Successful Students
17 years ago
Monday, June 30, 2008
Shinerama: Bar Blitz #1
This last Saturday marked the first Shinerama Bar Blitz of the year! Myself and Kris Osmond joined our Shinerama Director Krista Ali and a host of other Dalhousie Shiners on the streets and in the bars of Halifax, selling candy, condoms, and glowsticks to the many patrons of our fine licensed establishments. The funds raised in these secondary summer initiatives give a nice kickstart to Shine Day in September, when first year students will flood the streets to raise money for cystic fibrosis research and care. I remember my first Shine Day, and might post pictures of it later. I was beardless, believe it or not! That was the best day of Orientation Week for me in my first year, and as I've stated in my bio, it is Orientation week that got me as involved as I am today, three years on. The Cause is phenomenal, and it feels good to be raising money and awareness about it, but my involvement to this point has always reflected that special place Shinerama holds to me. There will be plenty more opportunity to get involved with Shinerama projects throughout the summer, and I encourage anyone that is interested to partake!
Friday, June 27, 2008
PACS, Laser Fish, and the Driver's Seat
Due to several appointments and a combination of circumstances both expected and unforeseen, 'tis yet again another end of the week posting of my thoughts rather than a daily reflection. Not that this is a bad thing; I think it makes the material more comprehensive and the title more mysterious and amusing.
First off, Laserfiche! Yes, I know, Laser Fish sounds more exciting, and probably would be if it existed. However, Laserfiche is certainly more practical. It is an electronic database of any important documents the DSU possesses. Trouble is, they didn't have online storage technology in the sixties, so many of our documents are in hard copy form only. The Result: a Sunday spent in the office with Courtney, scanning, naming, and filing these old documents. It took time, but we made a dent in the pile. A little dedication and a few weekends here and there and the entire documented history of the DSU should be electronically stored!
PACS was my big thing for Monday. The acronym stands for the Presidents Advisory Council on Sustainability. This meeting addressed policy and direction for sustainability at Dalhousie (note that this is distinct from the DSU's Sustainability Office), and made some progress in this area. There will likely be a presentation of the University's proposed policy at an upcoming meeting of the DSU Council, so keep an eye out if you are interested in that.
As for the rest of the week, I've been keeping busy with various random tasks that occupy me on a regular basis. I'm really looking forward to next week, when I expect the first draft of the DSU Student Handbook (the agenda that comes out every year). This will be pretty basic, as it will primarily contain the material I've submitted laid out nicely on paper. The ads will come in the second copy, and I expect the process to produce a fantastic final product.
Finally, I ought to explain the Driver's Seat reference. This has two meanings, one DSU related and one personal. Courtney is on vacation until July 7, so I'm in the hot seat here at the DSU while she's away. I'm also learning to drive a manual transmission vehicle this weekend. Hopefully I survive both of these experiences to blog again ;-)
First off, Laserfiche! Yes, I know, Laser Fish sounds more exciting, and probably would be if it existed. However, Laserfiche is certainly more practical. It is an electronic database of any important documents the DSU possesses. Trouble is, they didn't have online storage technology in the sixties, so many of our documents are in hard copy form only. The Result: a Sunday spent in the office with Courtney, scanning, naming, and filing these old documents. It took time, but we made a dent in the pile. A little dedication and a few weekends here and there and the entire documented history of the DSU should be electronically stored!
PACS was my big thing for Monday. The acronym stands for the Presidents Advisory Council on Sustainability. This meeting addressed policy and direction for sustainability at Dalhousie (note that this is distinct from the DSU's Sustainability Office), and made some progress in this area. There will likely be a presentation of the University's proposed policy at an upcoming meeting of the DSU Council, so keep an eye out if you are interested in that.
As for the rest of the week, I've been keeping busy with various random tasks that occupy me on a regular basis. I'm really looking forward to next week, when I expect the first draft of the DSU Student Handbook (the agenda that comes out every year). This will be pretty basic, as it will primarily contain the material I've submitted laid out nicely on paper. The ads will come in the second copy, and I expect the process to produce a fantastic final product.
Finally, I ought to explain the Driver's Seat reference. This has two meanings, one DSU related and one personal. Courtney is on vacation until July 7, so I'm in the hot seat here at the DSU while she's away. I'm also learning to drive a manual transmission vehicle this weekend. Hopefully I survive both of these experiences to blog again ;-)
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Another weekend already?
Is it just me, or is the summer flying by? I've been in this job almost two months now, but it seems like no time at all.
I must apologize for my lack of posts in the last week; I've fallen off of the tech train a little in favour of more traditional pursuits like meetings, luncheons, retreats, and other face-to-face methods of communication. This is unusual to me, as most of what I've done up until this point has required a telephone and computer close at hand. Sunday affords me the opportunity to return to this tech-dependent zone as I find some time to relax and get a little bit of work done.
Todays big project is Laserfiche'ing old DSU files; creating an electronic database of our records that will hopefully be more user friendly than traditional filing systems. Myself and Courtney will be tackling that shortly, but first, my inbox beckons! I'll sign off with a promise that I'll be back tomorrow, with a summary of the PACS meeting I will be attending in place of our VP (Education), Mr. Mark Coffin. Tune in tomorrow to find out what that acronym means!
