AGENDA - SRA 16G STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY · by Areghan that Business item #6 be moved to...

AGENDA - SRA 16G

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY September 25, 2016 at 5:00pm

Council Chambers, GH 111 PROCEDURE Call of the Roll, Playing of National Anthem, Territory Recognition, Adoption of Agenda, Announcements from the Chair, Adoption of SRA Minutes 16F, Delegation from the Floor, Report Period, Information Period, Question Period, Business Arising from the Minutes, Business, Committee Business, Unfinished Business, New Business, Time of Next Meeting, Call of the Roll, Adjournment

The SRA would like to recognize today that we are situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe territories through the ‘Dish with One Spoon Wampum Treaty’.

DELEGATION FROM THE FLOOR 1. Student Assistance Program MacDonald REPORT PERIOD 1. Health Sciences Lee 2. Humanities Rudge 3. Kinesiology Ngo 4. Operations Anbalagan 5. Finance Brodka 6. Executive Board Shingleton-Smith 7. Vice-President (Administration) Nadarajah 8. Elections Helen Zeng BUSINESS 1. Recess for meetings of MSU and CFMU Incorporated Monaco-Barnes 2. Marmor Fees MacDonald 3. Ratification of 2016-2017 Electoral Appeal Board Members Nadarajah 4. Open one (1) seat on Executive Board Monaco-Barnes 5. Close one (1) seat on Executive Board Monaco-Barnes 6. Close one (1) MSU Seat on Standing Committee Nadarajah

MOTIONS 1. Moved by Monaco-Barnes, seconded by ____ that the Assembly recess and move into

Corporate Meetings of MSU and CFMU Incorporated. 2. Moved by MacDonald, seconded by ____ that the SRA send the Marmor fee to referendum

to eliminate the $9.22 fee effective 2017-2018, while providing physical Marmors corresponding to a student’s financial contribution concluding with the class of 2020. Moved by MacDonald, seconded by ___ that the SRA send the MSU Operating fee to referendum to raise the fee by $5.00 to create a digital version of the Marmor as well as provide additional funding to student services and events on campus.

3. Moved by ____, seconded by ___________ that the Assembly approve the following members of the Electoral Appeal Board: Professor Nibaldo Galleguillos, with Giuliana Guarna and Priya Gupta as the two alternates.

4. Moved by ____, seconded by ______ that the Assembly open nominations for one (1) seat on the Executive Board.

5. Moved by ____, seconded by ______ that the Assembly close nominations for one (1) seat on the Executive Board.

6. Moved by ____, seconded by ______ that the Assembly close nominations for one (1) MSU seat on the External Affairs Committee.

Student Representative Assembly Meeting 16G Sunday, September 25, 2016 at 5:00pm

Council Chambers, GH111

Called to Order at 5:04 pm CALL OF THE ROLL Present Almeida, Anbalagan, Areghan, Baiden, Beley, Bengizi, Cole, Dales, Eom, Farah, Flowers,

Ghani, Hsu, Inigo, Kula, Lee, Lightstone, Long, MacDonald, McBride, Mertens, Monaco-Barnes, Nadarajah, Ngo, Oliver, Quinn, Ragnanan, Robinson, Rudge, Shingleton-Smith, Threndyle

Absent Excused D’Souza, Pita Absent Late Others Present Ryan Deshpande (Diversity Services Director), Victoria Liu (External Affairs

Commissioner), Alex Wilson (Maccess Coordinator), Louis Ferracuti (The Silhouette), Maggie Gallagher (MSU Comptroller), Brian Zheng (MSU Member), Rabeena Obaidullah (MSU Member),E. Ferguson (Recording Secretary)

Chair Genya Oparin TERRITORY RECOGNITION The SRA would like to recognize today that we are situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe territories through the ‘Dish with One Spoon Wampum Treaty’. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Moved by Hsu, seconded by Cole that the agenda be adopted, as presented. Amendment Moved by MacDonald, seconded by Nadarajah that 'Adopt changes to the Silhouette Operating Policy' be added as Business item #7. MacDonald stated it is important to make these changes so The Silhouette can hire their team. Vote to Amend

Passes Unanimously Amendment Moved by Lee, seconded by Areghan that Business item #6 be moved to before Delegation from the Floor. Lee stated the election was advertised to be at 5 PM. Vote to Amend

Passes Unanimously Vote to Adopt Agenda Moved by Monaco-Barnes, seconded by Nadarajah that the agenda be adopted, as amended.

Passes Unanimously

SRA 16G Page 2 September 25, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR The Chair asked for observer’s to please sign and circulated the Observer’s List at the back. ADOPTION OF MINUTES Moved by Robinson, seconded by Threndyle that the Assembly adopt the minutes from SRA meetings 16F – September 11, 2016, as circulated.

Passes Unanimously

BUSINESS 6. Close one (1) MSU Seat on Standing Committee Moved by Nadarajah, seconded by Bengizi that the Assembly close nominations for one (1) MSU seat on the External Affairs Committee. Nominations Lee nominated Ryan Deshpande - accepted Hsu nominated Alex Wilson - accepted Vote on Motion

Passes Unanimously

Moved by Nadarajah, seconded by Almeida that the parameters be set at 2 minutes for opening statements, 2 minutes for questions per candidate, pooled, and 30 seconds for closing statements.

Passes Unanimously

Candidates presented in the allotted time. Assembly voted by secret ballot.

Candidates Ryan Deshpande 22 Alex Wilson 6 Abstentions 2 Ryan Deshpande won the MSU seat on the External Affairs Committee.

DELEGATION FROM THE FLOOR 1. Student Assistance Program Moved by MacDonald, seconded by Nadarajah that the parameters be set at 10 minutes for the presentation and 10 minutes for questions.

Passes Unanimously

MacDonald went over his presentation with the Assembly.


Moved by Lightstone, seconded by Beley that the parameters for the presentation be extended by 10 minutes.

Passes Unanimously

Questions Lightstone asked if the allocated money would come out of the Health Plan surplus. MacDonald stated that it

would come out of the Health Plan fund and this would help alleviate the large surplus. Threndyle asked if the addition of SAP would increase the health plan fee. MacDonald clarified that it would

not, this addition would help alleviate the large surplus. Robinson asked if there was a possibility of lowering the $3.87 fee if a greater amount of students don't opt out

of the health plan. MacDonald stated that the $3.87 rate is much better than many schools so the fee will not be lowered.

Quinn asked if this program would be affected by the blackout period. MacDonald stated that it definitely will not be affected this year as the program will begin after the blackout period ends, and it is not likely to be affected in future years.

Long inquired if SAP could have a negative impact on the services currently offered. MacDonald stated that SAP provides another option and additional resourcesavailable to students, not a replacement. PSL will be able to refer students to this service for times outside their operating hours. MacDonald also stated that this program has a legal component which is completely missing from the services the MSU offers.

Farah asked if the fee is providing students with an actual lawyer. MacDonald stated that it offers an over the phone consultation (one per issue). If a student would like a lawyer to pursue an issue further there would be a normal fee at a 25% discount.

Mertens asked where a student would go for a walk in service. McDonald stated that students would be set up with a resource in the area (ie. Hamilton/Burlington/Oakville).

Quinn asked if this is going to replace a holistic approach to counselling and how SAP would respond in crisis situation if there is a risk of harm. Currently many students have a team of doctors and councillors on campus. MacDonald stated that if this passes, the SAP team would like to come in and meet with student resources on campus to understand what is currently available to students. However, students are able to request for their information to not be shared between two resources. In an emergency situation, the professionals working with SAP are still obligated to report potentially harmful situations.

A. Wilson asked if students would still be faced with large wait times when being referred through this service. McDonald stated that he does not know that information off hand, but was given the impression that students will be prioritized and followed up with.

Moved by Lightstone, seconded by Nadarajah to exhaust the speakers list.

Passes Unanimously

Lightstone asked if the log in information for the app and website would be students' MAC ID. MacDonald stated it would be one login for all McMaster students.

Farah asked if this is a great alternative for SWELL with their large wait times. McDonald stated that the highest demand at SWELL is councillors, which SAP offers. He is sceptical whether this would alleviate wait times at SWELL but it would enable more students to use resources.

REPORT PERIOD 1. Health Science Caucus – Lee presented Lee summarized the report.

2. Humanities Caucus – Rudge presented


Rudge summarized the report.

