January 21, 2013 by The Ubyssey

ShE’LL APPRECiATE ThE ThOUGhT SInCE 1918

UBC’S OFFICIAL STUDEnT nEWSPAPER | JAnUARy 21, 2013 | VOLUME XCIV| ISSUE XXXIV

TO THIS ISSUE THERE’S AN EASY-TO-USE ISSUE GLOSSARY, SO YOU CAN CATCH UP ON THE ISSUES YOU’VE MISSED BOY, LOTS OF ISSUES, EH? DID WE MENTION THIS IS OUR LARGEST NEWSPAPER SO FAR THIS YEAR?

THE UBYSSEY

UBc vOtes

S E T O V R U O Y S H N T I O I W T T C E E L G E R S A ’ T R A N E O Y E S B I H T IN

WITH (ALMOST) EVERY CANDIDATE THREE FEATURES AND LOTS OF ANALYSIS THERE’S ALSO A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF ONLINE LIKE A VIDEO ROUNDTABLE AND A CANDIDATE DIRECTORY THERE’S ALSO A VIDEO OF

THE UBYSSEY’S ANNUAL AMS ELECTIONS SUPPLEMENT 20 FULL-COLOUR PAGES OF STUDENT POLITICS GOODNESS PROFILES OF EVERY RACE INTERVIEWS

THE VANCOUVER LIBRARY’S “HUMAN LIBRARY” PROGRAM WHICH IS UNRELATED TO THE AMS ELECTIONS THAT’S ALL ON UBYSSEY’CA. LET’S GET BACK

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013 |

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS + PEOPLE

What’s on Tue 1221

OUR CAMPUS

This week, may we suggest...

politics >>

ONE ON ONE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UBC

MONDAY

AMS presidential debate: 6 p.m. @ the Gallery Lounge

Want to hear from the AMS presidential candidates? The Ubyssey will be hosting the AMS presidential debate. It’s not quite on par with a U.S. presidential debate, but the event still offers you a glimpse into AMS and UBC politics. Free. Tue 1222

Tue 1223

voting >>

TUESDAY

theatre >>

WEDNESDAY

AMS election and referendum voting: all day @ UBC Time to vote on important issues and elect AMS candidates! Be sure to vote for new AMS executives and referendums such as renewing the U-Pass program. Voting closes Friday. Free. kai jacobson PHOTO/the ubyssey

Tue 1224

AMS presidential candidate Ekateryna “Ekat” Baranovskaya says she is one of many nerds in student government.

sports >>

THURSDAY

California kickball: 11:45 a.m. @ UBC Student REC Centre Want a little bit of fun and exercise? The UBC REC Health Promotions team is hosting free games of California kickball as part of their Rexercise weekly noon-hour activities. Free. Tue 1225

Rhinoceros: 7:30 p.m. @ Telus Studio Theatre (in the Chan Centre) Eugene Ionesco’s savagely funny satire on conformity, Rhinoceros, is running from Jan. 24–Feb. 9 at the Telus Studio Theatre, but you can catch a cheap preview of the show on Wednesday. Follow the herd and go check it out. $7.

food >>

FRIDAY

Vancouver Dine Out @ restaurants all over Vancouver Looking for some good food? Tourism Vancouver is hosting the two-week Dine Out Festival, with participating restaurants offering bargains on their fine-dining menus. Three-course meals range from $18–38.

Got an event you’d like to see on this page? Send your event and your best pitch to printeditor@ubyssey.ca.

AMS prez candidate geeks out on Star Trek, sci fi Ming Wong Senior News Writer

“I think when I was younger, I wanted to be Han Solo,” AMS presidential candidate Ekateryna Baranovskaya said. From seven-year-old Star Wars enthusiast to AMS presidential candidate, Baranovskaya has kept up her interest in sci-fi, video games and other bastions of geekdom. “Things like science fiction, they let me stretch my imagination of what humanity could be,” said Baranovskaya, a fourth-year political science major and economics minor. Baranovskaya grew up in Ukraine before she settled in White Rock. She is immersed in extracurriculars — her sorority Alpha Delta Pi and Model UN, to name a couple — but she is still working on the lofty goal of watching every Star Trek episode ever made (over 700 in all). So far she’s about two seasons into Star Trek: Enterprise. And her two cents on the age-old Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate? “I used to be ... gung

Video content Make sure to check out our AMS elections coverage, airing now at ubyssey.ca/videos/.

U The Ubyssey

editorial

Senior Lifestyle Writer STAFF Justin Fleming Bryce Warnes, Josh Curran, jfleming@ubyssey.ca Peter Wojnar, Anthony

Coordinating Editor Jonny Wakefield coordinating@ubyssey.ca Features Editor Arno Rosenfeld Managing Editor, Print features@ubyssey.ca Jeff Aschkinasi printeditor@ubyssey.ca Video Editor David Marino Managing Editor, Web video@ubyssey.ca Andrew Bates Copy Editor webeditor@ubyssey.ca Karina Palmitesta News Editors copy@ubyssey.ca Will McDonald + Art Director Laura Rodgers Kai Jacobson news@ubyssey.ca art@ubyssey.ca Senior News Writer Graphics Assistant Ming Wong mwong@ubyssey.ca Indiana Joel ijoel@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Anna Zoria Layout Artist culture@ubyssey.ca Collyn Chan cchan@ubyssey.ca Senior Culture Writer Rhys Edwards Videographer redwards@ubyssey.ca Lu Zhang lzhang@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Webmaster CJ Pentland Riley Tomasek sports@ubyssey.ca webmaster@ubyssey.ca

JANUARY 21, 2013 | Volume XCIV| Issue XXXIV

Poon, Veronika Bondarenko, Yara Van Kessel, Lu Zhang, Catherine Guan, Ginny Monaco, Arno Rosenfeld, Matt Meuse, Hogan Wong, Rory Gattens, Brandon Chow, Joseph Ssettuba. Tyler McRobbie, Sarah Bigam, Stephanie Xu, Natalya Kautz

BUSINESS

CONTACT

Business Manager Fernie Pereira fpereira@ubyssey.ca

Editorial Office: SUB 24 604.822.2301

Ad Sales Ben Chen bchen@ubyssey.ca Accounts Tom Tang ttang@ubyssey.ca

Business Office: SUB 23 604.822.1654 604.822.6681 Student Union Building 6138 SUB Boulevard Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 Advertising Inquiries

Online: ubyssey.ca Twitter: @ubyssey

LEGAL The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Monday and Thursday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organization, and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, photographs and art-

work contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society. The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP’s guiding principles. Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your phone number, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey; otherwise verification will be done by phone. The Ubyssey reserves the right to edit sub-

missions for length and clarity. All letters must be received by 12 noon the day before intended publication. Letters received after this point will be published in the following issue unless there is an urgent time restriction or other matter deemed relevant by the Ubyssey staff. It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising that if the Ubyssey Publications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS will not be greater than the price paid for the ad. The UPS shall not be responsible for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value or the impact of the ad.

ho Star Wars, and lately, I’ve sort of [been] drifting towards Star Trek because it’s more based on science. It’s not that much more, but I’m not a big fan of fantasy, and Star Wars is too close to that.” And for the snobby sci-fiers who brush Baranovskaya off and say that both franchises are too mainstream, she’s also into 1920 sci-fi books, programming and Mass Effect 2. “It’s a really grandiose thing, but I think it’s important to look towards the future,” said Baranovskaya. “I don’t have any inherent scientific ability, but if ultimately I can get in a position and help other people forward,... then I’ll have done what I really want to do.” Although her full name is Ekateryna Maria, she’s affectionately known as “Ekat,” despite the fact that “Katya” — what her family calls her — is the typical short form of Ekateryna. “In Russian, Katya is more like Kate or Katie. It’s a really normal, generic name, and I think Ekat [is] a little stranger,” she explained. “It’s a

little more unusual. It just fits a little more with me than Katya.” People who have met her in the past might not recognize her now. Her short blonde coif is the latest hair colour she’s trying on. Born with what she calls “librarian brown” hair, she’s gone through five different colours in the past few years, ranging from purple to bright red. “It’s completely by accident, but it’s been a huge sociological experiment, because people treat me differently based on my hair,” she said. Recently, Baranovskaya has been to gaming festival Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle with several other AMS members, but she remains tight-lipped about her cosplay preference. “There are a lot more nerds than you think in student government.” Although she hasn’t grown up to become a swashbuckling hero in a galaxy far, far away, she keeps a special duel FX lightsaber with her at all times — just in case. U

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

| WELCOME | 3

THE ELECTIONS ISSUE I t’s kind of a rule that newspapers should start their elections coverage with a reminder of why democracy is good, and why you should vote. Let’s go ahead and skip that part. The truth is, the vast majority of UBC students won’t vote in these elections. A good turnout for the AMS is around 10 per cent of students. Those who choose not to vote think they’re too busy or have already decided that the AMS is too small time and insular to really care about. And sure, part of the fault lies with the AMS. They talk big about being more relevant to students, but don’t often offer a way to get there. But it’s also part of the larger cultural disengagement at this uni-

what’s inside Even though the AMS VP External position is uncontested, you should still care. pg

versity. UBC never makes it feel like you should engage outside of class. Students, especially commuters, don’t tend to socialize on campus. When they do, it’s in tight cliques. There’s only a few things UBC students as a whole have in common: the Student Service Centre, the U-Pass, the SUB, taking classes. Nothing particularly inspiring. At UBC, it’s nearly impossible to get everyone under one big tent. Disengagement is never good for any community. And while casting a ballot won’t change anything immediately, it gives you an incentive to learn a little more about the people around you. What kind of problems are students facing? What kind of

Two AMS councillors face off against one incumbent for VP Academic and University Affairs.

people are stepping in to confront them? Are they the best ones for the job? Or could you do better? If you think so, start looking into the issues. This is a good place to start. In these pages, you’ll learn about the races, the candidates and the issues. You’ll learn how students are getting screwed and what we can do about it. If you’ve ever felt like you’re drifting through your degree, learning how power works can be, well, empowering. Happy voting,

They’re back

The AMS is a $20-million organization — someone needs to organize those dollars.

• All voting is done online.

• Check your email for a link to the online voting site or go to ams.ubc.ca/elections/. Your CWL is all that you need to vote. • Voting is open from Jan. 21–25. • Polls close at 5 p.m. on Friday.

The Ubyssey editorial board

SLFS

How to vote

SAC SUB LIPDUB? *

As VP Admin, have the power. Use it wisely.

You have three presidential candidates, but only one vote. It’s decision time. 13

*But please, no more lipdubs pg

11 potential senators. Five slots.

BoG: the most important decision-making body at ubc

4 | hACKÉDEX |

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aFFIlIated colleges Ever noticed those colleges around campus with “Saint” or “Christi” in their names? Well, students in those theological colleges are AMS members. They pay student fees and get the U-Pass, but right now they don’t have anyone voting seats on AMS Council. There’s a referendum question on this year’s ballot which would give them voting seats.

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ams BUsInesses AMS businesses have taken a hit due to construction-related disruption around the SUB. While the AMS is trying to become less dependent on business profits, establishments like Blue Chip Cookies and the Outpost have suffered and bad sales still hurt the AMS bottom line.

BagB The BAGB is the Business Administration and Governance Board. The AMS operates a bunch of businesses in the SUB, like the Pit Pub, AMS Catering and Blue Chip Cookies. Up until this year, AMS Council dealt with the nitty-gritty of how all these businesses were run, in addition to other usual student government stuff like lobbying and student services. Now they’ve created a separate, appointed business board, made up of students and alumni, to run the businesses.

”

Death has ac cepted your fr iend re quest

ams The Alma Mater Society of UBC Vancouver is your student society. You pay them a lot in student fees, and they provide a lot of services, such as the U-Pass, clubs, tutoring, a subsidized health and dental plan and a whole slew of other things. They also operate the Student Union Building. Every January, students elect five people to AMS executive positions. Each of these positions has a unique portfolios and oversees different parts of the AMS’s operations.

ams coUncIl The AMS makes decisions through a council of students elected from different faculties. There’s free food at their meetings.

Page 3

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Let’s face it: AMS hacks* sometimes forget who they’re talking to. Here’s a handy guide to AMS lingo, in case one of them starts spouting about committees, business boards and quorate meetings. There’s gold in them tharr acronyms.

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Use your new found knowledge to try to decipher the hacky headlines on the opposite page. Want to really test your knowledge? Stop by the Ubyssey’s AMS presidential debate Monday, January 21 at 6 p.m.!

