The Queen's Journal, Issue 29

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TUNEFUL TONGUES

MATT O’DONNELL

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AMS ELECTIONS

Electing a student approach B Y K ATHERINE FERNANDEZ -B LANCE J ESSICA F ISHBEIN Journal Staff

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While teams CES and SDL have big plans on how to get students involved in the AMS, their ways of approaching students vary. Team CES said they will actively work on initiatives to encourage student involvement and create awareness within the student government. One way team CES plans to foster student involvement is by using an improved website to communicate with students. “We want to go with a professional organization [to redesign the website] because we’re investing in resources we’re providing students to ensure that students know what the AMS is,” vice-presidential (Operations) candidate Ashley Eagan, ArtSci ’11 said. The website would include content from AMS commissions, the AMS council and AMS managers as well as pages from campus groups that provide unique services. “This would come at an additional cost of $6,000 which works well within the AMS’s financial resources and wouldn’t come at an increased cost to students,” Slobodin said. Presidential candidate Morgan Campbell said an online campus calendar that could be updated by students and clubs themselves, would allow the AMS to better communicate with students and would act as an umbrella site for all AMS campus events. Team CES also hopes to attract more students to the AMS by making some of its regular meetings, See It doesn’t on page 8

For winter election coverage, see: - Student Trustees, page 2 - MCRC, page 4 - Engineering Society, page 5 - AMS continued on pages 7, 8

At the AMS presidential candidate debate on Jan. 26, hopefuls Morgan Campbell (left) of Team CES and Sacha Gudmundsson (right) of Team SDL discussed their respective governing approaches to AMS politics.

AMS ELECTIONS

Serving student needs B Y K ATHERINE FERNANDEZ -B LANCE J ESSICA F ISHBEIN Journal Staff

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Mid-way through their campaigns, AMS executive teams SDL and CES are finding out their platform points may not be as achievable as originally thought. After contemplating an LCBO in the Queen’s Centre in their original platform, Team SDL has since reconsidered this initiative and is instead emphasizing other options. Current City of Kingston bylaws don’t allow for an LCBO on campus space, vice-presidential (Operations) candidate Dan Szcezpanek of Team SDL said. “This is no longer feasible and pretty much removed. The bylaw doesn’t allow for a grocery store either, but a pharmacy is still feasible,” Szcezpanek, ArtSci ’11, said. “The LCBO was never made a promise. It was an idea suggested and the focus was to try to raise discussion and provide a list of

suggestions over what students want to fill that space.” Kingston’s bylaw 8499 Restricted Area Zone Section 71 outlines the kinds of businesses that can exist on University property. A grocer is not on this list. Team CES is suggesting a grocer or pharmacy as a new project for the vacant Queen’s Centre retail space. There have been talks of bringing a pharmacy into the Queen’s Centre since 2005. The Journal has learned that without amending this bylaw, a grocery store on campus is not feasible. The bylaw does allow for these restrictions to be lifted if the grocer was to become a University or AMS owned business. “There is a way to get around this and that’s through partnerships,” presidential candidate for Team CES Morgan Campbell said. “It’s a long-term lobbying effort.” Team CES said that if the grocer partnered with the administration and the AMS, they would have a bigger voice when negotiating with the city about the bylaw.

Campbell, ArtSci ’11, said that after meeting with the Vice-Principal (Facilities) Ann Browne, no concerns about the zoning bylaw were raised. Team CES vice-president (Operations) candidate Ashley Eagan said the earliest the services could be opened would be September 2011. “The administration and current AMS executive are working with brokers right now. We want to work with the current executives to bring these services in immediately,” Eagan, ArtSci ’11, said. Eagan said Team CES would ensure that the grocer doesn’t compete with the already existing farmer’s market on campus. “We might even be able to promote the farmer’s market at the grocer. The farmer’s market sells very unique items, while the grocer would just sell very basic things,” Eagan said. Team CES also plans to bring back the spirit to varsity athletic games by offering an incentive program to students who See It’s a on page 8

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ELECTIONS

Entrusting  students Five candidates vie for the position of undergraduate student trustee B Y L ABIBA H AQUE Assistant News Editor