I must apologize for my lack of posts in the last week; I've fallen off of the tech train a little in favour of more traditional pursuits like meetings, luncheons, retreats, and other face-to-face methods of communication. This is unusual to me, as most of what I've done up until this point has required a telephone and computer close at hand. Sunday affords me the opportunity to return to this tech-dependent zone as I find some time to relax and get a little bit of work done.
Todays big project is Laserfiche'ing old DSU files; creating an electronic database of our records that will hopefully be more user friendly than traditional filing systems. Myself and Courtney will be tackling that shortly, but first, my inbox beckons! I'll sign off with a promise that I'll be back tomorrow, with a summary of the PACS meeting I will be attending in place of our VP (Education), Mr. Mark Coffin. Tune in tomorrow to find out what that acronym means!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Weekend milestone
This weekend marked a milestone for me- two days without entering the office. Up until this point, there's not been a day when I haven't come in, which is perhaps understandable given the fact that I live right round the corner and have no computer.
The workload is settling down now as well; the bulk of the epic handbook campaign has been completed for my part, although our editor now has no small task ahead of him in putting all of the info I've given him into a coherent final product! I am excited to see what we end up with.
As for the rest of today, I expect it to continue just like any other day. I came in with a very thin agenda, and yet things keep popping up to keep me occupied. To put this in perspective, I began writing this post at 8:30 this morning, and it is now 12:30. Once business hours hit, there's never a shortage of things to do!
Emails are my next priority, as I still have a few left that came in over the weekend. After that, perhaps a few updates for the website. Afterwards, I may return to the blog and relate my many adventures from the end of last week... Stay Tuned!
The workload is settling down now as well; the bulk of the epic handbook campaign has been completed for my part, although our editor now has no small task ahead of him in putting all of the info I've given him into a coherent final product! I am excited to see what we end up with.
As for the rest of today, I expect it to continue just like any other day. I came in with a very thin agenda, and yet things keep popping up to keep me occupied. To put this in perspective, I began writing this post at 8:30 this morning, and it is now 12:30. Once business hours hit, there's never a shortage of things to do!
Emails are my next priority, as I still have a few left that came in over the weekend. After that, perhaps a few updates for the website. Afterwards, I may return to the blog and relate my many adventures from the end of last week... Stay Tuned!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
June 11 Council Meeting, etc.
Today has been very productive! Several Notices of Motion put through to Council, with modifications to Grants and Society policies that I put forward being of particular interest to myself. Also, all of my committees that I have recruited for to date have enough members now to move forward. The big one outstanding is, of course, Sexton Campus Advisory Committee, but I will be visiting Sexton classes next week to begin spreading the word about this committee and the opportunities that are available for it. Hopefully it will be fully struck at the next DSU Council meeting on July 9 at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.
Earlier in the day I met with the president of Howe Hall to work out some banking issues with him, discussed Health Fair matters with representatives from the Dalhousie Women's Center and Peer Health, attended a meeting about some contracts the DSU is involved with, and worked through my email list.
I still have some emails to send off before calling it a day, but check back tomorrow for more updates, including a meeting with my opposite number at SMUSA!
Earlier in the day I met with the president of Howe Hall to work out some banking issues with him, discussed Health Fair matters with representatives from the Dalhousie Women's Center and Peer Health, attended a meeting about some contracts the DSU is involved with, and worked through my email list.
I still have some emails to send off before calling it a day, but check back tomorrow for more updates, including a meeting with my opposite number at SMUSA!
It begins...
Welcome to my blog!
This year, the executive of the Dalhousie Student Union are taking an active role in sharing our experiences in serving the students of Dalhousie. Our ideas, triumphs, trials, and all sorts of other daily occurrences will appear on our blogs to give you a clear idea of what it is we are up to and to offer you an opportunity to comment on and discuss our actions with us. With your input, we can more effectively work to ensure that your university experience is as exciting as you could wish!
Check back here frequently for updates on my personal experience, and also check out the blogs of my fellow executive, accessible from the "Executive Blogs" button at www.dsu.ca, the Union's website.
I wish you all a great year, and look forward to hearing from you with any questions or comments you have over the course.
Cheers,
Daniel Boyle
Vice-President (Internal)
Dalhousie Student Union
This year, the executive of the Dalhousie Student Union are taking an active role in sharing our experiences in serving the students of Dalhousie. Our ideas, triumphs, trials, and all sorts of other daily occurrences will appear on our blogs to give you a clear idea of what it is we are up to and to offer you an opportunity to comment on and discuss our actions with us. With your input, we can more effectively work to ensure that your university experience is as exciting as you could wish!
Check back here frequently for updates on my personal experience, and also check out the blogs of my fellow executive, accessible from the "Executive Blogs" button at www.dsu.ca, the Union's website.
I wish you all a great year, and look forward to hearing from you with any questions or comments you have over the course.
Cheers,
Daniel Boyle
Vice-President (Internal)
Dalhousie Student Union
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