BIe The bachelor of international economics is a degree to be offered by the newly formed Vancouver School of Economics. It’ll be open to 80 students, 40 of whom UBC hopes will be international students. When it was first announced, UBC planned to charge double the cost of a BA in economics for the new degree. Student groups swiftly and loudly criticized the proposed cost. The UBC Board of Governors eventually relented and reduced tuition, though a BIE still costs more than similar degrees. BreWerY Partway through planning the new SUB, the AMS hatched the idea to build a student-run brewery in the building. But since then, some other AMS councillors and staff members got concerned that the brewery

wouldn’t make enough money. So they’re thinking long and hard about whether they want to build a brewery, and they’ll decide once and for all at a meeting this Wednesday. BrIdge to UBc UBC needs money, so they’ve come up with a program called Bridge to UBC. It’s being touted as a cure-all for UBC’s budget. This program will allow prospective international students who fall just below UBC’s admissions cutoff to enroll in what is essentially a UBC-run remedial college. If these students do well, they will be streamed into second-year classes. Some have worried that such a program would segregate international students, especially since English proficiency is the most common area for improvement. casa The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations is a group made up of various student societies to lobby the federal government, and it’s generally a little more moderate (and Liberal-aligned) than its competing federal lobby group, the further-left Canadian Federation of Students. The AMS was a member of CASA for some time, but opted to leave the organization in 2011. Since then, the AMS hasn’t really done any federal lobbying on its own. clUBs BeneFIt FUnd This fund gives student clubs money for special projects. Since 2011, it’s been funded by a dedicated student fee — $1.50 per student, per year goes into it. It’s been used to fund everything from photo studios to Diwali celebrations. But overall, it still isn’t all that wellknown, and many clubs aren’t sure how to apply for money from it. condorcet Condorcet is the electoral system used for AMS elections. Don’t ask your poli sci prof about this one; they won’t have any idea. Basically, a Condorcet ballot allows the voter to rank candidates in order of preference. This is in many ways fairer than a winnertake-all ballot. endoWment (ams) To try to stay financially healthy over the long term, the AMS made a plan to take any extra cash they have year-to-year and invest it in an endowment fund. This means they can spend the interest as it piles up without touching the initial sum. One of this year’s referendum questions will formally establish the AMS endowment, making sure that nobody can dip into the principal. exam dataBase A lot of UBC student senators have been pushing to get old exams for most courses into a centralized, online database. There have been some hurdles: chiefly, since professors own the copyright to their old exams, they’d all have to all give their permission. get onBoard A five-month-old rapid transit campaign started by AMS

Associate VP External Tanner Bokor. The AMS supports it and gives it part of its budget, but Get OnBoard is a separate lobbying entity. Unlike past campaigns supported by the AMS, Get OnBoard pushes for an acrossthe-board increase in transit funding rather than rapid transit to UBC specifically. goVernance UBC campus isn’t part of any city or metro board, so the university gets final say on zoning, local bylaws and what gets built where. This situation was supposed to be temporary, with all the “stakeholders” (rich condo owners, the UBC Board of Governors and students) coming together to agree on a new way to run things. But UBC likes having all the power an awful lot, and the current system is unlikely to change any time soon. * hack In its UBC-specific usage, a “hack” is a student politics insider. The AMS can be a pretty insular group; hacks are the people who have managed to join its inner circle. Their hobbies include acronym addiction and knowing far more about Robert’s Rules of Order than any human should. hoUsIng Internal loan When UBC housing borrows money from the university’s student housing endowment to build new residences, they have to pay interest back to the university on that loan. UBC says this simply covers the interest the money would otherwise be making if it remained invested in the endowment. However, the AMS argues the result of this arrangement is that student housing costs more than it would otherwise. neW sUB That giant hole in the ground next to the current SUB? That’s going to be a new SUB by September 2014. It’ll cost $103 million to build, fundraised from student fees and other sources, and it’ll have a bunch of social spaces, meeting rooms, club rooms, student-oriented businesses and so forth. Right now, the AMS is making some final decisions about what things to put inside it. QUorUm Quorum is the minimum number of voters required for a vote to be legitimate. The AMS has two important quorum numbers: quorum for referendum questions (changes you vote for on a ballot) and quorum at general meetings (when a large group of people gathers to vote for things in person). In order for a referendum question to pass, eight per cent of all UBC students have to vote “yes” on it. (This year, eight per cent = almost 4,000 students). And at an AMS general meeting, where students can vote in person, there must be about 1,000 people present for votes to count. One of the referendum questions this year is about lowering general meeting quorum to 500 students. If this change passes, the AMS plans to hold 500-person general meetings in the SUB Ballroom.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013

reFerendUm A referendum is a vote of an entire electorate on whether to accept or reject a specific proposal. This year, students will vote whether to... approve a new U-Pass agreement give the Bike Co-op $1 from every student shift the AMS elections period to March and change when executives take office, give UBC-affiliated theological colleges seats on AMS Council and form a protected endowment fund make some minor bylaw tweaks so that the AMS follows provincial laws senate The UBC Senate is in charge of the big-picture academic direction of the university. Some recent initiatives of the UBC Senate you might recognize are Credit/D/Fail grading and admitting students based on Grade 11 marks. UBC’s 18 elected student senators get a say on Senate initiatives. Their next big challenge? Getting UBC to implement a database of past exams. slates Slates are essentially student political parties, and they were banned by the AMS in 2004. Slates presented several advantages and drawbacks for the AMS political process. On one hand, they offered candidates more resources, helped push more equal gender and minority representation, and generally increased engagement. But slates also tended to hyper-politicize the AMS and create a toxic environment. Candidates can now be penalized for sharing resources or engaging in “slate-like behaviour.” tUItIon Votes Every spring, the UBC Board of

Governors votes on whether to increase tuition. Tuition increases were frozen under the last provincial NDP government, but skyrocketed when the B.C. Liberals took over in 2001. In 2005, the Libs capped domestic tuition increases at two per cent (which, proponents say, is just enough to account for inflation). Since then, approving this increase has been somewhat uncontroversial, though many student representatives abstain from voting on such measures. How candidate says they’ll vote on tuition tells you a lot about their political leanings. tUrnoVer Currently, the AMS president and vice-presidents are elected mid-January and take office at the end of February. This means that all candidates either have to gamble on taking a lighter courseload in anticipation of getting elected, or drop a course late with a “W” standing. A question on this year’s ballot could move turnover to the start of the summer term in May. Una The UNA is the neighbourhood association for residents of private housing on UBC campus. Though technically powerless, the University Neighbourhoods Association often clashes with the university over issues of noise and lack of consultation in planning processes. In their most recent election, a more assertive slate took control of the organization, with plans to advocate more strongly for residents. One AMS exec sits on their board. War on FUn This is the idea that UBC, the campus RCMP and other groups have spent the past 5 10 years doing things that hurt the social scene on campus. Examples: It’s now harder than ever to get a licence for a beer garden, Koerner’s Pub has been shut down indefinitely

and a legendary end-of-the-year stadium concert has been swapped for a much smaller event. The most likely culprits? People who have been buying the swiftly multiplying high-priced condos on campus and wanting the place to quiet down a little bit. WhIstler lodge It’s a lodge. It’s in Whistler. It’s run by the AMS. It offers cheap rooms so that students can hit the slopes. But it’s also old and in disrepair. And since the 2010 Olympics brought a ton more cheap, hostel-style accommodations to Whistler, the Lodge hasn’t been making very much money. The AMS has been torn on whether to sell the property or pay for the massive repairs it needs to stay open long-term. U

more onlIne

Check out The Ubyssey’s AMS elections portal at ubyssey.ca/ ams-elections for video interviews with every candidate, a presidential roundtable video and streaming debate coverage.

| hACKÉDEX | 5

hacktastIc

headlInes

1. “New SUB microbrewery in limbo” (Dec. 2, 2012) 2. “AMS council hikes exec pay post-referendum” (Sept. 6, 2011) 3. “Negotiations for new SUB at standstill” (Jan. 30, 2009) 4. “Candidates spar over market housing, development” (Jan. 20, 2009)

6 | voter funded media |

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

DAVID MARINO PIXEL ART/THE UBYSSEY

UBC Insiders’ hackily infamous upside-down Toope has adorned the VFM blog’s Twitter feed since its inception.

From the VoterMedia annals: Unpacking the Black Box Black Box was an anonymous blog that only existed for about five months, but it produced the juiciest scandal in VoterMedia history. In November 2010, the Social Justice Centre, a progressive AMS Resource Group funded by student fees, gave $700 to a student club. That club was called Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, and they were going to give the money to an aid flotilla headed to Gaza. Many students and AMS councillors balked at this. Some speculated whether the money could, indirectly, wind up supporting terrorism. In response to these concerns, the AMS commissioned a legal opinion about whether they’d be liable for the money somehow falling into unsavoury hands. (The AMS wound up giving them permission to donate the money, but an administrative snag kept the actual donation from taking place.) That legal opinion was supposed to be private, until somebody leaked it on anonymous blog called “Black Box.” Many AMS councillors got angry about this, but there wasn’t really much they could do. Then, Black Box applied to get some money from the yearround VoterMedia pot. Bijan Ahmadian, who was AMS president at the time,

cried foul. Many assumed this was because Ahmadian led the opposition to the Gaza donation, and was angry about the legal opinion getting out. A kerfuffle erupted in which Black Box was first kicked out of the VoterMedia contest, and then reinstated. The AMS realized they didn’t have any hard and fast rules about who could and couldn’t be in the year-round VoterMedia contest. (The rules about who could enter the election-season contest were a lot clearer). They wound up freezing all of the funding for year-round VoterMedia rather than laying down some concrete rules, which angered a lot of people. They reinstated year-round VoterMedia for a while, but interest in the program soon petered out and the money to fund it ran dry before long. Now, VoterMedia is only funded during the AMS elections season. No one ever wound up proving who was behind Black Box and the leaked document, though many tried. The Gaza donation scandal faded into myth. Student politics became less and less interesting with each passing year. But some still remember. —Laura Rodgers

Battle of the Blogosphere

hatever happened to VoterMedia? Or, to back up, what is VoterMedia? In 2007, UBC alum Mark Latham brought the idea of democratically funded media to UBC. VoterMedia is structured as a contest wherein different student news blogs compete for prize money allocated by voters in the AMS elections. (Entrants aren’t required to write blogs, but that’s the norm). Latham started working on the project in 1988, originally as a way to keep shareholders informed during corporate board of directors elections. He said that by bringing the program to UBC, he hoped to increase student engagement in elections and form better connections between AMS candidates and the average student. And for a while, it worked marvelously. According to AMS archivist Sheldon Goldfarb, 13 blogs competed in the first year of VoterMedia and eight of them won cash prizes varying from $500 to $1,500. “It’s really great to have that student point of view on the elections, commenting on the candidates, which is something we [the elections committee] cannot do,” said Jenny Chen, this year’s elections administrator for VoterMedia. But last year there were three contestants, and this year there are only two: AMS Confidential and Spilling T.

AMS Confidential It’s your choice: VFM funding this year is between incumbent blog AMS Confidential and newcomer Spilling T.

