Usually the biggest problem at a campus group’s annual general meeting is acute boredom. Not so at last week’s Students for Barrier-Free Access (SBFA) AGM, which was replete with shouting matches and the threat of legal action.
SBFA is a student group that advocates for disabled students, working closely with U of T’s accessibility services. A main agenda item at last Thursday’s meeting was the election of a new executive.
“There were two opposing slates,” said Sam Rahimi, chair of SBFA before and after the AGM. “The slate that won the elections brought about 30 people out with them to make sure they would win, and they did.”
That slate included Alex Tepperman for External, Jennifer Hassum for University Affairs, Luis Granados for Promotions Director, and Asif Farooq for Social Director. Because Hassum is also VP External at SAC, even before the meeting, some at SBFA accused SAC of planning a takeover.
“The only student disability rights organization on campus has been hijacked by a bunch of student politicians from SAC who want to gain power for themselves,” read a pamphlet circulated before the meeting by Rahimi. It accused SAC of “overt discrimination against students with disabilities.” Word on the street is that Rahimi, who has clashed regularly with this year’s executive, plans to run for SAC president next year.
The day of the AGM, Rahimi received a cease-and-desist letter from SAC’s lawyers. The letter demanded that Rahimi stop making “inaccurate, damaging and actionable” statements, or SAC [would] “take appropriate and immediate legal action.” Rahimi has complied with the letter.
The initial conflict between SAC and SBFA was about SBFA’s finances. SBFA is funded by a levy, which SAC collects and passes on to SBFA, though it is not controlled by SAC-SAC may not reallocate the money.
“All levy [recipients] have to submit their audited statements by August 31,” said SAC president Paul Bretscher. “SBFA handed them in at 2:00 in the afternoon, 75 days past due, and then at 9:00 in the morning were making allegations that we were purposely withholding their funds to close down the organization.”
Ahead of the meeting, an email was circulated to a number of students, some sympathetic with SAC, encouraging them to run in SFBA’s executive elections. But the new executive insists they had their own reasons for running.
“There is obviously something really ill with the university’s system right now,” said Tepperman, citing problems he has had using the services to cope with his obsessive compulsive disorder. “I feel that Students for Barrier-Free Access needs to be run completely autonomous of the university and in many instances has to work against it, and I think it was too close to the university. It was just a branch of the administration, and I think that made it impotent in many ways.”
“It’s about working towards improving the services,” said Hassum. Hassum is dyslexic herself and has been involved in SBFA for the last two years. Before the meeting, she asked Rahimi whether he thought it would be appropriate for her to run. He was encouraging.
Nonetheless, tensions at the AGM ran very high, particularly after Bretscher arrived to read a statement from SAC refuting Rahimi’s allegations. At one point, Rahimi stood on a table and ripped up his cease-and-desist letter.
“I don’t want to pass any type of personal judgment,” said Julia Munk, staff at the Access Centre. “My only concern was that the behaviour of everyone at the meeting made it very inaccessible.” She said that students with anxiety and learning disabilities left before the meeting was over and didn’t have the chance to vote.
But by all accounts, Rahimi’s was not the only raised voice. Since the meeting, everyone has calmed down a bit.
“The most important thing to do is to put our differences aside and work together as best we can,” said Rahimi.
“We’ve already reached consensus on every major issue,” said Hassum.
Tepperman is full of plans for the months ahead, including canceling honoraria, creating ties with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, tabling at Sid Smith, signing more people up for the listserv, keeping the Access Centre open longer hours and hiring a secretary.
But even if the new executive and chair work together, SBFA may face further conflicts with SAC in January. That’s when they will be required to provide more documentation (including their bylaws and minutes from meetings) in order to receive the second installment of their funding.
