By: Nathan Hood
Council met on January 14th to discuss a proposal for a strategic plan subcommittee and review financial reports for The Wave and Mickey’s Place. Of note, former SU president Hammad Ahmed was in attendance for the first half of the meeting.
Proposal for Strategic Plan Subcommittee
Vice-President Academic & External and current acting president Taya Nabuurs presented a proposal to create a subcommittee of the New Initiatives and Future Directions Committee that would develop the Student Union’s new strategic plan. The current three-year plan expires at the end of April.
The subcommittee membership proposed was the president, the general manager, two members of the NIFD Committee, one councillor who was not a member of NIFD, and one student-at-large. After discussion, the proposed membership was amended to include students-at-large as need.
Councillor Ashley McKibbon said she supported the subcommittee proposal, saying not enough attention had been paid to the strategic plan to-date.
The proposal was approved, and councillors McKibbon, Caroline Simoes Correa, and Michael Ferguson were appointed to the subcommittee.
Wave and Mickey’s Place Show Improvements
Vice President Finance Will McGuigan presented the November 2017 financial reports for The Wave and Mickey’s Place.
The Wave lost $1,025.75 in November, a $6,655.12 improvement over the previous year, while Mickey’s Place lost a reported $631.89, a $23.47 improvement. The Cadre will provide a closer look later this week.
Tampons Now Available in Student Centre Washrooms
In the absence of tampon dispensers, Nabuurs said the SU has placed tampons in all gender-neutral washrooms on campus, as well as the women’s washrooms outside Tim Hortons and The Wave.
Nabuurs added that the current distribution model, which sees the tampons placed in small boxes in the washroom, will be run on a trial basis to measure its effectiveness.
Other News
Vice President Finance McGuigan said documents for the student centre refresh have been sent to UPEI for review. McGuigan says the project is on track and doesn’t expect to run into any issues. At the December 3rd Council meeting, councillors approved a motion to request a loan of up to $410,000 from the university to cover the costs of the project.
Councillor McKibbon raised concerns about the payment of tuition for graduate students. McKibbon said that in the past, graduate students received stipends for their research and had the ability to pay their tuition in biweekly sums. However, McKibbon says the university is now only allowing graduate students to pay their tuition in a lump sum. Vice President Academic & External Nabuurs said she would look into the situation.
Nabuurs said that legislation for sexual violence prevention at post-secondary campuses is on the legislative agenda for the PEI Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning. PEI is one of the last provinces to tackle the issue.
Council approved the results of the e-votes to accept the hiring board recommendations for the new Cadre editor-in-chief and UPEISU associate director of communications.