Here are notes from the regular AMS Council meeting of February 2, 2022 (held virtually):
Elections: The Chief Returning Officer, Varsha Gangadharan, told Council that the expense limit for candidates will be $450. She added that the Elections Committee wants to do away with pre-approval of campaign materials and wants to be able to publicize the election by putting up profiles of the candidates on Elections Committee posters.
It was noted that the Governance Committee is looking at Code changes dealing with the last two issues.
Elect Change: Council approved an allocation of up to $30,000 from the International Projects Fund for a donation to UNICEF for vaccines for overseas countries via COVAX. The donation is tied to what President Cole Evans says he hopes will be an annual campaign to donate to a charity, connected to AMS elections: this year the AMS will donate $2 for every vote cast in the election. To reach the $30,000 donation limit, 15,000 students would have to vote, which would exceed the turnout in recent elections.
Air conditioning: Council heard a presentation from Michael Kingsmill of the AMS Design Office about the ongoing discussions about the pricing for new air conditioning in the Nest. The aim is to install the air conditioning over the summer.
Referendum Plans: Council discussed potential referendum questions, including an increase in the fee that supports the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC), a general optimization of fees, Bylaw changes, and a new fee for expanded service connected to the Health & Dental Plan. Concern was expressed about the number of new fees and the size of the proposed increase for SASC (from $9.58 to the $18-$20 range). President Evans said the Health & Dental fee could be held back. He said more information would be coming to justify the SASC increase. VPAUA Eshana Bhangu said SASC usage has been going way up.
UNA Campaign: Council passed a motion directing the VP External to produce a report on the UNA election in which the AMS supported the unsuccessful campaigns of four students seeking to get on the UNA Board.
Rec Centre and the Goddess of Democracy: President Evans reported that some academic units are talking about using the coming Recreation Centre for exams, which he personally opposes. He also said work is underway to find a new home for the Goddess of Democracy statue, which will be displaced by the Rec Centre.
Masks and Tests: VPAUA Eshana Bhangu reported that UBC will be distributing rapid Covid tests to symptomatic individuals, though the AMS is pushing for the tests to be given to the asymtomatic as well. Meanwhile the AMS has purchased 65,000 KN95 masks to distribute.
Clubs Recovery: VP Admin Lauren Benson said the AMS Clubs Recovery Benefit (with funding for videoconferencing, masks, hand sanitizer, etc.) has been launched.
Block Party: Managing Director Keith Hester said the Block Party line-up has been announced and 4,000 tickets have been sold.
Next meeting:
The next regular Council meeting will be on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 6 pm.
Sheldon Goldfarb
Archivist & Clerk of Council
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