TANNARA YELLAND
Associate News Editor

College of Pharmacy and Nutrition councillor Roger Loor asked the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union executive about the plan to incorporate a third Unversity Students’ Council representative for colleges with more than 5,000 students.

Currently colleges with fewer than 1,000 students have one representative and those with more have two representatives. Arts and science, education, the Edwards School of Business, engineering, St. Thomas More and pharmacy and nutrition are the colleges that currently have two representatives.

USSU president Warren Kirkland answered that the change is “still under consideration” but that “at this time, there are no changes being made.”

If the change were effected, the colleges of education and engineering and the ESB would remain with two representatives. Those present at the Oct. 15 USC meeting could not remember which other colleges would keep two representatives.

Ben Fawcett, USSU vice-president student affairs, answered another of Loor’s questions by explaining that the U of S childcare service offered to students is still owned by the USSU. He added that “there is a possibility that the USSU may be able to” put its childcare service in Brunskill school, which is within walking distance of the main U of S campus.

Kirkland then introduced Amanda Smytaniuk, the prairie program manager for Student Care, who gave an address to council. Student Care provides the health and dental plans for U of S students.

“Amanda is our health care representative from Student Care,” Kirkland said. “She manages our accounts and regularly comes to council to present information about what’s going on with our account. Right now she’s going to give us a presentation on the health and dental plan.”

Smytaniuk began with an overview of what Student Care is and does.

“This is a service that your USSU provides you that we manage, and we just want to get as much information out there so that as many students as possible are taking advantage of the benefits of it,” she said.

She went on to explain that the main reason behind the student health and dental plans is that students should be able to access health care and should not have to forego schooling in order to pay for adequate health coverage.

Student Care is the largest Canadian provider of student health and dental plans and is a student start-up.

“Most of the people in the company who are in my position are former student leaders,” she said. “So we have an understanding of the way that student unions and universities function.”

Smytaniuk said part of her job is to get people excited about their health and dental coverage and that staying with Student Care offers students’ unions the chance to be closely involved in the development of their health and dental coverage.