What accounts for the precipitous drop in participation? Many in the know say it’s the lack of funding. In the contest’s first year, Latham personally provided $8,000 in prize money, but in recent years funding has passed to the AMS and the budget has been drastically decreased. According to Chen, much of the AMS’s election budget is put towards candidates. Last year, it was $1,000; this year it will be $1,200, still nowhere near as much as in the past. Another reason for the decline of VoterMedia is the lack of advertising, according to Chen. “We weren’t connecting with the different groups on campus and nobody knew about it, and I think that’s why we didn’t get applications.” VoterMedia blogs have produced serious content over the years, including many of the stories from UBC Insiders, an investigative blog founded by Tim Louman-Gardiner and Gina Eom in January 2007 for the first VoterMedia contest. Neal Yonson, who was heavily involved with the blog from 2009 until he stepped down this past October, said he likely would have done much of what he did for the blog regardless of the money, but the extra incentive helped. “It gives a good incentive to keep going, and you have to credit VoterMedia for actually having the blog exist in the first place. I don’t

Spilling T

think I would have organically started up something like that on my own,” Yonson said. “I don’t think anyone has a magic formula for making it better or making the coverage better; it just has to be that people want to do it.” Latham thinks that the main way to increase student interest in VoterMedia is to increase funding. “People could have blogged before the VoterMedia contest came on; people can still blog,” Latham said. “But the idea is having some incentive, some way for the bloggers to get paid for what they do.” Chen, however, thinks that students are getting over the change in funding. “I think it’s been long enough that this has become kind of the regular amount that is allocated to the contest,” she said. There is, after all, more interest this year than meets the eye: Chen said three other blogs actually applied, but ended up missing the deadline to be included on the ballot. “The interest is definitely there,” she noted. “I think that the future for VoterMedia is definitely bright. It’s definitely worth it and I think students get a lot out of it.” As Latham said, “It’s really important for voters to have a clue who’s who and try to be able to vote smart.… Voter information is important, and this is a way of paying for voter information.” U —Sarah Bigam

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

| PAST PRESiDENTS | 7

kAI JACOBSOn PHOTO ILLUSTRATIOn/THE UBySSEy

presIdentIal FlashBack

wenty years ago, Bill Dobie sat down for an intimate dinner with former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and thenUBC Chancellor Robert Lee. It was a dinner made possible only by who Dobie was: AMS president. “I certainly met a lot of politicians,” said Dobie. “The government of the day took student politicians seriously, so there was a lot of interaction and feedback.” Dobie’s sit-down with Trudeau and Lee points to the perks AMS presidents have enjoyed over the years. But as AMS elections draw closer, we’re taking a look at what people have done after their time in the AMS offices is over. For Dobie, two terms as AMS president — “not something I’d recommend,” he quips — burnt him out. He dropped out of UBC shortly afterwards to begin work for a software company. Now he’s the president of Stage 3 Systems Inc., a software company he founded that works in the shipping industry. He said he has no regrets about not finishing his degree.

AMS: WHeRe PoLItICS GoeS to DIe? While the AMS is viewed as the home of student politics, cursory research into the lives of former AMS presidents shows that few have continued in politics after leaving university. “It probably cured me of my interest in politics at a broader level,” laughed Dobie. “You quickly learn that even if you don’t feel a certain way about something, if someone thinks you do, that’s their formed opinion of you and you can’t easily

change that opinion.” This feeling was shared by another former president, Blake Frederick. Now known for “UNgate,” his controversial appeal to the United Nations over high tuition costs, Frederick came into presidency in 2009 hoping to transform the AMS into a risk-taking student advocacy group. But according to Frederick, that dream quickly came crashing down. “It became clear very quickly that it’s too large of a bureaucracy for a couple individuals, even through sustained efforts, to make any difference in the AMS whatsoever,” Frederick said. “It sounds pessimistic, but I think it’s necessary for students to abandon the notion that the AMS could ever create the spontaneous student uprisings we’ve seen in other provinces.” Frederick stands by his UN action, but regrets that it failed to draw attention to the issue of rising tuition costs. “Unfortunately, the attention was switched [onto] me as a person.” Frederick, who graduated from UBC with a BA in philosophy, is now back in school to complete a computer science degree at SFU. “I did work in politics after I graduated, but I found that the role of the political party is just to more or less put a more human face on capitalism, as Zizek says,” Frederick said, referring to Slovene philosopher Slavoj Zizek.

So WHAt ARe tHeY UP to? Many former AMS presidents have ended up as lawyers. Margaret Hollis (née Copping),

AMS president from 1984 85, was on the fence about whether to pursue medicine or law. But during her term as president, she saw the power of advocating for students and decided to head into law. After graduating in 1987, Hollis clerked for the B.C. Supreme Court and was called to the bar in 1989. Today she works as legal counsel for the Nunavut Department of Justice. Like Dobie, student politics ultimately deterred her from joining real-world politics. “I would be no good on the front lines of any political position. I really hated the public scrutiny such as it was. I wouldn’t ever hold up an elected politician position.” Another former president making his way into law is Bijan Ahmadian. Known for his elaborate, public displays of presidency (such as LipDub and UBC’s Got Talent, where he sang a duet with UBC President Stephen Toope), Ahmadian was completing a joint law and MBA degree when he decided to run for president. Ahmadian fondly remembers his time as president from 2010 11. “It would, for the rest of my life, mean something to me,” said Ahmadian. “I became a leader because UBC helped me become a leader.” After the AMS, Ahmadian held a small political role as vice-president of B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s Riding Association. Nowadays, he is an articling student at a firm, and hopes to start practicing law in September.

WoRKING tHe CoNNeCtIoNS Dobie, the software company

president, said he still has many friends and contacts from his AMS days. He founded a company with another former AMS president, Martin Ertl (1992 93), and has worked with Ryan Davies (1997 98). More recently, AMS exec alumni Elin Tayyar, Ben Cappellacci and former AMS President Jeremy McElroy (2011-2012) came together to create Campaign for Culture, an advocacy group against B.C.’s strict liquor laws and Vancouver’s “War on Fun.” McElroy, now general manger of the Kwantlen Student Association, said he landed his current job because of the fact that he used to be president of a 40,000-person student society. “Probably the only reason they wanted me,” he said with a laugh.

MoVING oN They all hold the same office, but where AMS presidents go after they bid adieu to the Council chambers is for each of them to discover. At the end of the day, Dobie thinks he made the right decision running for AMS president — and the right decisions after he left. “I think it was one of the formative experiences of my life, and a good one in terms of figuring out how to work with people to do something,” said Dobie. Almost 30 years after the fact, Hollis said that being president was more than a great line on her resume. “It wasn’t about ambition. I saw something and I wanted to fix it, and then I moved on.” U —Ming Wong

past ams presIdents In case you’ve been itching to ﬁnd out who all the past AMS presidents are, here’s a small sampling. The full list of past student executives can be found on the AMS website. 2011–2012 Jeremy McElroy 2010–2011 Bijan Ahmadian 2009–2010 Blake Frederick 2008–2009 Michael Duncan 2007–2008 Jeff Friedrich 2006–2007 kevin keystone 2005–2006 Spencer keys 2004–2005 Amina Rai 2003–2004 Oana Chirila 2002–2003 kristen Harvey 2001–2002 Efran kazemi

8 | OPiNiON |

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013

LOW HANGING FRUIT

Is a new system for executive bonuses turning student politicians into underacheivers?

EDITOR S NOTEBOOK by Arno Rosenfeld

n the summer of 2011, the AMS decided its executives had been underpaid for too long. Without going through its own budget committee, Council gave the execs a raise totalling $30,000. The fact that this was voted on by AMS Council without budget committee consideration, and that it added to an already large $200,000 deficit, prompted budget committee member Erik MacKinnon to resign. “This was a very poor move which optically makes the AMS Council look like what it is — a bunch of 18 21-year-old political nerds fucking around with your student fees,” MacKinnon wrote in a blog post following his resignation. The unorthodox tactics and conflict of interest (the raises were initially intended to take effect for the Council that passed them, though eventually this changed) raised eyebrows and stirred student ire, especially given that they came just months after the AMS successfully passed a referendum raising student fees by $19.

Now, a year later, the question is not whether it’s OK for the AMS to give itself raises; the question is whether those raises have actually worked as an incentive for AMS execs to dream big. Short answer: it appears not. How could this be? These raises are officially known as “Performance Accountability Restrictions” and are tied to the completion of certain goals outlined for each executive at the start of their term. The problem with such a system is that the execs set their own goals. In other words, each exec presents their list of “PAR goals” to AMS Council when they start their jobs and the Council assesses whether they completed those goals when it comes time to pay their PAR bonuses. While previous AMS execs tackled issues like the construction of the new SUB and took tuition complaints to the UN, the list of PAR goals this year included putting some of the AMS Art Gallery’s collection online, maintaining the Presidential Beer Hall Speakers Series and creating “a robust budget consultation process.” These are all noble goals, to be sure, but perhaps they leave something to be desired in terms

of aspiration. It would be remarkable if the execs failed to accomplish these goals. None of this should diminish the serious accomplishments of the AMS exec team this year. Get OnBoard was an important (if low-key) step toward improving public transit access to UBC. Important work was done on student housing, including the completion of a Student Housing Action Plan. And, also relating to transit, a new U-Pass contract was negotiated. That all goes along with lots of other projects and the standard work the AMS execs do to run a massive student society with a huge budget. But if one of the execs decided they wanted to reduce student tuition, and put that in their PAR goals, they would be putting their massive bonus on the line. That is the problem with evaluating people based on goals they set for themselves. If the AMS Council made the PAR bonuses contingent on general evaluations of each execs’ work throughout their term, this problem would be solved and execs would be free to work on goals they aren’t sure they would be able to check off at the end of the year. U

BoG SENATE MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

| the candidates | 9

AMS SLFS Don’t forget, you will also be voting on multiple AMS referendums, the Ubyssey Publications Society board of directors and Voter Funded Media.

• BoG •

6 CANDIDATES 2 POSITIONS

• SENATE •

11 CANDIDATES 5 POSITIONS

• AMS EXEC •

12 CANDIDATES 5 POSITIONS

• SLFS •

1 SLATE 6 SPOTS .

10 | the candidates |

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

VP ADMINISTRATION

1. What will be your role in the final stages of the new SUB project? 2. What were some of the best past uses of the Clubs Benefit Fund, Competitive Athletics Fund and the Sustainability Projects Fund? How should these funds be used in the future? 3. What student services should get more funding? What student services should see cuts? 4. What do you think about the new SUB brewery project?

SUBS & CLUBS

he VP Admin race is beginning to tighten as candidates Barnabas Caro, Justin Fernandes, Derek Moore and Olivia Yung square off. The position’s portfolio includes managing both the current and new SUB buildings and overseeing the administration of AMS clubs. Current AMS Council arts rep and student senator Barnabas Caro hopes take a new approach to the role of VP Admin. Instead of viewing the role as something that is strictly managerial, Caro wants to work side by side with students who wish to participate in the development of the new student space. “I really think it’s time to start focusing on building communities as opposed to buildings,” said Caro at last Wednesday’s debate. “For the last five years now, the VP Admin role has been about building the new SUB, and now it’s time to start building communities that will fit inside that SUB.” Justin Fernandes, a fourth-year physiology student and current VP External for the Science Undegraduate Society, is looking to bring his knowledge and experience to the role of VP Admin. Fernandes’s main campaign points revolve around improving the management of current club resources, using the power of clubs to bring students closer to the AMS and continuing to develop projects for the new SUB even after its construction phase is complete. “I feel as if I would be the best candidate for the role because I have the most experience in stu-

dent politics and I also have the dedication to see my project forward,” said Fernandes. “I believe that I would be the one to stay up late at night and continue working when all else fails.” Derek Moore, community engagement coordinator for the new SUB, has spent the last eight months working on the new SUB project alongside current VP Administration Caroline Wong. Moore hopes to continue pushing the project through to its opening in September 2014. “I currently work at the AMS on the new SUB project, and that, I believe, is my biggest strength,” said Moore. “I’ve been immersed in it for about eight months now.” Olivia Yung is a third-year student in the Faculty of Land and Food Sciences, president of the UBC Dance Club and assistant coordinator of AMS Tutoring. Yung aims to actively encourage students to become more involved with AMS clubs, improve the operations system surrounding current club management and fight for effective sustainability initiatives to be brought to campus. Yung also plans to advocate for better management of UBC’s Whistler Lodge in order to ensure that it remains a suitable lodging option for both students and stakeholders. —Veronika Bondarenko

Derek Moore >>

1. The new SUB project is nearly through the design phase. As soon as that’s finished, I’ll refocus onto the operational side of the new SUB: AMS business and CRU policy, operational sustainability, student spaces. Most importantly, I’ll lay the groundwork for the next VP Admin (or Student Engagement) to leverage the opening and occupation of the building as a tool to build student culture on campus. I plan on using student spaces in the new building to communicate campus [and] student history, and to figure out and communicate how students

can best use the new building as a cultural tool. 2. I am most familiar with the Sustainability Projects Fund and the Competitive Athletics Fund. For the former: the atrium art prototyping project for the new SUB is pretty cool. It promises, should it come to full realization, to continuously remind students to act sustainably when they cruise through the SUB’s main concourse. I dig that. Next, the Competitive Athletics Fund is pretty new, but it’s off to a great start supporting the UBC Wrest-

ling Team and the UBC Ultimate Team, both of which are elite. I feel that the Sustainability Projects Fund has a great direction right now, and I feel that the Competitive Athletics Fund will likely need to be both increased in size and broadened to include more fledgling teams. 3. AMS services fall under the president portfolio, but as a member of ExecComm I could recommend a few things. First, my opinion is that the services are one of the most important things that the society does.

