On October 29, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) held a “special” Board of Directors (BOD) meeting, marking the second meeting of the month. 

The union debated the fiscal year 2024–2025 budget and heard from the U of T Food Coalition about their meal program. Members also voted on rejecting a referendum for a Canadian University Press (CUP) fee levy.

2024–2025 fiscal year budget

Vice-President (VP) Finance Farshad Murtada motivated the motion to approve the union’s draft budget. 

The UTGSU’s primary source of revenue comes from university fees. Budget changes included lower projections for interest, increased levy fees due to a referendum passing for U of T environmental student group Regenesis U of T, and expanded funds for “Union expenses,” “House expenses,” and “Outreach and Initiatives.” 

The union’s expenses increased for honoraria and training, House Expenses — which includes budget allocations required to maintain the UTGSU building — grew to support new operations in the UTGSU building and other in-person costs, and “Outreach and Initiatives” funding expanded to match member’s new programs and ideas. 

Murtada also explained that the budget’s major expense — the Health and Dental Plan, funded by its own referendum fee — would be finalized after opt-out numbers are confirmed. 

Division 3 Director Dominic Shillingford inquired about the specific budgeting for Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the Board and Assembly Fees, as well as the potential surplus from the Health and Dental Plan. 

Murtada clarified that meeting costs cover both board expenses and food expenses. VP Academics 3 and 4 Julian Nickel and Executive Director Corey Scott alongside Murtada explained that health and dental funds cannot be reallocated and will be finalized for premiums and administrative fees after opt-out numbers are confirmed. 

After members inquired about the changes to funds, Murtada discussed efforts to make budget notes available to members on the website. The motion ultimately carried.

Meal program

President Mohammadamir Ghasemian Moghaddam as well as the U of T Food Coalition representative and PhD candidate Michael Lawler presented on the issue of food insecurity among graduate students at U of T.

After months of discussion with the UTGSU, the U of T Food Coalition prepared a proposal requesting $10,000 to sustain their mission, expand outreach, and focus on advocacy work. 

Moghaddam discussed how the UTGSU’s recent cost of living survey showed that 60 per cent of graduate students experience food insecurity. He noted that the union is limited in its ability to provide affordable food options to all surveyed students without partnering with organizations. As part of U of T Food Coalition, Lawler has been working for the past year on their community kitchen, securing a space at the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) kitchen and serving meals to students with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers. 

Lawler discussed the challenges of addressing food insecurity on campus without an industrial kitchen, a longer-term partnership, or similar food security initiatives — such as those for programming or data collection at Concordia University and the University of British Columbia, 

VP Internal Friedemann Krannich and Division 3 Director Joscelyn van der Veen asked about the program’s effectiveness for graduate students. 

Krannich explained that UTGSU’s funding of University of Toronto’s Student Environmental Resource Network (UTERN) meant funding was already being directed to the coalition. He also pointed out that, without collecting data on graduate student participation, it was unclear who the coalition was serving. 

Van der Veen asked whether the kitchen’s shared space for undergraduates and graduate students might cause hesitation among graduate students, given that teaching assistants could run into their students. Lawler responded that the coalition’s funding from UTERN primarily went toward upgrading the UTSU Kitchen. He also explained that there was no means testing the program to prevent graduate students from feeling stigmatized.

Krannich proposed an amendment allowing the executive committee to draft a Memorandum of Agreement between the coalition and UTGSU to further clarify the proposal and assess the coalition’s meal program’s impact on graduate students. The motion carried.

With the amendment in place, the board debated whether to refer or approve the motion. Van der Veen and Shillingford inquired about the urgency of the proposal. Moghaddam argued for the immediate benefits of funding the program, while Lawler emphasized that delays affected its implementation. Division 3 Councillor Petra Duff noted that most board members supported the proposal’s principles and that the responsibility for the memorandum rested with the executive committee. After a motion to refer the item to the next meeting failed, the amended motion carried. 

Krannich recommended not holding a referendum for a $0.50 levy fee in support of the CUP, arguing that since The Varsity already pays fees to CUP, it would be redundant to pay again. Division 4 Councillor Nicholas Silver disagreed, stating that since a member recommended the motion at the AGM, it should be considered. Krannich informed the board that his research on the motion did not provide a basis for a recommendation, and agreed to follow up with the member. The motion was carried and the union rejected the levy.