By: Sofia Chassomeris, News Writer
Editor’s note: we recognize that The Peak has an interest in the fee increase discussed at this meeting. The coverage in this article was undertaken by a member of our editorial team who’s not involved or informed by the non-editorial activities of The Peak Publications Society. The Peak is committed to preventing conflict of interest in our ongoing reporting of this issue.
On October 2, The Peak attended the hybrid Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) meeting via Zoom. The meeting involved announcing by-elections that would soon be held for seats on several committees, discussion of items outside the agenda, and reports from the executive committee.
By-elections were called for the following committees:
The university and academic affairs (UAA) committee is responsible for communicating with students about university issues and issue-based campaigns while also working with SFU student senators and a Board of Governors Representative. The UAA committee has one vacant seat.
The human resources (HR) and personnel committee guides the president “in their role as the liaison between Council and staff” and ensures that collective agreements are upheld. The HR and personnel committee has one vacant seat.
Member services advisory committee (MSA) advises Council on the “coordination of society member services,” which includes assisting “coordinators on member services, clubs, and Departmental Student Union operations.” The MSA committee has one vacant seat.
The space oversight committee (SPOC) procures and oversees the maintenance of SFSS space, such as maintenance and “future space opportunities.” SFSS includes the Forum Chambers and Student Union Building. The SPOC has one vacant seat.
The members meetings planning committee (MMPC) is also looking to fill two vacant seats.
Additional motions in the agenda
Following a brief mention that the SFSS and several other affiliate groups are working on fee campaigns, the SFSS passed a motion to form a fee referendum working group. The working group will be made up of “vice-president internal, vice-president equity, vice-president finance, one councillor from the constituency groups, one councillor from a faculty student union, and one additional councillor to be appointed in the motion, as well as representatives from Embark, SFPIRG, and The Peak.”
The SFSS then passed a motion to sign the Graduate Student Society’s joint letter to SFU administration, which calls for the university to “ensure an accessible learning environment for all students, transparency around procedures and policies, and increased student consultation.”
Reports from the executive committee
Chloё Arneson, vice-president equity and sustainability, briefly shared progress on a project involving the koi fish in the AQ pond. She also shared that Council will be finalizing the Steps Forward initiative brought forward by the accessibility committee last year. The accessibility committee is responsible for the society’s accessibility fund. The Steps Forward initiative supports “adults with developmental disabilities to be fully included in all aspects of a post-secondary student experience.” Arneson said further discussion on how the initiative will provide job experience for students with developmental disabilities will take place in the next Council meeting.
Simar Sahota, vice-president finance and services, updated Council on the preparation of the annual finance report for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on October 30 and documented changes in the budget. The AGM is expected to give SFU students a chance to bring important issues to the SFSS’ attention.
Sam Killawee, vice-president internal and organizational development, shared that his governance and MMPC committees have been reviewing bylaws, preparing for the AGM, and working on the fee campaigns. Killawee also noted that “between this Council and the last, we had Kickoff, which was really fun!”
Rishu Bagga, vice-president university and academic affairs, updated Council on the start of the SFSS’s food drive, which began on October 1: “It’s been a busy couple of weeks.” The food drive was a joint project with the SFU disability and neurodiversity alliance that collected non-perishable food items until October 11. Bagga said donation boxes were set up in residence and that Council was looking to put them at cornerstone and the Student Union Building as well.
