On Jan. 20, 2016, the Central Student Association (CSA) at the University of Guelph held their Annual General Meeting (AGM). The evening is a campus-wide board meeting open to all undergraduate students at the university, and is an opportunity for board directors and executive commissioners at the CSA to connect with the corporation’s members—the students at the university.
As external chair Josh Ofori-Darko called the meeting to order, Matthew Campbell and Asia Barclay were notably absent. Barclay, the CSA’s external affairs commissioner, was away for medical reasons. Campbell, the CSA’s human resources and operations commissioner, was away according to the conditions of his paid leave—as determined on Sept. 21, 2015.
A land acknowledgement by Peter Miller, the academic affairs commissioner, set the evening in motion. Sonia Chwalek, the communications and corporate affairs commissioner, then explained the CSA’s role at the University of Guelph. Her overview touched on the CSA’s membership as Local 54 of the Canadian Federation of Students, while also explaining that the CSA was founded in 1973 “in the belief that students united have more power than students alone.”
Chwalek explained that the CSA’s goals are divided between three separate streams: campaigns, services, and community. During policy and transition manager Sarah Cooper’s explanation of Henry Martyn Robert’s rules of order for meetings, it was explained that the AGM would only allow for amendments to amendments at any given time. Those present were unable to make amendments to the amendments made to amendments—slightly limiting the scope and breadth of discussion that could occur.
As the members of the CSA attempted to approve the evening’s agenda, Chwalek proposed an amendment to strike an item from the evening. The item was an amendment to a number of CSA bylaws that dealt with the manner in which the corporation deals with by-elections.
Chwalek explained that, due to motions passed at the Jan. 13, 2016 board of directors meeting, the item at the AGM was no longer relevant. College of Social and Applied Human Sciences president Ryan Shoot proposed moving the evening’s open forum to the top of the agenda. Ofori-Darko reminded all present that the AGM’s order-of-events is fixed, as determined by existing bylaws. With Ofori-Darko’s reminder, the members of the CSA voted to approve Chwalek’s amendment, as well as the evening’s agenda.
As there were no questions regarding the events of last year’s AGM, the members of the CSA approved of last year’s minutes.
Business manager Lee Anne Clarke took time to explain the results of the CSA’s audit report, before members voted on approving the report, as well as approving BDO Canada LLP as the 2015-2016 auditor for the CSA.
Following commissioner reports—that touched on the accomplishments of this year’s commissioners—the agenda moved towards discussing the evening’s business. Four action items were present on the evening’s agenda: mental health resources, Tap In campaign, University Centre space, and support for Guelph’s Black Liberation Collective.
The first motion met little resistance. However, the Tap In campaign item encountered a round of questioning from students. The item was concerned with restating the University of Guelph’s commitment to establishing a bottled water-free campus.
University of Guelph student Lindsay Hunter was the first to express confusion.
“I was here for [the] first Tap In campaign, why did it end?” asked Hunter. “Why are we reaffirming it? Why is there not a new referendum to move this motion along?”
Chwalek explained that, while the CSA’s commitment to the issue remains firm, it was necessary to restate the commitment, for students who were not present at the first referendum on the issue.
“It’s exactly that the student body turns over,” said Chwalek. “We wanted to bring it to the AGM to see if students want to reaffirm the vote.”
Chwalek assured students that the campaign never ended, and that conversations have continued.
Though the membership eventually voted on accepting the motion, issues were raised with the CSA’s failure to consult with Interhall Council, residence advisors, and other such groups.
The University Centre space item—concerned with reaffirming the CSA’s commitment to increasing on-campus student space—met similar resistance, though it too was eventually passed.
The final item on the evening’s agenda regarded affirming the CSA’s commitment to the goals and objectives of the Black Liberation Collective (BLC) at Guelph.
“Anti-black racism exists to very different degrees,” explained Savannah Clark, part of the BLC at Guelph. “The BLC was formed to organize to fight anti-black racism. The motion that’s put forward today is to support the BLC and fight racism.”
Students present at the AGM, however, expressed concern with the BLC’s goals, specifically the goals to focus efforts on anti-black racism and the desire to provide all black and indigenous students with free tuition.
Ultimately, discussion concluded and students voted to support the efforts of the BLC.
The evening ended with an incredibly brief open forum, where students took the time to voice concerns regarding the absence of Matthew Campbell and the CSA’s goals. The 2016 AGM ended with a successful motion to adjourn.
The CSA’s next meeting is on Feb. 10, 2016.