The History of the Management of the Student Union Building
Up until 1984, the relationship between the Student Union and the administration had been based on exemplary cooperation due to a reciprocal respect both for, and between both groups. Due to a series of events commencing approximately around 1982, tensions began to mount between the Student Union and the university administration. These tensions arose directly following the election of John Bosnitch as a faculty representative, and later as the president of the Student Union. The culmination of the strain between the university and the Student Union resulted in the erosion of a strong and mutually respectful relationship that had been built between students and the administration. These tensions between the Student Union and the administration accumulated into a snowball effect of events that ultimately came to a head on April 17, 1986, when the Student Union was locked out of the SUB.
There was no one single event that led to the complete breakdown of 1986. To more accurately understand the lockout, one must first understand the series of events leasing up to this final reaction form the UNB administration.
Once the SUB was financed and built, the building had to be financially maintained. It should be pointed out that it was not only the students who were paying for this building. It was the students who paid for the largest part of the cost for the construction and furnishing of the SUB; however, monies to keep the SUB running and maintained have been provided by the university.
Over the years, renovations have been preformed on the SUB and the funding has come from many different sources. In 1984, the University of New Brunswick obtained funds from the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission in order to renovate the SUB. In addition, Beaver Foods paid a percentage of it's sales to the university, who in turn had rebated this money to the Student Union Building Board of Directors for building operations. Beaver Foods was also responsible for the aforementioned 1982 renovations to the SUB cafeteria which totaled over 0,000, and in addition had contributed a further ,000 in 1984 for additional cafeteria renovations.
The commercial tenants whom lease space in the building had provided further income for the operating costs of the SUB. This income had been forwarded directly to the SUB Board of Directors to pay for the day-to-day operations of the SUB. The responsibility of maintaining the SUB was delegated to the SUB Board of Directors. As such, the Board retained the title to the Student Union Building.
Before the Student Union Building even opened, the Board of Governors acknowledged the advantage of enabling students to have a major role in the operating of their building. As such, in 1962, an agreement was negotiated between the Student Union Building Board of Governors and the student government to establish a Student Union Building Board of Directors, to be composed of nine students and two Board of Governors representatives.
The Board of Governors delegated authority to the SUB Board of Directors to operate the building on a day-to-day basis and empowered the Board of Directors to bring matters of policy and finance to the Board of Governors for final approval. Specifically, the Board of Directors is responsible for the overall operations of the SUB. The Board of Directors sets the policies and procedures under which the SUB operates. The director of the SUB, who is advised by the Board, is responsible for ensuring that these policies are met and followed. Unlike many universities, the president of the Student Union does not automatically sit on the Board of Governors. This tends to limit the communication and the first-hand knowledge of what the administration is doing.
This system of governance worked smoothly in the Student Union Building for nearly fifteen years, up until the developments of 1984.
