Busy Dec. 4 SLC brings semester to a close
By Matty Hume, December 6 2018 —
Amendments to the Students’ Union’s Elections Policy, winter semester committee appointments and an hour-long in-camera session made for a busy evening for Students’ Legislative Council on Dec. 4.
After a motion passed to table a Board of Governor’s report by student-at-large Frank Finley until a January SLC meeting, vice-president student life Nabila Farid announced that executives will distribute de-stress kits to faculties beginning next week.
The meeting continued with executive reports. Vice-president academic Jessica Revington highlighted last week’s Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS), which differed significantly from previous iterations of the event.
“It was by far the most successful iteration of URS yet,” Revington said.
Vice-president external Anayat Sidhu reported attending the Canadian Alliance of Student Association’s (CASA) ‘Advocacy Week’ in Ottawa, where student representatives sought to bring awareness of sexual violence and more to federal politicians.
Farid reported various meetings and a recent pet therapy session on campus. The pet therapy session saw 105 attendees, which is lower than past events, according to Farid. She added the reduced attendance is likely due to an increased total number of pet therapy sessions.
Vice-president operations and finance Kevin Dang reported work with SU on Quality Money projects as well as meeting with refugee students on campus. Dang reported for President Sagar Grewal in absentia, as Grewal returned from CASA’s Advocacy Week late on Dec. 4.
SLC rolled forward with committee chair reports, beginning with Farid’s report on the Clubs Committee in which two club events were pre-approved for a total of $568. Dang reported the Policy Development and Review Committee discussed topics of accessibility and advocacy. Dang also reported on the Operations and Finance Committee, which approved a Hardship Fund application for $1,500.
The majority of faculty representatives reported aiding in packing the de-stress kits.
Next, SLC unanimously voted to approve changes to the SU’s Elections Policy. The primary changes were definition updates regarding referendums in SU elections.
Revington then gave a presentation to SLC on the SU’s strategic planning innitiative. Revington described the project as a high-level vision to set the direction for the next three SU councils. The Strategic Plan will inform the SU’s Annual Plan and Program Event Plan. According to Revington, the SU will launch a consultation survey for elected officials at the beginning of January, followed by two focus group sessions before a first draft is presented to SLC on Feb. 26. The first reading of the Strategic Plan in SLC will occur on March 5 and a second reading for approval will occur on March 12.
Cumming School of Medicine representative Jarin Thundathil questioned the feasibility of the one-week time frame between the first draft and first reading. Revington assured Thundathil that the executives would be capable of implementing potential changes before the first reading.
Arts representative Quinn Stevenson asked if each group that will be consulted, including faculty representatives and students, will carry the same weight when writing the Strategic Plan. Revington responded by saying that all parties will be involved in the focus groups.
Revington then asked SLC for their feedback on the placement of reading week for upcoming academic terms. Multiple representatives reported hearing from both students and faculty that they would prefer reading week be placed one or two weeks earlier for planning and to mitigate midterm stress.
Next, ballots were passed to SLC members to appoint committee members for Clubs Committee and Operations and Finance Committee for the winter semester. After all ballots were collected, Farid motioned to invite the SU’s external communications manager, Whitney Hunter, to council for a presentation.
SLC then moved in camera for Hunter’s presentation. Council remained in camera for approximately one hour before the meeting adjourned.
The next meeting of SLC will be on Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the MacHall Executive Council Chambers. Access elected official reports, trimester reports, minutes and all other SLC documents here.