Here are notes from the regular AMS Council meeting of March 2, 2022 (held virtually):
Speaker and CEO: Council approved changes to the job description of the Speaker and to the hours of the Chief Electoral Officer.
Gallery Lounge: Council heard a presentation from Michael Kingsmill, head of the AMS Design Office, on plans for reimagining the Gallery Lounge to make it more intimate and comfortable and also to add a video arcade and a dance floor. Estimated cost: $181,000.
Policies on Sexual Violence and Respectful Community: AMS Policy Advisor Mimi Neufeld told Council about the work being done to update the sexual violence and respectful community policies, which will focus on reassessing principles, providing training and resources, clarifying responses, and improving procedures. For more information, you can reach Mimi at mimineufeld@ams.ubc.ca
Student Services Manager: Council approved a Code change to make the Student Services Manager ineligible to sit on the HR Committee and the Finance Committee.
Constituency Elections: Council approved a Code change to allow the AMS Elections Committee to hear appeals in Constituency elections even if no appeal has taken place in the Constituency. Council also approved a change to require Constituencies to be consistent in their restrictions on who can run and who can vote in their elections.
Russia in Ukraine: AMS President Cole Evans noted that the AMS has put out a press release deploring the invasion. Councillor Mathew Ho asked about pushing UBC to divest from investments connected to violators of human rights. President Evans said the AMS does bring these things up, but it is difficult for UBC to divest. He later reported that UBC has no direct investments in Russia and only a small amount of indirect investment. He added that the AMS has no Russian assets.
Mathew Ho also asked about assisting Ukrainian students. President Evans said he would be speaking to UBC’s VP Students about this.
The Archivist later told of the time in 1956 when, after the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the AMS supported student Hungarian refugees and UBC adopted a Hungarian forestry school that had fled Hungary.
Block Party, Pit Night, and Tote Bags: Managing Director Keith Hester announced that 5700 tickets have been sold to Block Party. Also Wednesday was the first Pit Night in a long while (it will be wild, he said). And there are tote bags, 10,000 of them, as a sustainability initiative.
President Evans noted that Block Party evolved out of Arts County Fair, and the initials ACF have been preserved by the fraternities as the name of their event held on the same day as Block Party.
Advisory Board: President Evans said the Advisory Board has not met yet, but individual Advisory Board members meet one-on-one with members of the Executive.
Election Committee Reports: Council approved motions from Katherine Feng asking the Elections Committee to report on their pre-election event and asking the President and the Elections Committee to report on nominations and communications for Senate elections and elections for the Student Legal Fund Society.
Next meeting:
The next regular Council meeting will be on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 6 pm.
Sheldon Goldfarb
Archivist & Clerk of Council
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