In an assembly last night, the AMS held a roundtable of the architects designing the JDUC redevelopment project.
“This year we’re going to be moving towards a second referendum which will engage with students, student leaders, the student body, general groups, and caucuses,” AMS President Miguel Martinez said.
“[The AMS] is going to try and reach as many students as we can to engage in the new Student Life Centre.”
The project is a joint venture between architect firms HDR Architecture Associates and MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA).
“This is an opportunity where we as architects get to interact with students who will be working with the project and understand exactly what you want,” Ted Watson, of MJMA, said.
Watson added student engagement and feedback is their primary concern when discussing the future JDUC redevelopment.
“We need to meet with the students, listen to them, learn from them, and take notes of their concerns to see if we can incorporate those elements into the design,” he said.
The presentation then opened up to a question period, followed by a roundtable discussion between student leaders and architects working on the JDUC redevelopment.
Questions asked in the assembly raised concerns in the areas of accessibility, sustainability, convenience, and engagement.
When asked about a more accessible Student Life Centre for students with disabilities, Watson said plans are stillin the works.
“We haven’t spoken to any particular groups [who identify] with physical disabilities at this stage just yet, but this just goes without saying […] that people should feel like [the structure] is theirs as much as everybody else.”
EngSoc President Carson Cooke asked about the project’s sustainability moving forward.
“One of the main concerns we have is in the design of the building to not only be sustainable right now, but to be innovative and sustainable 20 years down the road,” Cooke said.
In a closing statement to the JDUC consultation, Martinez encouraged students to participate in the consultation process.
“This is our first consultation, with students and with the AMS assembly, consisting of student leaders and students who are a bit more familiar with things that are going on around the university,” he said.
Martinez continued to discuss the AMS plans surrounding student engagement, and announced another consultation, which will be held on Oct. 29.
“I think we all need to come together as a team to bring students at large to the table,” he said.
Other motions covered within the assembly addressed the increase in fees to support student groups including Queen’s Project on International Development, Friday Friends, Queen’s Backing Action, and Queen’s Legal Aid.
All motions passed.
Following the final motion in the assembly, the AMS opened up to another discussion period regarding the Learning Outcomes Framework proposed by Commissioner of Academic Affairs, Julia Göllner.
Göllner presented the framework, which she said could guide the development of learning outcomes in courses.
“Essentially this document is in its very early stages,” she said. “It was the goal of the University to use recommendations and transfer them into this document and use it to incorporate into course material.”
Discussion of the Learning Outcomes Framework highlighted the need for amore in-depth description of how the proposals will be achieved.
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