AMS Assembly at City Hall sees OUSA visitors

Recap of Oct 5 meeting

Image by: Ashley Quan

On Oct 5, the annual Town Hall AMS Assembly was held at City Hall in Kingston.

The meeting began with guest speaker, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), followed by statements by members, approval of motions, and a short discussion period. 

OUSA

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) began its presentation by explaining its purpose and relations to the AMS. The group conducts research for universities and the students attending them.

President of OUSA, Jamie Cleary, spoke about the value of the membership and the presence of both AMS Academic Affairs Commissioner, Leah Brockie, and Vice-President (University Affairs) Carolyn Thompson.

According to Cleary’s presentation, OUSA is currently in a contingency surplus of 1 per cent, meaning that they have above the legal amount to cover any unforeseen losses.

Priorities for 2016-17 included tuition framework revision, sexual violence prevention and improvement of student support services.

Commerce Society (ComSoc) President Bhavik Vyas stated that there is an unjustified bias in tuition for Commerce specifically. He questioned the rationale for tuition increases when there is increasing enrollment and more e-learning.

“Education is no longer a publicly funded sector. We want to see changes in the tuition framework,” Cleary said.

A question was proposed about the benefits of Queen’s relationship with OUSA.

“We wouldn’t be able to function how we do if we didn’t have Leah, or the academic affairs commissioner, on OUSA,” Cleary replied.

Vice-President (University Affairs) Report

Carolyn Thompson’s report featured a section on Red Alert Housing, a website designed to warn students of potentially unsafe or unlawful living environments in the University District.

The website was developed by a Queen’s PhD student, and had peaked the interest of the student government.

However, Thompson concluded that the AMS will not be endorsing the service, claiming that it gave her computer a virus.

Statements by Students

President Vyas announced that after two years under Orientation Week probation, Commerce has received new information that their probation has officially ended.

Motions

Nine omnibus motions were approved with no discussion or debate.

All other motions under Business Arising from the Minutes and New Business were also approved.

Discussion Period

The discussion period dissolved into unofficial business, with members of student societies discussing the meeting’s catered sandwiches rather than official AMS business.

Tags

AMS Assembly, Bhavik Vyas, Carolyn Thompson, Commerce, Leah Brockie, Orientation Week, OUSA, probation, recap, Red Alert Housing, Town Hall

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