Dormitories Complaint Letter

Dear colleagues,

We were informed that a meeting between CityU Administration members and Dormitories Managing Board will be conducted soon. As all of us have numerous complaints concerning the services we receive as clients of UNI (the firm that manages our dormitories) we listed a short draft of the basic problems we experience every day. This draft will be given to Dean Scott Mason as well as to the administration members with the hope that they will support us and help improve the standards of our staying in the dormitories. Here are the issues stated in the letter:

• Students feel that fees do not match the quality of the services provided.
• The new policy with the deposits is vague and most of the students believe they are being cheated especially when, as they say, random amounts of money disappear from their accounts without their knowledge. Management does not give any reasonable explanations, since there are no visible improvements.
• Utilities like microwaves have long ago outlived their useful lives. These utilities need to be replaced or, at least, repaired (microwaves plates are missing in all kitchens in Dorm 1).
• In 2007 the students were promised by the management of the dormitories that during the summer of 2009 a major repair will be done, however only our mattresses were changed and the kitchens were re-painted.
• The housekeepers and the receptionists do not have professional attitudes towards their jobs. For example, some of the receptionists smoke on their work place, ignore complaint calls from students, share students personal files with unauthorized third parties; some housekeepers talk in a very loud voice early in the morning in the halls.
• Part of the students’ fee includes security personnel; however no such is present even during emergency situations like student fights.

Please if you have any suggestions of other issues that you would like to be mentioned, write us @ parliament@cityu.bg as soon as possible.

As we said when you voted for each of us, we are your voice which really counts so the more you share with us, the more we could help!

Student Parliament

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

Dear friends and colleagues,

We are wishing you a Happy Christmas and hope that you have great time enjoying your holiday!!!

Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. Drop all old grudges and replace them with some pleasant memories.

Wishing you lots of joy, success and love!

Student Parliament

Charisma, Wits, and Long Hair: Or How the U.S. Government Conveys its Policies

This Monday, on the last day of November, we here at the Pravets campus of City University had the pleasure of welcoming Vincent Campos as a guest lecturer at our auditorium. Mr. Campos is the press attaché, or spokesperson, for the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, and essentially, his work here in Bulgaria is to inform our media about the United States’ policies and positions on whatever issues are relevant at a given moment.

Aside from being a charismatic and knowledgeable orator, Mr. Campos gave the students a very memorable lesson in journalism, the rules and guidelines that accompany it, and the core difference between journalists and the press office. He explained that journalists of the free private media work first and foremost for the public, and to ensure that a truthful, factual, and unbiased message reaches the masses. On the contrary, representatives of the press office like Campos, report only on their government’s policies, and attempt to convey them in the clearest way to the media.

Whereas the press office’s work can be seen as government propaganda, it is crucial to informing the public of foreign intentions, and explaining that government’s actions. When asked what a press attaché does when he or she doesn’t agree with the policy they are conveying, Mr. Campos replied that hiding your personal bias is key as a spokesperson, and that ultimately if you feel strongly enough about an issue that it gets in the way of your job, there is always the option of resignation.

Campos’ lecture sparked a discussion among the students on whether the free press should have the same types of restrictions as he has at his work, and how much rules is too much? It was then established that a journalists are essentially free to say whatever they feel is necessary to convey their message, so long as they stay within the guidelines of their media, and follow the four simple rules of journalism: to always tell the truth, to act independently, to attempt to minimize harm (sometimes by not revealing the whole truth), and to ultimately be accountable for their actions.

We here at CityU are very honored by Mr. Campos’ first visit to our site, and are thankful for his enlightening lecture. Those who failed to attend, missed out on a great learning experience, and on behalf of our Student Parliament, I can only say that we hope for future appearances by him.

Krum Nikolov /Student Parliament Journalist/

End Of Fall Term Party

We invite you all to come and rock on the End Of Fall Term Party! It will take place on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 @ Flamingo. The party will be free of entrance fee and for the first students to come there will be free drinks provided by us :) The DJ will make sure that we are enjoying a nice cocktail of House, Retro, Hip-Hop and Dance music throughout the whole evening so do not miss it!
Our Student Parliament photographer will try to capture all the great moments of the party so you can find and enjoy the photos @ our Facebook page's photo gallery!

We are looking forward to see you there!

Student Parliament

New Student Parliament Members Elected

Dear colleagues,

First, we would like to thank those of you who voted on our Elections '09, because your choice really matters! We are happy to update you with the results from the elections for new members.
Our team for the Academic 2009/2010 Year is glad to welcome: Ralitsa Kosturska F07 as our Photographer, Vesselina Doncheva F07 as an Event & Sport Associate, Venera Sokolova F08 as an IT Associate and Krum Nikolov F08 as our Journalist!

Please, if you have ideas for making either a party, sport or academic event or any kind of activity just contact us @ parliament@cityu.bg

Student Parliament