MASU Students’ Administrative Council Meeting Minutes
The Students’ Administrative Council met on July 26th, 2022, beginning at 6:05 pm via Zoom.
Call to Order: ( 6:05pm)
- Chairperson Nowlan called the meeting to order.
Land Acknowledgement
- The land acknowledgement was done by Chairperson Nowlan.
Approval of the Agenda
- BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Minocha-Mckenney, seconded by
Councillor Lesser) that the Tuesday, July 26th Agenda of the Students’
Administrative Council be approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
Approval of the Minutes
- BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Mittal, seconded by Councillor Chun)
that the Monday, June 27th minutes of the Students’ Administrative Council be
approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
Submissions/ orders
- MASU Executive Annual Plan
- Councillor Minocha-Mckenney gave a brief presentation on the goals of the
MASU for the 2022-2023 academic year.
- Aspects of the plan highlighted in this presentation include: giving more support
to student leaders on campus, finishing governance reforms, increasing the
MASU’s approachability, and summarizing key parts of the academic calendar to
make it more accessible to students.
- President & CEO Annual Plan
- In alignment with the goal of the MASU Executive Annual Plan to increase its
approachability, Councillor Minocha-Mckenney plans to seek greater
communication with the student body rather than focusing solely on internal
operations.
- VPAU Annual Plan
- In alignment with the goals laid out in the MASU Executive Annual Plan,
Councillor Chun intends to
● create a summarized version of the academic calendar,
● increase tutor recruitment within the nimbus app, and
● continue working on the PREP program.
- VPEA Annual Plan
- In alignment with the goals laid out in the MASU Executive Annual Plan,
Councillor Huynh intends to bring awareness to the MASU services under his
portfolio, such as the food box program and the bike co-op, as well as continue
work on the Sackville housing map.
- VPSL Annual Plan
- In alignment with the goals laid out in the MASU Executive Annual Plan,
Councillor Warr intends to
● create a document that outlines accessibility and wellness resources on
campus,
● advocate for the hiring of a part-time psychologist to perform
psychoeducational assessments on campus,
● increase the amount of EDI training on campus, and
● provide support to residence leaders.
Discussion:
- Councillor Krueger: Fantastic work on the document and the psychoeducational
assessments! Can we expect professors to take these assessments into
consideration in the classroom?
- Councillor Warr: Thank you so much, Councillor Krueger. I have been pondering
this question. In the ideal world, this is what happens. However, we cannot
govern the way professors govern their classrooms. But, we are hoping to make
the available resources more prominent because, unfortunately, they are not
being utilized - and this may be because there is not a spot where this
information is centralized. Therefore, that is what we are aiming to fix.
- VPFG Annual Plan
- In alignment with the goals laid out in the MASU Executive Annual Plan,
Councillor Lesser intends to complete governance and human resources
reforms and work on university budget advocacy.
- VPCM Annual Plan
- In alignment with the goals laid out in the MASU Executive Annual Plan,
Councillor Mittal intends to focus on increasing the approachability of the MASU
through increased social media engagement and creating a marketing plan.
Councillor Mittal has also implemented the “MASU Herald” - a newsletter
highlighting MASU advocacy and the actions of the MASU outside of Sackville.
Reports
- Councillor Minocha-Mckenney
- No additional comments to add to his report.
Discussion:
- Councillor Krueger: Could you provide an update on whether there has been
any further word from the university concerning the cancellation of the NBEI
program- as well as the aforementioned grace period?
- Councillor Minocha-Mckenney: We are still working with the university to find a
solution; however, the most significant barrier is how we can get the support
directly to the students. It would most likely be a needs-based grant to students
who would have used NBEI. Unfortunately, the grace period seems unlikely due
to it being undesired by the government
- Councillor Warr
- Concerning the food committee, unfortunately, we are not able to provide any
training to Jennings employees; however, we are aiming to create the food
committee in which we would seek to improve the diversity of food being
served. Students in the committee will also be able to go into the kitchen and
help Jennings employees cook authentic dishes.
- Councillor Chun
- No additional comments to add to her report.
- Councillor Huynh
- No additional comments to add to his report.
- Councillor Mittal
- Concerning the Allisonian, we are currently on track to complete last year's
yearbook by the end of August. This is an earlier date than in years past. This is
because of the hard work of the editors. Due to this hard work, which has gone
beyond their mandate, one of the editors will receive a 50% increase in their
pay.
- Councillor Lesser
- To ensure that everything required for clubs, societies, etc., for the fall semester,
is in place, we are deferring the amendment of OP1 for the time being. However,
the amendment of this operating procedure will be returned to before the end of
the year.
Business Arising from the Minutes (no business)
New Business
- Policy 5000 – Policy on Committees and Caucuses
- This policy has been created to replace OP5 and, as such, contains most
of the same information.
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Lesser, seconded by Councillor
Minocha-Mckenney) that Policy 5000 be approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
- Policy 7004 – Policy on the Green Investment Fund
- This policy makes it so an applicant cannot receive more money than
they have requested and makes the SAC the final voice regarding the
allocation of the Green Investment fund, without appeal.
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Lesser, seconded by Councillor Penley) that
Policy 7004 be approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
- Policy 8001 – Policy on Health and Dental Benefit Plan
- This policy has been significantly reworked to include the concepts of
confidentiality and the duty to disclose.
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Lesser, seconded by Councillor Mittal) that,
with an amendment to the numbering, Policy 8001 be approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
- Policy 8002 – Policy on University Orientation
- This policy has been updated to accurately reflect how orientation has
been operating for the past few years.
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Lesser, seconded by Councillor Huynh) that
Policy 8002 be approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
- Policy 8003 – Policy on Bike and Snowshoe Co-Op
- This policy has been brought about in this format to remove an operating
procedure.
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Lesser, seconded by Councillor Penley) that
Policy 8003 be approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
- Number Change and Amendment of Policy 3001 to Policy 7502
- This policy has been renumbered and edited to be consistent with the
policies surrounding it.
Discussion:
- Councillor Minocha-Mckenney: Since the name of the position has
changed, I move to amend the policy to say “VP, University and
Academic Affairs” rather than “VP, Academic Affairs.”
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Minocha-Mckenney, seconded by Councillor
Lesser) that Policy 7502 be approved, with the ammendment.
Approved by MAJORITY
- Immediate Repeal of OP-05 and OP-08
- Case for immediate action: These OPs are broken daily regarding
committees, and every time our orientation chairperson makes a public
announcement regarding orientation.
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Lesser, seconded by Councillor Mittal) that
the immediate repeal of OP-05 and OP-08 be approved.
Approved by MAJORITY
- Ad-Hoc University Budget Development Caucus
- An ad-Hoc caucus created by Councillor Lesser to review and discuss
budget asks for the first meeting of the University Budget Development
Group.
BE IT RESOLVED (moved by Councillor Lesser, seconded by Councillor Penley) that
the Students’ Administrative Council strikes an ad-hoc University Budget Caucus per
the mandate listed in the agenda.
Approved by MAJORITY
Open Forum (no discussion)
Reminders (no reminders)
In-Camera (no in-camera)
Adjournment:
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting upon the completion of the agenda at 7:42
pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Paige Meisner
Secretary (Deputy Chairperson)