3. Kinesiology Caucus – Ngo presented Ngo summarized the report.

4. Operations Commissioner – Anbalagan presented Anbalagan summarized the report.

5. Finance Commissioner– report attached. 6. Executive Board – Shingleton-Smith presented Shingleton-Smith summarized the report. Questions Hsu asked about the progress of the MAC Bread Bin rebranding. Mertens stated that they are looking to change the name and the logo, but it will likely happen next year. Quinn noted that she went to a MACycle bike polo event and the tennis courts were in major disrepair. She

asked if that would be looked into. Nadarajah stated A. Tran had not mentioned that to her and she will follow up on it. 7. Vice-President (Administration) – Nadarajah presented Nadarajah summarized the report. Questions Quinn asked what the procedure is for an Executive Board member on a hiring board when there is a conflict

of interest with the person being interviewed. Nadarajah stated that an Executive Board member should step down from the role. She would discuss

stepping down with the member and in her experience they usually do. Moved by Hsu, seconded by Lee to move the Elections report to after Business item #5.

Passes Unanimously

INFORMATION PERIOD Lightstone stated that Monday October 3rd and Tuesday October 4th is Rosh Hashanah and wished those who

were celebrating a happy new year. Lee advised that the Advocacy Street Team applications are out. Oliver thanked all those who attended the OUSA campus visit and advised she has lots of swag left over in her

office if anyone is interested. Oliver asked everyone to promote that the OUSA GA Applications are now open. Oliver stated they are looking for one more author for their ancillary fees policy paper and to contact her if anyone is interested.

MacDonald asked the assembly to share the link to the online sale for individual Homecoming tickets. Nadarajah reported that the Diversity Services open house is on Tuesday September 27th in clubs space from

11 AM - 3 PM. Bengizi reported that Matthew Green will be doing a talk on the Black Lives Matter movement on October 3rd

11:30 AM in MDCL 1110. If anyone is interested please let her know. Baiden asked everyone to promote the FYC elections.


A. Wilson reported that Maccess opens swing spaces this week and will be posting a full schedule on Facebook

soon. He asked everyone to promote to students once the schedule is live. A survey regarding the upcoming accessibility forum will be ready to circulate soon.

QUESTION PERIOD Quinn asked if it was appropriate to wait to release the single tickets for homecoming, having given students

in a better financial situation an advantage to buy the packaged ticket. MacDonald stated that ticket sales do not usually begin until two weeks before, and individual tickets are on sale for an entire week. The marketing strategy was to build demand to ensure that the size and scope of the event was financially feasible. He apologized if people felt this was mishandled but the individual tickets were always in the plan.

BUSINESS 1. Recess for meetings of MSU and CFMU Incorporated Moved by Monaco-Barnes, seconded by Ragnanan that the Assembly recess and move into Corporate Meetings of MSU and CFMU Incorporated.

Passes Unanimously




Commissioner), Alex Wilson (Maccess Coordinator), Louis Ferracuti (The Silhouette), Maggie Gallagher (MSU Comptroller), Brian Zheng (MSU Member), Rabeena Obaidullah (MSU Member), E. Ferguson (Recording Secretary)

Chair Genya Oparin

Moved byLightstone, seconded by Nadarajah that the assembly recess for 15 minutes.

Passes Unanimously






Chair Genya Oparin

2. Marmor Fees (A) Moved by MacDonald, seconded by Nadarajah that the SRA send the Marmor fee to referendum to eliminate the $9.22 fee effective 2017-2018, while providing physical Marmors corresponding to a student's financial contribution concluding with the class of 2020. (B) Moved by MacDonald, seconded by Nadarajah that the SRA send the MSU Operating fee to referendum to raise the fee by $5.00 to create a digital version of the Marmor as well as provide additional funding to student services and events on campus. MacDonald stated that the Marmor has been up for discussion for a long time and it will be good to finally get

feedback from students regarding what they want out of the service through a referendum. The intention is to send this to referendum alongside the October referendums.

Nadarajah stated that she likes the transparency of the questions and how it gives students the ability to eliminate the fee completely.

Questions Threndyle asked if the wording could be changed from "Marmor" to "physical yearbook" as many students are

unaware what the Marmor is. MacDonald stated that the Elections committee will establish the final wording of the questions.

Quinn asked MacDonald to clarify where the $5 will be going in the budget. MacDonald stated that it would be going into the MSU operating fund under administration.

Robinson asked where the $5 number came from. MacDonald stated that it is ultimately an estimation. His counterpart at Western gave a breakdown of their costs and he used that as a guideline. The costs will likely be the wage of a videographer, as well as significant capital purchases to make the digital Marmor feasible.

Farah asked what would happen if students voted yes to both. MacDonald stated that event is highly unlikely, but both physical and digital versions of the Marmor would be created.

Lightstone asked if the SRA will be approving the final questions after decided on by Elections committee. MacDonald stated that Election will decide and approve the final wording.

Vote on Motion (A)

Passes Unanimously

Amendment Moved by Lightstone, seconded by Areghan that the word digital be removed from the second motion. MacDonald stated he is strongly against removing the world digital as it becomes unclear what the students

are being asked. Oliver stated that a referendum is the best way to consult the student base what they want to see. Without

the distinction between digital and physical the only way to gather this information would be to hold another referendum.

Dales agreed that it is more clear with the distinction between physical and digital.


Moved by Mertens, seconded by Lee to Call to Question.

In Favour: 28 Abstentions: 2 Abstained - Ngo, Bengizi

Motion Passes

Vote on Amendment

In Favour: 1 Opposed: 25 Abstentions: 4 Opposed - Monaco-Barnes, Nadarajah, MacDonald, Oliver, Dales, Beley, Flowers, Ngo, Baiden, Hsu, Inigo,

Threndyle, Almeida, Bengizi, Rudge, Long, Ragnanan, Eom, Lee, Robinson, Mertens, Shingleton-Smith, Quinn, Farah, Cole

Abstained: McBride, Kula, Areghan, Anbalagan Motion Fails

Moved by Quinn, seconded by Bengizi to Call to Question.

In Favour: 27 Abstentions: 3 Abstained: Ngo, Robinson

Motion Passes Vote on Motion (B)

In Favour: 29 Abstentions: 1 Abstained: Lightstone

Motion Passes 3. Ratification of 2016-2017 Electoral Appeal Board Members Moved by Eom, seconded by Cole that the Assembly approve the following members of the Electoral Appeal Board: Professor Nibaldo Galleguillos, with Guiliana Guarna and Priya Gupta as the two alternates. Quinn stated she was concerned about the choices as there was an illegal campaign run last year during the

VP referendum and Guiliana Guarna sung about it in her swan song. She heard of SRA members putting pressure on their friends to vote against the VP referendum, and is overall concerned about the integrity of how elections were run last year.

Nadarajah stated that Quinn had a fair point but Guiliana Guarna and Priya Gupta are alternates chosen for their election experience.

MacDonald stated that he strongly encourages the assembly to vote in favour as he trusts the alternates to make difficult choices with their strong knowledge of elections.

Nadarajah stated she encourages Quinn to discuss deregulated campaigns with Helen Zeng. Vote on Motion

In Favour: 27 Opposed: 1 Abstentions: 2 Opposed: Quinn

Abstained: Bengizi, Areghan Motion Passes

4. Open one (1) seat on Executive Board Moved by Nadarajah, seconded by Oliver that the Assembly open nominations for one (1) seat on the Executive Board.


Nadarajah stated candidates should keep in mind that Executive Board meetings are 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM on

Tuesday mornings. An extra 4 hours per week time commitment will be required beginning in January, as each Executive Board member is expected to sit on hiring boards.

Vote on Motion

Passes Unanimously

5. Close one (1) seat on Executive Board Moved by Eom, seconded by MacDonald that the Assembly close nominations for one (1) seat on the Executive Board. Nominations Almeida - Anbalagan - declined Monaco-Barnes - Farah - accepted Flowers - Dales - declined Shingleton-Smith - Quinn - accepted Rudge - Mertens - accepted Flowers - Baiden - accepted Shingleton-Smith - Lightstone - declined Areghan - Long - declined Shingleton-Smith - Lee - declined Flowers - Threndyle - declined

Vote on Motion

Passes Unanimously Moved by Nadarajah, seconded by Bengizi that the parametersbe set at 2 minutes opening statements, 2 minutes for questions, per candidate, pooled and 30 seconds closing statements.

Passes Unanimously

Candidates spoke in the allotted time. The Assembly voted by secret ballot.

Candidates Baiden 0 Farah 17 Mertens 2 Quinn 8 Spoiled 1 Abstained 2

Farah won the seat on Executive Board.

Moved by MacDonald, seconded by Threndyle that the assembly move the Elections report after Business item #6.

Passes Unanimously


6. Adopt changes to The Silhouette Operating Policy Moved by MacDonald, seconded by Quinn that the SRA adopt changes to The Silhouette Operating Policy, as circulated. MacDonald stated that the new positions are part the new strategic direction S. Hastie is taking. MacDonald

stated S. Hastie was indifferent if SRA or Executive Board approved amendments to The Silhouette operating policy but thought it may be beneficial that Executive Board meets once a week. This change will align The Silhouette's processes with the other services.

