‘The Journal’ acknowledges that a staff member is affiliated with the incoming VPOPS, but wasn’t involved in reporting or writing this story to maintain ethical journalistic standards.
After a turbulent semester, Team DAE is setting out its vision for the AMS.
This past January, students voted in a new AMS executive team, selecting Dreyden George, ArtSci ’27, for president, Edward Sy, HealthSci ’28, for vice-president (university affairs) (VPUA), and Avery Papoulidis, HealthSci ’27, for vice-president (operations) (VPOPS). Now, almost two months after their election, The Journal sat down with the trio to learn more about their vision for the upcoming school year.
According to George, the members of team DAE have been meeting weekly and have been taking every opportunity to engage with the outgoing executives and head managers in an attempt to ensure a smooth and comprehensive transition into their roles on May 1.
In their upcoming terms, team DAE hopes to rebuild student relationships with the AMS by prioritizing accountability, affordability, and engagement.
President
On March 10, following the resignation of previous AMS President Jana Amer, George was appointed interim president and will officially step into the role on March 27. While this early transition was unexpected, George said he views it as an advantage, as he’ll have more time in his role.
READ MORE: Dreyden George appointed interim AMS president
During his time as president, George hopes to rebuild trust in the AMS through increased transparency and accountability. For him, this involves greater engagement with The Queen’s Journal through increased communication and the building of positive relations, a sentiment he then extended to any “partner” the executives work with.
He also hopes to further communication through traditional social media channels, the implementation of office hours where students can come speak to their executives, and additional resources to help the internal affairs office increase voter turnout.
George also hopes to help ensure the AMS works better within its budget, while also ensuring important AMS services, such as the food bank or student experience bursary, remain well-funded and accessible. One plan he has to increase affordability within the AMS involves encouraging further cross-department collaboration to combine resources to produce larger-scale events.
In the coming school year, George anticipates some challenges arising from higher prices brought on by tariffs, the potential impacts of Bill 33, and work culture issues within the AMS brought on by its recent controversies. George plans on addressing these issues by working to better understand and mitigate how Bill 33 would potentially affect student life, and further engaging with senior managers and volunteers to set a better tone within the AMS.
Vice-President (Operations)
Similarly to George, Papoulidis also understands the importance of strengthening student relationships with the AMS come May 1.
“I think that, right now, it’s no surprise that there’s a lack of trust toward the AMS,” Papoulidis said. “A big goal of ours is to really figure out specific strategic initiatives and goals to at least attempt to mend that relationship by being transparent.”
As VPOPS, Papoulidis will also be working with AMS services to address the $852,202 budget deficit attributed to AMS, and the $570,777 deficit specifically attributed to the Queen’s Pub – Papoulidis served as Assistant Manager of Marketing and Events. She plans on analyzing foot traffic and numbers from the past year to better understand the status of JDUC services and to learn how to further increase student engagement with such services.
“I think that all of the pieces are intertwined together,” she said. “Engagement will likely increase if people see more trust and accountability within the AMS, and engagement will also likely increase if they see more collaborative opportunities.”
As she transitions into her role, Papoulidis plans on sitting down with the head managers of different AMS services to create goal plans and budgets, and to have conversations with permanent staff and other stakeholders within the AMS to determine how they can better support society services.
Vice-President (University Affairs)
In their upcoming term, Sy hopes to improve student relationships with the AMS by increasing the general understanding of what the AMS actually does.
They highlighted a new AMS resource hub expected to launch in the coming year as key to improving this understanding, while also explaining goals to create further resources and flow charts that explain AMS governance systems and decision-making processes.
He also hopes to ensure smoother bureaucratic processes for faculty societies, including how clubs are ratified and supported by the AMS. According to Sy, the VPUA currently has a council that he hopes to expand and rename the Community and Advocacy Council, in hopes of bridging gaps in the AMS.
Sy also expressed a desire to “bring back fun to campus” in the coming year, referencing the recent loss of the ORT Mystery Concert.
“[We want to look at] what brings students together, and how we can create the funds to actually facilitate that in a sustainable manner,” Sy said. “And I also want more fun internally as well within our dynamic as a team, as well as with our 1000-plus AMS staff and volunteers.”
Similarly to George, Sy also identified Bill 33 and AMS work culture issues as potential challenges for their upcoming term.
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Once assuming their roles on May 1, team DAE are expected to serve in their roles until April 31, 2027.
Tags
AMS executives, Meet the team, Team DAE
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Scammed Student
How about that credit card use policy for AMS exec?