Student appointees resign from campus radio station board

Anne Boucher and Stuart Norton, the only student appointees of the U of T campus radio station CIUT 89.5 FM Board of Directors, resigned from their positions on March 4, citing a number of grievances including being treated with “antagony, intimidation, and dismissal.” 

Boucher and Norton were appointed under the station’s bylaws, which states that up to three members on their board must be students appointed by the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU). Boucher is the current UTSU Vice President External and Norton was the Vice President Campus Life until he resigned in December 2017.

In her resignation email to the CIUT Board of Directors, Boucher stated “I have made it my goal to represent the student interest, but clearly students are not a priority [for CIUT]. Safety is not a priority. Accountability is not a priority. Transparency is not a priority.”

“Do recall: you are a student society. I’d suggest beginning to act like one.”

Norton submitted his resignation email shortly after Boucher’s, writing “On top of echoing the sentiments that [Boucher] has expressed above, given the current climate at CIUT I find myself unable to represent the best interests of the student membership while serving as a director on the Board.”

In a statement to The Varsity, Norton said “I decided to resign from my position on the Board of CIUT because I felt like I was unable to represent the best interests of the student membership while continuing on as a fiduciary of the Board…after attempts to engage meaningfully with the Board (alongside Anne Boucher) through formal accountability measures, we found ourselves shut out and discredited.”

Boucher echoed his comments, saying “CIUT needs to be significantly rebuilt, yet they do not see the urgency of the matter. Damn it, they didn’t even know they were a student society, for crying out loud. They clearly like the status quo, and have been quite hostile to change. This is a fundamental part of the problem.”

“They’ve flown under the radar for far too long, and it’s time to bring them to light,” Boucher said. “I’m not going anywhere. None of us are.”

Steve Fruitman, President of CIUT, declined The Varsity’s request for comment on Boucher and Norton’s resignations and statements.