Quinn stated she has had discussions with S. Hastie and he is doing a great job and trusts his decisions. Vote on Motion

Passes Unanimously

Moved by Quinn, seconded by Areghan that the assembly recess for 10 minutes. Quinn stated that Helen Zeng should be arriving within 10 minutes. Vote on Motion

Passes Unanimously Called to Order at 8:45 pm CALL OF THE ROLL Present Almeida, Anbalagan, Areghan, Baiden, Beley, Bengizi, Cole, Dales, Eom, Farah, Flowers,




Chair Genya Oparin REPORT PERIOD 8. Elections - Helen Zeng presented. Helen summarized the report. Questions Quinn asked how H. Zeng plans to stop future illegal campaigning like what happened during the VP

referendum last year. H. Zeng stated that once an official complaint is filed than Elections can take action by forcing them to register so they follow the same rules and guidelines as everyone else.

Quinn asked at what point Elections would inform students that a campaign is not officially endorsed, if no complaint was filed and the illegal campaign continues to go on. H. Zeng stated that it would not be officially


announced because they would need an official complaint, and at that point they would force them to register.

Bengizi asked how campaigning and posting articles through The Silhouette will work as the dates don't align. H. Zeng stated she contacted S. Hastie and it was agreed that articles can be posted online. H. Zeng stated she did not start the campaign dates on a Sunday because of the Underground credit system. Due to financial accessibility concerns, candidates’ names are sent to Underground so there is no use of out of pocket money. A Monday start will give equal chance to the candidates who are unfamiliar with the process as they can print their material at Underground the day of.

Baiden stated that the SRA general election period has been very long and draining in the past. He asked if there was a way to shorten the process. H. Zeng stated that she has done the exact minimum this year (1 week) to try and alleviate this issue.

Lightstone asked if there are rules in place to ensure religious accessibility during the elections. For example, the October by-elections fall on a Jewish holiday so observing candidates cannot campaign. H. Zeng stated that it is hard to get around because there is a bit of a rush to have representation on the SRA. She stated she could look into this.

Inigo asked what the procedure is if an illegal campaign is asked to register and they refuse. H. Zeng stated she has not heard of this happening before.

Bengizi stated that in the past SRA members had been logging into their friends accounts and voting down the VP referendum. She asked how that will be mitigated in the future. H. Zeng stated that the Elections committee nor herself can control what others choose to do, but she will put out an announcement to strongly discourage the behaviour, as well work with Nadarajah to ensure it does not happen in MSU space.

TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Sunday, October 16, 2016 10 AM

Council Chambers, GH 111 CALL OF THE ROLL Present Almeida, Anbalagan, Areghan, Baiden, Beley, Bengizi, Cole, Dales, Eom, Farah, Flowers,




Chair Genya Oparin ADJOURNMENT Moved by Lightstone, seconded byOliver that the meeting adjourn.

Motion Passes by General Consent Adjourned at 9:03pm /ef

PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN The Health Sciences caucus is excited to announce a great start to the year and share some updates since we last met. We are pleased with our progress in continuing our communications strategy with BHSc students. We have been actively promoting to First Years especially about Spark registration and also FYC Nominations. We have also continued our SRA Meeting Minutes updates to BHSc students on Learnlink and also update our SRA Twitter and Facebook pages with on a regular basis. In terms of our Mental Health initiative for the Faculty of Health Sciences, we have had our initial meeting with the Nursing Caucus and SHEC Mental Health Executive to establish our purpose for the event. We plan on hosting this event during MacTalks and having a day promoting MSU Services, specifically peer support services, culminating to a self-care workshop in collaboration with SHEC. The workshop is currently in progress but we plan on incorporating ideas specific for Health Sciences faculty students (ie. What do you do after a bad clinic day? How do you destress from anatomy?). Our social media and promotion strategy for the day will also be geared towards Nursing and Health Sciences students. PAST EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES Ashley and I have been present in BHSS meetings the past few weeks and have been regularly giving our input to faculty specific discussions. We are happy to establish a great connection with our faculty society. I have also spoken the President of the BDC Faculty Society and the BHSc Office in hopes of giving access to Learnlink Students. After having a discussion with our Dean, I am happy to update you that he has given me permission to work with the BHSc Office to sorting out this initiative. In the future, we hope to maintain this great connection with the BDC program by also attending their events. UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES We hope to launch the HSL Survey in the near future and also host another session in the lounge, perhaps in collaboration with SRA Nursing, on the upcoming referendum.

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REPORT From the office of the…

Health Sciences Caucus

TO: Members of the Student Representative Assembly FROM: David Lee, Health Sciences Caucus Leader SUBJECT: SRA 16G Report DATE: September 20 2016

CURRENT CHALLENGES Our current challenge would be finding a way to make our Mental Health Event successful in our faculty. We find that BHSc and Nursing students have trouble engaging with the MSU so we hope to bring the MSU to them with this event and promote awareness of the available services to them. SUCCESSES We found that regularly contributing to our faculty society’s discussions and also attending the meetings as an official observer to be particularly important. We hope to maintain this great connection with our faculty society. Regards, David Lee SRA Health Sciences Caucus Leader McMaster Students Union [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN Since our report at the last meeting, there is admittedly little progress to report in this short period of time towards our year plan goals. However, caucus members are continuing to make gradual strides towards the projects outlined in the previous SRA Humanities report. For instance, Rudge is continuing to work with the MHS to develop templates for a joint MHS-SRA monthly newsletter, as while as securing a videographer to record and produce regular video updates for social media. Rudge has also made contact with the MHS and SRA Social Sciences to discuss the new lounge and the restructuring of our year plans to fit the exciting but unanticipated changes to the space, including the organization of a “Lounge-Warming” event. Bengizi is in the process of formulating an outreach schedule for caucus members to attend lectures/events and introduce themselves to constituents. D’Souza has continued to develop her advocacy projects – specifically that on improving experiential education opportunities in the Humanities. D’Souza and Rudge will be meeting with the Office of the Dean of Humanities to discuss further actions to be taken in order to improve experiential education offerings for our constituents. The caucus is also excited to report that we will be meeting with the MHS within the month of September to begin discussions on Arts Matters Week. We believe that starting the planning for this event much earlier this year will have significant payoff for the week-long festivities. UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES As mentioned previously, SRA Humanities is excited to work with SRA Social Sciences, the MHS and the MSSS to make the new Humanities/SocSci lounge in L.R Wilson Hall an inviting and accessible space for liberal arts students. In addition to looking at designs, decorations and furniture options, we are planning to discuss a “Lounge-Warming” event to introduce students to this space and facilitate new relationships between students. We are also beginning talks to plan Arts Matters Week, as well as contacting more individuals that can assist us in showcasing more student art around campus. CURRENT CHALLENGES In addition to our existing challenges with getting student art showcased around campus, we anticipate difficulty in being able to outreach with students through class talks. Professors can sometimes be annoyed by the constant requests to speak, and they may

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SRA Humanities Caucus

TO: Members of the Student Representative Assembly FROM: Zach Rudge, SRA Humanities Caucus Leader SUBJECT: SRA 16G Report DATE:

find these informational talks particularly unnecessary since they aren’t attached to an election or event. With that said, Bengizi has a good plan on how to approach these situations, and Rudge has been told by the Faculty office before that they are willing to help us in facilitating thee brief class talks. SUCCESSES Collaboration between so many parties can be difficult, but I believe our caucus and our partners are doing a great job at this in their efforts to improve the lounge experience for our constituents. Great work to everyone involved! Best, Zach Rudge SRA Humanities Caucus Leader McMaster Students Union [email protected]

PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN

We are looking forward to the year ahead! We were recently able to touch base, and speak about our platform points. Our platform points covers a wide breadth that will benefit our constituent!

We are both currently in the discussion stages with respect to our platform points. Justis has initiated discussions about space allocations in IWC and having more career experiences for Kinesiology students.

After the SRA election, an incident within the Kinesiology Department came up where multiple students felt a professor who is the Associate Chair of the Undergraduate Program had violated their privacy. These students came to me, without wanting their names revealed as they would be continuing their studies the following year. I spoke with Equity and Inclusion Services (formerly known as Human Rights and Equity Services) and OMBUDS. The affected students did not want their names released (which would have happened through OMBUDS) and HRES needed the students to come forward. I am looking in a way for SRA members or elected representatives to represent students in situations like these.

UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

We will be having a meeting with the VP Academic and President of the Kinesiology Society to plan for a career experience day for students in Kinesiology.