They should not be cut if it is not necessary. Second, it’s important that student money is being put to good use. At the end of the day, a services review needs to be done to determine what actions should be taken. 4. The decision comes down to the AMS Council next week, but I personally like the idea a lot. It could turn into an amazing tool to build student culture. I think it should be pursued as long as we can make it self-sustaining and subject to the interests of students.

Justin fernandes >>

1. My role will focus on ensuring that the project is on time, on budget and completely transparent to students. Additionally, I will take the lead on shifting the mindset into an operational one to create best practices in management in preparation for the grand opening next year. I will also work to implement a plan for the transition of all the staff, services and business so that entering the new SUB is seamless and efficient. 2. In the past, these funds have been used for a variety of pur-

poses, including but not limited to funding capital projects (ex. new studio for PhotoSoc), ensuring that athletes not recognized as varsity by UBC still had the ability to compete (ex. wrestling club, ultimate frisbee team), and spearheading new sustainability initiatives (ex. art projects for the new SUB to promote awareness for sustainability). In the future, I feel these funds should continue to support clubs when they bring forth new and innovative projects, and are best used when all other funding options are exhausted.

3. There are many services provided by the AMS available to students, and I think it is important to reassess budgets annually to streamline the operations and maximize the money available to students. I have not had an opportunity to experience all of the diverse services offered, and so feel that the best approach to this would be to implement a survey system and use student feedback to ensure that the services are providing the best possible resources for students.

4. I think the microbrewery is a very interesting and unique initiative that has the potential to draw in more students to the AMS, highlight the diverse aspects of the new SUB that caters to all students on campus, and potentially also make a small profit (going straight back to student services). However, I would like to note that despite my own opinions on the matter, the issue will be decided by AMS Council during the Jan. 23 meeting, and I will abide by whatever the final decision is.

to groups such as the UBC Jazz Café and the UBC Sailing Club. If possible, I would like to see more clubs receive funds such as these, preferably with less restrictions, as they are a valuable resource for AMS clubs to improve their group and ultimately provide a better service for students on campus.

campus. Thus, I would like to see AMS Speakeasy and AMS Tutoring receive more funding. Although AMS Volunteer Connect, Externship and Internship are important services, there are other resources and groups on campus that also provide assistance in this area, such as co-op and programs out of the Centre for Student Involvement and Careers.

students at UBC. The brewery has the potential to bring students together in a pastime that many enjoy (let’s be honest), and in a new building that is planned to become a central part of campus. So yes, I support the new SUB brewery project. With that being said, it is important to consider the sustainability of the brewery and the costs associated with such an undertaking. As long as it can sustain itself 10, 20, 50 years down the road, I think it will become quite a favourite spot for students in the future.

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OLIVIA YUNG >>

1. My role in the final stages of the new SUB will be ensuring that construction remains on schedule and continuing the projects and plans for the building that the current VP Admin has established. As well, it will be my duty to create an action plan to make a smooth and well-communicated transition for clubs, staff and services in the old SUB to the new one.

2. I think that some of the best past uses of the available funds the AMS can provide has gone

3. I believe that all the services in the AMS are beneficial to students; however, student mental health and academics have become key issues on

4. I believe this project is a great idea because it was based off the opinions and proposals of past

BARNABAS CARO >>

1. I believe the role of the VP Admin in regard to the end of the new SUB project is make sure that we balance the differing interests of clubs and other student groups that will be looking for visibility within the design of the building’s interior. The position will also deal with any other student decisions that will come up across the year. 2. The Dance Club’s use of the Clubs Benefit Fund for their collaborative dance perform-

ance, as well as my own use of it to allow me to put on social mixers for club execs in the Gallery, [has] proven to be great successes. The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of people with bright ideas on campus and plenty of money sitting in funds that would allow them to act on them (whether they be funds of the AMS or ones offered by the university). The problem is the disconnect between them. I strongly believe that we do a

terrible job advertising both the funds and their potential, and better opening them up to students is one of my main platform points. 3. I think none of the student services should see cuts in funding. Rather, to avoid this end, we should think harder about starting up new AMS businesses and investments that may, due to lack of financial forethought, turn out to become services instead. 4. I’m not against the brewery

in any way. On the contrary, I would like to see one. It is not the decision of the VP Admin, however. It is up to Council and the student body. Whatever decision is reached, I will follow up on to the hilt. The real responsibility of the VP Admin is to make sure students and councillors are well informed about both the shortand long-term consequences of the decisions they are making and providing them with the facts.

1. p it th w ar af U g in ru ed

2 d w co th fr b I

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

VP EXTERNAL

VP ACADEMIC

BUSSES AND STUDENT LOANS

here’s only one candidate running for VP External this year, and his top priority is clear: he wants to fix TransLink. Second-year arts student Tanner Bokor promises to improve the sad tate of transit to UBC, lobby for childcare and scholarships in the upcomng provincial election and engage better with students as a whole. He’s worked under current VP External Kyle Warwick for months, but he’s quick to point out how he hopes o differ from his predecessor. “Kyle and my issues are the same, but our methods are different,” he said. While Warwick favoured more of a backoom, policy-wonk approach, Bokor plans to hold more open consultaons and pub get-togethers to get tudents talking about the issues. He’s already earned some stripes as a lobbyist, starting the successful Get OnBoard campaign for better ransit funding last September. He managed to convince both Vancouver and Surrey’s city councils to join the campaign, a slight coup on an issue where the two cities are often seen as bitter competitors. The Get OnBoard campaign was careful in its rhetoric: promoted new funding sources for TransLink and didn’t push rapid transit

to UBC as a priority that should come ahead of, say, a similar project south of the Fraser. This paid dividends in the wide-ranging support Bokor was able to get, but he will need to switch up his goals and make UBC the centre of everything as VP External. Bokor said the recent round of U-Pass negotiations, which resulted in UBC getting to keep the program with a slight price increase, were a success. He’s looking forward to the implementation of TransLink’s new Compass Card transit pass system, which will get rid of paper passes and make replacing a lost or stolen pass easier and cheaper. And as far as lobbying to higher levels of government, Bokor also thinks the AMS’s strategy for dealing with the provincial government needs an overhaul. Without any other choices for the VP External position, it’s a race for acclamation: students can vote either for Bokor or for nobody at all. And with his well-honed campaign message and proven lobbying experience, the chances of Bokor losing the acclamation vote are virtually nonexistent. UBC, meet your new VP External. —Priyanka Hariharan

. The VP External race has been uncontested for two years in a ow. Is this a problem? Is it a disservice to students that they don’t get a choice in this race?

2. Evaluate the performance of this year’s VP External, Kyle Warwick. What will you do differently?

3. You’ve spent a good portion of your time this year running Get OnBoard, which doesn’t advocate specifically for UBC students. Will you continue your involvement with Get OnBoard as VP External?

4. How will this spring’s provincial election affect students?

Tanner Bokor >>

. An uncontested race is a significant problem regardless of the portfolio, as t signals a lack of engagement with he rest of the student population on what these positions are, why they re important and how non-AMS ffiliated students can get involved. Until we grapple with our general enagement problem of getting students nterested in their student society, we un the risk of seeing more uncontestd seats in the future.

2. This year’s VP External has done an exceptional job at creating well-researched policies and creating onstructive relationships, ensuring hat partisan politics stay separate rom the role, an approach I strongly believe in and will continue. However, believe that more direct engage-

ment with students is needed to drive issues forward. I plan to create more opportunities for consultation on issues that affect students [and] provide mechanisms for students to be directly involved, as well as seek to develop a greater campus presence. 3. As campaign director of Get OnBoard B.C., my focus has been on the issue of funding the entire transit network in Metro Vancouver, which is an important first step before we can begin to discuss specific projects. Shifting from the role of campaign director to AMS VP External, my approach will be to still promote the need for a better funding formula to address transit needs throughout the region, but I will place the majority of my focus on advocating locally for better transit service, including rapid transit, to and from UBC. 4. The spring provincial elections this year will have a huge effect on students throughout B.C. With cuts to institutions and needed reform for B.C.’s financial aid system, as well as transit funding and childcare reform being key issues during this election, this is the best opportunity to influence policy making. As such, this is the best time for the AMS and other stakeholders to work collaboratively to lobby candidates before the elections [and] ensure that we clearly explain the impact to students, and after the elections, it will be extremely important to hold officials and parties to their promises, regardless of who is in power.

| the candidates | 11

YOUR LINK TO THE ADMIN

his year’s race for VP Academic and University Affairs is the only AMS exec race with an incumbent running. Kiran Mahal, current VP Academic, is facing off against two challengers: AMS councillors Anne Kessler and Montana Hunter. Major issues in the VP Academic’s portfolio include student housing, student mental health and issues with exams. When it comes to housing, all the candidates agree that student housing costs should be lower. But while Kessler and Hunter want UBC to stop expecting student housing to pay interest on loans UBC receives from itself, Mahal has taken a more reserved stance, emphasizing a report on student housing she commissioned this year. Mahal said that if elected, she would commission another housing report on not just the volume of housing UBC makes available to students, but also the affordability of that housing. In keeping with her more aggressive campaign tone, Kessler vowed to make B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Act apply to student housing at UBC, a position neither of the other candidates share. The other major issue in the campaign has been how to address UBC’s poor record on student mental health. Kessler said it was important for UBC to address

underlying issues, not just to treat problems when they occur. “We need to start evaluating the academic environment where we only study and eat crappy food at Irving,” Kessler said. Hunter said that dealing with student mental health was such a big task that it might exceed his capacity as VP Academic. He pledged, if elected, to hire a mental health commissioner to lobby the university and conduct a mental health report. Mahal drew on her prior experience when addressing the mental health question. “I started a conversation in Senate to revise academic policy for students,” Mahal said. She added that if she is elected to a second term, she will recruit a team of mental health experts from across Canada to assess UBC’s needs. Hunter disagreed with this approach, saying, “We should put our resources back into our university and not send money out of UBC.” However, Mahal insists that in order to sway top-level administrators at UBC, it’s necessary to show outside research. The candidates have tried to distinguish their messages, even if they generally agree on many issues.

1. What do you think is a higher priority: the exam database, mid-term teaching evaluations or early release of exam dates? If you could only accomplish one, which would you pick and why? 2. What’s your take on the Bridge to UBC program? What are some of the potential benefits and drawbacks of the program? 3. UBC exists in an unincorporated area with no municipal government. What do you think is the best governance structure for UBC campus? How do you expect to advocate for students’ interests on this issue? ANNE KESSLER >>

1. I believe the early release of exam dates should be the AMS’s highest priority. The impacts of an exam database and mid-term evaluations will not be as significant. The early release of exam dates will affect all students greatly. It will allow for students to book flights home earlier, saving them money. It will allow some students to choose their courses based on the exam dates, resulting in less stress about exams being closer together. 2. The Bridge to UBC program will give a more diverse group of international students the chance to come to UBC. It will also help UBC solve some of its budgetary issues. However, we need to be careful that these students are well integrated into the UBC community, are given ample housing and, since this is a pilot project

with experimental learning, that they are given a quality education. UBC also needs to clearly define where these students fit in, and make sure they are not just a source of money but a way of enriching all of UBC. 3. I think it is difficult to say there is a “best” governance structure. There are many potential options and some will benefit students more than others. We need to consult students and see what they would like in a governance structure and then advocate for that. If a governance structure that works for all stakeholders is to be found, we need to begin a conversation with them. I would suggest a working group be drawn up to explore the many options, and within this, I would advocate for proper student representation on any new structure.

Kiran Mahal >>

1. This year we made great strides on all fronts and the stage has been set for the AMS to leverage the work already done to address all these issues. This year I made sure the exam database was being discussed in the right Senate committees extensively; we are currently in development for release in the next year. The mid-term evaluations pilot project I led was extremely successful and associate deans who lead policy in their faculties have been engaged in the process. We have the right research done for exam date release and the VP Students office is engaged in discussions. With the right person in office, we don’t have to choose; we have the potential to accomplish all three. 2. The university has been clear on the goals/purpose of the program: yes, there is a financial component, but there is also the goal of diversifying the international student population on campus and testing innovative pedagogy that can later be applied campus-wide. All MONTANA HUNTER >> 1. I believe that the early release of exam dates should be the highest priority, followed by the exam database and mid-term evaluations in that order. The early release of exams has been a longstanding issue for students and, due to new exam scheduling system UBC is bringing in, may actually be an achievable goal this year. By making the exam dates available earlier, we would allow students to book more affordable flights home for the holidays, avoid possible exam hardships (therefore benefiting mental health on campus) and allow students to know their work availability earlier.

