Clear divide at UTSU meeting

The strained relations were obvious between the UofT Students Union and the college councils as undergraduate students from St. George campus and UTM gathered for UTSU's annual general meeting (AGM) on November 19th. The purpose of the meeting was to vote on the 2009-2010 budget, approve the selection of the Union's financial auditor and engage in a panel discussion about relevant student issues.

Although the budget was approved and an auditing firm was chosen successfully, the meeting was characterized by tense moments as elected representatives from various colleges, including St. Michael's, Woodsworth, and Innis harshly critiqued both the inaccessibility of the AGM and the lack of transparency of UTSU. Two of the most common complaints were that a notice informing constituents of the meeting had not appeared in a university newspaper in the required fourteen day period prior to the event, and that there were not enough calls for agenda items.

Some students were also uncomfortable with the disparity between the number of St. George students in attendance and that of UTM.

Students at the Mississauga campus are members of both the UTM Students' Union as well as UTSU, which allows them to vote in elections and attend meetings for both. Students were required to sign in and indicate the college to which they belonged before they were permitted to enter the meeting, but UTSU was unable to provide the breakdown of students in attendance as of press time.

Speaking after the meeting, Akash Goel, VUSAC's Vice President External, expressed unease with what he perceived as "the stacking of UTM votes."

VUSAC President Catherine Brown was concerned with what she characterized as a growing divide between the colleges and the union.

"At no point did UTSU make a call for agenda items to board of director representatives, college councils, or the general student body; yet, at the meeting, new motions were very strictly limited, including motions which would have increased the accessibility and transparency of UTSU such as posting their policy binder on their website," she said.

Several contentious issues were introduced during the panel discussion period but many were cut short in the interest of time and the need to address the relevant business of the budget and audit.

Though some students were obviously displeased with this decision, Vice President of University Affairs, Adam Awad explained that the AGM is not meant for long debates regarding specific issues.

"All of the college councils have ex-officio seats on our Board and all students are welcome, and encouraged, to come to our meetings to discuss issues. The AGM is a relatively formal process that doesn't really allow the back-and-forth necessary to address a lot of these concerns," he said.

Despite the apparent negative feelings toward the UTSU executive, there remained a large group who voiced their support for the union throughout the meeting.

Walied Khogali, a UTM student, congratulated the union on their recent successful campaign to reduce the cost of metro-passes for students, while others praised the accessibility and openness of the members of the executive.

According to UTSU's Vice President Internal Adnan Najmi, the meeting minutes will not be available until they are approved at the 2010 AGM.