SCSU lobbies for Ramadan accommodations during exam period

At its recent Board of Directors (BOD) meeting on February 27, the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) informed the BOD that UTSC will hold all winter semester exams in the morning and afternoon to accommodate students during Ramadan and presented the union’s 2021–2022 audited financial statements.

Additionally, the union told the BOD that its Food Centre will now increase its weekly grocery pickups to two times a week. 

Executive updates

After lobbying efforts by the SCSU, the Office of the Registrar informed the SCSU that all exams during the winter exam period will be held in the mornings and afternoons, said Vice-President Academics and University Affairs and Interim President Amrith David. These time changes will allow students observing Ramadan to avoid taking exams during the time to break their fast. 

David also mentioned that the SCSU’s course retake policy will now be up for approval at the March meeting of the UTSC Academic Affairs Committee. Previously, the policy was up for approval in February, but according to David, the administrators needed to discuss many agenda items in the February meeting, hence the delay. Ultimately, the delay does not matter, as the policy is set to apply in the fall 2023 semester. 

Meanwhile, the SCSU’s Food Centre increased its weekly grocery pickups to two times a week — on Mondays and Fridays — “due to the increasing demand that we had for the Food Centre,” according to SCSU Vice-President Operations Mathooshan Manoharan. 

Manoharan said that around 200 students use the Food Centre weekly and that many students are unable to get groceries due to long wait times. Previously, students could only get groceries at the centre on Fridays.

Lastly, the SCSU donated $500 to Ahbap, a Turkish-based nongovernmental organization that collects and provides both in-kind and cash donations to people affected by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit southern Türkiye and northern Syria on February 6. 

2021–2022 audited financial statements

Manoharan went over the SCSU’s audited financial statements from the 2021–2022 fiscal year at the meeting. According to the statements completed by Yale PGC, the SCSU garnered around $530,000 in net income in 2021–2022, which is almost 46 per cent less than its near one million dollar net income in 2020–2021.

The SCSU’s revenues increased by around 5 per cent from 2020–2021 to 2021–2022, from around $6.6 million to $6.9 million. Meanwhile, the SCSU’s expenses increased by around 13 per cent in the same period, from around $5.8 million to $6.5 million. 

The union’s wages and benefits expenses increased by around 86 per cent, from around $300,000 in 2020–2021 to around $570,000 in 2021–2022. The union’s general and administrative expenses also increased by around 54 per cent, from around $320,000 in 2020–2021 to almost $500,000 in 2021–2022. The union’s health and dental plan disbursement, professional fee, and repairs and maintenance fee expenses increased as well.

The union ended the 2022 fiscal year with around $9.8 million in total assets, which is almost $1.9 million more than its total assets at the end of the 2021 fiscal year. According to the audit, the SCSU’s cash, cash reserved for students’ health and dental plans, and investment in 1265 Bistro significantly increased.