It’s likely that by now you’ve realized Lunik is not run like anywhere else you’ve likely experienced. Lunik is a space open to and shared by all Glendon students and community members. We offer things like ethically traded coffee, tea and vegan/vegetarian/gluten free/organic food items (prepared off-campus in certified kitchens), at cost. That means what Lunik purchased it for, you pay. Pretty different that what you would expect at any other sort of café. But our model is different. Lunik is based on co-operative model of governance where any Glendon community member can become a member of Lunik.
Co-operatives are organizations owned and managed by members who are residents, customers or workers at a business. For example, Karma Co-op in Toronto is a grocery store owned and run by its customers. As such, the grocery store is always trying to do exactly what its customers would like to see since they are also the owners! This means things like broader selection, lower prices and a quality working experience are priorities unlike a traditional grocery store who’s sole purpose (by law) is to maximize shareholder profits (regardless of what customers or employees would like).
We want to get as many members directly involved with Lunik in order to shape the space and gain valuable experience with a co-operative. A big part of this is attending meetings. And the most important meeting of the year is our AGM (annual general meeting). Lunik is ultimately overseen by a board of directors. At the moment, that board is made up of students Natalia Jakubek, Kaela Greenstien and admin/faculty, Darryl Reed, Aaron Doupe, Rossana Furgiuele and Gilles Fortin.
It is time for ⅔ of our board to run for re-election. A lot of you familiar with Lunik might not be familiar with some of these names. The board of directors meets only a few times per year and is in place to ensure the student group that handles the daily operations of Lunik is working in accordance with its constitution, bylaws, audit procedures etc. Our student group co-ordinators Sarah Yu (social), Brynn Leger (volunteers) and Nazampal Jaswal will be running for positions on the board while Kaela Greenstien and Natalia Jakubek will run for alumni positions.
All Lunik members are invited to run for board positions. That means you! Look for our next post to learn more about our constitution.
LUNIK CO-OP 