AMS discusses Orientation Summit

Safety campaigns launched for Homecoming

Image by: Curtis Heinzl
Team ETC hosted the AMS monthly meeting in Jeffery Hall. 

AMS Assembly gathered in Jeffrey Hall on Thursday evening to discuss Orientation and Homecoming.

Callum Robertson, AMS vice-president (university affairs) provided details on the upcoming AMS Orientation Summit that will discuss equity and accessibility issues in Orientation Week. The 2022 Orientation budget ran a $25,512 deficit.

“This will involve sending in an email to all of the stakeholders here later on. But for now, the event for the summit will be hosted most likely on Nov. 9 at 5 p.m.,” Robertson said.

Robertson said making sure everybody has a chance to speak, share their thoughts, and control the topics is an important part of the summit.

In explaining a basic framework, Robertson said the topics team ETC wants to include are transparency, accountability, and accessibility regarding the AMS internal operations. 

“In terms of the external facing adversity, we’re also looking at that united front, or how students view Orientation,” Robertson said.

Layla Haddad, Orientation Roundtable (ORT) equity director, emphasized including equity related events during Orientation Week. Haddad hopes the AMS will pass the ORT Campus Activities Commission (CAC) grant at their next assembly in November.

“[The ORT CAC] is essentially an opportunity for different faculty societies—like heads and Orientation heads—to apply for supplemental funds to fund equity related events during Orientation Week,” Haddad said.

According to Haddad, smaller faculties, such as Computing and Health Sciences, have contacted her for additional Orientation funding.

Eric Sikich, AMS president, spoke about the ongoing initiatives for the upcoming Homecoming weekends on Oct. 22 and 29.

“[Security services have] mentioned they will not be checking bags and asking individuals to dump out their water bottles unless there is a sign of physical impairment or need for help,” Sikich told Assembly.

The AMS is launching campaigns promoting safety during Homecoming, including a video series called Save Our Paws asking students not to litter in the student district.  

“A few of these initiatives involved collaborating with the Campus Observation Room (COR). They already will be doing a collaborative video and releasing that to show students what resources they have, during different large events,” Sikich said. 

The AMS is recruiting students internally to participate in a community clean-up following homecoming weekend. 

“We’re also doing our fall cleanups after homecoming this weekend, and next weekend,” Robertson said. “We really want to get a lot of people involved so we can keep the university district clean after homecoming, after everybody’s had their fun.”

The AMS fee referendum package is being assembled by the Office of the Secretary and will be voted on at next month’s Assembly.

“We’re currently working on the implementation of new student fees as well as the merger of the Print and Copy Centre (P&CC) in Studio Q within the next couple of years,” Chairperson of the Board of Directors Laura Devenny said.

Absent from the meeting was Rector Owen Lem, Undergraduate Trustee Jaya Sharma, and Student Senate Caucus Chair Emils Matiss. None of the missing members submitted reports or sent proxies to the meeting. 

Tags

AMS, Assembly, Homecoming, orientation, ORT

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