The election results for the 2018–2019 University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) Executive Committee show four executives re-elected to their positions, with only two of the six positions having been contested. Two of the elected executives had previously held a role on the executive committee.

Lynne Alexandrova, Internal Commissioner-elect, said her priority is “building together a top-level policy-guided and funding guaranteed mutually supportive tri-campus community.” She affirmed her focus on disability and accessibility issues while also reiterating a commitment to mental health, saying that she would work intently on “de-stressing university work and life across constituencies.”

“It is up to the university to elect to be such a society, where robust wellness supports practically guarantee that excellence in health is boosted rather than undermined by aspirations for academic distinction,” said Alexandrova.

Finance and University Governance Commissioner Branden Rizzuto, who will be in his third term as a UTGSU executive, said he hopes to improve resources and funding for members of the union, in addition to emphasizing transparency. Rizzuto said he wants to “build upon the working relationships that the UTGSU has been cultivating with the School of Graduate Studies and other University of Toronto administrative bodies.” He is currently serving as the UTGSU’s Vice-Chair of Finance and the UTGSU’s Liaison to the School of Graduate Studies.

Leonardo Jose Uribe Castano, the re-elected Civics and Environment Commissioner, wrote that his “main goal for the upcoming year is to advocate for a better transit deal for UofT graduate students.”

“I will also focus on promoting a coherent communication between all environment/sustainability focused groups on campus,” said Uribe Castano.

Christopher Ball and Cristina Jaimungal, both incumbents re-elected to their positions, promised a focus on accessibility to resources and funds from the UTGSU in their election statements.

Sophie McGibbon Gardener, Ball, and Jaimungal did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment.

Editor’s Note (March 7): This article has been updated to clarify that more than half of the executives are incumbents, and more than half of the positions were uncontested. 

The Toronto School of Theology Graduate Students’ Association (TGSA) will hold a referendum to decide on whether or not to leave the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) for the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU).

A ‘yes’ vote on a referendum would withdraw the TGSA from the UTSU; joining the UTGSU would be a separate process.

At a February 24 meeting, the UTSU Board of Directors passed a motion to approve the TGSA referendum. The TGSA is the only graduate student association whose members are also members of the UTSU — all other graduate student associations are a part of the UTGSU.

“Earlier this year, the TST graduate students expressed interest in leaving the UTSU for the UTGSU. We don’t represent graduate students, so we decided to allow a referendum,” UTSU President Mathias Memmel told The Varsity. The referendum also requires that the UTGSU confirm its acceptance of TGSA members by March 9.

The UTGSU represents over 18,000 students across 115 different departments. Their work consists of lobbying national and provincial issues on behalf of the students, holding community building events and campaigns. Like the UTSU, they offer various services such as health and dental insurance, advice, grants and bursaries, and access to a workout space.

U of T policy requires every student to be a member of one of the four representative student committees: the UTSU, UTGSU, Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students, or Scarborough Campus Students’ Union.

Should the referendum pass, the TGSA would withdraw from the UTSU, including the UTSU Health and Dental Plan. This plan includes health and dental, vision care, and travel insurance. It also allows students to add spouses or financially dependent children for an additional fee.

Currently, the Toronto School of Theology enrols approximately 40 graduate students. Memmel said that undergraduate theology students do not need to worry about this change. “They won’t be affected by any of this,” he said.

Editor’s Note (March 5): A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the UTMSU as a representative student committee. It is not.

The Professor Is In, a graduate student advice website, recently revealed 16 anonymous cases of sexual harassment at the University of Toronto, in which graduate students were targeted by their academic mentors. In the same survey, it was revealed that, allegedly, none of the perpetrators suffered any academic consequences, even in cases where the abuse had been reported.

Dependent on advisers to further their careers, students can be left powerless and unwilling to report abuse in fear of the repercussions to their academic reputations. While some of these relationships can develop into mentorships or friendships, the fact that one party is in a position of power is crucial to understanding why harassment occurs.

At the same time, the resources available for addressing sexual assault at the university are not sufficiently tailored to graduate students’ specific concerns. Some respondents to the survey reported being told that staying silent would be best for their careers in the long-term and that reporting a specific harasser might only work to tarnish their reputations rather than resulting in any reprimands for the abuser.

While the new Tri-Campus Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre offers some useful services, it also has limited operating hours that hinder its accessibility, especially for graduate students who may have heavy workloads and whose hectic schedules may not allow them to access these services.

A better option for graduate students, in that sense, would be the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU), a body tasked specifically with representing graduate students’ interests. The UTGSU should ensure that students do not face undue harm to their academic careers as a result of the actions of their harassers, and should pursue provisions to prevent superiors from refusing or neglecting to support students who experience abuse.

According to The Professor Is In, one student reported increasingly violent verbal and written harassment from her supervisor after refusing his advances, to the point where she did not publish her thesis in order to avoid further contact. The student also did not receive a recommendation from her supervisor, and she cites what happened to her as one reason she was forced to prematurely end her academic career.

One way to meet graduate students’ needs might be to establish an internal body specifically tasked with providing support for graduate students in circumstances like these. Using the university’s new Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment for guidance may help the union establish a centre that makes up for a lack of specialized professional and peer-to-peer services on campus.

Systematically establishing safe spaces for graduate students is a necessary step the UTGSU must take to support students who have faced sexual harassment. Graduate students need the support of the UTGSU to address violence that originates from within the U of T community.

In a response to The Varsity’s request for comment, the UTGSU provided the following response: “It is not always clear for our Members who choose to pursue support services on campus how to navigate their situation because a majority of them are governed by both The University of Toronto policies and labour union policies. We encourage students to come forward and speak to one of our Executives and a full-time UTGSU staff person who offers confidential support and institutional resources. In addition, over the past few years, the UTGSU has participated in ongoing consultations in regards to the Sexual Violence Policy, the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre as well as the training modules, which launched earlier this month.”

Supporting the well-being of students over maintaining the reputations of staff, partnered with a concentrated effort to establish a safe and supportive space for students to report and address sexual harassment, will immensely benefit women working in academia. In the long run, these changes will go toward establishing academia as a safe and inclusive space, dispelling any environmental or community-based stigmas that might prevent female academics from furthering their careers.

Angela Feng is a second-year student at St. Michael’s College studying History and Cinema Studies. She is The Varsity’s Campus Politics Columnist.

Editor’s Note (February 12): This article has been updated to clarify that it is the author’s opinion that the UTGSU should ensure that students do not face undue harm to their academic careers as a result of the actions of their harassers. The UTGSU is not necessarily able to do this, as a previous version of this article suggested. 

This article has been updated to include the quote provided by the UTGSU to The Varsity prior to the article’s publication. 

A previous version of this article stated that graduate students interact with professors more so than undergraduate students. This sentence has been removed given the difficulty in quantifying graduates’ interactions with professors versus undergraduates’ interactions with professors. 

Governing Council has voted to approve the Policy on Open, Accessible and Democratic Autonomous Student Organizations.

Executives from the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU), Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU), Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS), and the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) came to the June 23 Governing Council meeting, imploring governors to vote down the policy.

Conversely, student leaders representing the University of Toronto Students’ Union, the Engineering Society, the University College Literary & Athletic Society, the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council, and the New College Student Council also attended to show their support for the policy.

After the vote, the detractors of the policy held a sit-in outside the Governing Council chambers; loud chanting could be heard from within the chamber as Governing Council proceeded to the next items on the agenda.

The new policy would create the University Complaint and Resolution Council for Student Societies (CRCSS) made up of one student from a representative student society, three students from other student societies, and one chair with experience in conflict resolution to hear grievances against student societies. Additionally, the policy provides definitions to what it means for student societies to act in a matter that is “open, accessible, and democratic.”

Under current policies, the provost has the unilateral authority to withhold fees from a student society acting undemocratically. With the new policy, the CRCSS can discuss resolutions before recommending the withholding of fees.

This policy was the results of negotiations between the university and students’ societies that occurred during the Student Societies Summit from 2013 to 2014.

Opponents of the policy argued that the policy violates student union autonomy and students already have the opportunity to challenge their unions through courts.

“The introduction with the appeals board provides the provost with a false sense of legitimacy,” argued UTGSU academics and funding commissioner Brieanne Berry-Crossfield.

According to the policy, it “does not provide any additional power to the Provost.” Supporters of the policy have also ridiculed the idea of students pursing litigation against student unions over grievances and praised the policy for encouraging student societies to act transparently.

“Student societies willing to conduct themselves in an open, accessible, and democratic manner have nothing to fear,” said UTSU vice-president internal & services Mathias Memmel.

Disclosure: The Varsity is a levy-collecting student society and would be affected by the Policy on Open, Accessible and Democratic Autonomous Student Organizations

This story is developing, more to follow.

The university’s proposal for a structured grievances system for levy-collecting student societies has been met with considerable opposition from several large societies.

Details of the proposed Policy on Open, Accessible and Democratic Autonomous Student Organizations were made public to Governing Council’s University Affairs Board on May 25. The policy is pending approval by Governing Council on June 23.

The policy defines the university’s expectations for student societies to operate in an “open, accessible, and democratic” manner and creates the University Complaint and Resolution Council for Student Societies (CRCSS or SSCRC), which would hear complaints against student societies that violate this standard or their constitution. 

The CRCSS would be made up of four student members appointed on a case-by-case basis and one chair with experience in conflict resolution appointed to a two-year term. One of the four student members would be drawn from one of the representative student societies, which are comprised up the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), the Association of Part-Time students (APUS), the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU), and the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU). The remaining three members would be appointees from other student societies. According to the policy, “The Chair will consider the type of complaint; and the size, location, constituency and type of organization when selecting the members.”

