Advocacy group finding footing at first-year mark

The Halifax Student Alliance has been lobbying the city on behalf of the student community since last fall. They made some important advances in their first year, but the group also had to focus on organizing itself.

The Halifax Student Alliance aims to represent Halifax’s student population on the municipal level, but only three schools are on board and the alliance’s top spot is currently vacant.

The alliance finally has its financial and structural framework settled, but it may begin its second year without an executive director.

How it started

In 2006 Mayor Peter Kelly commissioned a roundtable on violence in Halifax.  It included a survey conducted during the summer, when most of Halifax’s student population is gone.

Representatives from several university student unions created the alliance last November, partly in response to this oversight. The alliance conducted its own student survey on violence in the city and found that students are disproportionately affected.

Most student advocacy groups focus on education quality issues, Chair Mark Coffin says, while the alliance emphasizes day-to-day life.  Their priorities include transportation, safety and affordable housing.

The alliance represents three of Halifax’s seven universities 

The alliance is funded by students at Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s and NSCC.  Full-time students are charged a dollar every semester.  Part-time students pay a dollar per year.

King’s, NSCAD, Mount Saint Vincent and the Atlantic School of Theology are not involved with the group.

Kaley Kennedy, the president of the King’s student union, says her school has not been invited to join, but King’s is satisfied with the work of advocacy groups on the provincial and federal level, she says.

NSCAD student union president Emily Davidson says their student union has declined involvement with the alliance. “The Halifax Student Alliance doesn’t align with our view of what a student union should be.” She says the alliance is more concerned with networking and preparing members for life in politics rather than lobbying the government. “We try to run NSCAD as a grassroots organization, taking mandate from students instead of any other group,” Davidson says.

Framework

The alliance’s board consists of nine people.  Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s and NSCC each have three representatives on the board. The board has a chair, vice-chair, and treasurer.  To ensure the universities are represented equally, someone from each of the three schools must hold one of these positions.

Coffin is a member of the Dalhousie student union, Vice-Chair Brittany Hilton is part of Saint Mary’s student council, and Treasurer Megan Roberge is president of the NSCC Waterfront Campus’ Student Association.

There is also an executive director role. It is the only paid position and it’s unique to the alliance.  Calgary and Edmonton are the only other Canadian cities with similar student advocacy groups, says Coffin, and neither have a paid, full-time position.

The group refuses to release its budget, “mainly due to HR reasons, and salary confidentiality,” says Coffin. But based on enrolment at the member schools and the alliance’s financing structure, this year’s total budget must be somewhere between $45,000 and $50,000.  Coffin says most of the money goes toward paying the executive director’s salary.

Executive Director Tara Gault recently stepped down, and the alliance has yet to find a replacement.  Gault says she resigned to accept a job offer from the Liberal party.  The alliance is looking for someone with policy experience and a background in municipal government, says Coffin.

Looking forward

In the meantime, board members have a lot to work on.  Priorities for this year include amending regulations that limit where students can vote, and establishing a late-night bus service.  The Halifax Institute of Criminology recommended the bus service based on the surveys on violence.

Coffin says Municipal Relations Minister Jamie Weir has committed to giving students the option to vote where they study, and the bus service should be discussed at the City Council’s next budget meeting.

“If we achieve those two things, that’s very, very successful for an advocacy organization,” says Coffin.

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