April 26, 2024

 

By STEPHANIE LEFEBVRE
Students at Conestoga’s Guelph campus will soon be able to utilize more services provided by Conestoga Students Inc.
The student union is planning on opening a new kiosk which will allow students to print, fax, bind, photocopy and buy various tickets said Ciara Byrne, president of CSI, in an email.
These services are available to Doon and Waterloo students at their respective kiosks, but will be new for Guelph students.
The idea was discussed at the Nov. 28 CSI board of directors meeting held at the Doon campus. The project was projected to cost approximately $30,000.
“This is about as much as it cost us on the Waterloo campus,” Byrne said. “It’s not off by much.”
The motion to finance a Guelph kiosk was carried without debate. It is not known exactly when it will open.
As well as the technology needed to create the new kiosk, some board members had asked for some seating similar to that in the Den at the Doon campus. The seating was included in the initial budget and will be outside of the kiosk, filling the space around it.
Unfortunately for Guelph students, due to the fact that it is a new development, the kiosk will only be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Byrne said it will operate on a part-time basis this semester and then the hours will be re-evaluated.
Students at the Guelph campus pay a lower CSI fee ($18) than students at some of the other campuses. For instance, students at Doon pay $150. Still, they will get a small return on their investment.
Jennifer Chao, chair of CSI’s board of directors, said there should be enough room in the new kiosk area to think about adding a sound system and a stage for future shows and events. The area where the kiosk will be and the surrounding area do not belong to CSI, but they hope that with the addition of the chairs, they will be able to use the space similarly to the way the Sanctuary is used.
Board members hope this will bring more traffic into the area and they will be able to use the space as their own for any future endeavours or events.
In addition to approving the opening of a Guelph kiosk at the November meeting, board members discussed other ways to utilize the space. One idea was to install CSI TV, a new idea that has yet to come to fruition that will notify students of upcoming events and new services available to them.
Though it is still in the beginning phase, the kiosk will act as a stepping stone for CSI to bring their services to a broader audience.