President

Kent Peterson

President’s Message

Congratulations on choosing the University of Regina for your studies, and welcome to this well-respected institution. It is a distinct honour of mine to represent students as president of the University of Regina Students’ Union, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. A large number of our members are enrolled through the federated collages of Campion and Luther, or the First Nations University of Canada; these three entities are important aspects of our campus and I encourage you to learn more about them. Also, my hope is that students will get involved with groups such as the students’ union, the UR Pride Centre, the Women’s Centre, the Carillon Newspaper, and the Fifth Parallel Gallery, among others. These on-campus organizations are invaluable in creating friendships, building skills, and making this university a better place.

Many new and exciting initiatives will be launched this year. The UR Pride Centre will be implementing a positive space network to ensure students of all orientations and identities can feel safe in a growing number of places at the university.  The Owl will be serving more gluten-free and halal options, and the union will be increasing accountability and transparency measures. For instance, we will be posting the dates of board meetings well in advance, as well as publishing and posting a draft agenda for each meeting.  Monthly financial updates will also be published so students know how their money is being spent. Furthermore, the union executive will be holding monthly question and answer periods, which will allow students to come and get answers to questions in a public forum.

This upcoming year will feature regular theatre productions, art installations, and sporting events.  These are significant not only for the exhibition of students’ creativity and athletic endurance, but socially as well. Such events create a community and a network, both of which are valuable over the duration of a program, and beyond.

Finally, a major upcoming initiative for the students’ union is the Freeze Tuition Now campaign. I hope student will join with us as we pressure the provincial government to give students a break. Over the past three years tuition has skyrocketed over 11 percent, all while Regina faces an affordable housing crisis the likes of which we have never experienced before. In addition to that, utility rates have been increasing, as well as the price of groceries and fuel. Many students also have a difficult time finding childcare, most notably affordable childcare. Therefore, the ever-increasing rate of tuition is unacceptable for a province that has record revenues and a surplus budget.

With that, I would like to wish all new and returning students good luck in their studies.