Talia Radcliffe, AMS President
Today, tomorrow and Thursday education students will be afforded an opportunity to vote on their continued hip in the AMS, which we view as a chance to reaffirm the value the AMS offers education students. The AMS offers students far more than the SGPS. We believe it is clear that secession from the AMS by the Education Student Society would bring not only significant financial cost to the individual education student but would also compromise their best interests in of advocacy and the quality of their overall experience at Queen’s. In of student fees, while the SGPS is promising a reduction in fees for education students for the 2009-10 year, the AMS has already completed these negotiations and is guaranteeing a 23 per cent reduction in mandatory fees next year. While the SGPS is promising to reduce education students’ fees for AMS services, they have not yet approached us for any such negotiations. As such, if they fulfill this promise, they will have to cover the difference in fees internally.
Our Health & Dental plan, which includes travel insurance, is demonstrably superior to that of the SGPS. For single students, our plan is $200 cheaper, and for students with dependants, the savings approach $500. The AMS also has staff available from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day of the week to promptly respond to any inquiries.
The AMS is the oldest student government in Canada and currently represents nearly 13,500 of the 16,500 full-time students at Queen’s University. In addition to all undergraduates, the AMS represents professional students in programs such as MBA and Medicine. We enjoy a longstanding rapport with the Queen’s istration and a unique history of active participation in University governance that cannot be matched by the SGPS. In 2002, when the istration was pushing for deregulation of education students’ tuition, the AMS successfully defeated this action and kept your tuition low. And it is the AMS who provided the $750,000 endowment for the establishment of the Centre for Teaching and Learning and who has funded innumerable improvements to equipment and facilities in the PEC.
The AMS has 70 full-time staff, 500 part-time staff and 1,000 volunteers all there to serve you. When you ride the bus, use the Publishing and Copy Centre, order a coffee from the Common Ground, have a drink at the QP or read this newspaper, you are using an AMS service. Moreover, when education students run an event, it is the AMS that provides the necessary insurance coverage of up to $2 million.
We offer value in experience, value for your money and value through effective advocacy. We value your hip, and what we offer far sures anything the SGPS can provide. I urge each education student to vote no to leaving the AMS and no to ing the SGPS.
Mark Rosner, SGPS Vice-Presdient (External)
Why should education students the SGPS? Here are a few reasons why we think it’s a good idea:
1) Representation: Right now, the SGPS has a member of our executive, the Vice-President Internal (Professional), who is mandated to represent and advocate for the needs of professional students. Were ESS students to the SGPS, we would establish the position of an Education Commissioner so education students could liaise and communicate directly with the SGPS executive. Finally, under the SGPS bylaws, B.Ed. students would be entitled to four voting on the SGPS Council. 2) Services: The SGPS provides a comprehensive health and dental program, designed for and by SGPS . We also operate the Student Advisor program, a free, confidential service dedicated to helping students who may run into academic or non-academic problems while at Queen’s. Other services SGPS access free of charge are ISIC cards and tax software (U-File), a 50 per cent discount on GoodLife hip, a variety of bursaries (Dental Bursary, Sports Fund, Grants Program), a bevy of social events and a bi-weekly newsletter to keep you up to date with what’s happening at the SGPS and Queen’s.
3) Advocacy: The SGPS speaks for Queen’s graduate and professional students. Because we represent such a diverse group, we strive to meet the specific needs of our , rather than having a one-size fits all model. For example, the SGPS helped gain access to specialized equipment at local industries for art conservation students and helped arrange internships for urban planning students with the city. We plan on being strong and vocal advocates for ESS students.
4) Fees: It’s true. The SGPS health/dental plan costs more than the AMS’s. That’s partly because they have more . With 700 new students ing the SGPS, we could negotiate lower rates. But the SGPS, in recognition of the little amount of time education students spend on campus, is proposing to halve all mandatory fees for ESS students. Some fees (Bus-It and Athletics) we may not be able to change. But even if we can’t change those fees, ESS students will still save more than $60 by ing the SGPS compared to what you pay now. Our website, sgps.ca, has a detailed fee comparison.
5) Fit: The SGPS is a good fit for education students. Education students, just like the other of the SGPS, are doing post-graduate studies. Many of our are also in professional programs. Education students have thought about ing the SGPS for years now because we share so many common concerns and common ground. It’s time to make these thoughts reality.
Those are some of the reasons we think ESS students should vote yes to ing the SGPS this week.
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