Representing Brock's undergraduate students for 2011/12 are, from left, Daud Grewal, Jayne Stewart, Will Parent and Luke Speers.

Daud Grewal’s next year as president of the Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) will be anything but boring. He’s got transit on his hands, a constituency of 17,000 and a brand new building in his future.

Grewal will spend 2011/12 at the helm of the organization that represents Brock’s undergraduate students. One of his biggest priorities: a potential new building on weather station field that could have new media space, student clubs lounges and a student justice centre, among other amenities.

In a referendum this month, undergraduate students voted 89 per cent in favour of BUSU accessing $2 million in restricted funds, $1.5 million of which will be for the new building. Another half a million will be used to renovate Union Station, which should be finished this fall.

Much of Grewal’s term will be spent getting student input on the new building, which will be built in partnership with the University. He wants as much input from students as possible, he said.

“I’m really excited about what’s to come,” said Grewal, a Political Science student. “We want to have focus groups. We want to conduct surveys and have renderings to show the students. We want to take questions. Student input is key.”

Joining Grewal on the BUSU executive is Jayne Stewart, 21, of Niagara-on-the-Lake. She is a third-year Kinesiology student and will serve as vice-president of student services. Waterloo native Luke Speers, 21, is the new vice-president of university affairs. He is a fourth-year Philosophy and Political Science student. Will Parent, who is studying Mathematics and Geography, is 23 and a native of Midland. He’s the new vice-president of finance and administration.

All of them say they want to increase awareness amongst the students of what BUSU does. That includes the dental and health benefits, a student ombudsman, more than 50 student clubs and opportunities to serve on councils and committees, Speers said.

“All of these services are here, but we haven’t gone out and told them,” he said. “We want to say, ‘These services are here for you. Come and use them.’”

BUSU will continue to lobby for a more efficient transit system for Brock students, Grewal said. Its goals include seeing the University eventually be included as a stop in a new service this fall that will link the downtowns of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland.