By Vanessa Broadbent (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 25, 2015
After a failed first attempt, Student Union Society (SUS) successfully hosted their Annual General Meeting on Monday, March 23.
The executives kicked off the meeting by presenting their end-of-term reports and recapping everything SUS has done over the year. President Ryan Petersen touched on the referenda that SUS has held, including the new IT tech support service that will be opening in September, as well as the shuttle bus service’s Langley addition.
The new 2015-16 operational budget was also passed with a unanimous vote. VP internal Thomas Davies stated that there has been an increase of $35,000 in SUS’ budget due to a higher enrollment, as well as “student fees, contract revenue, and investment.”
Davies also announced that SUS will be starting a new student leadership awards program.
“[The goal is] to help recognize a variety of different leaders, innovators, and community builders that we have here on campus through different clubs and associations and other people on campus who contribute so much to our campus life,” Davies said. Worth $2,500 in total, three to five students each year will be presented with a cash award.
Also new to the budget this year, SUS is setting aside $1,250 for volunteer recognition and appreciation, although it wasn’t specified exactly how the money will be spent.
“We’re going to be creating a more structured recognition program to thank [our volunteers] for their time [and] contributing to the Student Union,” Davies said.
Other changes included a $2,000 increase to emergency student grants, an increase in wages due to the increase in minimum wage, funding for a new student advocacy officer position, a decrease in student organization funding of $9,500, and a contribution to SUS’ capital investment, which Davies describes as their “rainy day fund.”
Petersen proposed an amendment to bylaw 16, regarding quorum for general meetings. The change would raise quorum for a second attempt of an AGM with a special resolution on the agenda from 15 to 45 members in attendance. For AGMs without a special resolution, quorum would be lowered from 90 to 68, and raised for second attempt quorum from 15 to 34.
Petersen used this year’s failed first attempt at an AGM as an example of how the change would improve the process.
“We had 75 people in this room [a week ago] and today we don’t,” he said. “Seventy-five people could have participated as opposed to the 30-odd we have here today.”
The amendment to the bylaw passed unanimously.
