By: Joe Lipovski
The senate was given a virtual tour of the new NAITSA offices. The new offices will also include the Service Hub, the clubs office and the NAIT Nugget offices.
The NAITSA renovation will see the team in a space twice as big as their current office. It will also include storage for Campus Clubs and the Campus Activities Board. This will make signing out and returning equipment easier for campus clubs, as they will also have access to the equipment late at night. The open floor plan for their lobby will make the Service Hub more accessible for students.
“It is important to us to have our services front facing and accessible to students,” said Leeanne Mills, Administration Director.
One of NAITSA’s current issues is that CAB doesn’t have their own space and would meet in the lobby before or after events. The renovation will give CAB their own dedicated space and locker room. Mills explains that this is an issue for many of their staff who require meeting rooms.
Currently, NAITSA has only one meeting room. This one room needs to be shared with NAITSA executives, the Service Hub, the events team and the Nugget. When the new offices open, they will have several meeting rooms available.
Although NAITSA is moving, the Peer Support will remain in its current offices.
“We intentionally didn’t put Peer Support into the NAITSA office,” said Mills. “We wanted it to be in a location slightly remote because we didn’t want people to presume a stigma by coming into the office asking for a service like that.”
Peer Support has expanded to three rooms since its launch. NAITSA also signed a contract with NAIT to continue operating in the J wing for an additional two years.
The Alberta election means new relationships with government officials may have to be fostered by NAITSA executives. Pela said the incoming executives will need to alter their strategies and goals.
With a new senate election in the Fall and only one executive returning to council, the majority of the meeting included many ‘thank-yous’ and ‘goodbyes’ all-around.
Senator Rick Guillaume gave everyone a final laugh. All year, Guillaume was known for seconding a motion, especially when it comes to adjourning the meeting. Guillaume chose not to second Senator Essex’s motion to adjourn, which caught chairperson Kallal by surprise. After having a laugh, he seconded the motion and the senate adjourned the final meeting of the year.
