Referendum 2021 On May 13th and 14th 2021 , students will be asked to vote on three referendum questions. The questions shall be concerning the amendments of the union`s By-Laws and Consitution, the addition of a Student Insurance Group Plan as well as a modification of the membership fee. How to Vote? Students will be able to vote virtually on https://dsuelections.simplyvoting.com/ . Each student will receive credentials to log in and vote by email. Make sure to check your personal or Dawson email on the day of voting! Students will be able to vote starting on May 13th at 12 a.m. until May 14th at 4 p.m. New DSU Constitution Students will be asked to vote on a new constitution for the DSU. This new document will serve as the union`s By-Laws and Constitution and shall be one of the Union`s most important documents. The Union`s constitution has to be updated to ensure that it never becomes obsolete. Unfortunately, due to a complicated amending formula, the By-laws had not been updated in almost half a decade. Our team made a commitment 9 months ago to have a new constitution by the end of our mandate. We hope to make good on that promise. To find more about the incoming changes with the new constitution, please consult both documents below. Referendum Question Do you ratify the Constitution of the Dawson Student Union, which was approved by the Board of Directors on April 26, 2021, and by the General Assembly on April 27, 2021, to be the official General By-Laws of the Dawson Student Union and replace all previous documents? Student Group Insurance Plan Students will have the chance to vote on a new insurance plan. This plan will cover students for health, dental, travel while also offering a mental health service, telemedicine service and legal assistance service. The plan will be offered by a well-established student insurance plan provider called StudentCare. They currently offer coverages for universities such as McGill, Concordia and the University of Toronto! For more information on StudentCare, you can visit their website https://www.studentcare.ca/ Students were surveyed on the matter and the results indicated that our members wanted a complete insurance plan. Results of the Survey can be found here . Students can find more detailed information on the plan by clicking here . Referendum Question Do you ratify the addition of the DSU Health and Dental plan, approved by the DSU Executive Committee on April 29, 2021? The plan would be funded by an optional fee of a total of 183$ for a twelve(12) months coverage which includes mental health, health coverage, dental coverage, travel insurance, legal protection, and telemedicine? Members will have the choice to select according to their needs whether they want coverage for all the mentioned above or select the coverage they need for either dental (50$ per year), only health (50$ per year) or additional services which include telemedicine and legal protection (83$). Specific coverages will be listed below. The DSU student health and dental plan fee would be added to Annex A of the DSU Constitution. The health and dental plan fee to cover the cost of the plan would be considered part of the DSU membership fee under an Act respecting the Accreditation and Financing of Student Associations, R.S.Q., c. A-3.01. All DSU members would be able to opt-out of this fee on an annual basis during an opt-out period set up under the provisions of the plan. Modification of the Membership Fee Students will also be asked to vote on a new membership fee. This would be the first modification in over 10 years. It is important for the union`s long-term financial health that the fee be revised on a regular basis. For more information on the student fee modification, click here. Referendum Question Do you ratify setting the membership fee in Annex A of the Dawson Student Union Constitution from $19 to $22 per semester for full-time students and from $9.50 to $11 per semester for part-time students to reflect the increase in inflation from last time the fee was set in 2011? The fee would be revised every three (3) years according to the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and rounded to the nearest half-dollar. In the event where a fee increase is not ratified, the amounts mentioned in Annex A of the new constitution for fees would be changed to the current fee levels set in 2011 previously mentioned. If you have any questions concerning the referendum questions, please feel free to contact general@dawsonstudentunion.com. For any questions on logistical and voting matters for the 2021 Referendum, please contact elections@dawsonstudentunion.com. New Constitution Additional Information on the New Constitution

Consent Consent is the practice of asking permission and respecting boundaries. This practice is necessary within sex and relationships, but it is also important in all aspects of life! The Dawson Student Union prioritizes educating the student body about consent and rape culture. Everyone has the right to feel safe on campus! Check out our upcoming consent talk with special guest Farrah Khan happening during FROSH WEEK! Challenging Rape Culture Another important subject to the DSU is educating about Rape Culture: an idea that refers to society's attitude towards rape/sexual assault and its victims. This can lead to the dismissal and excusal of sexual harassment/assault, rapist behavior, and rape itself. Rape Culture is reinforced by the media and is perpetuated and upheld by society. If you wish to seek more information on these topics, feel free to visit our Gender Advocacy Centre, the Hive in room 2D.1a!

