executive Council (REC) will be filling student volunteer roles and a part-time staff role to help with their advocacy efforts. These are some of the best opportunities around to get involved with your elected representatives and help improve campus life. Check out this form to learn about each position and sign up to be notified when positions go live.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to email your representatives at representation@samru.ca.