Here are notes from the regular AMS Council meeting of April 7, 2021 (held virtually on Zoom):
Face Coverings: Council voted to extend the policy requiring face masks in the Nest for another six months.
Councillor of the Year: Council voted to have all of Council vote on who should be Councillor of the Year this year instead of leaving it up to the Executive, as has been the custom since the introduction of the award in 2006. The Archivist gave a brief history of the award, highlighting some of the winners.
Submissions to the Board: AMS President Cole Evans said the AMS has made five submissions to the Board of Governors: on tuition, the University budget, housing, Career Plan, and the new Gateway Building.
Executive Staff: To reduce costs, the President said he is asking Execs to aim to reduce the size of their student staffs by one for the upcoming year.
Public Statements: In response to a question from Councillor Mathew Ho, the President said the Executive may have to figure out a way to issue public statements more efficiently: perhaps by delegating them to the Communications Department instead of expecting busy Executives to produce them.
U-Pass: VP External Kalith Nanayakkara announced that the U-Pass will be available for students in the summer with the same exemptions as now.
Nest damaged: Managing Director Keith Hester said the Nest’s roof had been damaged in the recent windstorm and that repairs were underway.
Dining restricted: In response to a question from Mathew Ho, the Managing Director said the Gallery Lounge would be offering just patio and take-out service in accordance with the recent public health order ending indoor dining in restaurants. He added that the tables were being removed from Blue Chip and seating in the general area of the Nest would be limited to one person per table.
Grad Class: Agam Gill, Chair of the Student Life Committee, said a Grad Class Subcommittee has been appointed to choose this year’s grad gift.
Art committees: President Cole Evans said the SHAPE Committee for the sale of art may be disbanded, with its role included in a new more general art committee, since there are currently no plans to part with any AMS art.
Tuition: Board of Governors rep Max Holmes reported that despite general student opposition to a tuition increase, he was the only governor on the Board of Governors Finance Committee to vote against the proposed tuition increase, though more may vote against when the proposal goes to the full Board.
Election Reimbursements: Council passed a Code change clarifying who will be eligible for election campaign reimbursements. The change also ended the practice of withholding reimbursements as a penalty for campaign violations, on the grounds that such a penalty was unfair to those who could not afford to lose the reimbursement.
Advocacy Committee: Council passed a Code change to increase the number of students at large on the Advocacy Committee from one to three.
Committee Chairs: Council passed a motion creating a new policy on transitions for committee chairs, indicating what is expected of the outgoing chairs and establishing a transitional honorarium for them.
Cleaning up Code: Council passed a series of Code amendments meant to update Code and eliminate inconsistencies.
Engagement and Elections: Council created an ad hoc committee to look into improving turnout in AMS elections.
UCRU: Council approved in principle the latest version of the proposed bylaws for UCRU (the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-intensive Universities), the federal lobbying organization the AMS has been working with for several years. This did not mean formally joining UCRU, said VP External Kalith Nanayakkara.
Next meetings:
There will be a special meeting of Council on April 14 at 6 pm on Zoom.
The next regular Council meeting will be held on April 28, 2021 at 6 pm on Zoom.
Sheldon Goldfarb
Archivist & Clerk of Council
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