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AMS AMS Elections 2010

Past President’s Picks: Mike Duncan

Post author By Neal Yonson
Post date January 23, 2010
16 Comments on Past President’s Picks: Mike Duncan

As per UBC Insiders tradition, we asked this year’s president to make some endorsements. As Blake cannot due to slate rules, this is a guest post by Mike Duncan, the illustrious president of the AMS in 2008-09, and current Board member.

If you know me, you know that I care deeply for this school and for the AMS. I want to see the best for students and think that the AMS must play a role in improving this campus. It is with this in mind that I tell you who I think would be the best for the future of the AMS.

AMS Elections 2010 Senate

Race Profile: Senate

Post author By Alex Lougheed
Post date January 22, 2010

UBC Insiders Analysis

Click here to skip to profiles of the candidates in this race.

Note: Alex was a student 2008-2009 senator.

The Senate represents one of the places where students can influence the most change over the lives of every student. The highest governing academic body on campus, the Senate drafts the academic calendar, is the final body of appeals on academic issues, and is consulted on all issues pertaining to the academic side of the house, such as the University’s budget and academic building use.

Why the most important basis for the job is showing up, after the jump

AMS Elections 2010 BoG

Race Profile: Board of Governors

Post author By Andrew Carne
Post date January 22, 2010

UBC Insiders Analysis

Click here to skip to profiles of the candidates in this race.

The 21-member Board of Governors at UBC is composed of “the Chancellor, the President, eleven persons appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council (representing the province), three students elected by students, three faculty members elected by faculty, and two employees elected by employees.” Two of these students are elected during AMS Elections from the student population at UBC Vancouver. (the third student is from UBC Okanagan).

These elected representatives are privy to a vast amount of information about UBC, as essentially every major decision is passed by the Board. They also have a unique opportunity to speak before the Board about student issues, and ensure that major developments at UBC are not negatively impacting quality of education or the student experience.

We asked candidates about which Board Committees interest them; what the biggest problems with the Board are; what is important about the role of the Board; and how they will advocate and increase student accountability to the Board.

See Candidate Profiles and what would make Andrew’s ideal BoG candidate, after the jump.

AMS Elections 2010

Debate: January 22 BoG, VPAd, VPF

Post author By Neal Yonson
Post date January 22, 2010

The following is a guest post by Bowinn Ma, EUS President 2007-2008; AMS Councilor 2006-2008; Former Hack, less so now.

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Couldn’t attend the debate?

The Ubyssey will be streaming and recording all the elections debates live! Archived debates and live streams can be found at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ams-elections-2010

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The attendance at today’s debate was disheartening and frustrating—that is, candidate attendance, not audience attendance. Exactly 50% of all candidates in all three races did not attend the debates and only one of these missing candidates, Sean Heisler for Board of Governors, had bothered to send proxy representation. In two of these races, the total number of candidates running was two, which meant that there was a lot of leg and elbow room for the one that did show up.

AMS Elections 2010

Referendum: Voting Disability Seat

Post author By Neal Yonson
Post date January 22, 2010
10 Comments on Referendum: Voting Disability Seat

Before we start, this is important to note: Since this referendum proposes a bylaw change, the referendum needs 75% approval in order to pass.

Background

During the past year, a movement to get a non-voting seat on AMS council for students with disabilities had been slowly building. It was felt that there were barriers to participation by students with disabilities both in the structure of the AMS and the layout of the SUB. It was also felt that their councilors were not in touch enough with their issues, and because there was no one on council advocating for their issues, that change was not to come soon. It all came to a head on November 18, 2009, when the question was put to council about whether they’d like to create this seat. After an emotionally-charged debate, council decided 21-10 against creating the seat, causing advocates of students with disabilities to leave the room in disgust. Having been rebuffed by council, this set in motion a movement to bring this question to referendum, which brings us to where we are today.

AMS Elections 2010

Debate: January 21 VPAd, BoG, VPAc

Post author By Neal Yonson
Post date January 22, 2010
6 Comments on Debate: January 21 VPAd, BoG, VPAc

The following is a guest post by Bowinn Ma, EUS President 2007-2008; AMS Councilor 2006-2008; Former Hack, less so now.

