As the year ends, The Journal ranks major mess-ups of Queen’s undergraduate student government, the AMS.
Headed by Team KMV, the AMS is a multi-million dollar organization which operates services such as Common Ground, the Tricolour Outlet, and Walkhome. They fund grants for student initiatives, manage ratified clubs, and meet with senior administration about issues on campus.
READ MORE: AMS Fall in Review: KMV reflects on successes and lessons learned
This year, KMV advocated for students with senior administration, securing academic accommodations for those impacted by the war in the Middle East. During both Homecoming and St. Patrick’s Day, the AMS funded multiple harm-reduction initiatives, including snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. The AMS Foodbank conducted multiple fundraisers and food drives, attempting to address food insecurity in the community.
Despite these initiatives, here are the top five AMS blunders this year.
Breach of policy during election season went unnoticed
This year’s AMS election season, which included two separate Special Assemblies and the de-slating of executive teams, concluded a month late and left the incoming executive scrambling to hire their team.
READ MORE: Finale to an unprecedented AMS election season sees new team appointed
The election culminated in an open discussion period during a six-hour Special Assembly, where members gathered in the middle of the room to discuss the executive candidates before voting. Students watching the livestream Assembly couldn’t hear what their leaders were saying during what was meant to be an open session.
READ MORE: AMS Assembly should be ashamed
Under Section 5.04 of the AMS Constitution, AMS Assembly must be “open to the public,” unless a motion passes to enter a closed session. Neither the AMS executive nor Alysha Ahmad, secretary of internal affairs, enforced the transparency stipulated by policy.
Interim Assembly Speaker, Kai Siallagan, ArtSci ’24, was absent from all AMS Special Assemblies due to extenuating circumstances.
FacSocs left without student fees five months past deadline
Three faculty societies received their student activity fees this month following five months of stalemate.
READ MORE: Collateral damage, AMS withholds student fees
Communication failures about orientation spending and student fee revenue meant the Health Sciences Society (HSS), Computer Science Students Association (COMPSA), and Physical Health Education & Kinesiology Student Association (PHEKSA) waited five months past their expected deadline to receive their money from the AMS.
FacSoc executives reported emails unanswered, raising their concerns at multiple AMS Assemblies. The AMS eventually transferred the outstanding students’ activity fees to the three FacSocs this month.
Student Life Centre Fee fails at referendum
The high-stakes Student Life Centre (SLC) fee failed at referendum, after a lack of communication from the AMS regarding what the fee meant for student spaces in the JDUC.
Without the SLC fee, the future of the AMS offices, club spaces, and services hangs in limbo while the executives continue negotiating rent with the university for next year.
READ MORE: AMS could move to remote workplace if SLC fee fails at winter referendum
In February, an AMS spokesperson said the fee was “critical” for the student government’s operations in the JDUC. The Journal’s calculations indicate it will take 37 more years of undergraduates paying the SLC fee to meet the necessary $62.3-million-dollar undergraduate contribution.
The AMS described the $5.96 SLC fee increase as supporting the booking of tables and management of student buildings. Renting spaces in the JDUC wasn’t included in the explanation.
At AMS Assembly on March 19, Vice President (Operations) Michelle Hudson promised to begin sending FacSoc leaders’ boxes to pack for the move. It’s still unclear how many student services will move into the revitalized building.
Limited communication surrounding the budget cuts
Despite sitting on Senate and attending Board of Trustees, the financial oversight body of the university, President Kate McCuaig hasn’t proactively reported information to students regarding the budget cuts.
On Dec. 11, the AMS executive piggybacked on a protest held by Queen’s Students vs Cuts, demanding more transparency from senior administration. In the only press release about the topic in December, the AMS claims to be made aware of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences cuts through Queen’s Coalition Against Austerity.
“This information was very much a surprise to us. We learned about these announcements in real time alongside the student population,” The statement released on Dec. 8 read.
In January, the executive planned a town hall, offering an opportunity for the Provost and Principal to answer student questions. It was cancelled the day before.
No further press releases or communication on social media has happened since then, despite the Provost claiming to have sentmonthly factual updates to all student leaders, including the AMS executive.
There has been no communication from the AMS about conversations with senior administration on the budget cuts, or indication the conversations are even happening. No member of team KMV attended the Board of Trustees meeting in March.
On Feb. 12, the University hosted its town hall to field questions from students, moderated by the Rector. The AMS wasn’t involved in the planning of this town hall and didn’t advertise it anywhere.
AMS refuses to release old equity report and passed policy requiring equity consultants to sign NDAs
In September, AMS Assembly passed a policy requiring equity-deserving consultants to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before becoming consultants with the AMS. Despite concerns this would limit students’ abilities to discuss consultations with equity-deserving communities, the policy passed unanimously.
READ MORE: KMV abandons AMS equity and diversity audit from previous year
At the same time, the current AMS executive has refused to release an external audit on the equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) practices of the AMS, completed last year. Team KMV claim it isn’t reflective of the current environment, and don’t want students to conflate information between years.
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