Hi Everyone,
My name is Saad Aslam and I’m this year’s Vice President: University Affairs for the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union. I am currently entering my 5th year of study in a double bachelors of arts in Psychology and Political Science. For my first blog post I thought I’d just touch on some of the stuff currently happening at Laurier and with myself!
The summer at Laurier is always quiet in the sense that there aren’t very many students around since most classes are not offered during the summer semester. However, it is always a very busy time for administration as well as the student executive in terms of planning and goal setting for the year to come. My role as VP:UA has been off to a furious pace over the last two months as I’ve been on the road a lot for transition and strategic planning conferences. This past weekend, I was away for a training retreat with the rest of the WLUSU student executive and the 40 or so student coordinators from our Brantford and Waterloo campuses. It was great to get to know a lot of the new faces and witness all of the excitement and positive energy from the weekend. I am really excited to see everyone’s ideas and hard work come to fruition over the next 10 months!
Another welcome part of the summer is the inevitable on-campus renovations that occur. In Waterloo, the big project this year is an expansion of the Terrace Food Court that encompasses the bottom floor of the Fred Nichols Campus Centre. Since the double cohort year, the undergraduate population has grown by sizeable amounts each year while most facilities have been stagnant in terms of capacity. This year the incoming first year class at Laurier is about 4500 students which is an increase of over 6%. Last year it seemed that the Terrace was bumping every time I went for a meal this size expansion should help accommodate the rush – especially at peak times.
Over the summer I am also taking a few courses online at the University of Guelph in order to gain additional credits so I can complete my degree (they are also not offered at Laurier over the summer). As a student who has always had to work during the school year to support paying for my education I really appreciate the flexibility that online courses allow. I am really interested to see what the Ontario government plans for the Ontario Online Institute which we should hear about more in the coming months. Hopefully, the Online Institute facilities an easier credit transfer system for students. Personally speaking, it was definitely a challenging process for me this year to ensure I did everything correctly to earn credit for taking the classes at Guelph on my Laurier record.
Well that’s all for me until my next blog entry. If there’s ever anything you want to talk about don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail!
-Saad Aslam
Vice President University Affairs
Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union
Great first blog Saad! Here at Home Officer we love to hear about what is going on at WL, WLUSU and with you!