Incoming AMS Assembly recap

Martinez pledges second JDUC referendum vote. Speaker, judicial committee chair voted in

On Apr. 9, the incoming AMS assembly met for the first time in Wallace Hall. During the assembly, the incoming 2018-2019 AMS Executive explained their priorities for the upcoming summer months.

 he incoming AMS Executive consists of President Miguel Martinez, Vice-President (University Affairs) Munro Watters and Vice-President (Operations) Liam Tharp.

The assembly also voted in a speaker, an appointment for Judicial Committee Chair and five members of the Nominating Committee.

Tyler Macintyre, Sci ’20, was confirmed as speaker of the assembly after securing a majority of votes. Macintyre was the only person to apply for the position.

In February, Macintyre sought appointment for AMS Executive as the presidential candidate for Team TMZ. Macintyre’s team landed in third place at the Feb. 2 special assembly. When questioned about why he wanted to take on the role of speaker, Macintyre told assembly he wanted to be “more engaged” with the AMS.

In addition, assembly confirmed Paul Jacoby, ArtSci ’19, to the position of Judicial Committee Chair. Jacoby managed secured a majority of votes from assembly.

During discussion period, Team MLM presented their strategic plan for the summer months. The first area the team touched on was the JDUC redevelopment project.

Martinez stressed the project is the “cumulative work” of several executives and said MLM plans to “find out why students voted no” to the revitalization effort. In addition, the team has pledged a second referendum vote next year.

Martinez told assembly that he thought there were “two major reasons” why the project was rejected by students. “One is the fee,” he said. “The university needs to pitch in more.”

The second reason Martinez highlighted was the project’s content, which he said means “going back to the drawing board to find out what needs to change with the project.”

“There will be a year or two when students will take a hit. There will be a year or two when students don’t have a student life center,” Martinez said about the project. He added however, that its “about students seeing the value” in the project as an investment in the University.

When asked by a member of assembly whether the timeline for the project has shifted due to the failed referendum, Martinez said “as of right now, the timeline [for the project] has not changed.”

In response, some members expressed concerns about the amount of the previously proposed fee. ASUS representative to the AMS Zack Lunetta pushed back on the idea of having an upfront student fee for the project all together.

Lunetta argued the AMS would be “forcing” students to pay for something they don’t experience the benefits of. 

In addition, Quentin Tsang, KIN ’19, asked the executive about where services would be relocated for the duration of the project. Tharp responded by saying that at this point, “we don’t know.”

Tsang also asked if shutting down the Queen’s Pub and Tricolour Outlet is on the table for the project. In response, Tharp said “we haven’t looked at that.”

However, Martinez added that some services do have the potential to close. He stressed that MLM will try to formulate “contingency plans” for services in the event a student fee can be secured. 

The executive also presented their plan to create a program to address the culture of excessive drinking at Queen’s. Martinez expressed that students need to “work collectively” to move forward on the issue. 

In their written report to assembly, MLM explained the strategic plan presented at assembly is “by no means a final draft.”  

“We plan to continue developing [the strategic plan] as new issues facing our student body arise … As the incoming AMS Executive, we believe that we must be transparent in the decisions we make, including in the reasoning and methods behind those decisions,” the report read.

Tags

AMS Assembly, Team MLM

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