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Summary for newsletter: on the 24th of September was Climate Justice protest. Dawson has a very vibrant community of environmentalists grouped together in unity, having made posters and preparation all week for that day. An important cause that deserves to be remembered every day of the year. Click here to read more. < Back Summary for newsletter: on the 24th of September was Climate Justice protest. Dawson has a very vibrant community of environmentalists grouped together in unity, having made posters and preparation all week for that day. An important cause that deserves to be remembered every day of the year. Click here to read more. Climate Justice Week Written by Sophia El Bakir 24th of September 2021 was the day of the Climate Justice March in Montreal, and of course, Dawson mobilised to show their support to this extremely important cause. Throughout the whole week leading up to that Friday, the Green Earth Club had meeting after meeting to paint posters for the protest, organise the logistics of the march, set up a General Assembly that would cancel classes, etc. Ultimately, a compromise was made and teachers were encouraged to be more amenable to students missing class. On the day of the protest, a group of Dawson students had gathered and started marching in the halls of the college. They chanted all around the school, then made their way to McGill campus to unite forces with these university students. “ Dawson merging with McGill was really amazing. It fostered a sense of community and solidarity, which I think is super important in cases like these when we're up against huge all-powerful conglomerates.” - A student at the protest WHY THEY MARCHED While obviously not as busy as the 2019 protest with Greta Thunberg that gathered half a million people, this one still garnered thousands of people from all ages and of course, students from colleges and universities. They decide to cut time out of their busy day and take part in this act of civil disobedience for a myriad of reasons: they want to see change; they had witnessed the devastating effects of global warming during the pandemic; they want their children to live in a world where forests are not razed to the ground but planted instead. “I wanted to go to the protest because I’m frustrated by the lack of action coming from our government. After being 500 000 in the streets in 2019, we have seen little policies or initiatives,” Chloe Shepard, Green Earth Club member. Indeed, the goal of this march was to express a global frustration, so that change would be provoked. Marches are an opportunity for solidarity in the face of a crisis. Whether they are from the same school, or from the same ethnicity, people put their differences aside to send one powerful message. WHAT TO DO MORE Nonetheless, showing up at protest is not enough for long-lasting shifts to ensue. As it appears, many students have expressed concern about the ephemeral effect of Climate Justice Week. Mia Kennedy, Green Earth Club executive says, “It's incredible to see that many take time out of their day to come march,” but at the same time she amends, “I have to hold myself back from too much excitement because I know that this amount of support is temporary. The day of the march comes. Everyone is excited to talk about climate. The day of the march passes. Everyone forgets. I'm just hoping that people can get excited about the climate more than once a year. Whether it's through your vote, your habits, your way of seeing the world, there are so many ways people can positively contribute to the movement.” Summary for newsletter: on the 24th of September was Climate Justice protest. Dawson has a very vibrant community of environmentalists grouped together in unity, having made posters and preparation all week for that day. An important cause that deserves to be remembered every day of the year. Click here to read more. Project Gallery Previous Next

Referenda The Union may hold Referenda, on which Members may directly vote on resolutions, in accordance with its Standing Regulations . The voting process will be overseen and managed by the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) . Exclusive Services Referendum 2024 Questions: 1. Do you confirm the results of the 2022 referendum where the DSU members ratified the decision to change the legal name of the DSU from Syndicat des étudiants de Dawson to Association Étudiante de Dawson, the English version remaining Dawson Student Union ? 2. Do you agree to ratify the Constitution of the Dawson Student Union (DSU) [click to view proposed changes] adopted by the Student Council on 24 April 24 2024 to act as the General By-Laws of the DSU and to replace the previous version of the Constitution that came into effect on 1 June 2022? VIEW RESULTS Past Referenda Feb 5-7, 2004 April 27-28, 2003 May 16-17, 2022 May 13-14, 2021 Interested in learning more about the DSU Referenda ? Here are the important information to keep in mind. For more details please read the DSU Constitution found in the Governance Documents page. For any other inquiry please do not hesitate to contact info@dawsonstudentunion.com 1 Initiation Referenda may be initiated by the Student Council by a two-thirds (⅔) majority vote or Members by a resolution in writing signed by no fewer than one hundred and fifty (150). Members of the Union from at least four (4) different Academic Sectors with no more than fifty percent (50%) being from any one Academic Sector. 2 Timeline The timeline is set by the Chief Returning Officer no later than (5) days after its initiation. Notice of the question and voting timeline must be sent to the membership no less than three (3) weeks before the start of voting. Voting must occur over a minimum of two (2) voting days that each have a period of no less than eight (8) hours of voting 3 Voting All Members shall be eligible to vote in a Referendum. Unless otherwise provided for by law, this Constitution, or the Standing Regulations, all Referendum questions submitted to the Members shall be decided by a simple majority vote. 4 Quorum The quorum for all Referenda shall be three percent (3%) of the Members.

