Recent meeting of the Board of Directors saw presentation from AVP among usual business
A UVSS Board of Directors meeting on Oct. 6 confirmed funding for many clubs and course unions, approved budgets and other monetary movements, and saw further inquiry into the recently passed Service Groups Policy.
The meeting kicked off with multiple amendments to the original agenda. A majority of the agenda amendments were concerning ratification and allocation of funding for select clubs and course unions. There was also a proposal for a presentation by staff from the Anti-Violence Project (AVP), which was approved shortly thereafter.
All motions to amend the agenda were carried.
Anti-Violence Project Presentation
The AVP had only 15 minutes to give their presentation followed by a short period of response, as the question period was also moved to directly after the presentation. Two staff members in attendance spoke about their concerns over the recent Service Groups Policy that was passed at the last Board of Directors meeting.
This same policy required the AVP to assume responsibility of the Peer Support Centre (PSC) as well as shifted them from being an “affiliate group” to a “service group,” making them beholden to committee oversight.
Two primary grievances were discussed by AVP: the integration with the PSC and the new organizational structure that came with the Service Groups Policy. Staff expressed concerns over the differences in training required at AVP versus the PSC — a difference of 40 hours and four hours, respectively — as well as a difference in the services that the groups offer.
AVP explained that if students were to approach the PSC with concerns that would be better handled by AVP’s trained staff, students may begin to lose trust in the service, and may not receive the right care.
Additionally, the influx of hours for AVP staff as they take on supporting the PSC was a point of concern, as was the change in structure that comes with being a service group. The addition of this oversight was particularly troubling to AVP, as members on the committee do not have the same specialized training that AVP staff do but they are able to make decisions that would affect AVP’s ability to carry out their work.
Ultimately, the AVP staffers present called for a “pause” on the implementation of the current Service Groups Policy, and asked instead that it be reviewed and rewritten with collaboration between AVP staff, PSC volunteers, management, and student insight.
During the question period that followed, board members expressed disquiet over the lack of transparency and consultation of AVP in the creation of the Service Groups Policy. One representative asked if similar “major governance changes” could happen to other advocacy or affiliate groups. Board Chair Griffin Foster responded that advocacy groups are governed by bylaws which make changes to their organizational structure more complex and require a vote for most major changes, meaning it is unlikely that other groups will undergo similar changes.
AVP responded to questions raised to them about their involvement with the policy, saying that although it is a “really big change,” they are more interested in how to resolve the situation as it stands and do not wish to rehash past issues of communication. They emphasized their goal of offering meaningful support to students and reiterated that they were expressing concerns on behalf of students and do not wish to create conflict with the UVSS.
While no decisions were made at this meeting, all parties with grievances about the Service Groups Policy were invited to attend the Policy Development Committee meeting on Friday Oct. 10, where a more thorough conversation about the policy could take place.
Budget and Finances
After the presentation, the meeting moved on to scheduled agenda items, nearly all of which concerned the Financial Operations Committee.
The first motion brought forth was to approve the UVSS budget for the 2025–2026 year. According to the representative from the committee, the UVSS has been seeing a revenue increase over the past decade and a number of businesses are turning in higher profits this year — with special attention given to the Munchie Bar, which is the most successful SUB business at the moment.
After a short deliberation period, wherein board members read over the budget, the motion to adopt the budget was passed.
The other motions included moving up to $360 000 from the Operating Reserve Fund into the Operating Fund to cover operating costs from the previous fiscal year and a motion to allocate up to $15 000 to the Main Kitchen from the Major Capital Fund to support the purchase of a new slicer. Both of these motions were passed successfully.
Club and Course Union Funding and Ratification
As was brought up in the amendments to the evening’s agenda, various clubs and course unions were in need of ratification and funding.
Some extraneous course unions were in need of ratification, which was passed on the grounds that they would receive no funding. Other clubs and course unions were allocated their respective funding under the categories of Publication Funding, Academic Funding, and Travel Pool, with some receiving over $1 000.
Executive Committee
A report from the Executive Committee given by Director of Events Lindsey Andrew put forth the proposal for a new Candidate Withdrawal Policy. Following some controversies from the last UVSS elections, Andrew proposed that a candidate who wishes to remove their name from the ballot may do so before a specific cutoff date. If the candidate withdraws after the cutoff, any votes in their favour will be disregarded.
This policy will be voted on in a future meeting, but it was brought forward for all board members to review.
In other executive matters, Foster reported two unsuccessful attempts to meet with the university to discuss matters related to his role in University Outreach, but hopes his next meeting will come to pass.
With no final matters for the evening, the Board of Directors moved to conclude and begin the in-camera portion.