2. The Bridge to UBC program is a fantastic idea; it will encourage students from around the world to study at UBC and provide a gateway to the world of academia. As a student struggling with

three of these goals, if achieved, will provide great benefit to the university. A drawback would be the potential for a low quality, revenue-focused program. From my involvement on the Steering Committee, I can say with confidence that the university is aiming for a quality program that prepares students for success at UBC. We need the AMS to [be] vocal on ensuring the quality of student life for Bridge students is parallel to the quality of the academic curriculum being developed. After all, these students will be UBC students and AMS members. 3. The best governance structure for UBC is one that is developed and agreed upon by all the major stakeholders involved. But at the end of the day, we are a university campus and students need special representation in whatever governance structure is established. This is what I will advocate for.

learning a foreign language and interested in using it academically, this is the sort of program I have searched for when looking for universities to study at. Having said that, the AMS needs to make sure that these incoming students are supported by the AMS, receive health benefits, the U-Pass and representation on AMS Council for their unique needs. 3. The current governance structure actually benefits students in most cases. While students and the university do differ around certain issues, for the most part what is good for students is good for the university and vice-versa. If the governance structure were to change, I believe it would be more difficult for students to have their voices heard.

12 | The Candidates |

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

VP FINANCE

NOBLE GUARDIANS OF THE PURSE STRINGS

oaquin Acevedo faces off against Mateusz Miadlikowski for the position of VP Finance, and both have very different perspectives on how to manage the finances of the $14 million Alma Mater Society. Acevedo comes off as the more experienced student politician. He’s well-versed in AMS lingo, having worked his way up from being director of finance for the Science Undergrad Society. His platform looks toward putting together a long-term financial

plan and making sure there’s a smooth transition into the new SUB. In contrast, Miadlikowski’s only experience with the AMS’s financial side comes from his time as an employee of the Pit Pub and the Gallery Lounge. He’s argued in favour of giving AMS employees a say in how businesses are run, rather than leaving decisions to the newly formed Business Administration and Governance Board. On many issues, he’s promised to defer to what students want rather

than promote his own stances. AMS businesses, like the Pit Pub and Blue Chip Cookies, haven’t been doing well this year. As of last November, they had already lost close to $100,000. Acevedo wants to give the AMS other sources of revenue, and hopes to secure partnerships and sponsorships with outside companies. He also plans to conduct a formal review of the businesses to see if they could become more profitable. Miadlikowski agrees the AMS

budget should rely less on business profits and should instead focus on investing. “Plenty of investments are possible, such as simple bank investments where you get the return rate on something,” he said. The two candidates had different opinions about the AMS’s two large annual concerts, Welcome Back BBQ and Block Party. Acevedo said he thinks they’re a service for students and wants to keep them running, even if they lose money. Miadlikowski, on the other hand, said he thinks they ought to

break even. Acevedo came into this race the front-runner, as he clearly has more experience inside the AMS machine. But although Miadlikowski is a relative outsider, he still brings some interesting ideas to the table. As we’ve said before, sometimes it’s hard enough to find one student to take on the demanding and often dull VP Finance job. The AMS is lucky this year that there are two candidates eager for the spot. U —Ming Wong

Joaquin Mateusz Acevedo Miadlikowski

1. Yes, I would support a fee restructure. It is clear that some fees go into funds and simply accumulate over time. Changing the policies that regulate the use of these fees may allow us to fix our structural deficit by reallocating some of this money to the AMS Endowment Fund. They could also be reallocated to our operating budget to ease immediate needs of the society. An internal loan program for the AMS would be useful; several organizations and governments use it, so there is no reason we couldn’t. It would allow departments to better finance their innovative projects while maintaining strong financial responsibility. While it would be useful, effective policy needs to be generated to ensure accountability. 2. These events are AMS landmark events, and therefore they play a large role in the culture and experience of students at UBC. The AMS should not be turning a profit on either of these events. We should be providing the best value for people attending by controlling alcohol prices and getting good entertainment. I would be comfortable running them at a loss,

due to the potential impact on the student experience. 3. The new business board has an incredible potential to improve our businesses. I would provide them with all of the information necessary to develop policies and strategies that will make our businesses more successful in the new SUB. Furthermore, I would encourage all members to provide their insight, students emphasizing student needs and alumni sharing their experience. 4. Neither of these should be sold. Each of these holds enormous value to students and the society. A significant amount of students strongly oppose selling the Whistler Lodge, as shown by a recent survey. I think that we need to invest in refurbishing the lodge, in consultation with the Ski and Board Club, to increase bookings by external groups. The AMS art collection should not be used as a scapegoat to eradicate financial deficit. Selling the art collection, either in part or full, has many implications and is not as simple as taking it to the local pawnshop.

Q&A

1. A fee restructure referendum didn’t go through on this year’s election ballot. Would you still support a fee restructure, and which fees would you alter? What do you think about the possibility of an AMS internal loan program? 2. Should events like AMS Block Party and the Welcome Back BBQ make money, or is it all right to run them at a loss? 3. How will you work with the new business board to make sure the new SUB businesses are more successful than businesses in the current SUB? 4. What’s your take on the AMS art collection and the Whistler Lodge? Should either of these be sold? Why?

1. Yes, I would support the restructure to give the AMS more financial flexibility. Moreover, we should be focusing on large funds such as Student Spaces Fund and large expenditures that come from that fund ([like the] brewery in the new SUB). The possibility of an AMS internal loan demonstrates that there are funds that could be reduced and others could be enlarged. Given the current budget deficit, I think it is a good idea. 2. AMS Block Party is a great event. After the long school year, students get a chance to relax, socialize and enjoy good music. I am very pleased that we are able to attract well-known musical artists, and at the same time keep prices relatively low. But not all students are interested in attending the event. In my opinion, Block Party’s minimum objective should be to break even and keep the prices relatively low. 3. I will work very closely with the new board to ensure that the current issues are addressed. The board is a newly created institution, and I believe my previous experience with AMS businesses

and my own business is necessary to improve the quality of services we offer. VP Finance does not have voting power on the board, but sits among the voting members and can provide accurate advice regarding specific areas in need of improvement. Working closely as a team is an important aspect in achieving our goals. 4. From the economical point of view, the sale of the Whistler Lodge could provide finances that could be invested with high returns. The money coming from interest rate could be spent efficiently on different areas of student life. But the AMS is a non-profit organization and should not be guided by financial incentives. I believe that we should recognize [the] importance of students’ opinions. The Whistler Lodge and the AMS Art Collection are property of the AMS and thus students themselves. I would strongly advocate for referendum questions regarding these instances. If students decide that they want to keep the lodge and the gallery, then we should decide what the best way to improve and promote both is.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013

PRESIDENT THE HEAD HONCHO

he three presidential candidates — Caroline Wong, Ekateryna Baranovskaya and Jay Shah — are competing to take the helm of a changing AMS. With the need to finalize plans for the new SUB and the new Business Administration and Governance Board (BAGB) taking charge of businesses, the AMS will be going through a lot of changes in the coming months. Current AMS VP Admin Caroline Wong is the only candidate with

experience as an AMS exec, but the other two candidates are by no means outsiders. During her campaign, Wong talked up her experience as an exec and her work on the new SUB. She said she won’t need time to catch up on the plans for the new SUB (set to open in 2014) if she takes office. Ekateryna Baranovskaya, an AMS councillor and committee chair, took a different approach to campaigning. She hopes to harness the potential for change in the provincial election

Caroline Wong 1. As a current AMS exec, I learned several skills under Matt’s leadership. One thing I would have done differently would be to hold weekly one-on-one meeting with the VPs, especially during the first few months, to help them acclimatize to the AMS work environment, provide any resources or guidance and to check up on their progress.

2. As the VP Admin, I set very demanding goals for myself and managed to make significant progress in each. A big-picture goal I will strive to accomplish as AMS president will be to create a unifying vision for the society. At the moment, the AMS only has a mission statement, and I feel strongly that if we are to move our organization into the new

1. I would have focused more on improving internal communication and cohesion. For the second year, the VPX [VP External] position is unchallenged; this is in large part due to a concentration of external information to a small group of people. One of the most important checks to the executive is a bi-weekly meeting between the chairs of AMS committees (who oversee the executive along with other duties) and the chair of the executive committee (the president). In the past year, this meeting has been held about four times, creating a stark disconnect. I would not only hold these technically required meetings, but encourage others to get informed prior to Council.

forum for AMS politicos, Athletics and Recreation, Rezlife and other student groups to communicate. The forum would not only allow us to share experiences, but facilitate talks that will lead to a much stronger environment of student leaders — and make it much easier to get diverse opinions in relatively homogeneous organizations such as the AMS. Though PAR really should be reworked in a way to encourage ambition rather than the status quo.

2. My goals will include creating widespread support for constituency elections and creating a

3. Recently, the AMS has been excellent at pushing through well-researched policy. We have been able to improve the quality of our work. However, we lack both internal and external communications skills — something dangerous in an election year. It is necessary to have a president who understands AMS policies in

Jay Shah 1. This year I would have taken a more proactive approach with constituency relations, holding regular coordination and information sharing meetings with Arts, Science, Commerce and other constituency representatives. It is important to facilitate constructive conversations between all of the diverse faculties

at UBC in order to make tangible improvements for students at all levels. The AMS’s relationship with graduate students has historically been marred in difficulty, with little change happening this year. It is imperative that constructive criticism be voiced respectfully and frequently in order to increase the impact

coming up this spring. “Unless we have a president who actively understands lobbying the nature of what the AMS believes and how to communicate that effectively, we could be missing out on something huge,” said Baranovskaya. In contrast to Wong and Baranovskaya, Jay Shah has never held an elected AMS position. But as the society’s executive coodinator of student services, he still has a great deal of experience. Shah made improving communi-

SUB and implement many internal changes, we need a long-term vision of where we want to be in 20-30 years. Since this year will be the most important year to prepare our society for the new SUB opening in 2014, my strong background with the new SUB project will be crucial in aiding the creation of strategic plans on how we will operate our new businesses, services, branding, communication and other areas. We need a president with knowledge and experience as an exec to provide that big-picture vision for our organization. 3. The AMS is very good at getting ideas off the ground — starting new clubs and pushing forward concepts, such as the new SUB. However, we still have room for improvement in terms of nurturing our clubs, providing more resources to continue depth and prefers asking questions to misinformation. As an example, Get OnBoard is working towards a vital step in improving our transit system: fixing the broken funding model. However, many of our directors still confuse this campaign with lobbying for a UBC line. Internally, these mistakes are unfortunate. Externally, they can create serious damage to relationships with our partners. 4. This past year, we began constructing the new SUB, reached out to groups around campus for regular meetings and launched a $50,000 disruption marketing campaign. We have been more visible; however, we are much less relevant. While we have more consultations and meetings with student groups, many feel as if we talk at them rather than that the society has on students. In working alongside constituencies and the entirety of the student body, the AMS can better engage and represent students moving forward. As president, I will make sure this happens. 2. Addressing the structural deficit will be a major goal moving forward. Band-Aid solutions such as reallocating non-discretionary funds to the operating budget do not address the root cause of the problem. It will be important to do a comprehensive review of every department in order to ascertain the areas that can be adjusted to alleviate the AMS of this ongoing financial problem. Getting a commitment from West Point Grey regarding a rapid rail line to UBC will be another goal that I will work hard towards. The majority of our students are commuters. It is important their voices are heard. Finally, I will reorganize the AMS communications department to

| the candidates | 13

cation the top issue of his campaign. “The AMS does overall a horrendous job of communicating to students,” said Shah. “Looking at ways to involve students is actually the most important point of my platform.” His platform centres on nebulous ideas like better involving students and improving communication through social media. While he knows the service side of the AMS, his lack of political experience could hurt him. All of the candidates are poised, professional and knowledgeable enough to do the job without embarrassing themselves. For that matter, there’s no way to tell whether any of them are more or less eager to oppose UBC administration. With all three in what’s more or less a dead heat, we’re expecting a win for whichever of the three manages to run a better campaign machine.

