The U of C’s SU is a devoted group of students who advocate on behalf of the student body. They sit on many decision-making and administrative groups at the university.


This year’s executive team have set out attainable goals, but with only four months left in their positions, time is slowly slipping away for them to finish what they set out to do.

Sustainability is an important issue for most Calgarians. The University of Calgary’s Sustainability Street Team is going green for another year of projects and campaigns to promote sustainable practices.


Working under the guidance of U of C’s Office of Sustainability, the team of student volunteers will educate peers about sustainable living and participate in various eco-friendly events on campus. A large part of their events and promotions will focus on reducing the ecological footprint of the U of C.   


More than 100 University of Calgary students took part in developing a completely sustainable home for the Solar Decathlon competition in Washington, D.C. in September 2011. On June 6, 2012, the U of C's multi-disciplinary Solar Decathlon team was awarded the Emerald Award for their work and environmental contributions.

Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks have set the year's standard high with Surviving Progress, a well-paced Canadian documentary that wants to make sure that modern civilization doesn't self-destruct. Inspired by Ronald Wright's bestseller A Short History of Progress, the film depicts trends of progress throughout history while warning of the negative consequences of humanity's tendency to sacrifice long-term sustainability for short-term wants.

The University of Calgary's Students' Union Sustainability Board has decided to change its direction this year to become more of a "working group," according to SU vice-president operations and finance Patrick Straw.

Moving away from its traditional role of promoting sustainability through events, SUSB has decided to play a more proactive role, pursuing development of their own research and sustainable projects.

You can always make a difference, even if it's small steps that get you there. For one student at the University of Calgary, many of these small steps have been taken towards an environmentally friendly community.

Zakir Hussein, a third-year earth sciences student, has been fusing his entrepreneurial and research skills in an attempt to reduce fossil fuels within the city.

Think back to your favourite story. What made it so great? The nail-biting plot? The swoon-worthy hero?

But what if all the words were removed? Most would say that you would be left with a blank page and no story. For one musician, however, this presents the opportunity to tell a story through another, less tangible medium: music.

This past week, one of the daily polls on The Globe and Mail's website was "Valentine's Day makes me want to . . ." with the dominant response being "do nothing -- it's a consumer holiday and I won't buy into it." This answer received about 65 per cent of the 5,246 votes. This is unlikely a perfect portrayal of Canadians' thoughts on Valentine's Day, but the answer did garner a large portion of respondents, so it has some merit. Also, we have all heard that argument before: stop consumerism, reject this consumer-driven holiday!