In the July 13 board meeting directors filled a committee vacancy, approved monetary transfers between UVSS accounts, ratified and funded clubs, and more.
Photo by Belle White.
In the July 15 UVSS Board of Directors Meeting, a committee vacancy was filled, transfers of funds were approved, and funding and ratification were approved for numerous clubs and course unions.
The meeting began with a land acknowledgement given by Cecilia Bulbrook, representative for the Gender Empowerment Centre (GEM). Bulbrook gave a thoughtful land acknowledgement which highlighted the importance of uplifting Indigenous voices and learning from Indigenous knowledge.
Before the board adopted the meeting’s agenda, Maddy Vanderhooft, director of student affairs, moved to amend the agenda. The amendments added new motions that included directors’ reports, finance motions, a time-off request, and club ratification and funding. The board adopted the amended agenda and then adopted the minutes from the previous meeting on June 22.
The board then moved on to main motions, beginning with a motion brought by Mariah Luzon, director of finance and operations, to fill a vacancy for the director as second chair on the Faculty of Student Society Council Committee. Director of Outreach and University Relations, Matthew Allen Curtis, was the sole person to nominate themself.
Curtis was elected as the Director as Second Chair, and the motion passed.
The next motion, brought by Luzon, moved to approve the transfer of various amounts of funding from different accounts to cover their corresponding costs for the 2025–2026 board term.
The motion listed the transfer of up to $23 000 from the Peer Support Restricted Operating account into the Peer Support Operating account, up to $10 000 from the Election Restricted Fund into the Elections Operating account, up to $15 000 from the Events Restricted Fund into the Events Operating account, and up to $15 000 from the Campaigns Restricted Fund into the Campaigns Operating account.
UVSS General Manager Dale Robertson said that these transfers are done annually. He explained that the restricted funds come from student fees set by referendums, and that the money must be moved via a board motion to offset expenses in its designated departments.
Director-at-Large Lila Grierson asked why the transfer amount to the Peer Support Operating Fund was significantly larger than the others.
Robertson said that it began the year with $35 000 in rollover funds and only expended $22 000, leaving it with a “very healthy restricted fund and balance going for it.”
“I think there’s more that peer support can do in the future,” he said, adding that peer support is the newest fee in restricted board-related accounts and has been rebuilding since the pandemic.
The motion carried.
Motion five, brought by Luzon, moved to approve the transfer of 30 per cent of the accumulated Food Bank Restricted Fund balance this year into the Operating Reserve fund. Additionally, any surplus in the Food Bank Restricted Fund in future years will be transferred to the Operating Reserve fund until the balance is returned.
According to the motion, from 2022–2024 the board fiscally supported the community, beyond students, with food insecurity totalling in almost $300 000 from the Operating Fund. The motion said that, after including controls to ensure that the foodbank is only accessible to current students, the Food Bank Restricted Fund will rollover more than $280 000 for the 2027 fiscal year.
In discussion, Robertson said that they began the last fiscal year with $145 000 rollover in the Food Bank Restricted Fund, and would have another $134 000 this year.
“We’re collecting more money than we need currently,” he said.
He explained that the foodbank will still be able to support students, even to a greater capacity than before, and would still have a “very healthy rollover.” He emphasized that there would be no cuts to the foodbank, and that this motion will only put money back into the Operating Fund that was loaned.
Robertson said that the Operating Fund is “almost depleted,” and that this will “make things a little more flexible.”
The motion carried.
Vanderhooft moved to omnibus motions five to eight, all of which she brought forward.
Motion five moved to ratify the University of Victoria Consulting Group, UVic Hydroplanes, and UVic Bitcoin club without funding. Motion six moved to approve $600 of funding to Dykes Nation, Anti-Fascist International Canada Chapter (AFICC), and the Popular Democracy Movement (PMD). Motion seven moved to approve $2000 in funding to the Computer Music Course Union. Motion eight moved to approve varying amounts of Travel Pool funding for the AFICC, UVic Submarine Racing Club, and the PDM.
The board voted in favour of omnibussing.
Grierson inquired about the UVic Bitcoin Club, and Vanderhooft said that the club discusses cryptocurrency and bitcoin, and added that clubs cannot use funding towards cryptocurrency of any kind. She also added that the club will not be receiving funding, only ratification.
With five in favour, the motions carried.
Motion nine, introduced by Vanderhooft, moved to approve her academic leave. The motion carried with no discussion.
The board then moved into question period, opening the floor to the public.
A student opened the question period by highlighting concerns from students about campus security uniforms resembling VicPD uniforms. They asked what the UVSS is doing to help students feel comfortable interacting with campus security, and to facilitate conversations about how their uniforms are impacting students.
Tam Aljundi, director of campaigns and community relations, said that to his knowledge, new uniforms are coming in August, and that he assumed they have taken student feedback into consideration. He said that campus security will also be renamed and that they will be working with students “to get a student perspective on their team.”
A different student made a comment asking why uniform and title were issues, and said they wanted to understand why “it concerns students considering it uses student resources.”
Students of Colour Collective (SOCC) Representative Roven Brooks-Stephenson addressed the comment, saying that the uniforms are “highly militarized.” She said that there are many racialized students on campus who have issues with police, and that “police in this country can be quite violent to marginalized groups.”
Robertson added that this was a topic “as soon as the new uniforms were presented” last year.
Bulbrook said that many students are concerned with the uniforms. “That’s what we do here as well, when a lot of students are concerned about something,” she said. “We want to listen to the students. So that’s another reason why security needs to be renamed, because the students want it.”
The question period ended, and the board moved on to reports.
For campaigns and community relations, Aljundi reported on work with advocacy groups, specifically the group Let’s Get Consensual — a B.C.-based, student-led initiative to end rape culture on post-secondary campuses.
He said that student feedback suggests safe-sex as an area that could use more support.
Aljundi also mentioned that he is exploring safe-sex supply options that can be offered to students.
For finance and operations, Luzon reported attending a summit where she engaged in discussions with students around food security, and potential ideas such as a weekly free breakfast or a farmers market.
For outreach and university relations, Curtis reported a new video series labelled “Mornings with Matt” that should be launching in the coming weeks and that a group of people are looking to recreate a University Representatives Committee to connect UVSS board members with senators and board of governors representatives.
For student affairs, Vanderhooft reported on “Rubric,” a new platform that is intended to help clubs and course unions by providing a hub for funding, applications, and so on. The platforms will be rolled out in the fall.
For the food bank, Administrative Services Manager Laila Casado reported that they have voted for the food bank to offer more options correlating to family size. The food bank currently offers two options, individual and family; however they will be offering additional food for additional dependants in families.
Casado said this will be tested for the rest of the summer, and reviewed later.
For GEM, Bulbrook reported on many events, including regular community walks and a field trip to the Royal BC Museum for all advocacy groups, at a date to be determined later.
For the Students of Colour Society (SOCC), Brooks-Stephenson reported working on a new website, as well as new rules for the SOCC lounge.
For the Pride Collective, Bulbrook reported on the upcoming event “Promiscuous,” which will be held at the Capital Ballroom and will include a drag performance. The event is a 19+ pride-prom themed and tickets can be purchased for $30 in advance.
When reports concluded, the meeting moved in camera.
The next UVSS board of directors meeting will be on August 3 at 6 p.m.