• 1. What would you have done differently than former AMS President Matt Parson? • 2. Executives are now able to set the terms of their performance bonuses under the Performance Accountability Restriction (PAR). So far, it seems to discourage executives from taking on ambitious goals. What big-picture goals will you set? • 3. Name one thing the AMS does very well and name one thing the AMS needs to improve on. • 4. Do you think the AMS is more or less visible/relevant to students than it was this time last year? Why or why not?

our initiatives and ensuring that they have longevity despite the transient nature of student government. One thing that we need to improve on is student governance on business issues. This presents inefficiencies on the business side, and as an AMS exec, I helped in the creation of the Business Administration and Governance Board, which will monitor the progress of our businesses. As president, I will ensure a smooth transition of this Board and scrutinize its operations to identify any inadequacies or gaps and act on them immediately to ensure its success.

of the social media coordinator job description and have full intentions as president to improve our social media presence, hire a social media coordinator and fully renovate our website. If I am elected president, I also have a plan to act on the findings from the communications review, implement a CRM (customer relationship management) platform to further engage students and make information more relevant to them. I also plan to hold regular meetings with constituencies and groups outside of the AMS (Residence Hall Assocation, residence advisors, UBC REC, etc.). During my term as VP Admin, I made a huge effort to meet with club executives and gain feedback. I will do the same if I am elected president and support my executives in regularly communicating with students.

4. I believe the AMS has become a little bit more visible to students this year than last year. I was part of a working group that revamped the AMS website and reduced irrelevant content. I also helped in the creation

Ekat Baranovskaya with them. Club executives have come to me with worries that they have not received the most basic training on how to run meetings and events. The new SUB will not open until after this presidential term, yet we’re already marketing our ensure students are receiving necessary information as easily and efficiently as possible. 3. Over the last several years, the AMS has done a stellar job at producing comprehensive reports in areas that are important to students. The academic experience, housing affordability and communications reports all pointedly addressed many of the problems with the AMS and UBC, providing concrete recommendations for the student body moving forward. While there are many areas the AMS needs to improve on, the major focus should be communication with students. The disunity of AMS branding, the use of antiquated mediums of communication such as e-mail, the absence of metrics to assess our impact on students and zero feedback channels greatly hinder students and their knowledge of AMS services. As president, I will ensure we take corrective action in this area.

current building as an “old” afterthought. I will focus on developing the relationships and structures that we already have, so the president that actually moves us into the new SUB next year has a solid foundation to stand on.

4. I believe the AMS is slightly more visible to students this year as compared to last; however, the AMS’s relevancy to students is more confined to particular departments rather than the AMS as a whole. This year, the AMS services department dramatically increased its outreach in order to convey information and engage the student population. Whether it was JumpStart, Imagine Day or day-to-day outreach with students, the AMS services department has worked hard to ensure individuals are receiving assistance in the form of tutoring, sexual assault support, mental wellness and volunteer placement, to name just a few. The AMS needs to ensure that all departments are being adequately supported and that students are receiving the information that will improve their lives on and off campus.

14 | The Candidates |

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

YOUR BoG REPS ARE THE TWO MOST POWERFUL STUDENTS AT UBC

ive candidates are vying for two seats on the highest decision-making body at the university. This year’s Board of Governors (BoG) election includes a host of accomplished candidates, including incumbent BoG rep Mike Silley, AMS President Matt Parson, Graduate Student Society President Conny Lin, community and regional planning graduate student Erin Rennie, AMS VP Academic Tristan Miller and Arts Undergraduate Society President

Harsev Oshan. Parson is running on a threepoint platform: student finances, affordable housing and transportation. He plans to continue working on the Housing Action plan and look into student bursaries and loan repayment. Sharing Parson’s concern for student finances, Silley plans to dig deeper into the university’s financial policies. “Once that conversation happens, there’s a lot more possibility that the students and the

university administration will reach a unified deal and get more provincial funding to universities and post-secondary institutions,” said Silley. Besides affordable student housing, Miller wants to focus on sustainability initiatives and UBC varsity and recreational athletics. He plans to continue his work as a member of the Sustainability Steering Committee, as well as renovate the REC centre to “build relationships through sports.” Lin talked about her concern

Q&A • 1. What do you think would be the best governance structure for UBC? • 2. Will you or won’t you vote in favour of the yearly two per cent domestic tuition increase? Why? What about international tuition increases? • 3. As one of only two student reps, how will you be an effective voice for students on the Board?

for student mental health programs and the integration of these programs across campus. As a neuroscience Ph.D. student and president of the Graduate Student Society, she said she will be able to bridge the gap between students and senior administrators in order to promote student mental health. Rennie’s bid to end the “war on fun” at UBC makes her platform unique among her peers. “The biggest issue is the [lack of ] vibrancy of life on campus and the campus community,” she said.

• 5. What do you think about differential tuition for specialty programs like the bachelor of international economics? • 6. What do you see as the role of the Bridge to UBC program and potential plans for revenue-generating online courses? How much should programs like these be contributing to UBC’s bottom line?

3. Through passionately voicing my thoughts and students views to the members of the Board [and] remembering that respectful dialogue coinciding with evidence-based argumentation is the best way to get results. We can adamantly disagree with the other members of the Board, but by doing so in a firm and respectful manner, backed up with research, you are likely to make a better impression and earn their respect, which can help you in the long run on other issues.

1. UBC has an incredibly complex governance structure because of the unique nature of the land endowment, academic mission and the competing interests that exist on campus. The current structure of governance is by no means ideal; however, considering the University Endowment Lands is contemplating incorporation, I believe it is too early to form any definitive opin-

Tristan Miller

ions on a new governance structure. There is always a danger that student voices may be lost or diminished if the structure changes to include more stakeholders. Ensuring that the governance structure supports the academic mission of the university first and foremost should remain an imperative. I would suggest we look toward similar institutions and how they have made change

to begin the discussion around governance reform. 2. My vote will depend upon the UBC budget presented. I will most likely vote against the tuition increase. My feeling from talking with my fellow students is that they don’t want their tuition to rise. Who would? In addition, if the rate of inflation in the province is not two per cent, then I will vote against the increase. I may

4. I see these as one [and] the same. All members of the Board are there to do what they think is best for the university. I believe a strong student- and learning-focused campus is in the best interest of UBC.

5. I think we need to navigate this

would likely abstain rather than vote yes. 3. It is a matter of knowing who to talk to, when, and how. I have been able to do this effectively in the past, and will continue to as a student representative on the Board.

Matt Parson 1. Currently the governance structure at UBC has its residents of “U-Town” represented through the UNA [University Neighbourhoods Assocation], an organization that has proven to be toothless at times. This has been most obvious when there have been conflicting views between the residents and the university on how best to develop UBC’s neighbourhoods. Recently we have seen that students have been fair

ly successful at changing the university’s plans on certain things like the bachelor of international economics, zoning of Gage South and developing the Farm. If students continue to have an impact on the the Board of Governors, then should we drastically shift our governance to a system where we would also have to not only convince UBC of the merits of our views but also the residents?

—Brandon Chow

• 4. Should Board members represent students’ interests or the overall “best interests of the university”? How would you define “best interests of the university”?

be convinced to vote in favour if the tuition is raised by an amount equal to the B.C. CPI or if the rate of inflation is at two per cent for that year.

Rennie said the lack of social life on campus is connected to decisions made at the Board level, such as market developments. As an international student, Oshan is primarily concerned with the Bridge to UBC program. He said that the program has “many administrative logistics that haven’t been taken into consideration that I want to be there for, to make sure it doesn’t become obsolete.” U

4. As a member of the Board, it is important to remember one’s fiduciary duties. If other Board members are aware that I take my fiduciary duty seriously, they will trust my perspective regarding the student experience and give it equal weight with all other necessary considerations. Only when trust is built will any perspective be taken seriously.

road carefully. Differential tuition in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It should reflect the true cost of the education it provides. As we have seen in the case of the bachelor of international economics, however, the university must be watched carefully so that students aren’t being taken advantage of to close budget holes, or worse yet, providing UBC with an avenue around the two per cent mandated tuition cap. 6. The role of the Bridge to UBC is twofold. It has the tremendous potential to bring a level of diversity to UBC that we don’t normally see among international students, adding to the richness of UBC’s student population. The second is to generate revenue for the university. In the here and now, this program is helping UBC meet its budget, with the added bonus of enriching diversity on campus, but it is a Band-Aid solution. UBC needs to ensure that the provincial grant grows to aid its budget rather than pursue multiple revenue-generating boutique programs.

needs to be cost defensible. Thankfully, through the effective advocacy of Kiran Mahal, we have held UBC to this principle with the emergence of the BIE. As a student representative on the Board, I will keep a vigilant eye on unnecessary costs, particularly surrounding differential tuition.

2. In an era of mounting debt and rising costs, preventing tuition from rising would be ideal. However, I would only vote no if I believed the budget could maintain academic quality without increasing tuition, but a raise was still being proposed. To vote no based on ideals would be a violation of fiduciary duty. Furthermore, as adequate work has yet to be done from both the university’s and AMS’s part in addressing this issue, I

To position oneself as an interest group would be to relegate oneself to barking from the sidelines: appealing to some people’s eyes, but that would not be in the best interests of students. 5. The concept of cross-subsidization between different programs is not a new one at UBC. The principle that must be maintained is that every program

6. The flexible learning initiative is a program that needs to be explored, or we risk being a laggard in the industry of post-secondary education. The potential to have the online experience complement the classroom is an exciting one that needs a place to be tested. The Bridge program is being brought in as an opportunity to be a revenue stream, increase the internationalization of our student body, and also a place where new pedagogical methods can be piloted. The success of the program hinges on the university’s ability to thoroughly prepare themselves for this unique cohort and prepare the cohort for university life.

—Parson’s responses were received after deadline.

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

1. UBC has arrived at the point where it needs a more democratic, representative and accountable form of governance that recognizes that it is both an academic institution and a community with residents. I would like to see governance [that] empowers students and faculty, and recognizes and protects our particular vulnerability to outside interests.

2. Yes. I think tuition should go up with the costs of providing education. Either we pay for rising costs now or we put it on the backs of future students. International students deserve to know how much they are going to be expected to pay throughout their degree, and I’ll fight for that right.

3. I’ve never been afraid to speak truth to power but I’m also all about respect. I will represent students by building a strong working relation-

ship with the other Board members without becoming co-opted or bamboozled. I’ve been around enough committee tables to see through the bureaucratic language and strategic power plays. We need a BoG rep who knows how to connect with students and listen to their needs. BoG reps need to fully integrate themselves into student life, solicit opinions from students, keep regular office hours and understand how to read a budget in order to ensure that they truly represent the student body’s immediate and long-term interests. 4. Students’ interests and university interests are not in conflict, they are nested. The student BoG rep is responsible for all students, present and future. That being said, in the past some of the Board’s choices have harmed students. For example, some decisions pertaining

to campus development and liquor policy have stifled student life and today we see the results: low student engagement, low social capital and high rates of anxiety and depression. UBC needs a student BoG rep with the experience, perspective and long-term vision to recognize when a decision has the potential to damage student life. 5. I am skeptical of anything that seems to smack of elitism, especially in a public institution. I don’t like the idea of creating special enclaves for the particularly wealthy. This kind of elitism stifles social mobility and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Taxpayers contribute a lot to our university systems because they believe that everyone’s children should have access to high-quality university education if that is the path they choose. As a taxpayer I am disappointed that the univer

would justify higher tuition.

1. We need the universities to change so that our education prepares us well for unstoppable trends towards jobs that require interdisciplinary skills. For example, [is] our centuries old discipline-based (i.e. faculties) structure still applicable for the future? The world [does] not have an answer to this question yet, but this is a critical time for us to take a serious look into how best the university governance structure

1. As it stands, UBC has a good governance structure where we have two students representing the voices of the general student population. I think the problem is with the way the student representatives on the Board of Governors communicate with students. We saw the amount of interest and engagement when the tuition of the bachelor of international economics was being discussed. The interest is there, the BoG reps just need to engage and connect with students better.

2. I will be voting in favour of the two per cent increase in tuition. We cannot control market forces that cause inflation. However, as a university, we can look at different ways of making the cost of living on campus more affordable. For example, we could focus on having cheaper housing on campus, which

Conny Lin should change to adapt to the future of “interdisciplinarily.”

2. I would vote yes to the two per cent domestic tuition increase. In terms of international tuition increase, I believe the increase should be equivalent. I would be reluctant to vote yes to anything more than three per cent yearly increase unless UBC provides extra services to the international students that

could be seen through if UBC can reduce the 5.75 per cent interest rate it charges on the money borrowed from the endowment to build the student housing. 3. I will look at first researching on the issues at hand. Working together with the other student representative, I will apply for grants from the AMS to organize student consultations events and forums so as to get students input on the issues we are discussing. Representing students’ interests on the Board is fundamental. Overall, my role will be to make sure that students’ interests are voiced at the Board level.

