The AMS’s equity commissioner will be presenting a report that proposes the formation of an AMS Inclusion Office to Council this week.
If the plan is approved, the equity commissioner, who is under the jurisdiction of the AMS VP academic and university affairs, would begin the process of creating a two-year pilot program that includes hiring a trained professional to manage the new office.
“The focus for the pilot would be developing and implementing equity training for AMS staff and students belonging to AMS organizations,” the AMS Inclusion Office proposal states. “The staff member in charge of the office would also be tasked with creating educational campaigns for the broader community, coordinating with the VP academic and university affairs on university policy, serving as a resource on equity for the AMS community, and collaborating with the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office to represent the student voice in their initiatives.”
The AMS has not had an equity office since the last one was dissolved in March 2010. According to the proposal, the former office's main flaws included a lack of professional guidance, poor communication and club training that was often not beneficial.
According to Anne Kessler, VP academic, a new equity office would improve the campus environment and help students feel safer.
“This is long overdue,” said Kessler in an email. “We’ve had many issues on campus in the past years, from the CUS Frosh chants, to the culturally-inappropriate headdress at Block Party last year, to the recent allegations of a racist assault published in The Ubyssey, and many more. I believe the AMS needs to recognize our responsibility in responding to these issues and working towards education and training to prevent them in the future.”
The AMS currently employs a student equity commissioner, but the drawbacks to this arrangement are numerous. According to the report, a student-held position is “dependent on allocation of funding by the relevant student executives, lacks the professional experience, time and long-term stability to meaningfully direct the resources of the AMS to a substantial culture shift."
To replace this, the proposal makes the case for a permanent professional staff member with experience in social justice-related fields to head the new office.
“Equity within the AMS requires constancy and professional guidance,” the proposal states. “The transitional nature of student employment is not suited to the continuation of projects and professional relationships needed for progress and success in our institutional equity and inclusion goals.”
The proposal also addresses key concerns voiced by Council when they were first presented with the report in January 2015, in particular that an AMS Equity Office would overlap too much with the Equity and Inclusion Office and Access and Diversity. The wording of the proposal specifies that it is meant to make sure that the AMS can provide equity training independently of the university and address issues that they feel have been insufficiently covered by the university.
Kessler also said that it is important for the AMS to take steps towards making equity and inclusion a priority.
“Equity and inclusion are all about making sure that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow, receive services and have fun in a safe space,” Kessler said. “This is about making sure that all our students are included in what the AMS offers.”
The proposal will be presented to Council at the April 8 meeting.
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