REPORTFrom the office of the…

Kinesiology Caucus

TO: Members of the Student Representative Assembly

FROM: Natacha Ngo, Kinesiology Caucus Leader

SUBJECT: SRA 16G Report

DATE: September 20, 2016

!.

SUCCESSES

This year, we are very excited that the SRA Kinesiology Caucus and the Kinesiology Society share the same ideals to be transparent to our constituent. We are looking to strengthen this relationship especially as Justis is on the Kinesiology Society.

My experience on the SRA last year was really eye opening. I learned that I am very interested in building a more inclusive and equitable McMaster community. This lead me to apply to the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community (PACBIC) as an individual member. I was successful in this endeavour and I will be involved with the Race, Racialization, and Racism working group. I hope to bring the knowledge I gain to both the MSU and Kinesiology Department.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Best,

Natacha NgoKinesiology Caucus LeaderMcMaster Students [email protected]

Hello everyone, Welcome back to the new school year. Some updates: the Operations Committee tentatively meets Thursdays at 5:30pm, so for those who’d like to come – we encourage you to join us! We have mailing list and Google drive for official observers to receive updates and follow our progress throughout the year. Note: OP and Operating Policy are used interchangeably. PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN Our committee is structured in a way that allows each member to undertake a platform and become the main point of contact, affectionately called Platform Leads. We’ve divvied the work in our most recent meeting. Alicia Arnds will be undertaking future recommendations we make to our Plastic Bottle Free Policy; Lilian Obeng will be looking into potential improvements to the MSU Wants You OP; Kathleen Quinn will research operational improvements within our organization to foster a Safe(r) environment; and finally, Katie Pita evaluating the antiquated Environmental Sustainability OP 1.6. PAST EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES Some interesting conversations surrounding the Clubs operating policy were brought forward that pertained to antiquated terms, removal of credit at the underground and their advertisement procedures. When conversations became cyclical, the initiative was put in the back burner. I’ll be sure to update y’all on this matter when I have more conclusive conversations. Additionally, I’ve provided some recommendations to our Communications Officer regarding the re-positioning of pages on our MSU website for easier navigation. UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES MSU Wants You will be having their first meeting, which Lilian Obeng and I will be co-hosting until a Chair has been elected. We’re hoping to engage in dialogue and discourse regarding the limitations of the current operating policy and looking into suggestions for improvement. CURRENT CHALLENGES I became an IRL Mr. Krabs meme reading four years of previous e-mail chains, drafted operating policies and previous challenges in implementing Accountability. There was a lot of headway prior to Tristan Paul’s year that didn’t get transferred over to my term.

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Operations Commissioner


FROM: Preethi Anbalagan, Operations Commissioner

SUBJECT: SRA 16E Report


One of my current challenges is carrying over previous work into my term as commissioner. It requires some re-prioritizing and further conversations. VOLUNTEERS Currently, we have three outstanding observers. However, to be on the Operations Committee isn’t a competitive race and I assume this is because it’s erroneously misconceived as a committee that isn’t project-based. To clarify this, I’ve made a nifty onboarding package that outlines what we can achieve within Operations. OTHER It’s squash season, holler at your local Farmstand. Stay zen, Preethi Anbalagan Operations Commissioner McMaster Students Union [email protected]

https://docs.google.com/a/mcmaster.ca/presentation/d/1Kkjz2-S_Hg8CJjmGzSXKFIieC4qBr4q1G7AaIwElK6k/edit?usp=sharing

Dear Members of the Student Representative Assembly, The SRA Standing Committee on Finance had their first meeting of the academic term last week. While introductory discussions regarding the year ahead were had, the priority of this meeting was to perform a wage review for the position of First Year Council Coordinator. Upon completion of this wage review, recommendations were sent to Executive Board for approval. Two projects are in motion with the term beginning. The following can be outlined: 1) University Budget Submission:

• Research has started with a project on my year plan. In partnership with the education department, research into EFRT training costs, other University models for first response teams, etc, is being performed.

2) Proposal - MSU Scholarship for Undergraduate Indigenous Student

• A draft proposal has been prepared for this project. McMaster University is a Post-Secondary institution that expresses great interest in supporting Indigenous students to further their education. The MSU must play a role in these efforts. For more information, please see the document to be circulated.

Moving forward, the next priorities to be set are meeting with the Financial Affairs Council, and through the Finance Committee, having discussions surrounding The Underground and the business review we wish to conduct. If you have any questions, concerns, or simply wish to reach out to myself or the Finance Committee, please do not hesitate to do so. Best,

Matthew Brodka SRA Finance Commissioner McMaster Students Union [email protected]

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SRA Finance Commissioner


FROM: Matthew Brodka

SUBJECT: SRA 16G Report

DATE: September. 20. 2016

Dear Members of the Assembly,

I am delighted to provide you with the third Executive Board report of the year which will detail what was discussed during the semester’s first Executive Board meeting (September 13th, 2016). This report consists of the year plan of Mac Breadbin, another report from MSU MACycle, a few changes to current MSU services, and Blake Oliver’s update on federal advocacy.

MACycle - Andy Tran

Fall hours are in effect and the volunteers are all present to contribute to the service. The service is seeing twenty new members with an increase in women memberships which worked well with MACycle’s first ever women’s workshop that successfully ran recently. The space will be seeing renovations sometime in the future as well as a few of the volunteers still need to be trained. Andy will also be attending a bike co-op conference in Detroit to look for and share new ideas that benefit the service. Volunteers for the service are being given more responsibility to empower them to run the shop without Andy and there are eight new women volunteers this year. The Bike auction happened this past Wednesday that saw the selling of many bikes to students, unfortunately, a McMaster Security Services policy does not let the service do any work on the bikes prior to them being auctioned off.

MemoFrom the office of the

Executive Board

TO: Student Representative Assembly

FROM: Eric Shingleton-Smith

SUBJECT: Executive Board Report

DATE: Sunday, September 25th, 2016

�.

Year Plans

The following year plan was approved by the Executive Board. Within this year plan are details about Mac Breadbin’s advocacy initiatives for the upcoming year.

Mac Breadbin

If you would like to read their year plans, please go to msu.mcmaster.ca ->Governance -> Executive Board -> Executive Board documents-> September 20th meetingdocuments.

First Year Council Logo

Michael Wooder worked with the BoD to design a new logo for FYC to help solidify its promotions since, in the past, all of it has been done in the moment. Due to a structural change to the service, the logo reflects leadership and growth. FYC elections will be occurring September 26th - 28th for all of its positions.

MSU Diversity Services Job Descriptions

The Executive Board has approved of the job descriptions of two new volunteer positions for MSU Diversity Services; Events and Planning Committee Volunteer and Social and Political Advocacy Committee Volunteer. These job descriptions were changed to reflect the volunteer duties and responsibilities and can be found on the Executive Board minutes on the McMaster Students Union website.

Federal Advocacy Update

Blake Oliver reported this past meeting the Federal Advocacy options for the McMaster Students Union. Four options were looked at; CASA (The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations), CFS (Canadian Federation of Students), lobbying with WLUSU (Wilfred Laurier University Students Union), and Advocan. Blake explained how CFS and CASA do not align with the interests of the MSU at all which leaves WLUSU and Advocan. The MSU is open to working with either organization after more discussion and seeing if their objectives align with the MSU’s. Feel free to ask Blake any questions you have about these decisions and regarding the MSU’s goals for federal advocacy.

Sincerely,

Eric Shingleton-SmithSRA Social Sciences RepresentativeMcMaster Students [email protected]

Dear Assembly, Welcome to your second meeting and I hope this experience is everything you hoped it would be so far. My time being a representative assembly member for science was one of the best university experiences I have had. It's not always easy being a representative assembly member and as the year progresses, you will have to overcome challenges that are placed in your path. But, just remember that you were all elected because students believed in your platform and they believed in your ability to represent them. So, when we are talking about different student issues, remember to keep an open mind, share your perspective, and respect the perspectives that your fellow members bring to the table. One thing I have found that is quite different since students have returned to campus is the lack of time I have to get projects done. As you know, I have an open door and window policy, which means that when I am not in a meeting, most of my day is spent liaising with SRA members and Part-Time Managers. But, it's been exciting to hear all the new projects and initiatives you all want to work on and I am happy to help in any way I can. Over the course of the summer, I have had the opportunity to work on some of my platform points and you can find more information about them below. Platform Updates 1. Hiring Practices Afternoon/ Weekend Hiring- Completed Due to some part-time managers having to leave their roles in early May due to graduate school and other commitments, we had to re-hire for the following positions: SCSN, SHEC, MACycle, and Assistant PSL. This was a great opportunity to pilot hiring after hours as many of the interviews was conducted after business hours or on the weekend. Many of the candidates expressed they felt much more comfortable not having to interact with other part-time and full-time staff and recommended I move forward with this approach for the October and January hiring cycle. Equal Opportunity for Internal and External Candidates- Completed During part-time manager hiring, I have made it an expectation that all volunteer executive hiring will follow a similar standard for hiring to our part-time manager hiring. I encouraged all

.


