President's Report

Dalhousie University
Computer Science Society Summer 2009
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End of Term Report
Name: Tasha Bartlett
Position: President

This paper is in no real order.

Introduction
This was my first semester as president of any society at Dalhousie University and it has been an
excellent learning experience. I have learned a lot about each of the different positions on council, as
well as the different personalities in the society. For those who follow in the presidency footsteps, I wish
you the best of luck and I hope you have the best of times. You are the motivation of your council.

Role
The role of the president is a very important role in any society. Although the position in writing does
not appear to be much, in practice it is an immense role. The president is the motivator for the council
and members. They are there to encourage participation and provide support to both council and
members throughout their presidency. If the face of the society does not respond to council, the society
will tear itself apart from the inside.
Conversely, if the president is highly motivated to be involved as well as be encouraging, the council can
only benefit from it. The president becomes the one who takes over the unfulfilled positions, as well
delegates appropriate tasks.

Meetings
Chairing the meetings is an important part of the position of president. Meetings are great ways to
finalize plans as well inform all of council at once. The more organized the meeting preparation is,
generally the smoother the meetings run. Roberts Rules of Order are an excellent guideline and can be
found everywhere online.

Society Orientation
This year, as a council, we decided to have our own orientation for the incoming students, as well as the
returning students. The aim of having a society organized orientation is that students immediately
become aquainted with the society. We gain exposure, while we make their first day of university
classes even more memorable. We hope that, with this orientation reaching all students who are in
computer science, all students will become more involved in society related events and issues. The day
will be a full day made to promote computer science as well as the appropriate society.
I brought the idea to council, and they decided to continue with the idea. The entire council has helped
out with the planning of the orientation, most notably John Doucette. It has taken the entire summer to
come out with a detailed plan. Hopefully this idea will be seen through on the first day of Computer
Science classes in fall 2009.

Graduate Students
Near the beginning of the semester, we held a focus group to receive the input of graduate students and
what they wanted from a society. From the town hall meeting that the Faculty of Computer Science had,
it was brought to our attention that the graduate students felt misrepresented by council. They felt as if
the wants of the council did not suite the more mature wants of themselves.
We did bring to the attention to the graduate students that there are two positions on council for
graduate students. Unfortunately, we could not get those positions filled. Hopfully, in the upcoming
semester the society will be able to get more graduate students involved with society.

Women’s Washrooms
Unbeknownst to me, we order the supplies for the feminine products of the women’s washrooms.
Majority of the keys for the washrooms have been found. The feminine products themselves are located
in the cage, and the dispensing stations are in the female washrooms on level 1 through to level 4. The
only non-located keys are the keys to open up the change receiver. The issue has been brought to the
attention of the janitorial staff as well as Anne Publicover.

Reimbursement Issues
Unfortunately, as with all great semesters, there was an unfortunate reimbursement issue which had
arisen during the summer semester. The result of this issue is that the guidelines to be reimbursed from
the semester you serve on council have become been a bit more defined and strict.

Geek Beer
I bartended a few GeekBeers this past semester. GeekBeer is a good way to get involved and meet other
people. Even if you do not bartend, it is good to go to the prominent social event and mingle with other
Computer Science students, as well as the other students in other faculties. This creates a way for you to
connect with the members of the society you represent.

Cage
I ended up cleaning out the cage. I was a 5 ½ hour ordeal. Please keep clean. Records from the year 2000
were thrown out. Many artifacts of the society have been uncovered, and most have been disposed of.
Again, please keep clean.

Frag for Cancer
I brought the organizer of Frag for Cancer to one of the Computer Science Society meetings. He was
looking for society help with financing and lending equipment. Fortunately, the Faculty of Computer
Science is now lending out the required computers to the event. What we get in return is promotion of
our society with a large charity event.