Air Conditioning: AMS Designer Michael Kingsmill presented a plan to Council for adding air conditioning to the Nest to deal with the problem of summer overheating. To make sure the building retains its LEED Platinum certification as a sustainable building, the project will include the addition of solar panels to conserve energy.
Bylaw Amendments: Council discussed proposed changes to the bylaws, especially focusing on the need for an amendment to protect against the release of documents whose disclosure would cause harm to the Society. There was also discussion on whether to increase the number of signatures needed to initiate a referendum by petition.
Indigenous Seat on Council: Council was told of a separate bylaw amendment proposal to create a voting seat on Council for an Indigenous student.
Ad Hoc Council Governance Committee: AMS President Chris Hakim was named to fill the position of chair on this committee after the resignation of two previous chairs. Council later extended the deadline for the committee to submit a report until November.
Flight 752: Councillor Arash Shadkam expressed disappointment that the AMS had not issued a statement about the shooting down of this flight, especially since four members of the UBC community died in it. AMS President Chris Hakim said the criticism was valid: the AMS had echoed a statement made by the University, but should have issued one of its own.
Paranormal Research Club: VP Administration Cole Evans said he had seen a television show on such a club at Pennsylvania State University and wished we had such a club. (By the end of the meeting someone had submitted an application to create such a club, just in time for the close of new club applications.)
Bookings: Councillor Michelle Marcus asked about problems with bookings. VP Evans said he had been hearing complaints from clubs and Constituencies and said his team is looking at changing procedures; they are also looking at new software systems. He said he is hoping to roll out a solution by the end of his term.
Report from Ottawa: VP External Cristina Ilnitchi sent in a report from Ottawa, where she is with fifteen other student unions on a lobby trip. They have had 70 meetings with MP’s and staff.
Pow Wow: A representative of the Indigenous Committee told Council about a Pow Wow being planned for April 3.
Senate Independence: Council passed a Code change to establish that student Senators and student members of the Board of Governors are independent of the AMS and its Constituencies and should not be assigned tasks by Council or the Constituencies.
Fee Update: Council also passed a Code change to update the fees and funds listed.
Qualtrics: Council again named Qualtrics to be the platform to be used to collect electronic signatures for referendum petitions.
Academic Experience Survey: At the request of VP Academic & University Affairs Julia Burnham, Council agreed to suspend the policy on the survey in order not to run certain questions required by the policy which were felt to be no longer relevant.
Next meeting: There will be a special Council meeting on February 12. The next regular Council meeting will be at 6 pm on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 in the Michael Kingsmill Forum on the fourth floor of the Nest.
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