Vice-President Administration

TO: Members of the Assembly FROM: Shaarujaa Nadarajah SUBJECT: Vice President Administration Report DATE: September 20th, 2016

part-time managers to send questions to applicants ahead of time, so they feel more comfortable coming and engaging with an MSU Interview. This does not change the competencies we are looking for in a successful candidate, but simply allows candidates to think more about their past experiences and reflect on them. For all part-time manager interviews this year, I have made it a priority that all applicants will get questions ahead of time. If you have any feedback on what more we can do to improve our hiring practices, please feel comfortable coming to me or sending an email. September Hiring- Completed Many services do not hire volunteers or open job applications in September, thus first year students do not get to engage with the services until the following spring when applications are released. So, this year, we restructured some of our peer support service hiring timelines that all of them opened up their volunteer application in late August and early September. Some services engaged in two rounds of hiring, so we were providing the most amount of opportunities for all students to get involved with our services. Partner with a Commerce HR Class Professional to Screen our Hiring Practices -Ongoing Sometimes, I find that because we do a significant amount of peer to peer hiring, we have a difficult time objectively evaluating our hiring practices. So, this semester, I am going to try to partner with an DeGroote HR Association to be able to bring in some external individuals to the MSU to be able to come in, observe, and give us some feedback about our hiring practices. 2. Improved Training for Peer Support Services- Completed This year, the MSU hired a new Training Resources Research Assistant who has been a valuable asset in helping coordinate Peer Support Training. I would like to thank Shruti Ramesh for all the hard work she put into coordinating peer support training weekend. In the past, the responsibility of coordinating all peer support training would fall on the VP Administration, but with the growing student demand for our peer support services, Giuliana felt it was important to hire a person specifically focusing on training for volunteers of these services. This year, we got the opportunity to hear valuable feedback from all PTMs and develop a training specifically targeted towards the changing needs of their services. The landscape of peer support is changing and it is important we constantly evaluate our peer support training. A major change to the training is we eliminated Safe Talk Training which is a session focusing on suicide prevention and alternatively, Shruti developed her own in house model of suicide prevention training alongside with some campus partners and service PTMs. Although Peer Support Weekend is done, Shruti is going to be developing assessment tools to be able to consistently evaluate the skill level of our volunteers to ensure we are consistently providing the best quality peer support to students. 3. Making Spaces

MSU Space Audit 2016-Completed This summer, a MSU Space Audit committee was struck to evaluate some of the service spaces we have in the organization. The committee consisted of 2 executive board members (Ryan Macdonald and Ikram Farah), the Vice-President Administration, and a member from the Joint Health and Safety Committee (Madeline Locke). The committee sent out feedback forms to all part-time managers managing a space and completed an audit of all service spaces. A space

audit report was written and 3 recommendations were made to Executive Board about space allocation for the 2016-2017 year. 1. The MSU Maroons will no longer have an office as SHEC will be moving to the basement and Maccess will be given MUSC 202 (pending costing from facility services). 2. The Speaker and Elections Department will no longer have an office and the office will be re-allocated to the new administrative assistant The full MSU 2016 Space Audit Report can be found on the msumcmaster.ca->Governance-> Executive Board-> Executive Board Documents Executive Board recommended a January Implementation date, so in the meantime, we have partnered with some of our peer support services and the Student Wellness Centre for Maccess to run programming for Term 1. 4. Support the SRA SRA Training - Completed This year, SRA Training was shortened to be a 2-day weekend rather than a 3-day retreat to make the training more accessible for members participating as many SRA members have summer jobs that requires them to work 9-5. In addition, we removed some of the information knowledge pieces of the training and instead focused on skill development and team building. In order to work as an effective assembly, it's important to get to know other SRA members, their values, their goals, and life experiences as it helps you have a better understanding of the perspectives they bring to meetings. This year's training received a lot of positive feedback and I will be passing that onto the next Vice President Administration, but a long term project that I am continuing to work on for the duration of the year is to develop online course shells for SRA training. Similar to Welcome Week training, SRA members have to complete these online modules before attending the in person training session run in late March. Executive Board Hiring -Ongoing All Executive Board Members received formalized training before the summer hiring cycle, however I will be running the training again before the January hiring cycle. I will also be running this training with part-time managers prior to hiring, so all individuals on the hiring committee are made familiar of the expectations , guidelines, and process and we are all on the same page. Executive Board On-Boarding Package -Completed Earlier in the summer, I worked alongside Victoria Scott and John McGowan to develop an on-boarding binder for all executive board members alongside with administering formalized training. In the on-boarding binder, members can find information about expectations of the role, hiring timelines, relevant Bylaws and operating policies to the role, breakdown on how to read a budget, and a list of common acronyms used in Executive Board meetings. This resource is meant to be a sustainable package that can be given to an individual joining the board at any given time of the year. Formalize the Role of Caucus Leader- Ongoing Although all caucus leaders and commissioners were given formal training, it was a goal of mine to develop a formalized job description for these individuals. I haven't had a chance to write up the job description, but it's something I am working on in the upcoming weeks.

Governance Support -Completed This year, I worked closely with the speaker to develop caucus leader and commissioner training. From the feedback we received, many of the individuals who participated felt more prepared to take on their roles after attending training. I would definitely recommend running this training again in the future. Although formalized training is a good foundation, I am still thinking of ways I can support caucus leaders and commissioners as they progress through their role moving forward for the rest of the year. MSU Alumni Network- Ongoing This is a personal project that I wanted to start this year to create opportunities for SRA members to engage in more professional development days along with connecting with alumni who held their positions before. I have started on the project and have brought alumni back for some of our training days, but it's an ongoing initiative I am developing over the course of the year. 5. Support the Part-Time Managers Services Special Projects Funding- Ongoing During the MSU Retreat, the Board outlined some guidelines for the MSU Services Special Projects Funding. We outlined that we want a large focus of this funding to be focused on collaborative funding projects. So, before the end of September, the VP Finance and I will finalize the application form for Services Special Projects Funding. Summer PTM Hiring and Training- Completed Full Summer PTM Training happened in May and it was the first time that we implemented the shortened training session. Training was shortened from one day to a 4 hour training and many PTMs provided positive feedback about splitting up training into two separate days. One training session would happen in early April and the other would happen in early May right when they start their term. As we approach the fall hiring cycle, we would look into training the Clay and Horizons PTM in a similar manner, so they are adequately prepared for their roles that tend to start much earlier than the regular January hiring cycle PTMs. Promotions Training- Completed I have worked with our communications department consisting of Micheal Wooder and Sarah Mae Conrad and they have developed a separate one hour promotions training for our services this year. Each promotions executive and PTM for every service will have an opportunity to participate in this training and it will be happening the week of the September 19th. PTM Work Space- Ongoing During PTM Retreat, I had a session on shared work space to gather feedback on what kind of space some of our part-time wanted to see. Based on the conversation, we are looking into implementing some changes in September that will hopefully make the space a more productive work environment. Standardized Guidelines for Wage Reviews -Ongoing Over the summer, Ryan, Jess, and I began a process looking into how we can standardize our wage review process for our part-time staff. As highlighted in the executive board report last meeting, we have developed job questionnaires and job evaluation guides and we will be starting the process in the upcoming weeks. We are very excited to overhaul the wage review process for the organization as it's always important for part-time managers to have a clear understanding of what their wage is determined by and what guidelines should they follow if

