76th SLC draws to a close at busy final meeting
By James Falls, April 13 2019 —
At the April 9 meeting of the Students Legislative Council meeting, the final one of the winter semester, Students’ Union officials and faculty representatives discussed a University of Calgary senate report and evaluated the SU’s sustainability efforts.
U of C senate representatives Alisha Gordon and Jonah Secreti delivered their update following the senate’s April 4 meeting. Secreti said that the senate’s strategic plan is set to be announced on May 2. Secreti also highlighted presentations on the U of C’s Academic Plan and its Indigenous Strategy, both delivered by vice-president academic Dru Marshall.
The next senate meeting will be held on June 17, with the representatives reporting to SLC again on July 2.
Vice-president operations and finance Kevin Dang delivered the 2018–19 Sustainability Report.
“The purpose of this evaluation was to gather information about the sustainability practices of various SU departments and understand the potential and capacity for new projects,” Dang said.
The report comes following SLC’s renewal of the Sustainability Advocacy Policy at the beginning of the school year.
One of the report’s goals was to offer more learning opportunities around sustainability for SU staff.
“Although there’s still some work in these areas, it’s great to see we have some really awesome people working on it,” Dang highlighted.
“This is our first attempt at something like this, and we’re hoping to build on it in future years,” said Dang. “A third-party sustainability audit would probably be the next step.”
Vice-president academic Jessica Revington outlined the agenda of an upcoming General Faculties Council meeting for SLC members, as it was not yet available. Revington highlighted the approval of the Student Academic Misconduct Policy and procedure and an update on the Campus Mental Health Strategy as agenda items.
Revington also encouraged incoming council members to attend the meeting. She said that this will allow incoming councillors to “understand the importance of GFC and that it is a mandatory part of their role as an [elected official],” Revington said.
President Sagar Grewal returned to the previously presented trimester reports, allowing councillors to ask questions about the reports with all executives present. Grewal himself raised some questions about the accuracy of vice-president external Anayat Sidhu’s third trimester report.
“[Canadian Alliance of Student Associations] Advocacy Week was reported on in your second trimester report, as it happened in November,” Grewal said. Grewal also highlighted concerns around certain policies not being advocated for in favour of election priorities.
The meeting also saw a number of committee reports, including from the Committee of 10,000 and the Nominations Committee.
Vice-president student life Nabila Farid highlighted that the Committee of 10,000 had awarded $22,500 to 13 non-profit organizations, including HIV Community Link, Alberta Guide Dogs and Vecova Centre for Disability Services and Research. The committee received 33 applications for funding in the 2018–19 year.
Dang also reported that the Nominations Committee was in the process of shortlisting and interviewing candidates for the vacant Haskayne School of Business, and Social Work faculty representative positions.
In weekly reports, Grewal highlighted hosting last week’s SU town hall and conducting a SU Bermuda Shorts Day footprint walkthrough. Revington reported sitting on the Taylor Institute Educational Development Unit Director Search Committee and facilitating transition meetings with Dang, the incoming VP Academic.
Sidhu reported attending the installation of president and vice-chancellor Ed McCauley and entering the final week of get-out-the-vote pledge collection. Farid highlighted hosting last week’s Clubs Awards Banquet and attending the Q Centre Pride Scholarship award ceremony. Dang reported the completion of the 2018–19 Sustainability Report and attending Policy Development and Review Committee meetings.
SLC will resume in May. Access elected official reports, trimester reports, minutes, and all other SLC documents here.