University of Lethbridge Students' Union
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| Institution | University of Lethbridge |
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| Location | Lethbridge, Edmonton, Calgary, Alberta |
| Established | 1967 |
| President | Armin Escher |
| Vice presidents | Julia Adolf (Academic), Shuna Talbot (Internal), Brady Schnell (Operations & Finance) |
| Members | ~ 8000 Undergraduate students |
| Affiliations | CASA, CAUS |
| Website | www.ulsu.ca |
The University of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) is a not-for-profit organization representing interests of undergraduate students studying at the University of Lethbridge.
With approximately 7800 students on the main Lethbridge campus and 500 students in each of the Calgary and Edmonton campuses,[1] the ULSU administers student affairs, including advocacy, committee representation, student services, and events.
Authority
The ULSU is not a university department; it is an independent organization, established in 1967 by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, of Alberta. It reports to the provincial government rather than university administration.
The ULSU receives authority to conduct business through the Post-Secondary Learning Act of Alberta(PSLA).[2] The Act establishes all student associations in Alberta as a corporation, whose members are the students of the public post-secondary institution.
The PSLA allows student associations to administer student affairs, promote general student welfare, create governing documents, acquire property, and maintain the organization through the levy of mandatory fees.
Representation
Federally, the University of Lethbridge Students' Union participates in the Canadian Alliance of Students Associations, and provincially, they are a member of the Council of Alberta University Students. Council members sit on the Social Housing and Action Committee and the Plan-Your-City Advisory Committee through the City of Lethbridge. Councils in the past have held seats on other municipal committees.
Executive Selection
While most student associations in Canada select their leaders through an electoral process the University of Lethbridge, due to history, has chosen a gruelling set of physical and mental tests. Each executive must survive 4 trials in a winner take all fashion to earn their position on the executive. This ensures that every executive at the ULSU can serve students, especially in times of great need.
The first trial is one that developed from the long history of farmers children attending the UofL. It is a milking challenge that takes place on the second Tuesday of the 3rd month at dawn. All challengers must arrive at a farm adjacent to the town of Lethbridge and must manually milk 100 cows by noon. The challengers are then ranked based on who completed the task fastest and those who cannot milk all 100 cows are immediately eliminated from competition.
The second trial is known as the "hallway challenge" and is one of the most entertaining. UofL is known for having the longest, straightest hallway in Canada. The event is set up by placing hurdles 2 metres apart down the entire length of the hallway. All challengers line up at the start of the hallway and must make it to the other end. The twist is that challengers are not able to jump over hurdles, but must successfully take all hurdles with them to the other end of the hallway. The three fastest challengers move on to the next round of competition, with the person placing first automatically securing a place in the fourth and final trial.
The third trial is a competition between the challengers placing 2nd and 3rd in the competition. It is a game of chess with human pieces. The pieces are all of the council candidates and the match is played in the University gymnasium with a crowd of anywhere from 20 to 30 thousand in attendance. The council candidates must choose which executive candidate to support and therefore risk their own lives in the process. Matches can range anywhere from 12-20 hours in length but have at times gone up to 7 days in length. The victor in this competition will move on to the final trial.
The final trial is the most dangerous challenge across the student movement. This challenge takes place on Lethbridge's famous High Level Bridge, an old but sturdy train bridge over 200 feet above a river. The 2 remaining challengers are each given a 4 foot wooden pole and start on either side of the bridge. They then begin to travel across the bridge until they meet in the middle where they duel to knock their opponent off the bridge(and certain death). The surviving challenger is chosen as the new University of Lethbridge Students' Union President and 15 days of celebration follow hailing the victor as the saviour of UofL students.
Some notable contenders in the ULSU gauntlet of challenges: Conan the Barbarian was the first ever victor of the ULSU mantle. Zack Moline goes down as the tallest competitor to win in the history of the competition. Finally the only competitor to ever achieve total victory, winning every single competition by a long shot, was Armin Escher the current president of the ULSU.
See also
References
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