they would like to request a wage review. If you have any questions about this new process, feel free to reach out Ryan and myself and we would be happy to answer your questions. One-on-One Check-ins-Ongoing It has been quite a challenge to have regular one-on-one sit down meetings with every PTM. However, I am trying to develop a schedule for the year, so I get the opportunity to check in with every PTM twice a term to ensure they are on track for their year plan. I have an open door and window policy, so PTMs know they can always come speak to me at any given time of the day. Restructure PTM Meetings-Ongoing We have not had our first PTM meeting of the year yet, but I will update this group on how that is going once we have had it. 6. Support for the Vice-President Administration Changes to the Services Commissioner Role- Completed Over the course of the summer, the SRA gave executive board the power to change the bylaw to allow the Services Commissioner to sit as an official observer on this board. Since then, I have had conversations with Kevan on how we integrate the work of services committee and Executive Board. We have scheduled out bimonthly meetings to ensure service reviews are on track and we are consistently in communication with respect to service developments in the MSU. HR Training for the Vice-President Administration- Ongoing This has been one of the challenging platforms to achieve as many of the HR professional courses require a huge time commitment outside of work hours. As Jess Bauman is one of our HR designated professionals, she is a huge resource when it comes to handling any HR conflict in the organization. However, I still believe it's important for the VP Administration to pursue a workshop or some professional development course relating to some of the key HR topics that arise on the job: conflict management, hiring criteria, training development, etc. 7. Welcome Week More SRA Representation in Welcome Week- Completed This year, I worked with the caucus leaders, the faculties coordinator, and the VP Finance to get more SRA Representation during Welcome Week. The SRA had an official table during faculty fest and got the opportunity to speak to a lot of students about their roles and how they can be involved in the governance side of the MSU. In addition, with the help of the VP Finance, all SRA members for official branded shirts they can wear for the duration of the year to visually identify themselves as Student Representative Assembly Members. Lastly, some caucus members got the opportunity to speak at their faculty day and introduce themselves to all first year students that attended the event. This was a great start to getting more SRA representation during Welcome Week, but I would encourage the next person in the role to find other ways to integrate SRA members into Welcome Week programming. Higher Level Discussions about Strategic Theme Programming- Completed One of the major changes that happened during Welcome Week was that all strategic theme programming be amalgamated under one themed event called "One McMaster". This idea was proposed based on the Western "One Love" Campaign that they run during their orientation week. The Student Success Centre took on the project to coordinate this event and it was a success considering it was the first year we ran it. The idea that strategic themes should be

embedded in everything we do for welcome week and not just targeted at specific programming events is going to be an ongoing conversation we have at the Welcome Week Planning Committee Meetings. These are just a brief update on some of the things I have been working on in the summer, but a large part of my role is supporting you all as assembly members and investing my time in helping you achieve your platforms. So, if you ever want to talk or need the board's help with anything, please don't hesitate to pop by my office. Beyond that, as the school year progresses, if you ever want to talk to anyone about life in general or just want to take a break, I would happy to take you on a Yogurtys outing. Until next time... Sincerely, Shaarujaa Nadarajah Vice-President Administration McMaster Students Union [email protected]

Dear Assembly, As per our bylaws, we are presenting our tentative timetable (proclamations, nomination periods, campaigning periods and polling dates) for MSU Presidential Elections, SRA General Elections and all scheduled by-elections. If there are any changes to the timelines we will provide an update. October By-Election Proclamation- October 17, 2016 Nomination Period- October 17, 2016- October 21, 2016 Campaigning Period- October 24, 2016 – October 27, 2016 Polling Date(s)- October 26, 2016 – October 27, 2016 November By-Election Proclamation- November 14, 2016 Nomination Period- November 14, 2016 - November 22, 2016 Campaigning Period- November 24, 2016 - November 30, 2016 Polling Date(s)- November 29, 2016 - November 30, 2016 MSU Presidential Election Proclamation- December 1, 2016 Nomination Period- December 1, 2016 - January 12, 2017 Campaigning Period- January 15, 2017 - January 26, 2017 Polling Date(s)- January 24 2017 - January 26, 2017 January By-Election Proclamation- January 9, 2017 Nomination Period- January 9, 2017 - January 13, 2017 Campaigning Period- January 16, 2017 - January 19, 2017 Polling Date(s)- January 18, 2017 - January 19, 2017 SRA General Election Proclamation- February 1, 2017 Nomination Period- February 1, 2017 - February 28, 2017 Campaigning Period- March 2, 2017 - March 9, 2017 Polling Date(s)- March 8, 2017 - March 9, 2017 Best, Helen Zeng (CRO) &Kritika Seth (DRO)

.


Elections Department


FROM: Helen Zeng, CRO and Kritika Seth, DRO

SUBJECT: Reporting of Tentative Elections Schedule


Student Representative Assembly,

I am writing this memo to detail a plan to put the Marmor yearbook fee to referendum. Over the course of my term evaluating the Marmor has been a priority for me. Students contribute annually approximately $200,000 to receive a yearbook that is riddled with logistical issues.

Challenges with the Marmor

The first thing to consider with the Marmor is how it is structured. The Marmor is currently collected by every MSU member and paid annually. Subsequently as this fee is collected a yearbook is produced for graduates of McMaster University. The problem is that students pay into this fund every year and therefore pay significant discrepancies based on the number of years they attend McMaster. While most students will pay over the course of four years, Bachelor of Arts students as well as Engineering students programatically will have 3 and 5 years of contributions respectively while receiving the same product. This does not include or consider the variety of students who may take a different course load and take more than four years to finish their honours degree.

Over the course of the summer we sent out a survey on the Marmor to alumni and received the following key findings to highlight:

• 211 alumni over 25 yeas of graduates replied to the request for information.

• Only 12% of survey respondents replied that that they felt they received value for their Marmor.

MEMO From the office of the…

Vice-President Finance

TO: Student Representative Assembly

FROM: Ryan MacDonald, Vice President (Finance)

SUBJECT: Marmor


!.

• 27% of people did not think that a digital yearbook was a suitable alternative whereas 73% were either in favour or thought it could be a suitable alternative.

• Less than 5% of people felt that portraits of graduates was something they valued.

• 40% of people think that some form of the yearbook should continue to exist. 36% were unsure and about 24% thought it should be completely eliminated.

Recommended Changes

Introduce a Digital Marmor Yearbook

The first component of understanding the recommendation to send this fee to referendum is to understand what we are proposing. The Board of Directors is suggesting that we ask students if they would like us to create a digital version of the Marmor and provide funding enhancements to our services and departments. As the publisher, we would ultimately choose the medium for delivery although our initial conception creates a video focused website encompassing a home for recap videos of the various events that go on throughout the year, engaging with all campus partners on this concept. The challenge that currently exists with the Marmor is that we are tied to producing a physical copy instead of experimenting with what works. This yearbook would not be a graduate focused. Current students at McMaster do not identify within a particular class year whereas they do identify within groups and communities on our campus. Our yearbook should be designed to reflect this and thus eliminates the problem of different students paying different amounts for the same service.

Utilize Student Funds to Benefit Students

Another challenge that exists with this fund currently is that based on our fund accounting system, even with significant surpluses we cannot use this money for anything else within the organization other than printing yearbooks. Currently our projection for the year ending 2016-2017 is that we will have accumulated $384,000 in surplus beyond the accruals that have been made to pay for Marmors that have yet to have been produced. The referendum presented is the most clear and transparent way in which we can use any surpluses to benefit student life while ultimately saving students $4.22 per year. Further at $5 per student we are looking at approximately $100,000 per year in operating revenue. We expect this to be a reasonable cost to cover all potential financial implications associated with running a digital Marmor. In the case that there is extra funding, the remaining funds will be re-directed to support services, events, clubs and advocacy initiatives in our organization.

Additional funding to enhance student life will ideally create more content for the digital yearbook as well.

Transparency

The referendum questions presented allow students to decide what they want to see. They have the option to keep the fee as it is if they would continue to want a physical yearbook. They have the option to eliminate the yearbook and it’s fee entirely. Finally, they have the option to add $5.00 to the operating fee to create a digital yearbook and provide funding to student services, clubs and events on campus should that be what they want. We surveyed alumni as they are the only group who has actually received this service, however it is up to current students what they want to see happen.

Implementation Plan

It is important to note that in this referendum question, we are simply asking students to eliminate the fee and for future students at McMaster, starting with the incoming class of 2021, to not have a physical copy of the yearbook. All current students will receive a physical Marmor of a quality corresponding to their contribution level. This is important because it means that students who have been here and paid the fee for 4, 3, 2 or 1 year(s) will still receive a physical copy of the Marmor in addition to the digital version first released following 2017-2018.

It is with the above considerations that I present to you the following two motions to send the fees to referendum:

Moved by MacDonald, seconded by ___ that the SRA send the Marmor fee to referendum to eliminate the $9.22 fee effective 2017-2018, while providing physical Marmors corresponding to a students financial contribution concluding with the class of 2020.

Moved by MacDonald seconded by ___ that the SRA send the MSU Operating fee to referendum to raise the fee by $5.00 to create a digital version of the Marmor as well as provide additional funding to student services and events on campus.

It is the opinion of the MSU Board of Directors that we put these two fees to referendum in the plan as described above. Ultimately the question and preamble will be set by elections based on the parameters set by the SRA in the motions above.

If you have any questions please let me know,

Ryan MacDonald Vice President (Finance) [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

…

THE SILHOUETTE 1. PURPOSE

1. The Silhouette shall be a student press in the McMaster University environment dedicated to the delivery of information that is comprehensive, impartial, accurate, balanced, and fair; its primary mandate is unbiased, fearless recording of fact.