2021 Student Council Elections student council results update (march 2021) * Official Elections report On March 4th and 5th 2021 , students will vote for their student councillors for the first time in many years. The Student Council will be tasked with many important projects and will help the Executive Committee in overseeing the activities of the union. For this election period, Councillors will be given a mandate that will start once elections are past and will end on May 31st, 2021. The student council is broken down into 2 categories (program representatives and demographic representatives). The 5 demographic representatives will be selected by the Executive committee through an application process. The 12 program representatives will be directly elected by the student body. The program representatives are further broken down into 5 categories (Social science, Science, Arts, Technical and Continuing Education). Each student in a given program will be eligible to vote for the representatives for their program category. The executive committee sets the composition of the student council each year and decided that the composition would be set as follows based on the latest student body statistics: 4 Social Science Councillors 2 Science Councillors 1 Arts Councillor 3 Technical Councillors 2 Continuing Education Councillors In order to become a candidate, a student must submit a nomination form which can be found below along with 15 signatures of students that eligible to vote that support the student's candidacy. The nomination period will commence on the 25th of January 2021 at 12:00 am and end on the 22nd of February 2021 at 12:00 am . Below are the documents required for the nomination process: Nomination Form (Downloadable Word Document) Candidate`s Application Form (Online Google Form) Voting will commence on March 4th, 2021 and close on March 5th, 2021 at 4:00 pm. Results will be announced on the day of the close of the polls. These elections will be completed with the use of a preferential single transferable voting system. For any more questions on the 2021 Student Council elections, please contact elections@dawsonstudentunion.com

The Hive The DSU Hive - Gender Advocacy Centre is a free service provided by the Dawson Student Union. Advocates for a safer school environment by offering information and education to all students and staff, including the design and facilitation of mandatory workshops surrounding consent to all DSU club executives. Provides students with access to free or low-cost materials, resources and information surrounding sexual health, sexuality and gender. referrals to other resources both in and outside of Dawson to support their needs and healing. free materials and resources for mental, physical, and sexual well-being: free condoms, lube, tampons, pads, dental dams, latex gloves, pregnancy tests, and gender gear. a couch available for chest pumping/feeding and panic attack de-escalation. A coordinator is always present to answer questions and help refer students to the specific support they need within the Dawson College or city. Offers monthly groups, workshops, and events throughout the fall and winter semesters! Student Parent Program This program aims to provide financial support to parents who are studying at Dawson College. Please note that, in order to qualify for this program, you must be currently enrolled at Dawson College as a full-time, part-time or night student and you must be the parent or legal guardian of someone under the age of 18. We accept 10 student parents per academic year (September to May). The program works on rotation in order to serve as many students as possible. 5 students per month will receive an online gift card for $75 CAD from Walmart, which may be used online or in-store. REGISTER Menstrual Product Access This program provides disposable and reusable menstrual products to any students studying at Dawson College. Please note that, in order to qualify for this program, you must be currently enrolled at Dawson as a full-time, part-time or night student. What you can receive as part of this program: - A maximum of $50 CAD worth of disposable or reusable menstrual products! You will be presented with a product catalogue via email to browse the following products: reusable menstrual cups and disposable tampons, pads, liners and period panties! REGISTER Gender Gear for Everyone This service is meant for students who identify under the umbrella term of transgender, including folks who are non-binary or gender non-conforming. In order to be eligible for this service, you must be a currently enrolled full-time, part-time or night Dawson student. What you can receive as part of this program: - A maximum of $100 CAD worth of gender-reaffirming gear! You will be provided with a PDF catalogue via email to browse the following products: chest binders, gaffs, STP devices, breast enhancers, packers & straps, padded shorts, bras, dilators and makeup. REGISTER Safer Sex Packages The Safer Sex Packages service was created with the intention of making safer sex material accessible to all students. Students are able to build a package by choosing from a variety of products offered by The DSU Hive. In order to qualify for this program, you must be currently enrolled at Dawson as a full-time, part-time or night student. What you can receive: A package of various safer sex products ranging from condoms, internal condoms, finger cots, dental dams, latex gloves and lube, up to $40 CAD in value. REGISTER

