Photo by Belle White.
In a long UVSS Board of Directors meeting, several committee vacancies were filled, some clubs were ratified, and there was a presentation on Universal Extended Time (UET) as well as a passionate conversation about the condition of the Pride crosswalk outside the Student Union Building (SUB).
The meeting started with a land acknowledgement by Roven Brooks-Stephenson, representative for the Students of Colour Collective, which talked about the often performative nature of land acknowledgments and contained reflections on colonial history and continuing colonial violence.
”Who must reconcile with Canadian history? Reconciliation is not for Indigenous peoples. They are not the ones who need to reconcile with their own history, and doing a land acknowledgement to show some sort of allyship or understanding, but we treat it as housekeeping,” she said.
“As a racialized person and second-generation immigrant, I’ve met others like me who find it hard to conceptualize themselves as settlers, but the thing is, it’s not about us. It’s about how our presence actively displaces and disadvantages the Indigenous people of this land we are on, who have been its stewards for generations, and this is what we must reconcile with. We must remember and understand that Canada has a violent colonial history and was created by two imperial powers, that is Canada’s truth,” she continued.
Following this, the agenda was amended to include missing reports, as well as to include a motion to ratify the UVic Renewable Energies Club, UVic Policy and Economics Club, UVic Yoga Club, and UVic Women in Science, without funding. This motion was later passed in the meeting.
The minutes of the previous meeting were adopted without any amendments.
Maddy Vanderhooft, director of student affairs, brought forward a motion to fill a vacancy on the search Committee in the Faculty of Science for a Chair in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The vacancy was filled by Jayce Kusardi, representative for the Pride Collective.
Mariah Luzon, director of finance and operations, brought forward a motion to fill two vacancies on the Ombudsperson Advisory Committee. The vacancies were filled by Tam Aljundi, director of campaigns and community relations, as well as Brooks-Stephenson.
Aljundi brought forward a motion to allow the Campus Community Garden and the UVSS Services Coordinator to have non-voting positions on the Food Bank Committee. The motion passed.
At the last board meeting, some committee vacancies were not filled. At this meeting, most of the vacant committee seats were filled, including two vacancies on the Events and Member Outreach and Engagement committees. Vacancies remain on the Policy Development committee.
Following these appointments, Evan Maher, who serves as a Director-at-Large on the UVSS and is a Student Senator, gave a presentation on Universal Extended Time (UET). UET is an accessibility measure that grants all students extra time on examinations to improve accessibility for all students, not just those with disabilities. Maher argues that granting everyone additional time is a tactic to minimize the need for academic accommodation requests, and that many instructors do not accurately measure the appropriate amount of time needed for an exam, potentially making UET an ineffective measure.
Maher said that while serving on Senate, several students had come to him with concerns over UET not working as an accommodation. Maher has been working toward improving CAL accommodations for a year and a half, and said that the Senate Committee for Learning and Teaching wants to consult with the UVSS.
The UVSS formed a working group, which, according to Matthew Allen Curtis, director of outreach and university relations, is meant to be the body for the UVic Senate to consult with the UVSS. Curtis said this working group may later become a formal committee.
After this presentation, UVSS management and board members gave their respective reports. During the reports, Aljundi expressed his disappointment in the condition of the rainbow crosswalk outside the SUB and his desire to see it repainted.
“I’ve been reflecting a lot, and … I find the [rainbow] crosswalk quite depressing,” he said. “I think it’s very shameful. To this day, people of the LGBTQ community are struggling elsewhere. To those who are international [students] coming from places where they are discriminated [against] … it is a huge deal.”
“I am trying to be patient for UVic to do something about it, but I think that our action is needed,” Aljundi said.
Following this, a lengthy conversation occurred, with many other board members expressing their disappointment with the condition of the crosswalk and the perceived inaction from UVic.
Firekeeper K’sana Wood Lynes-Ford, in her report, talked about the importance of having board members sign up for land acknowledgements and discussing the lands they are on, saying that decolonization is everyone’s responsibility.
Following reports, the board moved in-camera, and the public portion of the meeting concluded.
