Happy September and welcome back to campus, UBC!
On behalf of The Ubyssey Publications Society (UPS) Board of Directors, we would like to take an opportunity to introduce ourselves and share what we do.
The UPS (not that UPS) is a non-profit society that’s main purpose is to act as the publisher for the 98-year-old newspaper, The Ubyssey — one of the most renowned and decorated student newspapers in the country, with alumni that can be seen at publications across Canada. We operate independently from UBC and other student organizations, and have done so since 1995. While managing an annual budget north of $350,000, a majority is collected from students like you and a portion is collected through advertising revenue. Those funds are used to keep strong, independent student journalism thriving on campus while giving the dedicated editorial team of the paper the autonomy and latitude to pursue topics of interest that are pertinent and sometimes controversial to UBC students.
This year, we wanted to let you — our readers and society members — know about an important development that is in the works this year and ask for your help later this semester.
The UPS hasn’t seen much change since we came to be in 1995. While there’s been plenty of change on campus over the past 21 years, our bylaws — which set out how we operate as a society — have stayed exactly the same. This year, a new Society Act in BC is coming into effect that requires us to make some changes to our corporate structure. As such, we’re using this opportunity to make some tweaks as to how we operate.
That’s where you come in — to make these changes, we need your approval as our members. Later this fall, we’ll be holding a referendum with a brand new set of bylaws for students to review and hopefully approve. If you do, it’ll mean a leaner, renewed student newspaper that will be in compliance with local laws. If not, we’ll still be publishing one of Canada’s top student newspapers, but we’ll be coming back to you later to make sure we’re meeting our legal obligations.
Included in these changes are some housekeeping updates, changes to our board of directors, clarity around our editorial operations and a framework to allow the UPS to open other publications aside from The Ubyssey — a project well underway and that we’re excited to share with you soon.
If you’re interested in learning more, we’ll be sharing further information with you as we get closer to our referendum later this fall. That said, we also welcome students to get involved with The Ubyssey, with opportunities ranging from volunteering to write your very first published article, to working with us on selling ads to keep the paper running. Our board meetings are open to the public and you’re always welcome to drop by our offices in the Nest to see what we’re up to. We’d love to hear from you!
—The UPS Board of Directors