2. OPERATING PARAMETERS 1. As a means of communication, The Silhouette shall serve as an agent of social awareness, and

give priority to informing the student population on issues of importance and interest to the McMaster community, emphasizing direct student issues;

2. The Silhouette shall strive to maintain the dignity and respect of all people and uphold their human rights;

3. The Silhouette shall strive to be relevant, informative, enlightening, and entertaining to its readers;

4. As the official publication of the McMaster students, The Silhouette shall be issued once a week during the regular academic term on a weekday chosen by The Silhouette Board of Publication (with the exception of Reading Week, holiday closures, and examination periods);

5. The Silhouette shall normally be published three (3) times during the summer at the discretion of The Silhouette Board of Publication;

6. The Silhouette editors shall actively seek, collect, write, edit, and publish news, sports, arts and entertainment reports, features, reviews, opinions, editorial comment, photographs, graphics, cartoons, and announcements of interest to McMaster students;

7. In each issue, The Silhouette shall publish letters to the editor to air the unedited (except for spelling and grammar errors) views of its readers, except those of a libelous nature, exceeding a specific length, or those which, in the opinion of the editorial staff, are judged to be in bad taste, or express views that have recently been expressed at length in the letters section;

8. Prejudice, racism, sexism, or homophobia shall not be promoted in The Silhouette;

9. It is recognized and affirmed that the freedom of the press is essential to maintaining the free flow of information, ideas, and opinions, provided this is done in accordance with the MSU Bylaws and section 19 of this policy – CODE OF ETHICS; in order that The Silhouette will best serve this function for McMaster students, the Editors and staff of The Silhouette shall remain completely autonomous in terms of the editorial content and the basic format of the newspaper;

Approved 86N Revised 87M, 88U, 89G, 89N, 93F, 94R, 96Q, 97J, 98N, 99D, 99L, 00D, 02C, 04O, 06F, 07E, EB 08-01, 08P, 10P, 11Q, 12G, 13N, 14O

THE SILHOUETTE – PAGE !2

10. The Silhouette shall be accountable to the SRA with regard to financial management and workplace health and safety issues;

11. The Silhouette Board of Publication (as outlined in Operating Policy – The Silhouette Board of Publication) shall advise The Silhouette Editorial Board in creating advertising, circulation, and distribution policy;

12. Decisions regarding editorial content and the basic format of the newspaper shall be determined by the Editor-in-Chief and The Silhouette Editorial Board;

13. The Silhouette shall normally limit parody media to a one-page weekly humour section (i.e. The Speculator page), unless otherwise approved by the Editor-in-Chief and The Silhouette Board of Publication. The content of this page shall comply with section 19 – CODE OF ETHICS of this policy, as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The page shall also contain a disclaimer indicating clearly the satirical nature of the page’s content. Grievances about The Speculator page shall be resolved according to section 18 of this policy.

3. PERSONNEL STRUCTURE 1. The Silhouette shall consist of:

1.1. An Editorial Board consisting of:

1.1.1. The Editor-in-Chief who shall; 1.1.1.1. Be responsible for the content, operation, and budget of The Silhouette 1.1.1.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Editor-in-Chief job

description;

1.1.2. The Managing Editor who shall; 1.1.2.1. Be responsible for assisting the Editor-in-Chief in supervising The

Silhouette Editorial Board and staff, with an emphasis on coordinating the separate sections of The Silhouette;

1.1.2.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Managing Editor job description;

1.1.3. The Production Editor who shall; 1.1.3.1. Be responsible for quality in page design, and for copy-editing and

correcting all on-page layout errors after pages have been approved by section editors;

1.1.3.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Production Editor job description;

1.1.4. The Online Editor who shall; 1.1.4.1. Be responsible for maintaining and updating The Silhouette website;

manage social media accounts in conjunction with the Social Media Coordinator; and liaise with the other Editors of The Silhouette to plan video and multimedia content;

1.1.4.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Online Editor job description;

1.1.5. The Section Editors of the Arts & EntertainmentCulture (ANDY), Lifestyle, News, Opinions, and Sports sections who shall;


1.1.5.1. Be responsible for coordinating the separate sections of The Silhouette;

1.1.5.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Departmental Editor job description;

1.2. A Reporting sStaff consisting of:

1.2.1. The Section Reporters of the Arts & EntertainmentCulture (Andy), Lifestyle, News, and Sports sections who shall;

1.2.1.1. Be responsible for assisting the Departmental Editors in coordinating the content of that week’s section in The Silhouette;

1.2.1.2. Produce two articles a week, one each for both print and online, under the direction of the Section Editor;

1.2.1.3. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Assistant Editor job description;

1.2.2. The Features Reporter who shall; 1.2.2.1. Be responsible the creation of one feature-length article every other

week, based on the publication schedule decided by the Board of Publication;

1.2.2.2. Liaise with the Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief in the facilitation and early stages of creation of said articles;

1.2.2.3. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Feature Reporter job description;

1.2.3. The Photo Editor who shall; 1.2.3.1. Be responsible to liaise with the other Editors to ensure their

photographic needs are met; coordinate and organize photo assignments for the Assistant Photo Editor, Silhouette staff photographers, and volunteer contributors;

1.2.3.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Photo Editor job description;

1.2.4. The Photo Reporter who shall; 1.2.4.1. Be responsible for assisting the Photo Editor; for completing duties

related to the Photo Departments; 1.2.4.2. Create photographic content for the photo gallery section of The

Silhouette; 1.2.4.3. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Assistant Photo Editor job

description;

1.2.5. The Video Editor who shall; 1.2.5.1. Be responsible for following the direction of the Online Editor in the

creation of weekly video content; 1.2.5.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Video Editor job

description;

1.2.6. The Social Media Coordinator who shall; 1.2.6.1. Be responsible for following the direction of the Online Editor in the

management of social media platforms, and engagement of readership on said platforms;

1.2.6.2. Use social media platforms to garner volunteer interest for the Volunteer positions;


1.2.6.3. Liaise with the Online Editor and Editor-in-Chief on marketing strategies to increase student awareness about The Silhouette.

1.2.7. The Production Coordinator who shall; 1.2.7.1. Under the direction of the Production Editor assist with page design,

copy-editing and correcting all on-page layout errors after pages have been completed

1.2.7.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Production Coordinator job description;

1.2.8. The Online Content Coordinator who shall; 1.2.8.1. Under the direction of the Online Content Editor, develop content for

website and social media. 1.2.8.2. Liaise with the other Editors of The Silhouette to develop video and

multimedia content; 1.2.8.3. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette On-Line Content

Coordinator job description;

1.3. The Editor-in-Chief may, with approval of the Executive Board, alter the number and responsibilities of Silhouette editors and assistant editors.

1.4. A Silhouette Volunteer Staff consisting of:

1.4.1. Casual volunteer Writers, Reporters, Photographers, Researchers, Artists, Graphic Artists, Cartoonists;

1.4.2. Formal volunteer Staff Reporters who shall; 1.4.2.1. Be responsible for performing duties depending on specified section

as laid out by the specific editor on a weekly rotational basis; 1.4.2.2. Perform duties as outlined in The Silhouette Staff Reporter job

descriptions; 1.4.2.3. Be hired by:

1.4.2.3.1. The Editor-in-Chief

1.5. A Circulation Staff consisting of:

1.5.1.1.5.1.1.1.5.1.2.

4. PERSONNEL SELECTION 1. The selection of Silhouette Editorial staff shall be done in the following manner:

1.1. The Editor-in-Chief shall be selected by a hiring committee according to the following guidelines:


1.1.1. The position shall be advertised by the existing Editor-in-Chief in The Silhouette no later than the fourth week of January;

1.1.2. Applications for the position will be accepted in The Silhouette office until 5:00pm on the Friday of the first week in February. A minimum of five (5) business days must elapse between the advertising of the position and the application deadline;

1.1.3. The hiring committee shall comprise the MSU General Manager (Chair), the existing Editor-in-Chief (or, if the Editor-in-Chief is reapplying, the most senior Editorial Board member not applying for the position), the Chair of The Silhouette Board of Publication, and the Manager of the MSU Underground Media + Design

1.2. The remaining members of the Editorial Board will be selected by a hiring committee according to the following guidelines:

1.2.1. The first positions filled will be Managing Editor, Production Editor and Online Editor;

1.2.2. The hiring committee for these first positions shall include the Editor-in-Chief or designate, the incoming Editor-in-Chief or designate, the Chair of the Board of Publications, and one (1) MSU Executive Board member; the committee shall be chaired by the Editor-in-Chief or designate;

1.2.3. The hiring committee for all remaining Editorial Board positions shall include the outgoing Editor-in-Chief or designate, the incoming Editor-in-Chief or designate, and the Managing Editor or designate; the committee shall invite the MSU Executive Board to send a member to participate as a non-voting representative on the hiring committee;

1.2.3.1.1. In the event that hiring takes place mid-year, a revised hiring committee would be comprised of the existing Editor-in-Chief, the Managing Editor, and the Chair of the Board of Publications.

