Interfund transfer from Space Expansion Fund to Build SFU
The SFSS board of directors moved to make a non-cash interfund transfer from the Space Expansion Fund to Build SFU to settle the debt owed by Build SFU.
VP finance Adam Potvin explained, “This is merely a housekeeping item. We’re not looking to transfer cash.”
A sum of $645,859 has already been transferred from space expansion to Build SFU. Board members have decided that these two share the same mandate, so the non-cash transfer “effectively negates the requirement of repayment by Build SFU.”
Clean Energy Investment Plan
A proposal came to board to invest a portion of the SFSS general fund in clean energy.
The SFSS plans to buy 1,000 shares from iShares Global Clean Energy ETF, totalling approximately $12,000. This investment may be sold at any time.
“This investment is a tiny fraction of the society’s net worth,” said Potvin. “It’s just using the cash that’s sitting there as an asset now, so it doesn’t affect the budget whatsoever.”
Board carried a motion to accept the proposal, including in the motion that no further investments will be made “until such time as an investment policy has been approved by board.”
SFSS to host SGM on SUB motions
The SFSS’ Annual General Meeting held on October 22 was the first to make quorum since 2008, however the SFU Theatre where the meeting was being held quickly met capacity — approximately 60 students who were left outside were unable to vote on two motions related to the Build SFU Student Union Building and Stadium projects.
SFSS president Chardaye Bueckert sought legal advice as to whether or not the society could hold another AGM to allow everyone’s voices to be heard. However, an AGM must be held between September 15 and October 31 in any given year. Therefore, the SFSS voted to hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) on January 19 to allow all members who were unable to vote to do so.
“We want to make sure that everybody has a fair opportunity to vote,” Bueckert said. “I’m really confident that the motions will pass if revisited given the overwhelming support.”
The SFSS will also host a Town Hall to allow students to discuss any concerns in a less formal setting.
Board ratifies Science Undergraduate Society constitution and bylaws
As recommended by the Constitution and Policy Review Committee, board ratified the changes made to the Science Undergraduate Society constitution and bylaws.
Although science representative Deepak Sharma explained that they only made “minor edits,” Dion Chong, SASS president, voiced his concerns over the use of the alternative pronoun ‘zir’ in the document. “I think there are many many alternative pronouns that are available to that community and it’s a lot more inclusive to use ‘they’ which is already constantly used as opposed to using ‘zir’,” he said.
The approval of the document validates the referendum question which was posed this November concerning the establishment of the Science Undergraduate Society as the official Faculty Student Union.
The SFSS didn’t seek legal advice. They were threatened with legal action by several student groups because they failed to hold a legal AGM. This isn’t an act of benevolance, they broke the law.