4. It is in the best interest of the university to provide a good learning environment for its students. Without the student population, there would be no UBC. Student affordability, tu

Mike Silley 1. I would like to eventually see the amount of student Board seats increasing with tuition. This can lead to a province/university cost-sharing model, ending concerns over high education leading UBC towards privatization. This year I have seen students bringing forward their concerns and their ideas genuinely be taken into account, which has not

always been the case. The best governance structure for students may change in the future, but for now, I believe the current structure is right. 2. The main problem isn’t tuition, but the increasing financial pressures faced by the university. Efficiencies are being found throughout all of UBC, but the university is forced to

3. The majority of the work on any Board is done at the committee level before the decision is presented to the Board. To be most effective the reps have to be active in committees. I would initiate formulating a “committee/issue coverage strategy” with all three student reps on the Board. That will enable us to work as a team to get the most comprehensive coverage on the Board for the students.

Erin Rennie

sity is choosing to create a university structure that mirrors the income gap rather than works to eliminate it.

6. This program seems like it could be great or that it could be a disaster. It is too soon to tell. As a BoG rep I would fight to ensure that the pilot

fine balance between quality and affordability.

4. UBC’s main “product” is public education. That means their consumers are students. With that said, the best interest for the university is to provide the best product (education) to the consumers (students). However, the best product in the world would mean nothing to the consumers if we cannot afford it. Therefore, the main challenge for the Board is how to strike that

ition costs [and] transit are all issues that affect the learning environment on campus. Students’ interests must be kept [at the] forefront as representatives of the student body on the Board of Governors. Therefore, I will represent students’ interests, which should, in a perfect world, be the best interests of the university. 5. Differential tuition can be caused by a number of reasons. For example, if the B.C. government has decided to subsidize the costs of tuition for a particular program because of the high demand of workers in a particular field, the tuition [will] be lower. In such a scenario, difference in tuition costs would be fine. However, if there is no reason for the tuition to be higher and if it is used to discourage people from joining the program, the costs of tuition should not be higher for specialty programs.

offload costs to students to maintain its academic excellence. Rather than student vs. institution, I have been pushing for broader tuition debate so we can create a united front in lobbying the government for additional funding. Until this happens, we can expect tuition hikes just to maintain our accustomed standards of education. However, I will continue to ensure students do not pay more than their share! 3. It takes several months to become competent enough to effectively comment on issues brought to the Board. Currently sitting on the Board, I have demonstrated my effectiveness raising issues that are important to both students and the institution. I was heavily involved in the bachelor of international economics discussions, leading to a total tuition savings of over $550,000 per year for students without sacrificing

| The Candidates | 15

5. This is a good question touching on the delicate question of “accessibility to education.” I can see that the differential tuition is a result of supply, demand and return of investment. However, the high tuition prevents accessibility for less financially well-off students. I think that goes against Canadian mentality. A solution to remove that financial barrier is to establish more need-based grants for qualified students. This year I have worked with a federal lobbying group to find creative solutions for establishing more federal need-based grants. I can bring that experience back to UBC and see what we can do within the institution.

6. We need to be careful about the bottom line intention behind the “revenue-generation” role of these

phase of this program is small, closely scrutinized and doesn’t displace regular students. It seems to me that Bridge to UBC seeks to take advantage of today’s hot international student “market”; I would be wary of allowing such a program to become a major part of our revenues since these markets can crash at any time.

programs. If we strictly talk about revenue generation and forget about other visions behind these programs, I foresee Bridge and online courses having the potential to close the budget deficit gap. However, these two programs are not just about revenue generation. If they were, I would be against them. The bigger vision behind the Bridge is to internationalize UBC’s reputation, which helps any UBC current student and alumni by increasing the prestige of our degrees. The online program is an unstoppable trend. Ultimately establishing a good online education program will save students money. Those two programs are beneficial to UBC students by themselves; it doesn’t matter if they can generate revenue or not. —Lin’s responses were received after the deadline and edited significantly for length.

Harsev Oshan 6. The Bridge program is conceptually a fantastic idea. It looks at taking a broader approach at recruiting international students, which would increase the diversity of this campus. The student representatives on Board need to make sure that the program does not let any students fall through the cracks

the original scope of the program. If re-elected, I will continue being a strong voice for students. 4. The University Act requires me by law to represent the best interests of the university. However, the best interests of the university are oftentimes in line with those of students. The few times that their interests diverge, a strong student Board member is needed to get each side to meet in the middle. A poor relationship between the students and administration can often hurt each side more than the issue itself.

5. Tuition can be higher for programs if data supports higher career salaries resulting in faster student loan repayment. Tuition can be lower if the province covers program costs for job demand in a field. Differential tuition between grad and undergrad students (cross-subsidization) can

because of financial reasons. With a broader approach, issues surrounding student affordability need to be taken into consideration, otherwise the program could fall apart. Online courses give UBC the chance to expand its educational outreach across the world; however the administration should be careful not to neglect the physical learning spaces. occur if investing in our research and technology sector is a priority. Differential tuition is not okay if used to discourage student enrolment in certain programs or if there is no valid reason for the respective difference.

6. The Bridge to UBC program is meant to increase the diversity of our campus and increase accessibility to international students who would otherwise not have access. The Board must communicate reasons for running this program and must not financially over-commit to a program that may rapidly become obsolete. Online courses follow a shift in education towards virtual space. It will broaden the scope of who UBC can educate and ensure UBC’s current learning model does not become obsolete. One program helps us stay relevant now, and the other will ensure we remain relevant in the future.

16 | ThE CANDiDATES |

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013

SENATE YOUR ACADEMIC ADVOCATES

leven candidates with similar platforms are competing for five spots on Senate. The candidates all want to improve student mental health, implement an exam database and be part of the move towards online courses. Incumbent Senate candidate and AMS VP Academic Kiran Mahal is already working on the exam database and pushing for better student mental health. She said she should be

more onlIne Too much AMS? Check out ubyssey.ca for this week’s culture and sports content. In culture, Vij’s comes to UBC, and in sports, UBC men’s basketball continues to dominate the competitive Canada West.

Q&A

1. Has broad-based admissions achieved its goal? Should UBC keep broad-based admissions, and if so, should the program be altered and how?

2. Do you support continuing to admit B.C. and Yukon students based on their Grade 11 marks? Why? 3. Which existing Senate projects will you continue to work on? What new ideas will you bring to Senate?

ample, an employer or a graduate school is looking at an undergraduate’s transcript to get a sense of who they are and what they excel in, it’s not just about grades,” said Marshall. As the university moves towards new forms of online courses and lecture capture, just what shape courses will take is a big issue on Senate. While all of the candidates want to be a part of the discussion surrounding online courses, few

have their own ideas. All of the candidates included looking at midterm teaching evaluations in their platform. Third-year geography student Anne Kessler has her own take on teaching evaluations: she wants to create a representative from each class who would report to the department head about the progress of the course. First-year political science student Austin Erhardt is the

only candidate to make financial awards the focus of his platform. Although he would have little control over awards policies, he wants more options to be available in the wake of the loss of the President’s Entrance Scholarship. With so many similar candidates, few stand out from the crowd. U

2. Yes, I support admitting B.C. and Yukon students based on Grade 11 marks because it allows UBC to offer admission at a much earlier time than if they based admission on Grade 12 marks and had to wait for those grades to be released. This also makes UBC more competitive with other Canadian universities. Offers for UBC admission which are conditional upon Grade 12 marks still allow for sufficient examination of student performance in their final year of high school

I would like to pursue providing course credit for co-curricular involvement and working with other Canadian universities [that] have similar programs in place. I would like to develop a more effective ground-up approach for course feedback. I have two years’ experience representing students and redeveloping undergraduate programs, courses and curricula at my alma mater, and would like to work with the curriculum, academic policy, and teaching and learning committees to bring something similar to UBC.

class has a student representative. The representatives from all, say, poli sci classes meet with the head of the department a couple times a term to discuss how the class is going. This allows students to voice their opinion to a peer if they are not comfortable speaking to the professor, and this opinion can then be voiced to the department head. This creates a more local, ongoing type of feedback on classes.

re-elected so she can continue her ongoing projects. Philip Edgecumbe, a secondyear MD/Ph.D. student, has served two terms on Senate, giving him valuable experience. Mahal, second-year political science student Yaniv Pereslavsky and second-year Ph.D. student Natalie Marshall all want to find a way to give students recognition for extracurricular activities. “I think that when, for ex-

3. I will continue the initiative for an exam database for students and earlier exam date release, working with UBC faculty to develop a policy with which students, faculty and the university can agree. I understand the value of such databases, as I attended a university where one was available. A central part of my platform is to recognize student involvement. Beyond the broad-based admissions process, I’d like to work with the Student Senate Caucus on the development of co-curricular transcripts to formally document student extracurricular, volunteer, leadership and professional development. This transcript addition would be valuable for scholarship assessments, potential employers and more.

Natalie Marshall Second-year Ph.D. 1. The broad-based admissions process at UBC has certainly made progress towards recognizing excellent UBC applicants beyond just grades. Its implementation across UBC faculties may usher in a new generation of well-rounded students who will contribute to the community at UBC and at large. In these ways, broad-based admissions has achieved its goal, and for the same reasons it will be beneficial to UBC and should be kept. Broad-based admissions could be improved by giving extracurricular and leadership experiences of applicants more weight, since these traits are valuable to students and the university.

—Sarah Bigam

Jeff Abeysekera Ph.D. student

Anne Kessler Third-year Arts 1. Broad-based admissions have certainly brought in a more diverse set of students this year. However, I believe it is too early to properly evaluate the program. The success of broad-based admissions depends on how successful these students are at university, academically, socially and within extracurricular activities. It would be useful to conduct a study to see both how UBC benefits from this more diverse group of students and how well these students are doing at UBC. 2. Yes, I do. I think that for most students, their Grade 11 marks will be representative of their intelligence and hard work. However, some students struggle in high school but in their later years improve significantly, meaning that they might not be accepted with their Grade 11 marks but would be on their Grade 12 marks. UBC needs to recognize this and create a mechanism for these students to apply based on their better Grade 12 marks.

3. I am very passionate about many of the existing Senate projects, including improving the summer semester, the early release of exam dates and the creation of an exam database. One potential idea is to pilot a project, similar to what other universities do, where each

1. Yes, and I think UBC should keep the program. I support co-curricular recognition by UBC and believe that UBC should be striving to recruit and develop well-rounded individuals. I think we need to continue to monitor the program and make changes as necessary. One addition that could be made is including co-curricular involvement on transcripts. 2. Yes. In some cases Grade 12 marks may not be available at the time of application. In these cases it is critical to get the information. Generally I think the more information available for evaluating students, the better. Students have been informed of the inclusion of Grade 11 marks, so there should be no surprises.

3. I will continue to work on the mental health initiatives in the Senate. Specifically, I would like to re-open the debate on Policy J-102 on exam hardship, possibly extending hardship to include mid-terms or term papers. I also support a later withdrawal date and an exam database to help reduce student stress. In addition, I would like to see some change in course evaluations: making the results available to all students, allowing students to provide input on designing questions and encouraging departments to make questions specific to course goals to ensure that they are being met.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013

investigating current scholarship distribution and achieving equitable scholarship distribution. The removal of the President’s Entrance Scholarship has had a detrimental impact on many new students, and there are significant disparities between faculties and disciplines — even extracurriculars — in terms of available scholarships, which I plan to address.

issue is one of the most important steps UBC has made in the last five years. Like with any issue of mental health, however, we need to be treating the causes and not the symptoms. In order to combat issues of mental health, we need to focus on platforms like the exam database and the effort to announce exams earlier, as well as pushing the drop deadline back in the semester. Allowing students to better plan and prepare for the exam season can alleviate one of the core causes of stress on students.

