Now that VFM is back up and running, and there is a renewed interest in the AMS, this is a great time to engage with your student society!
The first council meeting of this term will take place this Wednesday, at 6 pm in SUB 206. Everyone is welcome to attend, and dinner is provided.
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Here’s a summary of what’s on the agenda, and some explanation of what it’s all about.
C) Presentations to Council
Anne Dewolfe (Executive coordinator of the VP Students office) and Barbara Crocker (Associate Director of Enrolment Services) will be giving council two presentations.
The first, on Student Financial Assistance & Awards will be full of stats about financial aid at UBC, how it may change in the upcoming year, and how those changes will affect students.
The second, on the Tuition Proposal and Consultation schedule will be about the admin’s proposed tuition increases for the upcoming year. UBC Policy #71 says that UBC must consult students about tuition increases; this presentation will also outline their plans for these consultations. Care about tuition? This presentation is for you.
Kyle Warwick (Arts Councilor) will be giving a presentation on Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which will likely be about why the AMS should endorse January as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
If you are interested in any of these topics, come find out more. Anyone (not just councilors) can ask questions, and there is always time allotted for Q+A with presenters.
D) President’s Remarks; E) Executive Remarks
All of the executives will give updates on what they’ve been doing since the last meeting. You never really know what they’ll contain until you get there but they are usually quite informative (as long as execs are being honest with council).
F) Committee Reports; G) Constituency Reports; H) Board of Governors, Senate, and Ombudsperson Reports
AMS committees, constituencies (faculties), BoG reps, Senate reps and the AMS Ombudsperson are also given time to update everyone on their respective activities since the last meeting.
I) Minutes of Council and Committees of Council
Approval of some minutes from the Business Operations Committee and the Executive Oversight Committee. Likely to be very quick.
J) Executive Committee Motions
Motion 1: The executives wish to spend $400 to buy a laptop for executives and admin staff to use during council and committee meetings. Given that all execs bring their own laptops to council, I suspect this is for a staff member to use for minutes purposes. It will no doubt be explained further at the meeting.
Motion 2: “BE IT RESOLVED THAT of the $6,000 previously allocated from the Clubs Benefit Fund to sponsor the Student Leadership Conference, up to $1,000 be reallocated to cover the expenses of hosting a slam poetry performance at the event.”
I am not sure why this motion is necessary; more detail will certainly be given during the meeting.
K) Constituency and Caucus Motions
A motion for the AMS to “declare January 2010 the First Annual UBC Sexual Assault Awareness Month”
L) Committee Motions
Motion 1: The AMS has various security cameras mounted around the SUB. They wish to change some of the conditions of who can view the images, when they can view them, and where.
Motion 2: “BE IT RESOLVED THAT the AMS no longer utilize workstudy/worklearn for student government and services positions within the AMS effective May 1, 2010.”
This should be an interesting one. I think one of the issues is that workstudy students get paid more than regular staff, sometimes for doing the same job. That’s a no-no. Also, some executives may be on workstudy.
Motion 3: A motion to substantially decrease the prices for beds at the Whistler Lodge during the Olympics for both students and the public.
M) Commission Minutes, Reports and Motions
More approval of minutes, this time for the Finance Commission.
N) Other Business and Notice of Motions
A number of committee appointments need to be made for AMS committees. All of the remaining seats on the committees are reserved for students at large (ie. not councilors). If you want more information, or have an interest in sitting on one of these committees, please contact a councilor who represents you and let them know!
Education Committee (3 spots)
University and External Relations Committee (3 spots)
Legislative Procedures Committee (3 spots)
Business and Facilities Committee (3 spots)
Student Life Committee (3 spots)
There will also be an appointment to the CiTR Board of Directors. This person must be a Canadian Citizen. Again, contact a councilor if you are interested in this position.
O) Discussion Period
An informal discussion will happen about referenda that may occur concurrent with the AMS elections. There could be quite a few this year.
That’s it! If this is indeed the whole agenda, this meeting should be relatively quick, but you never know what will garner lots of discussion, or what motions may be introduced from the floor.
Discussion
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