From L to R: BCITSA Executives Alexander Clarke, Amanda Ding, Jamie Haakons, Caroline Gagnon (Director), Dylan Smith, Allen Depa, Tony Atkins.
BCIT’s Student Council met again this Tuesday, October 7th. The meeting began with a concern voiced by Anya Besharah, an Environmental Health student, who asked about BCIT’s policy on electronic cigarettes.
Subsequent to Vancouver City Councillors’ vote to ban e-cigarettes in public spaces, Besharah was interested in knowing how this would affect BCIT policy. Many councillors particularly wanted to know if there would be a difference in policy between the Downtown campus and those campuses outside of the city.
One student complained about the use of e-cigarettes during class and was particularly concerned with the nicotine-infused liquid many of the cartridges use. Dylan Smith, the President of the Association, will look into the matter and report in the next council meeting.
Another issue that arose was regarding the dental services offered on campus, because hygienists have allegedly been receiving patients contrary to Section 6(1) of the guidelines for Dental Hygienists in B.C., which state no registrant may practice dental hygiene unless the patient has been examined by a dentist within the previous 365 days.
However, according to Caroline Gagnon, Student Association Director, she received a memo explaining BCIT is exempt to the guidelines.
Student Councillors at the Oct. 7 meeting.
Following this issue, the By-Law committee was brought up again this meeting because more councillors were needed to form the working group. This committee is particularly important according to VP External, Tyra Bermudez, who pointed out the urgency of revising and adapting the by-laws to have a strong blueprint for the Student Association — which handles a 7.6 million dollar budget.
Also at the meeting, the 20 student councillors in attendance received training from Gagnon regarding Robert’s Rules of Order used to run the assembly.
The next Council meeting will take place October 20th.
