Find Out More About BUSU
by Ronnie Neiman
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Ashley Taron, Executive Director for BUSU. It was a lovely coffee filled chat at new BU student coffee shop- Bailey’s.
First things first is to know what BUSU- Brandon University student Union- is all about. It is a student union, that is not-for-profit. ABUSU is Advocacy-Serivces-Engagement for students. BUSU is meant to advocate for students, not the university.
“When students are looked after, universities thrive. Our primary aim is to advocate for students.” Ashley Taron said.
A lot has happened over the past few years with lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. It affected how students could reach their resources and affected how they could even learn about those resources in the first place.
One example is the Health and Dental plan. It is a fee that is added to our student accounts each academic year we are students at the university. Not everyone knows what the plan can cover, or how to access the plan. Those at BUSU are great at helping students get the healthcare access they need. (I certainly was well-helped when I went to BUSU for help with the health and dental plan)
Sadly, it is not something that is very affordable for international students. Their fee is substantially higher than that of Canadian students. One of BUSUS’s goals is to achieve more affordable health care for international students, and to keep the healthcare plan at an affordable price for local students. The price does change, as it did a few years ago but BUSU was able to advocate for a limited increase and for it to occur once a decade. The same is said about the U-Pass, the bus pass built into our student ID’s.
When asking about the future goals of BUSU, Ashley Aaron responded with “to help students realize what the university has to offer by having more events, more engagement, and regaining a student community at the university.”
To learn about specific services and events that BUSU is offering right now, or to get help from the student union, head to their website busu.ca or head into their office in the KDC building.