cutting $70 million from its budget trustee is or what they do. over the next three years in order “I hope to launch a web site that I to meet its needed goal,â€? he said, can update after every single board With five candidates campaigning adding that he tried to determine meeting so I can engage those for the two-year position of the University’s spending priorities issues that are discussed in them,â€? undergraduate student trustee, in putting together his platform. she said, adding that she plans to they all share one common goal: “For the Board of Trustees, hire a web developer using the to make the student voice heard on which is made up of a number undergraduate student trustee fund. the Board of Trustees. of corporate executives that have The website, which may or may Traditionally, responsibilities been removed from the classroom not be independent from the AMS of the Board include making for many years, these issues aren’t website, will help communicate the financial decisions, appointing apparent and don’t always come on goings of the student trustees the principal and the vice- to light,â€? he said. “So what I will with students. principals and overlooking other try to do is bring in questions and Long, who currently serves as fiduciary responsibilities. bring these tough issues to light.â€? the sustainability coordinator at the The Board of Trustees is one of Allin, who is now the director of Main Campus Residence’s Council the highest decision making-bodies. the AMS food centre and the chair said that it’s important the student It is comprised of 25 members; of the Journal Board, said he’s trustee acts as a liaison between three are student representatives, going to guarantee a 24-hour email the students and the university’s the university rector and a graduate return policy so students are able to different governing bodies. and undergraduate representative. communicate effectively with him. “I would like to increase Patrick Allin, ArtSci ’13, said the Furthermore, he wants to meet student involvement with the student trustee must be aware of with each faculty society to hear board. Currently there are only the University’s financial situation. their concerns. three students, which is 12 per “I developed my platform [with Lauren Long, ComSci ’13, said cent of the vote while 43 per cent the fact that Queen’s] will be students often don’t know what a of Queen’s finances come from student dollars,â€? she said, adding that she would like to create opportunities in Board of Trustee related committees for students at large to become involved. Student Centre Officer Stephen Pariser, ArtSci ’11, said the role of the undergraduate trustee is to ensure that the student voice is heard in financial decisions and to offer them a student perspective on such issues. “For me this position really isn’t about being a stepping stone or about ego,â€? he said. “It’s about representing the interest of Queen’s students to the Board of Trustees, to ensure that when they go on about doing their operational duties ‌ PHOTO  BY  CHRISTINE  BLAIS Candidate for student trustee Lauren Long, they think about what Queen’s students want and what they need.â€? ComSci ’13, says she wants to launch a website to help communicate the Pariser said there are five going-ons of the Board of Trustees.

Jesse Waslowski, ArtSci ’13, says if elected to the position of undergraduate student trustee, he will advocate a change toward gender neutral pronouns in Queen’s constitution.

PHOTO Â BY Â CHRISTINE Â BLAIS

PHOTO Â BY Â JUSTIN Â TANG

Student trustee candidate Stephen Pariser, ArtSci ’11, says it’s important to disseminate information to students effectively.

core commitments he plans to make if elected. The ‘TRUST’ commitments are: transparency of information to the students, representing students’ voices on the Board level, understanding the role of the student trustee, supporting clubs, teams and individuals and ensuring togetherness amongst student leaders through cooperation. To guarantee consistent communication between himself and students, Pariser is proposing a trustee webpage that has not been continued since former undergraduate student trustee Michael Ceci’s first term in 20072008, when the AMS server went down and the website ceased to be utilized. “It is of fundamental importance that there is a website, so we can disseminate information to the students,â€? he said. Andrew Witzke, ArtSci ’12 and Comm ’13, said his platform focuses on enhancing student experience and advancing student values. “It’s important that we find revenue instead of cutting costs, [so we can] provide Queen’s students with the quality of education that they were expecting when they enrolled here ‌ that also means that if cuts need to be made, they don’t leave a huge impact on students,â€? he said, adding that one way in which the university can find revenue is through investing in businesses that would be able to give profit back to the University. Witzke, who represents the Commerce society at University Senate, said that if he is elected, he will implement a policy to link him with various other student groups. This would include meeting with all faculty societies and creating a committee where he can sit down with the society presidents and AMS executives prior to every Board of Trustees meeting. “We can talk about the things

that Queen’s is struggling with generally and that how we can use specific committees or specific members of the Board to make sure that the issues our faculties are struggling with are addressed,� he said, adding that this would create a long chain of representation and accountability. Witzke said he also wants to help faculties find second year co-op opportunities for students of all faculties. “I want to see if we would be able to get a system where students are encouraged to get into a co-op program. I think it adds value to your degree and it adds to your education,� he said. Jesse Waslowski, ArtSci ’13, said he would like to create a more personal relationship with students and the faculty societies. “Groups are important but individuals, actual people, personal relationships are more so,� he said. Waslowski, an Arts and Science representative to the AMS, sits on both ASUS and AMS assembly. In his platform, Waslowski advocates the movement towards gender-neutral pronouns in the Queen’s constitution. This would mean that words such as “his or her� would be replaced with ‘the individual’ or ‘the person.’ Waslowski said he hopes to regularly attend different faculty society meetings at least once a month to learn about the different concerns each faculty faces. “When working with the Board of Trustees, it’s important to recognize that one person represents all the undergraduate students,� he said, adding that that the best way to voice and lobby for student interest at the Board level is to create working relationships with members on the board. “The student trustee position is one that can influence other bodies, such as the principal and Board of Trustees and that would help in us being able to figure out a proper solution.�

PHOTO Â BYCHRISTINE Â BLAIS

Student trustee candidate Patrick Allin, ArtSci ’13, says he created his platform with Queen’s budget cuts of $70 million over three years in mind.

PHOTO Â BY Â CHRISTINE Â BLAIS

Andrew Witzke, ArtSci ’12 and Comm ’13, says if elected as undergraduate student trustee he will use specific committees or specific members of the Board to ensure faculty issues are addressed.

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