Discussions of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) board structure reform dominated campus politics at the tail end of 2014, culminating in a dramatic defeat of the proposal at the union’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Before the meeting, this year’s UTSU executive worked on numerous events, including Orientation Week, disOrientation, and Xpression Against Oppression. The UTSU also expanded its Blue Crew initiative, which engaged hundreds of students, and implemented a breakfast program at the Multi-Faith Centre. The executive also recently faced the resignation of vice-president, university affairs Pierre Harfouche.
The Varsity spoke with Yolen Bollo-Kamara, UTSU president, to look back on the year that was and to discuss the semester to come.
TV: Tell me about the Student Commons project. What should happen if and when Governing Council approves it?
YB-K: The Student Commons agreement was negotiated over several years. There was a University Project Planning Committee that put it together. That included student societies, divisional leaders, members of the administration, as well as representatives from the UTSU. This was a couple of years before my time. We know that students at large want to see this happening. So what we’re looking for is for Governing Council, in the final step, to pass the project. It will most likely take at least a year to receive proposals and to actually begin construction so that the building can open as soon as possible.
TV: Are you optimistic that Governing Council will pass the project?
YB-K: I am optimistic. From speaking with governors, I do think that the majority of them do want to see this pass. There are over 300 clubs recognized by the UTSU, and there are thousands of students on campus who are really passionate about this and want to have the same type of space afforded to them on the St. George campus as students have in Mississauga, in Scarborough, and almost every other university or college campus in the country. So I think that they’d like to see that happen.
TV: You mentioned the Drop Fees campaign and plans for a day of action. What would these initiatives involve?
YB-K: We’ve been discussing [the Drop Fees campaign] for some time as an executive and we really wanted to bring that back this year to make sure that students across campus, across U of T, are talking about and getting involved with this ongoing campaign to make university more accessible and affordable. The day of action would involve some sort of rally that would be happening in second semester. The date has been set for April 1, I believe. So the idea would be to spend most of second semester doing as much outreach as possible and getting lots of students involved and getting their peers to come out and really put pressure on the university and the provincial government to show that students really care and that we’re frustrated by the recent tuition fee increases. The other thing we want to focus on is the U of T context in particular because we have ongoing issues like ancillary fees that are really high. Then there is the issue of flat fees. Again, there have been some changes but we’d really like to get rid of flat fees altogether. The aim is to draw attention to the broader issue of rising tuition fees — particularly for international students and students in professional programs.
TV: Another campaign you mentioned was the implementation of a Fall Reading Week. How is that progressing?
YB-K: We have been working on this. We’ve put forward some of our thoughts to the vice-provost, students [Jill Matus] and she’s committed to bringing that forward to the council. So we’re looking forward to a response from her in early second semester. I think, ideally, what we’d like to see from our discussions with the ASSU [Arts & Science Students’ Union] is some sort of committee that would work across all divisions so we can come up with a solution that works for everyone.
TV: What are your goals for constructing a new board proposal?
YB-K: The goal is, for me, to make sure that all perspectives are heard and hopefully before the end of my time we’ll have a proposal that the majority of students will support and we’ll pass it at an AGM. I didn’t put forward the last proposal but I did come to support it. I think that a lot of different groups agree that our current structure is flawed. I think that we should all be trying to come up with creative solutions. At the AGM, the majority of students did support the structure, but not a supermajority. I think it’s really important that two-thirds of students support whatever structure gets passed; that’s part of the democratic process. There were some groups that never responded to my attempts to set up consultation meetings, but I’m seeing them now more open to meeting and to helping out with this new collaboration.
TV: What would your ideal board structure look like?
YB-K: My ideal proposal would be something that the majority of students support, but I think it has to be something that provides a diversity of opportunities for students to get involved.
TV: One of the first things you’ll have to do in the coming weeks is fill the position of vice-president, university affairs on the UTSU Executive Committee. How will that process work?
Y-BK: There is an application process that will continue until January 10. After that, the Hiring Committee will be struck from the Executive Committee and it will choose at least two candidates to be sent to the board. These candidates will do a presentation to the board and there the vice-president, university affairs will be chosen.
TV: Who are the members of the Hiring Committee?
YB-K: We haven’t decided that yet, and I don’t think it stipulates in our by-laws, so it would just be members of the Executive Committee.
TV: What do you anticipate being the biggest challenge for you this semester?
YB-K: There are a few things. Figuring out a way that we — that’s all student leaders, club leaders, college and faculty leaders, student society representatives, and students at large — can work together more efficiently to ensure that projects like the Student Commons aren’t continually put on hold or put on the backburner and that we’re finding ways to work together to act in the best interests of our membership. I think that we do have similar goals in that we are trying to do what’s best for our members and so I’m optimistic that we can rise above the rhetoric, so to speak. If we could give each other the benefit of the doubt as much as possible, I think that we could work together more effectively and accomplish even more for the students of U of T. I’m looking forward to a great semester, and I’m hoping that I can work with students across campus to make this university a better place in my last four months as president.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