1.2.4. All positions for the upcoming volume of The Silhouette shall be filled by two (2) weeks following the final issue of current volume of The Silhouette.

5. THE EDITORIAL BOARD

1. The Editorial Board shall consist of all paid staff members listed under section 3.1.1 The Editorial Board, and be chaired by the Editor-in-Chief.

2. The Editorial Board shall advise the Editor-in-Chief and, in conjunction with him/her, shall formulate The Silhouette Editorial Policy as per The Silhouette purpose and operating parameters;

3. Members of the Editorial Board shall vote on any issue or policy submitted for its consideration; decisions shall be considered binding if passed by a majority of participating Editorial Board members;

4. There shall be at least one (1) Editorial Board meeting each week, called by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with Editorial Board members; meetings shall be chaired by the Editor-in-Chief;

5. Quorum for such meetings shall be 50% of the Editorial Board;


6. A special meeting shall be held within the first month of regular publication to formulate or amend the publication policy of The Silhouette;

7. The Editor-in-Chief may, in conjunction with the support of the majority of the Editorial Board, enact, repeal, or amend portions of the Publication Policy;

8. Unless the Editor-in-Chief deems a portion of an Editorial Board meeting to be in closed session, any Silhouette Reporting Staff, or any Volunteer Staff who have made at least three (3) contributions in a period of seven (7) consecutive weeks, may attend and participate, but not vote, in all Editorial Board meetings.

6. DISMISSAL

1. Any paid staff member may be dismissed from employment with The Silhouette by a three-quarters majority vote of The Silhouette Board of Publication. This decision shall be subject to ratification by the MSU Executive Board;

2. A member may be dismissed for any of the following reasons:

2.1. Acting in contempt or contrary to this policy or any policy of The Silhouette; 2.2. Acting in contempt or contrary to any known decision of the staff or the Editorial Board

taken with quorum present; 2.3. Abuse of rights, privileges, or duties as a Silhouette Editor.

3. The member being dismissed shall be informed of all complaints against him/her that are connected to the motion, and shall be allowed to respond to them at the meeting where the motion is brought forward;

4. A volunteer staff member or contributor may be banned from working for the paper by his/her section head after consultation with the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor. Records of this will be kept in a file in The Silhouette office for seven years;

5. Decisions on dismissal or banning of volunteers, staff members or contributors may be appealed to The Silhouette Board of Publication.

7. VACANCIES 1. In the cases of resignation or dismissal, vacancies on the Editorial Board shall be filled accordingly

to the following guidelines:

1.1. If the position of Editor-in-Chief is vacated it will be filled according to this schedule:

1.1.1. A replacement will be hired according to the procedures outlined regarding the hiring of the Editor-in-Chief with the appropriate changes to dates and deadlines. In the interim, the Managing Editor shall act as Editor-in-Chief; if willing, the position shall be filled by the Managing Editor for the rest of the term of office;

1.2. Vacancies in the remaining positions on the Editorial Board will be filled according to the appropriate procedures outlined in Section 4 – Personnel Selection.

8. FINANCES


1. The Silhouette shall be a funded service of the McMaster Students Union. As such, the MSU shall maintain a regular flow of financing throughout the publication year so as to maintain the normal operation of The Silhouette as defined by this policy;

2. The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with The Silhouette Board of Publication, shall draft an annual budget for recommendations to the SRA. It shall include all anticipated operational and capital revenues and expenditures for the various editorial and production departments. Operational and capital funding shall be based on a SRA approved budget, as defined in MSU BYLAW 5 – FINANCIAL AFFAIRS;

3. The following revenues and expenses will be determined by the MSU Underground Media + Design Manager; Print Advertising Sales, Internal Advertising Sales, Printing Expense, Ad Commissions, Ad Sales Expense, Bad Debts Expense, and Underground Media + Design Layout Charge;

4. All business transactions and accounting shall be handled through the MSU Accounting Department;

5. Individuals ordering bound volumes of The Silhouette shall pay for them in full upon ordering.

9. PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

1. The annual publication schedule shall be approved by The Silhouette Board of Publication prior to the end of May, in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief and the Manager of the MSU Underground Media + Design.

10. AMENDMENTS

1. Editorial Board members of The Silhouette may propose amendments to this policy. Proposed amendments shall be made by a two-thirds majority vote at a quorate Board of Publications meeting. Proposed amendments to this policy must be referred to the Executive BoardSRA for approval.

11. EXTERNAL AFFILIATIONS

1. Any agreement of affiliation with an external or non-MSU organization shall require the following guidelines:

1.1. A majority vote of the Editorial Board, and; 1.2. Approval of The Silhouette Board of Publication, which shall advise the Editorial Board

while negotiating any such agreement.

12. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES

1. Complaints about the content of The Silhouette, including any possible violation of the laws of libel, shall be resolved according to the following guidelines:

1.1. The complainant shall meet with the Editor-in-Chief and discuss the matter in an attempt to find a mutually satisfactory solution;


1.2. Should no mutually satisfactory solution be reached, The Silhouette Board of Publication will review the matter, making certain that the Editor-in-Chief and complainant are given the opportunity to discuss, explain, or give evidence on the matter;

1.3. Before a final decision is rendered, The Silhouette Board of Publication shall, at the request of the Editor-in-Chief, and after consultation with the MSU Board of Directors, seek out the opinion of the MSU lawyers;

1.4. After this procedure has been following, The Silhouette Board of Publication may require The Silhouette to print an apology, correction, or retraction. The decision will be binding on The Silhouette.

13. CODE OF ETHICS

1. The Editorial Board, employees, staff members, and contributors of The Silhouette shall fully realize their personal responsibility for everything submitted for publication within The Silhouette. They shall not falsify information or documents, nor distort or misrepresent the facts;

2. The Editorial Board, and specifically the Editor of each section, shall recognize their personal responsibility for everything published within The Silhouette;

3. The Editorial Board, each staff member and contributor, shall strive to be fair and accurate in all reporting by seeking out, to the best of their abilities, all points of view they deem relevant to the issue being examined, reviewed, and investigated. While pure objectivity is impossible, at all times the reporter shall strive for objectivity, making certain, to the best of their abilities, that all facts, statements, and information is truthful, accurate, and above all, fair;

4. This practice of fairness, accuracy, and truthfulness precludes:

4.1. Reporting unsubstantiated opinion as fact; 4.2. Condemning persons or groups by innuendo or hearsay; 4.3. Distortion of meaning by over-or under-emphasis; 4.4. Placing facts or quotations out of context; 4.5. Using headlines not warranted by the text;

5. The Editorial Board, employees, staff members, and contributors of The Silhouette shall respect all confidences regarding sources of information and private documents, unless this intervenes with the freedom of the press or the need to inform the public on vital matters;

6. The Editorial Board, employees, staff members, and contributors of The Silhouette shall be familiar with and observe the laws of libel and contempt of court that exist in Canada, and shall observe all international copyright agreements, unless this interferes with the freedom of the press or the need to inform the public on vital matters or principles of fundamental justice;

7. The Editor of the appropriate section shall rectify in print, at the first available opportunity, any and all culpable mistakes, misprints, or omissions;

8. The Editorial Board, employees, staff members, and contributors of The Silhouette shall adhere to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and as such, shall not allow bias or prejudice – especially that based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion – to have any place in the editorial policy of The Silhouette;

9. The Editorial Board, employees, staff members, and contributors of The Silhouette shall normally identify themselves and their affiliation with The Silhouette prior to conducting any formal interviews. They shall conceal their identity and affiliation only when confronted with a barrier to


an overriding obligation to inform the public on vital matters or redress a breach of fundamental justice;

10. The Editorial Board and staff members of The Silhouette shall refrain from reporting on matters in which they deem themselves to be in direct conflict of interest. Reporters shall not be directly involved in the planning or execution of any event of incident on which they are reporting, nor shall they benefit directly from the results of any action, production, event, or incident on which they are reporting. They should strive to disclose all such conflicts of interest to other editors and members of the staff, and specifically to the Editor-in-Chief and the Editor of the appropriate section;

11. Any conflicts arising between privacy and the McMaster community’s right to know about the conduct of vital matters shall be judged, in the first instance by the Editor-in-Chief, and, if deemed necessary or prudent, by the Editorial Board as a whole.

AGENDA - SRA 16G STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY · by Areghan that Business item #6 be moved to...

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