Jan
30
Issue of the Day: AMS Accessibility – Language
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 30, 2007 | Comments Off on Issue of the Day: AMS Accessibility – Language
This hit me the other day. I was having a conversation with a candidate, asking him (candidate wasn’t necessarily male, I’m just using the pronoun because it’s easier) about his ideas, and he was having trouble communicating, and verbalizing them, particularly when I’d ask him to relate them to abstract concepts. I tried my reassuring […]
Jan
30
Poll Results
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 30, 2007 | Comments Off on Poll Results
Now that online voting has closed, it’s time to pollute the waters of the Sea of Democracy with that most undemocratic of innovations – the opinion poll!! We had 80 responses, and this violates pretty much every law of polling – no random sampling, no random ordering of the numbers, self-selecting respondents… so it’s pretty […]
Jan
30
Global Citizenship – where does the AMS fit in?
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 30, 2007 | Comments Off on Global Citizenship – where does the AMS fit in?
The AMS recently passed a motion to support the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights. If you haven’t read them/are too lazy to Google, they can be found here:http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html At first I thought the motion was out of order as this had no context or relevancy to the AMS. And then I re-read the 1948 […]
Jan
29
Issue of the Day: First-Year Students
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 29, 2007 | 12 Comments
The AMS has done a terrific job in addressing issues of systemic barriers to access. (Note: by “access” I refer to the general ability to participate in the AMS, both in terms of services and in government.) See the gender-neutral washroom, its bursary fund, cab fares after midnight, and childcare for examples. But take a […]
Jan
29
Senate – Alfie Lee
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 29, 2007 | 2 Comments
A quick note – the Knoll has convinced me to vote for Alfie Lee for Senate. Why? First, he’s actually showed up to all the debates. Second, he’s actually getting out there, and trying to meet people and talk and engage… and that’s really commendable. Finally, he’s enthusiastic about representing students, and that enthusiasm is […]
Jan
29
Issue of the Day: Services
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 29, 2007 | 2 Comments
The largest chunk of the AMS’ discretionary budget, and their largest non-food/beer source of relevance to UBC students, is their services. (Full list here). It should be noted that Services are administered directly by the Executive Co-Ordinator of Student Services, a hired (non-elected) position that serves as the sixth member of the Executive Committee. Some […]
Jan
29
Bettor? Barely knew her!
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 29, 2007 | 20 Comments
So, in honour of legal gambling everywhere, I’m proud to offer the following proposition wagers on the AMS elections. Note: these are for entertainment purposes only. And if you use them for any gambling purposes whatsoever, please report yourself to the nearest authorities. Immediately. As well, Elections Insider makes no warranties for any wagers, nor […]
Jan
28
Media on Media
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 28, 2007 | 48 Comments
Due to a hole in WordPress, this post’s author is misattributed. The follow was written by former Insiders editor Tim Louman-Gardiner. Those of you who know me in real life know that one of my pet peeves is when the media talk about the media. But thankfully for my sense of dignity, this ain’t the […]
Jan
27
Elections 2007: where is the Movement?
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 27, 2007 | 26 Comments
I’d like to give my impressions on the election campaigns this past week. First of all, I’m happy to see that the debates have improved by a lot – the debate structure has been changed to allow for elaborate answers, and the candidates in turn have done their homework. The Wednesday VP Academic debate for […]
Jan
27
Issue of the Day: Athletics Fees
Posted by: Neal Yonson | January 27, 2007 | Comments Off on Issue of the Day: Athletics Fees
by Sophia Haque, AMS VP Finance Currently, students pay $196.98 in student fees towards Intramurals and Athletics–whether they use the program or not. IF they choose to participate, they pay: Approximately $300/year for a gym membership $100 each for a fitness class (yoga, pilates, dance etc) Approximately$65/team for intramural sports It’s not cheap being an […]