The Swap The Swap is the DSU's book exchange service where you can buy and sell books at a discounted price. The Swap on Instagram Our Features The Swap in numbers 454 Books handled by The Swap in the Fall 2024 semester The Swap received and handled 454 books, including books from previous semesters. It involved a system of putting sellers in contact with buyers, with no DSU monetary involvement! The books were all offered at 50% off the Dawson Bookstore price. 177 Total books reused 39% of the 454 books in The Swap's inventory were ultimately sold to new users! That's 177 books who were given a second life. 165 Students benefited from the service The Swap helped 165 students save money on books they would have had to buy for the full price at the bookstore, when a secondhand book is often barely used after a 15 week semester. 289 Books donated Some books were donated directly by sellers, who made the decision to offer these directly to the service instead of making a personal profit out of it. 1 952 $ Saved In total, that's 1 952$ saved for students, for an average of 24.72$ per transaction! The Swap is overseen by the VP Sustainability and Equity. For any questions, please contact: vp.sustain-equity@dawsonstudentunion.com Mail

Thu, Sep 21 | Montréal Peace Week Drag Show An unforgettable show! Featuring drag queens and burlesque dancers! A special nighttime edition of Dawson Dinin' is for supper. Registration is closed See other events Time & Location Sep 21, 2023, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Montréal, 3040 Rue Sherbrooke O, Montréal, QC H3Z 1A4, Canada About the event Room 5B.16 Counts as a Peace Certificate credit. Contact vp.int-comms@dawsonstudentunion.com to volunteer Show More Share this event

News All Posts Events Updates Search May 27 2 min Statement on Discriminatory Incidents Experienced by Muslim Student Association, Islamic Relief, and Al-Raya. In recent months, the Dawson Student Union has noted a rise in incidents of a discriminatory nature, particularly against DSU Clubs and... May 26, 2021 4 min DSU'S STATEMENT ON THE STUDENT STRIKE MONTRÉAL, QC (May 26, 2021) - On May 26, 2021, 51% of students (1519 students) voted in favour of striking. This strike was initiated by... Apr 20, 2021 1 min Survey on In-Person Finals at Dawson In the context of the current pandemic, there have been many concerns with the College's intention to hold in-person final exams on... Mar 29, 2021 1 min First Student Council Meeting The Student Council is having its first meeting tomorrow after recently being elected. This meeting will be open to all members of the... Mar 20, 2021 1 min Congratulations to the Winter 2021 Student Council! The long-awaited student council is here Dawson! Jan 20, 2021 2 min Make a Difference. Join Student Council! Over the last few years, there has been a growing concern in the student body about the degree of accountability for both the College... Jan 15, 2021 1 min Combatting Sexual Violence Against the LGBTQIA2S+ Community Years of research from several Nonprofits and NGOs outline the unique hurdles, challenges, and discriminatory practices faced by the... Dec 18, 2020 1 min Executive Director Plans The DSU Executive Committee is proud to announce the publishing of our Director Plans for the 2020-2021 mandate. These plans will serve... Dec 2, 2020 1 min The Search for the CEO is Over! After a month-long search, the DSU Executive team is proud to present our new Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kessy Simbi. Her mandate... Nov 29, 2020 1 min Victory for the Students of Dawson : Cancellation of In-Person Finals On November 26th 2020, after many days of pressure from both students and the media, Dawson College announced that final in-person exams... Nov 24, 2020 2 min The DSU Takes It To the Press Dawson College has taken the decision to move forward with in-person final exams for the fall 2020 semester and there is a great deal of... Nov 23, 2020 2 min Letter to the Minister of Higher Education Dear Minister McCann, In response to the desperate situation unfolding at Dawson College concerning in-person final examinations, we have... Nov 19, 2020 2 min Official Statement and Position on GNL Quebec On November 4th, 2020, Dawson students gathered on zoom to attend the DSU`s fall 2020 General Assembly. Clubs and members were... Nov 18, 2020 2 min ​Announcement on Gift Card Giveaways The Dawson Student Union’s motto is ‘Connect, Support, Inspire’. These words are the driving force behind every plan, every decision,... Nov 13, 2020 2 min ​Official Statement and Position on In-Person Final Exams at Dawson The Dawson Student Union`s Executive Committee unanimously decided at its regular meeting to position itself against holding in-person... Nov 13, 2020 2 min ​Clubs Made Simpler: New Changes to Rules for Clubs The 2020/2021 DSU Executive Team ran on transparency transparency transparency and that is precisely the purpose of the newly written... Nov 11, 2020 2 min The First Ever Digital DSU General Assembly: A Great Success Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 was the 2020/2021 DSU Executive team’s first General Assembly and it exceeded all expectations. ​ Being the... Nov 4, 2020 1 min All Montreal English Cegeps Resolve to Jointly Fight Climate Change The Coalition of the Anglophone Student Associations of Quebec (C.A.S.A.Q.), which includes the Champlain Student Association, the...