Austen Erhardt First-year Arts 1. Student engagement is cited as one of the primary goals for broadbased admissions, and Sauder, the first faculty to implement broadbased admissions, has seen notable rises in measures of engagement in various areas, such as participation in the CUS [Commerce Undergaduate Society]. Though additional research would be necessary to determine the exact impacts of the wide implementation of broadbased admissions, the policy has led to new UBC students being more well-rounded — [which is] reflected in Sauder’s research — and has allowed for the admittance of some students with lower GPAs who are very involved in extracurriculars, contributing to UBC’s diversity. Though the program is a step in the right direction, the university should ensure that the program does not become viewed as a necessary part of admission; people who excel in academics shouldn’t be, or feel, valued less than those who are ardent volunteers, and those who are, for varying reasons, unable to volunteer, should not be penalized. 2. I agree with the decision to have used Grade 11 marks for admittance during the 2012 BCTF job action, but I believe that the policy of using Grade 11 grades to offer early admission should be revisited. The use of both Grade 11 and 12 marks better reflect the ability of a student to maintain grades (and may more accurately represent academic ability), but this is countered by the fact that Grade 12 marks display the result of students’ years of education to that point. One approach that would make the process more acceptable (and has already been discussed) is to make offers conditional (beyond meeting the minimum GPA requirement), to ensure that those who should be admitted, are.

3. I would like to continue work on the entire undergraduate admissions process (including broad-based admissions and the use of Grade 11 marks). Regarding new ideas, my primary focus is on

ation/quality and the exam schedule release date. Senate is slow moving, which means these current issues will most likely carry over to the next year, and with my determination and fresh perspective I will try to see these policy changes through. In terms of new ideas, I will promote dual degrees being viewed as more of a viable option for firstyears and other students to consider, as well as creating a feedback process/mechanism for the Senate and AMS to receive direct student opinions and criticism. I would also like to open/continue discussion on a scholarship for incoming students to replace the recently removed President’s Entrance Scholarship (replacement with financial aid).

2. High school education in the province is an unfortunate situation. The strike situation has not happened as a result of student action, so those students should not be punished. UBC has stated that the program is meant to recognize those who achieved well in Grade 11 without excluding those who only picked up the slack in their senior year. I’m wary, however, that students may fall through the cracks of the system. Some who deserve to be here may not be accepted. The system in place at UBC may not be ideal, but in the interim, while the high school level is so severely damaged, I support it.

3. I believe that the identification of students’ mental health as an

3. Students need continuity on Senate. If re-elected, I will continue to work on the projects I brought forward to the Senate committees I served on this year, including the exam database, lecture capture, recognizing student involvement and promoting a healthful academic environment.

Elaine Kuo Fifth-year, unclassified

Yaniv Pereyaslavsky Second-year Arts 1. I’m a staunch supporter of broadbased admissions; however, the goals of the program are much more far-reaching than the single class of 2016. The goal of broad-based admission is to bring in a more diverse range of students, students who would be more inclined to be involved on campus. However, if we’re accepting students based on oranges, why are we evaluating them with apples? If as a school we’ve made it clear that we value extracurricular diversity, we should be reflecting that value in transcripts and official recognition. The extreme amount of effort put in by students involved in extracurricular activities goes unrecognized by the university, and for many, the trade-off in time won’t be worth it if UBC doesn’t seem to value the diverse work done once a student is in the university.

| ThE CANDiDATES | 17

Nina Karimi Third-year Arts 1. Broad-based admissions has achieved the goal of having all university students admitted with the use of supplementals and not just grades. However, we will not know the full extent to which it will aid in creating a more well-rounded student body, which is an asset continually preferred in the job force, until this class graduates in 2016. I believe admitting students with a combination of experience and grades is amazing and will produce a more involved and less apathetic student body. Because broad-based admissions for all incoming students is at its beginning stages, there needs to be extra care taken to ensure that this now “subjective” process is in continual review to ensure applicants are examined fairly. 2. I do support continuing to admit all students based on Grade 11 marks. It keeps us up to par with competing universities because we are now able to send out admission letters earlier, and it also promotes equity as students across Canada can now use the same grades. Although it was a very last-minute and temporary measure at first, with Policy J-52, it is evolving and will continue to evolve into the accepted norm for secondary school students hoping to attend UBC. Although the issue of “adequate notice” was problematic at first, as long as admission information is relayed to students, Grade 11 marks can be just as telling.

3. I wish to continue working on the exam database, summer course vari-

Kiran Mahal Fifth-year Science 1. I think broad-based admissions is a great initiative and will help UBC attract and admit well-rounded students. Something I have been vocal about is the need to make the principles behind broad-based admissions more than just an admissions issue. If we are admitting students to UBC based on their profile beyond academics, we are sending a strong signal about valuing the whole candidate, not just their transcript. But as soon as they get to UBC, we continue to judge students solely on their academic profile. There needs to be a campus-wide discussion about how we support students in being well-rounded throughout their university career and not just for the purposes of admissions.

2. Yes. It makes sense from the standpoint of offering admissions decisions in a timely manner in line with most other Canadian institutions. Under this policy, Grade 11 marks are only used when Grade 12 grades are not available. Most post-secondary institutions across Canada, and even in B.C., already do this successfully. UBC has communicated this decision widely to high schools in B.C. well in advance of the policy coming into effect and has received positive feedback. Prospective students are aware and can prepare accordingly. There is still a process for appeals and later admission decisions as a safeguard for prospective students who may need them.

1. I would be hesitant to say broadbased admissions has definitely achieved its goal. I think broadbased admissions is a good idea that should be continued at UBC, but improvements need to be made. Students often resort to stating false experiences in their applications, so I think prospective students should have to provide references (including contact information) for any extracurricular activities they were involved in. It would require more work on the part of the admissions office, but it would ensure that UBC is actually admitting the most well-rounded students. 2. I support continuing to admit B.C. and Yukon students based on Grade 11 marks because I do not believe marks from four Grade 12 courses are adequate to demonstrate students’ academic success. It gives students the idea that they only have to study hard in four courses in order to be admitted into UBC. Comparing a student’s Grade 11 marks to his or her Grade 12 marks when they are available gives a better indication of whether the student truly excels academically.

3. I would love to sit on the Curriculum Committee in Senate to approve new courses and degrees. I would also like to engage with faculty representatives in discussions on Massive Open Online Courses and establishing the logistics of online learning technology. As an immigrant with family in another country, I understand the trials and tribulations of students who often have to make travel plans and students who worry about their family members’ wellbeing. I would love to lobby on behalf of students like me for earlier release of exam dates and amendments to the criteria for academic concession.

18 | ThE CANDiDATES |

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

SLFS NEED LEGAL HELP?

ix seats, six candidates. The race for Student Legal Fund Society (SLFS) Board of Directors is all but already decided this year. Nevertheless, the candidates are still at the mercy of UBC students’ yes/no votes to be acclaimed in their positions. The SLFS takes in $1 per student each year in order to help students in legal trouble. This year’s candidates — Aaron Sihota, Barnabas Caro, Roshak Momtahen, Dawei Ji, Jordan Stewart and JJ MacLean — are all part of the Students for Responsible

Leadership (SRL) slate. This slate has dominated the SLFS board in recent years, save for one seat lost to an upstart (and now defunct) left-leaning slate last year. After the election, SRL veteran Sihota said, they plan to continue holding small, low-cost Know Your Rights workshops on campus. “There’s been a demand recently for academic rights as well,” said Sihota. The SLFS emerged in the aftermath of the 1997 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held on UBC campus. Hundreds of students were arrested in the pepper

spray soaked protests surrounding the summit, and many of them had trouble paying their legal fees. So the AMS created a fund to help students in legal distress. “A lot of students found themselves in a situation where their rights were violated,” said Momtahen, a new and unusually progressive addition to the SRL slate. “There was no real mechanism for students as a whole to have their legal concerns put forward, [so a] referendum established this society.” Since then, though, the SLFS has moved away from reimbursing

Aaron Sihota, Barnabas Caro, Roshak Momtahen, Dawei Ji, Jordan Stewart and JJ Maclean make up the Students for Responsible Leadership slate.

The SLFS has a mandate to use avenues of the law to “improve education and access to education at UBC and other such matters of law that set broad precedent.” As such, we believe SLFS directors have a responsibility to ensure that the society has the financial means to pursue large precedent-setting (and very expensive) cases. However, we at SRL also recognize the need to re-engage students with the work of the SLFS and to pursue more legal

opinions in matters of importance to students, potentially regarding issues like freedom of information and copyright. Overall, SRL seeks to keep expenses below the annual intake from student fees, but we also recognize that major court cases will require us to spend beyond that extent.

1. The money given to the Student Legal Fund Society (SLFS) generally sits untouched every year. How much does the Students for Responsible Leadership (SRL) slate plan to spend this year?

2. Would you put the money toward a court case hoping to open up the records of UBC s wholly owned corporations?

Want your work published? submit your ﬂash ﬁction or poetry to the Ubyssey’s annual writing contest. read full submission guidelines at ubyssey.ca/literary/.

small-potatoes legal fees. And the SRL slate has insisted on keeping keeping hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank in case a big, precedent-setting legal case needs the money. “We’re in for mindful spending,” Sihota said. “We’re ensuring that the fund is available and intact for a big case that comes to the court, because legal expenses are very costly.” Sihota argued that financing a single Supreme Court case could cost up to $100,000. But not all members of the SRL slate are as frugal as Sihota. Fellow candidate Caro (another SRL

newcomer) said he hopes to spend more of the nearly $50,000 they’ll take in this year. “We are really going to actively use the resources available to us to try and reach out to people,” he said. So despite SRL’s reputation for penny-pinching, the addition of new, less conservative members like Momtahen and Caro might result in a major overhaul of this year’s budget. “A slate is made up by the people who are working inside of it,” said Caro, who hopes to “help make things happen next year.” U -Olivia Etey

We at SRL recognize the need for such a case and would likely pursue it, pending approval from the society’s litigation committee.

David Eby remains probably the best-known civil rights lawyer and activist in B.C. Considering his success in drawing a relatively high turnout at the SLFS Know Your Rights workshop earlier this year, we at SRL would be open to working again with Eby in funded seminars, up until the official election period.

3. What s your take on the SLFS having funded seminars on UBC campus with David Eby after he stepped down as head of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and began to shift into campaigning as an NDP candidate in Point Grey?

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2013

| ELECTiONS | 19

reFerendUm tIme Renewing the U-Pass. Adding seats to AMS Council. Giving money to the Bike Coop. Lowering the attendance needed for a general meeting. You can vote on a lot of things aside from your next student government. Here’s a breakdown of this year’s referendum questions.

hanges to the U-Pass, a new student fee and AMS policy changes are some of the referendum questions asked on the ballot in this year’s AMS elections. The first referendum question proposes the continuation of the U-Pass at a higher cost. If approved, the monthly cost of the pass will rise from the current $30 to $35 in May 2013, $36.75 in May 2014 and $38 in May 2015. If the changes are not approved, UBC students will no longer be eligible for the U-Pass program. The second question focuses on bringing direct democracy back to the AMS. Currently, 1,000 students need to be in one room at one time to reach quorum for a general meeting. The AMS wants to lower quorum to make general meetings more feasible. The proposed threshold for quorum is 500 students, or one per cent of the student population, whichever is greater. A trio of changes involving the AMS are included in the third referendum question. The first part would change the schedule of the AMS executive turnover, allowing the executive term to run from the beginning of May to the end of the following April. It would become effective in the 2014 AMS elections. The second part involves giving schools affiliated with UBC a voting seat on AMS Council. Students at the Vancouver School of Theology, Regent College and St. Mark’s College are all AMS members, but their AMS representatives are not eligible to vote at Council. “All these people pay AMS fees [and] are able to vote in AMS

elections and referendums just like any other member; the only thing that’s different is that they don’t have a voting seat on Council,” said AMS President Matt Parson. “We saw that it would be appropriate to give them that right.” Rounding out this referendum question is the proposal to entrench the AMS endowment fund. The AMS builds up their endowment fund so interest can be used to pay for student services. “It’s ultimately a mechanism to give the AMS a bit more stability in a financial sense,” said Parson. The fourth referendum question involves housekeeping changes to AMS bylaws. Since the changing of AMS bylaws has proven difficult, many of their rules no longer reflect current practices or are considered appropriate for societies registered under the Society Act of B.C. This question is designed to update the outdated bylaws. The final referendum question asks students if they wish to approve a new $1 student fee for the AMS Bike Co-op, which would allow them to improve their services to cyclists on campus. The fee would come into effect on Sept. 1 and could be refundable upon request. “Even if someone is never going to ride a bike, I think that dollar is going to a right place,” said Lucas Gallagher, manager of the Bike Kitchen. Voting for the referendum questions starts on Jan. 21 and will close at 5 p.m. on Jan. 25. All the voting is done online. U —C.J. Pentland

STOCk PHOTO kAI JACOBSOn & STEPHAnIE XU/THE UBySSEy