The AMS’s first set of equity goals focus on equity in finances, staff education and community consultation.
After approving its first official AMS Equity Action Plan (EAP) in Council in September 2021, the equity, diversity and inclusion goals set by the AMS’s Equity and Inclusion Committee for the 2021/22 academic year outline operational, educational and community-based equity strategies.
Maia Wallace, AMS equity and inclusion committee lead, referred to the equity goals as moldable, tentative and “a one to two year bite-sized version of the Equity Action Plan” that doesn’t need to be passed in Council.
Cole Evans, AMS president, compared the equity goals to that of the Sustainability Committee’s annual goals, which are drawn from the higher-level Sustainable Action Plan.
The equity goals document outlines targets for six categories: facilities operation, business operation, advocacy and leadership, student services/needs, campus community coordination and Indigenous community coordination.
Some examples of actionable strategies for each category include organization-wide staff equity, diversity and inclusion training, improving employee reporting hours for more equitable pay, more funding for Indigenous-led initiatives, building an independent community-based Central Identity Network, conducting a campus-wide Equity Community Check survey and establishing an Indigenous Engagement Facilitator position.
According to Wallace, her ten-member Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee consulted with the Equity and Inclusion coordinator and the Indigenous engagement facilitator throughout the equity goals’ development.
“It’s been really great to have actual equity-involved people and not just AMS representatives, but actually community stakeholders that are engaged with the work,” said Wallace. “Because then I get way better feedback and I feel like … the work is just closer to the aim that I’m hoping it can become.”
According to Wallace, the equity goals serve as a starting point for improving internal AMS equity priorities and operations.
“I think people should take note that the AMS has been performing the way it has been because there hasn't been a healthy reflection process internally and externally,” Wallace said.
“There's always been a focus of where [the AMS] lacks externally. My role is to show that we can only be as good externally as we are internally.”
Evans said the equity goals and the EAP affect all students, AMS-affiliated or not.
“I can guarantee that every student in some way or form has their university experience impacted by the AMS,” he said.
“Whether it be with clubs, whether it be through university advocacy… It's really important for us to make sure that we deliver those services and as we work for students, that we're doing so in the most equitable and inclusive way possible.”
Reflecting on the historical significance of EAP and its goals, Wallace emphasized the collaborative nature of equity efforts, and how this particular effort is policy-driven and foundational.
“This is a shift for students outside of the AMS who constantly want to know the realities of the AMS,” she said.
“This is a shift and getting insight on where we need to get to in order to create a healthy feedback loop for equity on campus and for students … And that just takes time.”
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