By: Onosholema Ogoigbe, News Team Member
Board photos for website to be professionally taken
At the first SFSS meeting of the 2019–20 term, the board approved up to $690 for professional photographs to be taken of board members for the society’s website and social media.
A guest present at the meeting described the amount as “overkill” and asked for clarification on exactly how the money would be used.
Vice-president student life Jessica Nguyen replied with a brief breakdown of the costs of hiring a photographer. Nguyen explained the need for a professional photographer, stating that in the past, these photographs had been taken by staff but had “just never turned out right.” She also said that outsourcing the task was more cost effective than purchasing professional cameras for society use, and that the price was just an “up-to amount.”
Tawanda Chitapi, vice-president finance, supported her statement, referring to the amount as a “safety net.”
Faculty reps to attend ABCS 2019 Skills and Training Conference
The board put forth the motion to spend $798.38 to send science faculty representative, Simran Uppal and Environment faculty representative Julian Loutsik to the ABCS 2019 Skills and Training Conference. The motion was amended to remove Julian Loutsik from the conference due to a medical leave of absence. The motion was carried as amended.
During the SFSS meeting SOCA gave a presentation to become a tier 2 constituency group
SFU Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA) presented an appeal to the board to be recognized as a tier 2 constituency group.
“(SOCA) has been instrumental in advocating and raising issues relevant to the black community and allies on campus since 1994,” the motion reads.
The motion to make SOCA a tier 2 constituency was amended to postpone the motion, to allow board members familiarize themselves with constituency groups and the different tiers. The motion was carried as amended.
The Peak is continuing to work on this story. More to come as the story develops.
The SFSS will be posting election results on its website
The motion to post elections report on the SFSS website was put forth at the meeting as previously the SFSS had no policy in place about publishing the Elections and Referendum Report. The board amended the motion in respect to some unclear terminology and repetitions, then carried the motion as amended.
SFSS president Giovanni HoSang leaving for co-op in Seattle, proposes summer plan for remote work
SFSS president Giovanni HoSang gave a presentation on how he intends to handle his position while simultaneously taking on a co-op position with Microsoft in Seattle, from June to August. Certain board members expressed concerns over whether or not the duties of the presidency could be fulfilled remotely, and how the president’s absence would affect the workloads of other directors. HoSang reassured them that he was capable of balancing both.
The Peak is continuing to work on this story. More to come as the story develops.
Board discusses skills development for board meeting livestream and professionalism
This discussion item was brought forward to address a pilot project to livestream SFSS board meetings. Board members discussed the pros, cons, and technicalities of live streaming board meetings.
Health sciences representative Osob Mohammed cited accessibility needs as a pro, stating that “a livestream would make [the meetings] more accessible to everyone.”
At-large representative Rayhaan Khan put forward that he “wasn’t comfortable being live streamed during [the board’s] discussions” yet but would welcome the opportunity for training on professionalism and conduct during live streams.
The board was also informed by a guest at this point that somebody in attendance had unofficially been livestreaming the meeting prior to this discussion item being brought up.
The Peak is continuing to work on this story. More to come as the story develops.
Committee composition for 2019-2020
The SFSS motioned to appoint various executive directors to its committees, including the SFSS nominating committee, the SFSS Events Committee, the SFSS Governance Committee, the SFSS Finance and Audit committee, the SFSS University Advocacy and Lobbying Committee, the SFSS Surrey Campus Committee, the SFSS Vancouver Campus Committee, the SFSS Accessibility Fund Advisory Committee, and the SFSS Federal, Provincial and Municipal Advocacy and Lobbying Committee
[…] May 16 2019, during the first SFSS board meeting of the 2019-20 term SOCA gave a presentation to become a tier […]