Student Union Sells Controversial Building New West property has caused much political turmoil By JJ McCullough, Editor in Chief ‘Te Douglas Students Union officially sold their 8th Street building in New Westminster last week, formally concluding the union’s brief and controversial venture into the world of real estate. More than any other issue, “the building,” as it is simply referred to, has dominated Douglas student politics in some form or another for over the past three years, spanning the terms of four different boards of directors. Back in September of 2004 the student union’s board of directors successfully purchased the property across the street from Douglas College’s New Westminster campus, a small commercial building featuring a Subway, Japanese restaurant, computer parts dealership, and auto body shop. Though all existing businesses were allowed to continue operating, the board’s long-term plan was to eventually demolish the existing structure and replace it with a high-rise apartment with low-cost housing for students. The ambitious decision proved very controversial, however. The property cost over $1.25 million for the union to purchase, and questions were quickly raised about whether the small, student-run DSU was in a position to afford or maintain such property. In the student union election the following spring, rival slates of candidates defined themselves largely as either supporters or opponents of the building plan, with pro-building forces narrowly emerging victorious. Opponents of the building retained a strong presence on council, however, and continued to raise questions about the purchase, both in terms of purpose and procedure. At the time, most of the financial logistics relating to the building purchase and subsequent ownership were handled by Joey Hanson, who was the DSU’s then-financial co-ordinator, one of the union’s several unelected permanent employees. Hansen earned a reputation for secrecy and ambiguity, however, and much of the formal documentation relating to the purchase was never released to the public or the DSU board. Matters were further complicated by the Douglas College’s administration’s 2005 decision to withhold all student funds to the student union, as punishment for the union’s failure to present audited financial statements for previous fiscal years, as required by law. In frustration, in the spring of 2006 the anti- building faction of the DSU council successfully sought a forensic audit of the student society. The audit in turn declared that Hansen had mismanaged the union’s finances, and was misappropriating parts of the DSU budget to pay off the building’s various expenses. Hansen was eventually removed from his job in the aftermath, but only after a period of lengthy political turmoil. When the student union was placed in receivership in January of 2007, the DSU’s new court-appointed receiver manager, Marne Jensen, finally ended the controversy and made the decision to sell the embattled building. Over the next few months she interviewed prospective buyers, and then formally requested a court order to sell earlier this month. The judge in charge then proceeded to take over the entire sale process himself, to ensure proper procedure was followed. A closed-bidding session was held between the same two clients Jensen had originally interviewed; Reliance Holdings, a large, Vancouver-based property-holding firm, and a numbered company owned by Euro-American Auto Body Inc., the auto shop company located in the back of DSU building. Reliance Holdings eventually won the bid, and the purchase deal was finalized on October 12. The firm will pay $1.55 million for the building and property, meaning the DSU has actually made a profit of nearly $300,000 the sale. The profit has been understandably greeted as good news at the DSU, after years of financial hardship. According to Matthew Steinbach, the DSU’s college relations officer, the new cash will allow the DSU to pay down all of their outstanding debts, including several controversial loans that had given by the Canadian Federation of Students. Student Union News Shorts By JJ McCullough, Editor in Chief End in Sight for DSU’s Receivership Status After months of speculation and ambiguity, a definitive end date for the Douglas student union’s current state of court-ordered receivership has now been set. Speaking at a board meeting last week, Marne Jensen, the DSU receiver manager, announced that she will present the student union’s two outstanding audits, representing the fiscal years of 2005 and 2006, at the society’s annual general meeting, presently scheduled for the third week in November. Following the public presentation of the audits, the documents will then be received by the BC Supreme Court. If the audits are completed to the court’s satisfaction, the DSU’s receivership status will officially end, per the terms of the court-ordered arrangement initially imposed in January of 2007. The DSU originally entered receivership following a 2006 lawsuit between the student union and the college administration over outstanding audits. As a registered student union, the DSU is legally required to provide the college with yearly audit statements, something previous DSU boards failed to do. New Assistant to Receiver Manager Hired Marne Jensen, the Douglas student union’s court-appointed receiver manager, formally hired a new assistant last week to replace the recently departed Benjamin Johnson, who left the DSU earlier this month. The new assistant is a newcomer to BC, but a prominent face in student politics. Before moving to British Columbia last year, Jessica Magalios was a former director in the student union of Memorial University of Newfoundland, and later served as provincial chair of the Newfoundland branch of the Canadian Federation of Students. Though Marne Jensen holds final say over all financial decisions of the DSU, she lives and works in Victoria full- time, and is only occasionally on campus as a result. Her assistants thus handle most of the day-to-day work of the union’s finances. Magalios will be employed until December of 2007, the month in which Jensen is predicating the DSU will leave its present state of court-appointed receivership. Halloween Pub Night Planned A Halloween themed pub night will be held in the student union lounge next week, resuming an annual tradition. The October 30 event, which is open to all students, will feature a live DJ, free pizza, and cheep beer, but no cover charge, according to DSU internal relations officer Geoffrey Lenahan. Doors will open at 6:00, and students are encouraged to come in costume. Pub nights have been a longstanding DSU tradition, but were scaled back during the DSU’s recent years of financial hardship. Students enjoy the 2005 Halloween Pub Night