Reform to the nomination process for the position of the AUS Vice-President Finance, the fate of McGill’s Industrial Relations program, and students’ ability to decide whether McGill recognizes their advanced standing credits were among the topics discussed at Monday’s General Assembly (GA) of the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS).
With between 20 and 45 students in attendance throughout the evening, the GA never met its quorum of 150 voters and, therefore, only passed motions as a consultative forum. Each motion passed by the GA as a consultative forum requires a 2/3 vote at AUS Council to become binding.
The most highly debated motion concerned reforming the requirements for the AUS’s vice-president finance position.
Currently, arts students elect a vice-president finance from a group of nominees in the AUS election. If this motion passed, AUS Council would determine through a vote whether nominees were qualified to run for the position after a short presentation from each candidate. Students would then elect the vice-president finance from among the approved candidates.
“This motion is valid because [the AUS] has had a history of losing money and embezzling,” AUS Vice-President Events Natasha Fenn said. “A solid [Vice-President] Finance would prevent that.”
Most students agreed that this motion addressed an important issue, but some expressed concern over its fairness.
“Do you think this is an unfair attempt to influence the outcome of the election?” Daniel Stysis, U3 arts, asked during the GA. “Do you believe that this is a decision best left to the voters who should, in fact, be choosing their own [executives]?”
Current AUS Vice-President Finance Saad Qazi, who brought the motion forward, argued that the measures would allow voters to make more informed choices about their executive.
“The 100-word blurb I wrote for the ballot [when I was campaigning] was nowhere near to conveying enough information about what my qualifications were,” Qazi said. “Something like this would just be adding [an] extra little bit of information on the ballot.”
The motion was tabled for further refinement, and will not affect this year’s election period, since the nomination period for next year’s executive positions begins this week.
Students also passed a motion that aims to protect McGill’s Industrial Relations program. The program is in danger of termination due to a lack of faculty advisors dedicated to continuing the program. AUS Vice-President Internal Justin Fletcher and Benjamin Kershman, president of the McGill Industrial Relations Association, submitted the motion.
“The issue of why the program is considering being retired has nothing to do with student enrollment,” Fletcher said.
Industrial Relations is an interdisciplinary academic program that allows students in the Faculty of Arts to study labour-management relations. Students in attendance wondered whether the program could exist independently from the Faculty of Arts.
“Will the program still continue to fully exist under [the Faculty of] Management if it doesn’t exist under arts?” Enbal Singer, U2 arts, said. “How hard would it be for students to just take it as a management program?”
The motion passed after participants discussed the fact that arts students would have to switch faculties in order to enroll in the program in the Faculty of Management.
Students also passed a motion calling for the AUS to lobby the Faculty of Arts to provide students with the opportunity to decide whether their advanced standing credits are recognized by McGill. Incoming students are currently unable to decline transfer credits from advanced standing credits, and, as a result, are unable choose whether they complete a three or four-year degree.
“I really … like the spirit of this [motion],” Ryan Mitton, U1 arts, said. “I’ve seen a lot of my friends suffering from trying to make decisions [over declaring a major] going into first year.”
