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Society Life in FCS

Posted by Emily Edwards on March 11, 2016 in Students, News

»ÆÉ«Ö±²¥ Computer Science Society (CSS)

The CSS represents all undergraduate students in the faculty of computer science. We promote student interests in the faculty and at a university level. Our mission is to advocate for students, and to promote a welcoming and inclusive environment.

How to get involved

Everyone in the Faculty of Computer Science is already a member of the Computer Science Society. As a member, you have the right to attend meetings, voice your opinion, and run for council. The council usually consists of a diverse bunch of students. Men, women, LGTBQ+, international students, are welcome and encouraged to attend. Our goal is to make the faculty inclusive, and to provide services and events for students.

A great way to get involved is to come to our bi-weekly meetings. Expect to be informed as an agenda will be distributed beforehand. There is no commitment to attend these meetings. If you feel like it was not something you want to continue, that’s fine, you can contribute in other ways. Feel free to reach out to any of the council members and they can provide you with lots of information.

CSS Roles

Executive:

  • The President (currently: Richard Sage)
    President is responsible for representing the society as head of the executive. The president is the first contact for all activities, opportunities, and involvement within the society. They are the person who is most involved and dedicated.
  • Vice President Internal (currently: Maryam Akbar)
    VP-Internal is responsible for reporting on activities within the faculty. They attend all Faculty meetings, Dean’s Executive meetings, and all other groups that student representation is a necessity.
  • Vice President External (currently: Raphael Bronfman-Nadas)
    VP-External is responsible for reporting on activities outside the faculty. They are in close contact with the »ÆÉ«Ö±²¥ Student Union. This position’s goal is to represent all CS student interests to the university.
  • Treasurer (currently: Jonathan Reyes)
    The treasurer is responsible for handling all financial matters of the society. They keep record of all transactions, handling reimbursements, invoices, and prepare a budget. It is their job to make sure the funding is used in an appropriate manner.
  • Secretary (currently: Brandon Poole)
    The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at all the meetings as well as preparing correspondence on behalf of the society.

Council:

  • Graduate Representative (currently: Daniel Yule)
  • Junior Undergraduate Representative (currently: open)
  • Senior Undergraduate Representative (currently: Eric Nguyen)
  • Undergraduate Representative (currently: open)
  • Undergraduate Informatics Representative (currently: open)
  • Co-op Representative (currently: open) 
  • Social Representative (currently: Sarah Colborne)
  • Athletic Representative (currently: open)
  • Member-At-Large (currently: Yuxuan Zhao)
  • Bar Manager (currently: Kristofer Pervin)
  • Society Desk Manager (currently: Aimee Burrow)

Important Dates

Election Dates:

  • Submission of Nominations Deadline: March 15, 2016
  • List of Candidates Announcement: March 15, 2016
  • Voting period: March 15-28, 2016
  • Announcement of Results: March 29, 2016
  • Annual General Meeting: March 29, 2016, 7:00pm 
  • Transition Period: April 1-30, 2016
  • New Position Starts: May 1, 2016

Upcoming Event Dates:

  • Game Jame: March 19, 2016, 10:00am - March 20, 2016, 5:00pm
  • Geek Beer: March 18, 2016, 7:00pm
  • Geek Films: March 26, 2016

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Computer Science Graduate Society (CSGS)

The Society’s mission is to work towards an inclusive and welcoming environment at the Faculty by coordinating and promoting activities that help advance the interest of Computer Science graduate students, and presenting a unified voice for its membership in discussions both inside and outside »ÆÉ«Ö±²¥, particularly when such discussions may affect the Society’s membership.

How to get involved

Any graduate student enrolled within the Faculty of Computer Science is part of the Society’s membership, they are eligible to nominate themselves or a fellow CS grad to a CSGS Council position, and are free contact any Council member or attend any of CSGS’ Council meetings and events which is great for grad students who are considering being involved with CSGS but would like meet Council members or get more information about the Society and what it involves.

Even graduate students from other faculties, who are taking a graduate course offered by the Faculty of Computer Science, can become involved in CSGS by becoming honorary members of the Society.

CSGS Roles

Getting involved with CSGS provides a great opportunity for CS grads to work with a great group of graduate students towards improving the grad work environment at FCS. As a council member you get lots of opportunities to network and develop inter-personal skills, and also get to work with other societies and committees at FCS such as the Computer Science Society, the Women in Technology Society, and the Culture of Respect in Computer Science Committee, as well as external organizations and companies.

The CSGS Council is made up of 11 members. Five elected executive officers, five program representatives and one member-at-large.

Executive:

  • The President (currently: Gabriella Mosquera)
    The President of the society not only acts as Chair to the CSGS Council and Head of the Executive but is also responsible facilitating the creation of an annual vision for the Society, acting as ex-officio member in all committees of the Society, overseeing the Society’s operations, managing meeting minutes, and representing the Society as the head of the Executive both within the Faculty of Computer Science and to external Faculties and organizations. During election time, the President acts as the Election Chair (unless they are considering running for that election) and helps during the transition period following an election. During ratification time, the President oversees that all ratification requirements are met and facilitates the Society’s ratification in collaboration with the VP-External.
  • The Vice-President Internal (currently: Jeremy Porter)
    The VP-Internal’s main roll is to act as a liaison between the Faculty of Computer Science and the CSGS membership, they sit on the Dean's Executive, the Faculty Council, the Graduate Committee, and other Faculty of Computer Science committees as the Graduate Student Representative for Computer Science in order to deal with internal matters faced by the Society (e.g., courses, faculty, curriculum). The VP-Internal also works with Program Representatives when matters up for discussion at a committee are pertinent to their respective constituents.
  • The Vice-President External (currently: Daniel Yule)
    The VP-External’s acts as the go-between with the »ÆÉ«Ö±²¥ Computer Science Society and all organizations external to the Faculty of Computer Science (e.g., DSU, DAGS, and their respective committees), and helps deal with all external Society issues including non-campus activities, and community service. The VP-External also facilitates the Society’s ratification in collaboration with the President.
  • The Treasurer (currently: Dijana Kosmajac)
    The CSGS Treasurer is responsible for maintaining up-to-date and accurate records of all revenues and expenditures within the Society, giving a monthly statement of accounts, and providing a report each semester showing the financial position of the Council. During election time, the Treasurer also prepares and presents a year-end report, which includes a proposed budget for the upcoming year. During the transition period following an election, the outgoing Treasurer presents their year-end report, and provides guidance and training to the incoming Treasurer. Additionally, the Treasurer is also responsible for maintaining an up-to-date detailed budget book which outlines all accounting procedures used in the society, and includes all the necessary materials for Audits carried by the »ÆÉ«Ö±²¥ Association of Graduate Students.
  • The Secretary (currently: Saurabh Dey)
    The CSGS Secretary is responsible for recording and distributing Council and Executive meeting minutes, communicating all motions to members of the Society, and coordinating all of CSGS’ publicity and communication channels.

Council:

The CSGS Council also counts with representation for each graduate program at FCS. The PhD, MCS, MACS, MHI, and MEC Program Representatives represent their respective student bodies at Council meetings and Faculty committee meetings, inform the Council and their constituents of meeting procedures, and contribute to CSGS Council meetings by voicing any ideas, comments, suggestions or complaints that their constituents may have. Finally, the Member-At-Large represents the Graduate Student body at the Faculty of Computer Science as a whole.

  • PhD Rep (currently: Sara Khanchi)
  • MHI Rep (currently: Albee Zhan)
  • MEC Rep (currently: Carlos Ureta)
  • MCS Rep (currently: Bandar Albarakati)
  • MACS Rep (currently: Antony Raphy)
  • Member-at-Large (currently: Hossein Mohammadhassanzadeh)

Important Dates

Election Dates:

The CSGS elections for new Council members take place during the month of March, which allows for the month of April to be used as a transition period where the Outgoing and Incoming Council can work together. The Call for Nominations for the 2016-2017 Elections has just been announced, any Computer Science graduate student can nominate themselves or a fellow CS graduate student for a position until March 12th. The voting period starts on March 14th and ends on March 28th. The announcement of results is made at the CSGS Annual General Meeting, which will be on March 31st, 2016.

  • Submission of Nominations Deadline: March 12, 2016, 11:59PM
  • List of Candidates Announcement: March 14, 2016
  • Voting period: March 14-28, 2016
  • Announcement of Results: March 31, 2016
  • Annual General Meeting: March 31, 2016
  • Transition Period: April 1-30, 2016
  • New Position Starts: May 1, 2016

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The »ÆÉ«Ö±²¥ Women in Technology Society (WiTS)

Our mission is promoting gender and racial equality in the university and technology sector. Our efforts to promote equality include community-based initiatives such as introducing female students in high school to coding, as well as hosting educational networking events for university students. We also welcome members and exec who don’t identify as female to work on spreading the word of equality and equal opportunity through our Faculty and our community.

How to get involved

We are always welcoming new members! Everyone is free to join – you don’t need to identify as female to participate. As long as you support the cause of equality in the tech sector and our faculty we welcome you!

You can get involved by coming to our meetings and meeting some of the current members. We plan a lot of events so some of our meetings are pretty hectic – but please come out and introduce yourself none-the-less! Also we encourage supporters to subscribe to our newsletter if you can’t make it out to the meetings on a regular basis: eepurl.com/bRIsAD

WiTS Roles

Executive:

  • The President (currently: Brittany Kelly)
    In a nut shell, the President leads the meetings and handles most of the public representation for the society.
  • Vice President (currently: Aleysha Mullen)
    The president’s backup when they need help. Performs duties when the President is absent.
  • Treasurer (currently: Mimi Cahill)
    Manages all financial account of the society.
  • Secretary (currently: Sarah Young)
    Handler of meeting minutes and making sure those minutes get distributed.
  • Communications Representative (currently: Emily Edwards)
    Helps keep a handle on all the email correspondence, and coordinating publicity on behalf of the council.
  • Social Representative (currently: Keerthana Kumar)
    Plans and executes WiTS Social events
  • Education Representative (currently: Eman Alyami)
    Plans and coordinates educational events.
  • Member at Large (currently: open)
    Represents WiTS as a whole and acts on the direction of the WiTS Council.

Council:

  • CoRe Representatives (currently: James Walker and Amina Abawajy)
  • Technical Coordinator (currently: Alex Nunes)

Important Dates

Election Dates:

  • Submission of Nominations Deadline: March 17, 2016
  • List of Candidates Announcement: March 21, 2016
  • Voting period: March 21-29, 2016
  • Announcement of Results: March 30, 2016
  • Annual General Meeting: March 30, 2016, 7:00pm
  • Transition Period: April 1-30, 2016
  • New Position Starts: May 1, 2016

Upcoming Event Dates: 

  • We Talk Tech: March 15th, 2016, 5:00pm