Currently, complaints against a student society are dealt with by the provost, who has the authority to withhold fees if they believe the student society is not acting appropriately.  This has happened to the Arts and Science Students’ Union back in 2008. According to the proposed policy, if complaints cannot be addressed within the society, the CRCSS would be a forum to discuss complaints but can recommend the withholding of fees to the Provost, who would still have the sole authority to do so.

Opposition to the policy

The policy has been criticized by leaders of several large student societies. Jessica Kirk, president of the SCSU called the policy “a direct attack on the agency of student societies, equity service groups, and student organizations.” She continued, “In the case of student unions particularly, created by and for students, it makes little sense for them to be overseen by the University administration, especially seeing as we have an obligation to be accountable to our members first and foremost.”

UTGSU academics and funding commissioner Brieanne Berry-Crossfield expressed similar concerns, saying, “we feel that this makes all UofT affiliated clubs, groups and societies vulnerable in a way that does not serve their membership or recognize our bylaws.”

APUS president Mala Kashyap also cited a desire to remain independent from the university administration: “As students, we can manage our own organizations and resolve conflicts that may arise.” 

In addition, University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) president Nour Alideeb sent a letter on May 26 to Andrew Szende, the chair of the University Affairs Board. In the letter, Alideeb alleges that the new policy infringes on the UTMSU’s legal autonomy and its exclusive commitment to its members.

“If the University adopts the new policy, which inevitably becomes a tool to attempt to coerce, intimidate or force UTMSU to adopt or abide by the policy, the University will be acting in bad faith and forcing the students’ union to make decisions in contradiction to the mandate of its members,” reads a portion of the letter, “This is a breach of the important and crucial role of the student union being autonomous from the University Administration, so that it could fulfill its role as a watchdog on behalf of its members.”

[pullquote-features]“… the University will be acting in bad faith and forcing the students’ union to make decisions in contradiction to the mandate of its members”[/pullquote-features]

The letter also states that the UTMSU will seek “a legal remedy” if the policy takes effect.

U of T media relations director Althea Blackburn-Evans stressed that the policy does not give additional powers to the Provost and is actually gives more responsibility to students.

“The university sees this as a very positive move for the students and student societies. It’s putting more power into the hand of the students,” said Blackburn-Evans. “The possible concern that something is being taken away from students, I’m not sure where that’s coming from because it actually gives more power to the students than what has historically been the case.”

However, Alideeb disagrees.

“While some may suggest that the new policy does not expand the Provost’s existing powers, I think it does by lending support to the idea that the Administration should approve of every student campaign or initiative,” Alideeb told The Varsity. “This obviously undermines our ability to advocate for students independently on issues, such as tuition fees or fossil fuel divestment where our position differs from that of the Administration.”

[pullquote-default]“The possible concern that something is being taken away from students, I’m not sure where that’s coming from because it actually gives more power to the students than what has historically been the case.”[/pullquote-default]

Representatives from the UTMSU, the SCSU, the APUS, and the GSU also appeared in a video released by the UTMSU, encouraging members to speak out against the policy at the June 23 Governing Council meeting. UTMSU vice president campus life Tyrell Subban also sent an email to UTMSU clubs executives, urging them to attend the meeting and express opposition to the policy.

Conversely, the UTSU executive committee released a statement endorsing the proposed policy, noting that the Provost would not gain additional powers.

“We are not, by endorsing the SSCRC, capitulating to the administration — simply put, the SSCRC will help our members hold us accountable. We hope that our fellow student societies come to the same conclusion,” reads a portion of the statement.

UTSU vice-president internal & services Mathias Memmel told The Varsity that the statement was released urgently in response to Alideeb’s letter: “The UTMSU had made its position clear, and we needed to act immediately.”

Prior consultations

According to Alideeb’s letter, the UTMSU was “not consulted during the development of the policy.”

“It is unfortunate that the University Administration has proposed to move forward with a policy without consulting all the relevant stakeholders that will be impacted by the new policy, and will undermine the watchdog role of student unions, who act in the best interests of their members and not necessarily the University Administration, when it pertains to policy matters.”

The policy was the result of talks between the University and student societies during the Student Societies Summit that took place between 2013 and 2014. The establishment of a university-wide appeals board was one of among the recommendations outlined in the Student Societies Summit report. The UTMSU withdrew before the conclusion of the summit, arguing that the summit was undemocratic and “privileges some student groups over others.”

In February and March of this year, the university released the first draft of the policy and invited students to send feedback. In the first draft of the policy, the SSCRC would have made up of four elected student members and two members appointed by the provost.

Blackburn-Evans said that the university consulted widely while developing the policy.

“Many changes were made in response to student comments so there has been quite a bit of back and forth and redrafting based on student feedback and UTMSU, as with all the societies, they had ample opportunities to provide feedback,” she explained.

Disclosure: The Varsity is a levy-collecting student society and would be affected by the Policy on Open, Accessible and Democratic Autonomous Student Organizations