SU Review: VP External

By Gauntlet Editorial Board

The VP External should be one of two faces, along with the president, of the Students’ Union in the community. Representing University of Calgary students to local, provincial and federal governments and organizations is a primary responsibility. In addition, the VP External is required to effectively communicate with students and external entities about the objectives of the SU.




Mike Bosch



The VP External’s term in office so far can only be described as a success. As a leader of Political Action Week and during the provincial election campaign, Bosch was instrumental in bringing the plight of students to the attention of election candidates and the public. Some would attribute to Bosch the election victories of two PSE-minded candidates in ridings surrounding the university.


A major (unavoidable) failure in the external portfolio was the fight against tuition hikes. Administration entered into tuition consultation with full knowledge that a maximum tuition increase was unavoidable, and this understandably frustrated Bosch. He did, however, get the administration to agree to another installment of quality money to the SU.


Another black mark for Bosch is SUSHIndigs’ spurious performance so far. A place for students to interact with SU officials is a good idea, but so far, it isn’t anywhere near where it could be. Students would have prefered a vendor of raw fish, instead of a booth that reeked of unfulfilled potential.


Criticisms of Bosch mirror those for Alex Vyskocil, mostly that Bosch’s vision is too introverted and limited to the external portfolio at the expense of working on institutional goals or assisting other portfolios. Some officials feel he lacks original ideas and passion. Perhaps this arises from the limited time he actually spends in the SU office.


Bosch rarely speaks up in SLC, but when he does, he is often a voice of reason on controversial issues. Many elected officials described him as easy to work with.


With a successful election season over and the tuition battle all but lost, Bosch could easily coast through the rest of the year without doing anything. We hope he has some substantial plans for the upcoming semester.