Members of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), including student leaders from Victoria, Innis, Woodsworth, and Engineering, as well as students from the University of Toronto Mississauga, gathered for the union’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) earlier this evening.
Although the meeting was called to order at 6:34 pm, a dispute over Robert’s Rules, which are guidelines for decorum during meetings and other events, delayed the discussion of motions.
Pierre Harfouche, one of two Engineering representatives on the UTSU board of directors, moved a motion to remove several items from the agenda, after an unsuccessful attempt to add a motion to approve the agenda. “I wanted to show the UTSU that students are fed up by the lack of democracy that they have,” said Harfouche.
Ashkon Hashemi, chair of the meeting and speaker for the UTSU, pointed out that, while agendas must be approved, orders of business need not be. “It’s always important to be doing things by the rules. So that’s what the [procedural] wrangling established,” said Hashemi.
Zijian Yang, a fourth-year student in attendance, said that the event was a success, but wished that the discussions had not been so lengthy. “I really don’t appreciate people who drag out time when it could have been used for useful debate,” he said.
Trinity College, one of the divisions seeking fee diversion, chose not to send student representatives. In an open letter to members of the college, Trinty’s student Heads team discouraged Trinity students from attending the meeting. “If you do not intend on partaking in a spectacle of Orwellian groupthink, we’d suggest that you do the same,” the letter read.
After the procedural questions were resolved, the meeting voted to pass all but one motion on the agenda, which included motions to comply with the Canada Not-for Profit Corporations Act, to endorse a campaign to raise the minimum wage to $14, to create an online form for member feedback, and to investigate the board and commission structure. The only motion that members rejected was to reprimand Students Against Israeli Apartheid.
