By Vanessa Broadbent (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 18, 2015
The Student Union Society (SUS) made its first attempt at an annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday afternoon, but was not able to hold the meeting due to low attendance. In order to hold an AGM, 90 members of UFV students need to be present, and only 70 students attended the meeting in Abbotsford and Chilliwack — where the AGM was being broadcasted live.
Although the meeting was postponed, students still stuck around to hear a presentation from students in support of an Equalities Resource Centre.
Students from the UFV Pride Group and Women’s Initiative Group shared an open letter that they are presenting to UFV, in hopes that they will include the centre on campus. They also asked students if they would be in favour of increasing student fees by less than $1 per semester to fund the centre.
One of the students, Kyle Stamm, explained that an Equalities Resource Centre is necessary for UFV.
“Those two movements, women and pride, have really been key pillars in social change in society,” he said. “As a university, as an institution of higher learning, those are key pillars that I think are missing from the fabric of our campus.”
The purpose of the resource centre would be to provide a safe space for students of diverse groups on campus to come and not only have access to resources like books and pamphlets, but also to experience a welcoming sense of community.
Stamm thinks the centre will help promote acceptance towards minority groups on campus.
“Tolerance is just the idea that you put up with people that are different than you, whereas acceptance is the idea of proactively seeking to learn about other people and what makes them different and appreciating who they are. Having a centre would help build that acceptance on campus,” he said.
A second attempt at the AGM will be made this upcoming Monday, March 23, again in room B133 at 4 p.m. The agenda will remain the same — students can expect to see a presentation of the executives, presentation of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and proposal for a bylaw amendment.
SUS president Ryan Petersen alluded that the proposed bylaw change will be about reducing quorum, saying that it “would have sorted out the problem that we are having here today.”
Although the meeting was postponed, Petersen still expressed his gratitude for those who did attend.
“It really means a lot to me to see this many people willing to take the time out of their day to get involved with their student government,” he said.
