Your Executive

The Student Executive 2014-2015

President: Jenny Salisbury

Vice-President: Lisa Aikman

Secretary:  Jessica Thorpe

Treasurer: Brittany Stewart

PhD Member-at-Large: Sebastian Samur

MA Member-at-Large: Simone Brodie

Ex-Officio: Cameron Crookston

Drama Centre Student Union and Its Executive

The Drama Centre Student Executive (DCSUE) is a student-elected committee that represents the Drama Centre Student Union (DCSU, all students enrolled at the Drama Centre) to both the Drama Centre administration and the University of Toronto at large. The DCSUE is also responsible for co-ordinating a number of student events in order to perpetuate a strong and vibrant community amongst the DCSU. What follows is a brief summary of the operations of the DCSUE. For a complete description, please refer to the Constitution.

Elections: Eligibility, Times

Elections take place in two General Meetings. Normally, all part- or full-time DC students are eligible to run. The first election takes place in April and the second in September. Positions on the Executive are elected during both of these meetings. The times for the General Meetings are advertised on both the DC student listserv and this site in advance of the meetings.

Internal Administrative Operations: Drama Centre Committees

The Student Executive is your voice in matters concerning the Drama Centre. Members of the Student Executive sit on three Drama Centre committees. It is the responsibility of your representatives to keep the student body informed of issues raised in committee meetings and decisions taken. If necessary, the Executive may call a General Meeting to solicit opinions on matters of pressing concern. Also, students may ask members of the Student Executive to voice their concerns at committee meetings.

Academic Committee: Oversees standards and procedures as they relate to course offerings and degree requirements. Long-term planning and Drama Centre programme design are also discussed in this committee. Faculty members of this committee also give consideration to Ph.D. thesis proposals. Two appointed members of the Executive sit on the Academic Committee.

Advisory Committee: Comprised of approximately twelve members (three of whom must be students). It receives reports from the Director, the Graduate Co-ordinator, the Theatres Committee, and the Student Executive. It gives final approval to major changes to Drama Centre programs, as well as to Ph.D thesis proposals. The Advisory Committee meets twice annually. The current President, the Past-President and one other member of the Executive sit on the Advisory Committee.

Theatres Committee: Defines parameters within which productions are staged at the Drama Centre. The committee calls for submissions and reviews proposals from students wishing to present a workshop. It also determines which workshops will be given official Drama Centre support during the course of the academic year. The number of workshops changes and deadline dates fluctuate—watch for posted deadlines. Three appointed members of the Executive sit on the Theatres Committee.

Internal DCSU Operations: Activities, Concessions, Communications

Activities: The Student Executive sponsors various activities for the students of the Drama Centre during the year. Activities include orientation, theatre outings (usually twice a year), Brechtfasts (usually twice a year), parties (Orientation Party, Holiday Party, End of Year Party), workshops and guest speakers. These activities may be fully subsidized by the Student Executive (free to students), or partially subsidized (in which case a nominal fee may be charged). Notices of upcoming activities are posted on the DC student listserv.

Communication: In addition to General Meetings and the Student Executive members, there are two ongoing official means of communication among Drama Centre students: listserv emails and notices posted on the bulletin boards in the DC lobby and outside the DC Seminar Room 330. Of utmost importance, we strongly recommend that you join the DC Student Listserv. Our listserv (an email server that broadcasts messages to a group automatically) is limited to Drama Centre students only (no staff or faculty). The list has served as a forum for discussion and debate on a variety of DC issues as well as a notice board for announcements and queries. Any student can join by sending an email request to sashakovacs@gmail.com. At all times, DCSUE requires listserv communication to be constructive and respectful and reserves the right to limit individual listerv participation when infractions occur.

Concessions: Besides funds from the GSU and the Drama Centre, an ongoing source of revenue for the Student Union is the concession bar run during performances at The Robert Gill and Studio Theatres.

External Operations: Graduate Student Union

Graduate Student Union (GSU): The Student Executive provides a member to Governing Council of the GSU. This body is the umbrella organization representing all U of T graduate students to the university administration, provincial government and other agencies whose decisions are relevant to graduate studies. The GSU also remits funds to our Student Union from student fees. These funds are used by the Executive to provide activities throughout the year.