Here are notes from the regular AMS Council meeting of January 12, 2022 (held virtually):
Ombudsperson: Council appointed a new Ombudsperson, Oluwafunto Odukoya, and also a Deputy Ombudsperson (Alec Lee).
Clubs: AVP Administration Ben Du presented the results of a club survey, which showed that clubs are in support of a second Clubs Days and videoconferencing grants, would like more storage space, and are concerned about protecting personal information on the AMS club platform, Campus Base. He added that data on Campus Base has been migrated to Canadian servers.
Fund changes: Council approved Code amendments to allow the AMS, in addition to individual students, to access the Sustainability Projects Fund. It also approved changes to allow the Clubs Benefit Fund and the Constituency Aid Fund to be used to cover Club and Constituency user fees in the new expense management system.
Elections: President Cole Evans announced that the HR Committee has hired a new Chief Electoral Officer: Shania Muthu. He then led a discussion on whether to maintain the ban on postering by candidates. There was also a discussion about whether UBC should run the Faculty Senator elections as they did last year.
Referendum Plans: President Evans said there may be referendum questions on fee restructuring, bylaw changes, digital opt-outs, Health & Dental Plan expansion, and the brewery fee.
Return to Campus: President Evans noted that UBC has postponed this till February 7, but remains optimistic there will be a return this semester. He added that there is a balance between safety and the effect of online classes on mental health.
Student Experience Survey: Council was told that the survey had wrapped up after receiving approximately 2500 responses. Findings will be presented later this semester.
Vaccine Survey: In a survey of AMS employees, 90% declared they were vaccinated.
Wages: It was announced that AMS staff wages are being raised across the board and the tier structure they are based on is being revisited.
Hatch Art Gallery: Council was told that a new team has been hired for the gallery, with onboarding conducted in December.
Equity: President Evans submitted the Equity goals and said the plan going forward is to host regular equity workshops.
Mental Health Benefit: VP Finance Mary Gan reported that the Health & Dental Plan Committee had increased the mental health benefit from $1,000 to $1,500.
Exams online: VPAUA Eshana Bhangu reported that the AMS had pushed to move the December exams online, and some faculties did do that.
A VP Returns! Lauren Benson returned to her post as VP Administration and said she was catching up.
The Brewery Committee Returns! Council voted to rename the dormant Fermentation Lab Committee as the Ad Hoc Brewery Committee (the original name of the committee).
Gallery Furniture: Managing Director Keith Hester said plans are underway to upgrade the furniture in the Gallery Lounge.
Next meeting:
The next regular Council meeting will be on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 6 pm.
Sheldon Goldfarb
Archivist & Clerk of Council
