Saskatoon Public Interest Research Group

1. Welcome to New Comers:

explanation/definition of PIRG and its initiatives

Review of Mission Statement

Review of Values

2. Ratification Update -We have paid fees and applied for ratification -Constitution has been amended

3. Working Group Update Social Media Working Group: -Have set up a twitter, instagram, and tumblr account

 Faculty Groups: - A number of professors have been contacted and are sympathetic to our cause

 Art Group: -Looked at logo ideas -Theme of bridge was most popular -Pamphlets will be made for next meeting

Campus Clubs: -Discussed the idea of meeting with other campus clubs during our meeting time to let them know what we’re doing and what they think and how our cause is applicable with their values -Framework of that process needs to be worked out

Petition: -Has been made

4. USSU Meeting: -Discussed the results of the USSU Meeting -Student council needs to be approached 

4.5. What Stems from USSU Meeting: -Will likely have trouble with adding the fee to tuition, regardless of the referendum results

5. Table in the tunnels

1. Overview: What we’re doing and how to do it (2 different ways to hold a referendum, what a PIRG is):

2 ways to call for a referendum:

1. Present a petition signed by 5% of all undergraduate students to the USC, who then vote on it. Majority vote plus one is required for referendum.

2. Take a proposal to the executives. They take it to the USC --> Requires 2/3 support from council

Referendum is held by a student vote. 10% of members need to vote, majority need to vote in favour.

2. Ratification: We will be applying for ratification this week, as well as building and maintain solidarity with other campus clubs and student and community initiatives throughout the campaign.

3. Timeline: We decided to talk to the USSU executive, start a petition, and approach the USC as soon as we feel prepared to do so.

4. Working Groups

We created 6 working groups:

Social Media – in charge of facebook page and twitter

Faculty – in charge of approaching faculty members

Art – in charge of the logo, handbills, posters, buttons, etc.

Campus Clubs – in charge of communicating with clubs on campus

Petition – in charge of creating a petition

Newspaper article – in charge of writing a newspaper article

Common Social Values to be promoted by Every Working Group:

1. Transparency 2. Inclusiveness • Open-minded inclusiveness for all political party supporters and ideologies – non-partisan • We are inclusive to those who act in support of/consistently with the views and intentions of PIRG. 3. Accountability - Do what you say you will and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Mission Statement:

We are trying to establish a student-funded resource centre dedicated to social, environmental, and economic justice in the form of a Public Interest Research Group on the U of S campus.

Additional notes:

We hope to put more power in the hands of students, avoiding the limitations of the Student’s Union by establishing an entity that operates separately. We hope to serve as a healthy partner to the Students Union.

The next meeting will be held on Friday, January 25th at 4 PM in the STM Cafeteria.

We hope to have accomplished the following things:

What is going on?

Meeting with members from the Regina Public Interest Group (RPIRG) is November 9th at 3:00pm at the USSU Council Chambers. It is an open meeting so anyone interested can attend

 Sustainability of our group is one of the topics we want to talk about along with strategy in continuing this initiative in the future

Things we can do to increase awareness of our group: Have an article written for the Sheaf and have a weekly or bimonthly meeting in the same spot on campus where we can have an open discussions 

Last year the members started having discussions and established logistics on what needed to get to happen to get the group started. A referendum will be necessary

Re-ratification

We already have a constitution, and we will be putting it up on Facebook page soon

We want to improve our Facebook page, and post more community events - Sarah will be an administrator on the Facebook page 

Elect new executive

President – Grace Schenher

Co-President – Sarah Johnson

Secretary - Alex Werenka

Treasurer – Seth Deuck 

Things needed for ratification 

Grace will contact a community group regarding the $100 ratification fee

We already have a bank account

We already have over 15 members for signatures

Referendum

Through the executive to USC (needs 2/3 approval). If it is approved, it will go to a student vote which will need a 10% quorum simple majority

Petition will need 5% of student body, and needs majority +1 vote with the USC then it will go to student vote which will need a 10% quorum simple majority. Dan will investigate who is on the USC so we can connect with them and see what their support will be like for our re-ratification - There are 25 members (depending on the route we take for re-ratification, we will either need 17 or 13 of their votes

 Get in touch with faculty members who will be willing to, or have mentioned in the past that they would be willing to help and support our group

Should create a mission statement to facilitate “feeling” process on USC

Kota makes argument that the PIRG needs to be a political organization, and feels it should be accessible to graduate students