Every few weeks, your elected student government meets on a Wednesday night to talk about issues concerning the AMS. Agenda items can seem long, mysterious and confusing without the proper background, making it difficult to see how these issues affect students. Here’s what to watch out for in the upcoming AMS Council meeting on March 29:
The Global Fund
The Global Fund was established in 2010 to “foster global citizenship” through “international engagement and intercultural understanding” as part of the UBC Strategic Plan. Council will review a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the AMS and the Global Lounge, which would see the AMS commit $10,000 annually for five years to the Global Fund. The MOU is reliant on the continuation of the AMS International Projects Fund.
Elections committee report
With the AMS Elections having finished this month, the elections committee is presenting a report to Council with recommendations on how to improve the AMS’s elections process. Key recommendations include restructuring the committee to include six members rather than its current three, updating procedures to reflect online voting and abolishing voter media from the elections process. Additionally, the report suggests removing posters as an approved form of campaigning, citing a lack of effectiveness in increasing turnout and many complaints about poster violations.
Executive goal-setting and reporting
The governance review implementation committee is presenting a policy on goal-setting and reporting for executives, stemming from the governance review recommendation to eliminate the oversight committee and prepare a new way of evaluating executive performance. The policy outlines a timeline for executives to submit and review their goals and duties, reporting to Council at every major step. Executive goals, ranging from three to five goals per executive, would need to incorporate campaign promises and advance the AMS’s Strategic Plan.
Ian Sapollnik is a third-year economics student, a member of the UBC Vancouver Senate and a member of AMS Council. The views presented are his own.
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