The three new AMS executives’ campaign commitments take action as they start their terms, with transparency and accountability highlighted as priorities.
Working out of the JDUC, AMS President Dreyden George, Vice-President (Operations) Avery Papoulidis, and Vice-President (University Affairs) Edward Sy assumed their official positions on May 1 after being elected on Jan. 31.
READ MORE: Team DAE elected next AMS executive
Team DAE sat down with The Journal to speak about how their campaign commitments are progressing, whether circumstances have changed, and their goals for the term.
Campaign promises
Having been appointed as interim president on March 10 after former AMS President Jana Amer’s resignation, George’s campaign was organized around three pillars: affordability, transparency, and engagement. He also highlighted how he hopes to rebuild student relationships with the AMS.
READ MORE: Dreyden George appointed interim AMS president
Sy was the only member of team DAE who didn’t highlight transparency as one of his three pillars, and instead focused on accountability, community, and efficiency.
Wanting to keep students informed about how their fees are managed, Papoulidis’ campaign was centered around equitable service support, transparent operations, and a more connected campus.
Transparency and Accountability
To be more transparent, George aimed to improve communication between the AMS and students. In a previous interview with The Journal, George mentioned how this includes increased communication with The Journal, social media platforms, and through the implementation of office hours where students can visit and speak directly with AMS executives.
READ MORE: Team DAE hopes to rebuild student trust in the AMS during upcoming term
When asked if these office hours had been established, George said that they have expanded their front desk hours, located on the first floor of JDUC in room 118, and created what he called a “master booking list” within the front desk.
He explained that the list helps direct students to the appropriate individual if they have questions about a particular commission portfolio, a program, or an executive.
There are no published, fixed office hours to walk-in and meet with the executives.
George mentioned that the AMS experienced difficulties pertaining to supporting clubs and the event sanctioning process, leading the AMS to transition away from Bounce to the AMS support portal. George said the transition is intentional in trying to rebuild trust with the student body.
READ MORE: AMS ends partnership with Bounce, moves club services in-house
“We want to support students [and] make things more transparent, clear, and hold ourselves accountable,” George said.
Papoulidis said the team was able to decrease the projected consolidated budget from the previous year’s actuals by $600,000, which translates to cutting costs.
There has been a 54 per cent decrease in the AMS’s overall operating deficit between last year’s actual and this year’s budgeted. There has also been a 35 per cent decrease in last year’s actual and this year’s budgeted operating deficit for the general office.
A goal for this year has been setting more realistic revenue targets, which they say Common Ground Coffeehouse (CoGro), AMS Media Centre, Society 58, and the Student Life Centre have been exceeding.
During the upcoming semester, Papoulidis is aiming to launch a public-facing financial report on AMS finances that will be available to students. The goal is to take their consolidated budget and turn it into a digestible version for students.
Papoulidis said the inspiration for this idea came from seeing other universities put out similar reports, including Western University. There is no exact date as to when the report will be published but Papoulidis said it is “one of our goals for the fall semester.”
Affordability
Sy mentioned that the AMS is exploring what he called a “very preliminary, but very exciting” initiative of a student discount program that includes collaboration with Kingston’s downtown businesses.
He said that the initiative is working with a “downtown business improvement area” that oversees over 700 businesses, and over 40 businesses that are already interested in participating.
He said he has been liaising with St. Lawrence College and the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) to create and coordinate the discount program.
Businesses participating will have window decals promoting the discount. Sy said they are still looking for more businesses to participate.
This comes after some businesses have begun placing limits on student discounts in Kingston, including the Loblaws on Princess Street reducing its student discount from seven days a week to only Tuesdays.
READ MORE: Kingston Loblaws limits student discount to Tuesdays
Student Engagement and Services
Papoulidis said that the summer has been successful regarding the engagement with AMS services, mentioning that the Queen’s Pub has held some successful events following its $570,777 deficit.
There are also new services launching in the coming month, Papoulidis said, emphasizing new photo printing and photo booths, and new product drops at Society 58. She said that these new launches will meet with students’ demands.
During his campaign, Sy emphasized wanted to create a Resource Hub where students have access to free resources and can speak with Events and Club staff.
The Hub had a soft opening on Sept. 4 and 6 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Queen’s Centre room 506 behind CoGro where students visited and tested out the Hub’s services.
Its launch is scheduled for Sept. 15. Sy said marketing for the Hub will appear in the coming days with discount and coffee vouchers. The Hub is planned to be open five days a week.
The three executives are planned to occupy their seats for a year, with the next transition set to take place on May 1, 2027.
Tags
AMS, AMS Exectutive, Summer in review
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