Starting any new job brings with it a myriad amount of new rules and regulations to read through, not to mention the new bounds and focus which you'd find yourself adjusting to. Having just been elected as representative to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, I have found myself cramming through Robert's Rules of Orders and the SUO constitution just as much as I have on Hobbes and Kant. In that spirit, I figured that it would be best for both myself and those students I will come to represent starting this May to have a better understanding of the SUO and its bounds.

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To begin with, the Students' Union Okanagan stands to represent all of us, as students. We pay our union dues alongside our tuition, and they then use that money to fund programs like PICNIC and the Pantry, as well as providing money to campus clubs, not to mention the bus pass and health plan. Decisions relating to how that money is doled out, what policies on campus are made, the budget, and so on, are decided by various committees, with voting members on that board elected by the student body. As for the budget, only members of the SUO such as the General Manager, Finance Manager and VP Finance work on the SUO budget — while they might seek collaboration with the university occasionally, their budgets and policies are entirely separate. 

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The members of the SUO Board of Directors act as the voting members on committees and broader board-wide decisions, like the ratification of clubs. This board is made up of elected officials chosen by students every year; those directors are meant to represent a certain demographic of the student body, or to take on exceptional responsibilities. 

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Take me, for instance: I was elected to represent the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, so I will work to reach out to clubs within my faculty and offer them assistance as an organizational force, while also taking in concerns from students and acting in accordance with their requests. I will work on some — though not all — committees, and will then be able to bring forward issues relevant to that committee, so if I'm placed on the policy committee and want to implement a new policy, then I can write up a proposal for that policy and have it voted on by the committee. Alternatively, if an issue relating to policy comes before the committee and I feel as though voting one way or another is in the best interests of my faculty and the student body at-large, then I'll vote accordingly.

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The question remains, however — what can the SUO actually do? How much is within the purview of the union, and how much is up to the University administration? 

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The fastest and simplest explanation I've been able to find is that the SUO's purview is over everything which it pays for, while also mediating issues between students and the university administration itself. In practical terms, this means that you would have to talk to the SUO in order to table in the UNC (which the SUO rents the entirety of the first floor of), start or organize a club, or talk with the SUO about bus fares (which liaise with BC Transit, as the SUO Fee covers the cost of the U-Pass). Meanwhile, you would go to the university administration for matters relating to tuition raises, or constructing a new building for classes.

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The SUO-University divide tends to be an arbitrary thing, so I would recommend looking to the SUO's website and the Student Association Handbook, both found online at suo.ca. The general rule which I've found most helpful is that "if the SUO pays for it, it's their jurisdiction, and if the university pays for it, it's their jurisdiction," though it's best to double-check these matters — the SUO's office is open most weekdays and accepts walk-in meetings on quiet days, and as I can attest from experience, they're typically comprehensive in their assistance to anyone who should need any help of any kind.

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Evidently, 750 words are insufficient to explain to you how every aspect of student government works — I can't promise you that the full explanations are any simpler, either. However, what I can assure you is that if you have a question, there are places you can go. Whether that's the SUO's office in the UNC or if you happen to spot me walking around campus (look for the guy with the necktie and briefcase, you can't miss him), then never hesitate to ask. After all, the whole point of the SUO is that we work for you — otherwise, what's the point?