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First things first: I am no longer an “Insider” of UBC. Having been “out of the game” for nearly two years now, my now antiquated and highly outdated knowledge of individual AMS politicians is proof of the impressively and depressingly volatile nature of student politics.

This has its benefits, however. Arguably, I will be able to approach all candidates with less pre-determined biases than the other writers on this magnificent blog. On the other hand, my analysis will be shallow—based mainly, if not only, only on the debates I attend. As with all political analyses, take this post with a grain of salt, or if you so choose, a cup of it.

While my final endorsements and impressions will be based on more thorough research, the aim of the game for now is to give you a pure and isolated impression of the candidates based strictly on their performance during today’s debate. For a full recap, look elsewhere. Anyone can transcribe or paraphrase.

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AMS AMS Elections 2010

Referendum: An Unprecedented Fee through “Access UBC”

Post author By Alex Lougheed
Post date January 21, 2010
22 Comments on Referendum: An Unprecedented Fee through “Access UBC”

I’ve been on campus for five years now. I probably know more about how the University and Student Society interact more than anyone else on campus. I also have my ear low to the ground, and can hear rumblings before they become issues. This is why I was dumbfounded when I learned that we would have a question on the referendum ballot to immediately transfer money to the “Access UBC Association of Disabled Students”, an organization I have never heard of.

I’m a big fan of students mobilizing to change the rules of the game. This is why I helped lower the quorum for AMS general meetings. That said, when there are questions that are ill-researched, not reviewed by anyone with their head in the game, and when they come from an organization who failed to explain who they are despite having 14 days, I have to encourage everyone to vehemently vote no.

Alex gets ranty, blames council of campus lethargy, and breaks the UBC Insiders editorial policy on endorsements prior to the weekend on the other side of the jump.

AMS AMS Elections 2010 VP External

Race Profile: VP External

UBC Insiders Analysis

Click here to skip to profiles of the candidates in this race.

The Vice-President External, otherwise known as the “just what are they doing” VP, is the person who, if doing a good job, isn’t around on campus much. Responsible for advocating to the provincial and federal governments as well as other student societies, the VPX is one of the most difficult roles to enter in to without a strong understanding of the Canadian student movement and provincial/federal politics.

Included under the portfolio are things relating to the life of a student that government exercises quite a bit of control over. Included are: transportation (U-Pass), University financing and access (financial assistance, tuition), childcare (split with the VP Academic), cost-of-living and more recently the Olympics.

Tables, profiles, and an attempt to figure out why Tim Chu is running, right around the corner.

AMS AMS Elections 2010 VP External

Referendum: Tuition Policy

Post author By Neal Yonson
Post date January 21, 2010
16 Comments on Referendum: Tuition Policy

The Current Policy

The AMS’s current policy on tuition was passed on November 21, 2007, in preparation for a federal by-election in Vancouver Quadra. (Stephen Owen had resigned his seat to work for UBC.)

The way the policy is structured is as a set of 17 principles, divided into 4 categories: Tuition and Fees, Core Funding, Student Financial Assistance, and Research. It’s a modest document calling for, among other things:

* working with UBC, student societies and governments towards a long-term funding strategy
* opposing tuition increases greater than the British Columbia Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI), whichever is lesser
* controlling tuition at the provincial, rather than institutional level
* no differential tuition for out-of-province students
* working both with UBC and independently to lobby the province for more funding

Deconstructing the question until there’s nothing left, behind the jump.

AMS Elections 2010

Referendum: Bylaw Changes

Aside from the referendum question to modify bylaws regarding Student Court, a second question exists with Bylaw Changes. These changes are for the most part “housekeeping” changes and are intended to close loopholes and update the Bylaws to be legally compliant with the BC Society Act.

The heart of the changes are centered around altering the definition of Executives such that Council would be able to remove them from office through a 2/3 impeachment vote. Changes are also present which would bring the automatic removal of Councilors who miss too many meetings in line with the Society Act. In addition there are riders to grant the affiliated colleges (Regent, VST, etc.) voting seats on Council as well as a change to force any referenda which would alter fees to explicitly state that in the question.

Explaining it in plain English, after the jump.