[1][2] Membership is mandatory and all SFU undergraduate students members are charged fees collected by the university on behalf of the SFSS.

The organization employs both permanent and student staff at their location on the second level of the Maggie Benston Centre on SFU's Burnaby Campus.

The student society also has an office and provides services at the satellite campus of SFU Surrey with Efua Bhavnani as the sole staff operating there.

The SFSS has completed the construction of the Student Union Building and Stadium project on the Burnaby campus in August 2020.

[7] The Board then recently became the Council again, as the highest decision making body in between meetings of the membership as voted at the SFSS 2020 AGM.

SFU has witnessed a wave of student activism over the last couple of years that was inspired in 2018 by an interconnected combination of movements on campus.

[citation needed] After refusing to join students’ calls to lobby the BC government together for increased educational funding, SFU raised tuition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1996, the organization imposed a mandatory health plan to the student population after passing a referendum question during an earlier election.

The issue had gained attention in the fall 2003 semester, after the Society spent $15,000 hosting a free dinner for students to encourage turnout at the annual general meeting to achieve quorum.

On 10 October 2007, members of the SFSS achieved the quorum of over 500 at the annual general meeting; three major by-laws changes occurred.

[15] In July 2006, the Board of Directors directed seven full-time SFSS staff members to go on leave with pay and benefits while an investigation into internal issues was carried out.

A special general meeting (called by Forum) of the SFSS was held on October 25, 2006 in the school's Convocation Mall.

1028 students attended overall (up to 760 at the same time) at the Special General Meeting, and voted in favour of motions to impeach the seven directors and to two amendments to the bylaws of the society.

[24] The President of the University itself, Michael Stevenson, stated that until the Supreme Court of BC made a decision, students, as well as the impeached directors, should respect the SGM.

[22] In December 2006, the BC Supreme Court[25] ruled that the special general meeting and impeachment were legitimate and there was no issue with the Forum.

The court also stated that in the event that there was a problem with the Forum, the petition was sufficient and should have been followed, and assigned all costs to the individual impeached directors.

SOCA and FNMISA are equity-seeking groups advocating for reconciliation, redressing of wrongs, social and racial equity, inclusivity, representation, and community-building and Indigenous sovereignty.

The eviction notices followed a series of consultations and events, all groups initially believing they would be allocated space in the new Student Union Building (SUB).

The affected groups (CJSF, SOCA, FNMISA, SFPIRG), argue that the eviction is an example of institutional racism, as it disproportionately impacts racialized and marginalized student communities.