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Published by the Tribune Publication Society Volum e N o. 31 Issue N o. 14
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Jutras report findings Zach Paikin Editorial How to save money Gadgets of 2012 Igloofest Martlets hockey
PAGES i o n
Redmen defeat B ishop’s for first victory
Adm in invalidates fall referendum results By Carolina Millân Ronchetti News Editor
Aleksandar Mitrovic battles a Bishop’s defender inside the paint. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune)
Campus organizations QPIRG McGill and CKUT Radio face an uncertain future following the Mc Gill administration’s announcement that it will not accept the results of the fall referendum. Last November, the fall refer endum featured two questions on whether QPIRG and CKUT should exist and if their student fees should cease to be opt-outable via the Mi nerva online system and instead be refundable directly though each organization. Each organization’s question received a majority “yes” vote, with 72.3 per cent and 65.6 per cent for CKUT and QPIRG respec tively. Voter turnout was 24.7 per cent of the undergraduate student body, up 9.5 per cent from the previ ous year. “The referendum results were unclear. By including several is sues in the same question, the stu dent body was not able to unequivo cally indicate support for CKUT or QPIRG,” Morton Mendelson, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), wrote in an email to the Tribune. Kira Page, member of the QPIRG Board of Directors and Mc Gill alumni, questioned the adminis tration’s motives. “They’ve offered a bunch of reasons and usually come back to
the unclarity [sic] of the question but I think most of it is coming from a real unwillingness to let student groups control their own finances,” she said. “We sort of expected this sort of response from the adminis tration ... just because of the way the administration has been dealing with these organizations and has generally responded to our frustra tions as opt-outable groups.” Because the referenda are run by Elections SSMU, a student-run organization, the administration does not have established guide lines on how referendum questions should be worded. However, Men delson said that the administration encourages consultation to ensure the clarity of results. “I learned about the QPIRG and CKUT referendum questions after they were published. Although I indicated to the two organizations that the questions were problematic, it was apparently too late for them to be changed or withdrawn,” he said. “It is a shame that we weren’t consulted about the questions before they were proposed.” The administration is advising QPIRG and CKUT to enter the win ter referendum and to separate the two clauses of their fall referendum question into two questions. If they do not pose two questions, there remains the possibility that McGill administration will not renegotiate See “RESULTS” on page 3
A U S discloses theft o f $12,000 during Orientation Week Frosh registration money is taken from safe in AUS office; semester-long investigation inconclusive By Carolina Millàn Ronchetti News Editor
On Nov. 30, executives from the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) reported to the AUS Council the theft of approximately $12,000 of Orientation Week funds. The theft was discovered Sept.
1 by AUS VP Finance Marlene Benavides, who realized that an en velope with $12,000 in cash from Orientation Week registrations was missing. According to Benavides, once she discovered the theft she alerted AUS President Jade Calver. Calver called McGill Security, who
advised Calver to call the police. McGill Security subsequently con ducted an investigation. AUS VP Finance Marlene Benavides said that the decision to withhold the information of the theft from the rest of the AUS council and from arts students was advised by the investigator of the theft.
“Once it was clear that the in vestigation was inconclusive, we released the information to our stu dents immediately,” she said. Despite the theft, the AUS bud get was not affected because the $12,000 that was stolen was part of the profit produced by Orientation Week, and would have been allocat
ed towards the VP Events’ portfolio. Orientation Week produced a profit of approximately $6,000 in addition to the stolen $12,000. AUS insurance policy requires that executives don’t keep over $40,000 in the office, Benavides said. However, AUS executives See "AUS” on page 4