Rector falls short on submitting written reports to Assembly

Alex da Silva only submitted one out of four written reports in fall semester

Image supplied by: Journal File Photo
Rector Alex da Silva only submitted one out of four written reports to Assembly in the fall semester.

Rector Alex da Silva submitted only one written report to AMS Assembly last semester, providing an update for September’s meeting, but did not do so for the remainder of assemblies that term.

Da Silva, who was elected the 36th rector of Queen’s in January of 2018, has only submitted written reports for five of 12 assemblies since she took over the position, according to the agendas posted on the AMS’ website. Written reports are included in Assembly agendas and posted online for Queen’s community members who are unable to attend Assembly to refer to.

In a statement to The Journal, da Silva said the missing reports were “supplemented by verbal reports that were very extensive and [had] a very big willingness to answer any and all questions.”

According to Assembly minutes, available on the AMS website, da Silva made remarks at the Sept. 19 and Nov. 28 assemblies and was absent for the other two.  

In the first year of her term, da Silva provided written reports to three out of seven AMS assemblies, according to the agendas.

“Something I have struggled with in the past is feeling that students are overwhelmed by the ‘homework’ that comes with the long meetings of Assembly,” da Silva wrote. “Often I receive emails or students on assembly coming to my office to inquire about updates that have been brushed over and lost in a sea of written updates.”

She added that she believes her messages come across “far more effectively through verbal communication” and that work done at administrative levels “often seems like that which students feel most disconnected from.”

“That being said, there is obviously value to the documentation of written reports and as such you’ll notice that the two months that those were not produced were represented by the January report.”

Da Silva is leaving her position as rector after two years, and an election will be held this month to determine who will take over the position in May.

Tags

Alex da Silva, AMS Assembly, Rector

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content