University of Victoria Students' Society
Encyclopedia
The University of Victoria Students' Society (UVSS), founded in 1963, is a student society
that represents all undergraduate students at the University of Victoria
. The Society operates several businesses and provides services to students in the Student Union Building (SUB).
The Society advocates on behalf of students on important issues such as increasing accessibility to education, racism, affordable public transportation and environmental sustainability. In addition, the UVSS helps to provide a discounted "Universal Bus Pass" (UPass) to students. The Society administers clubs and course unions and also organizes several events on- and off-campus.
The UVSS was a member local of the Canadian Federation of Students
, which, in terms of membership, is Canada's largest student lobbying organization. In late 2009, a petition was circulated among the membership to demand a referendum on continued membership. Proponents of the petition cited nontransparent governance and accounting, the litigious nature of the CFS and past scandals. Despite having reached the required number of signatures, the CFS has denied that the petition is valid. The UVSS has retained a lawyer on behalf of the membership in order to demand a legal referendum. In March of 2011, 70.5% of UVic students voted in a referendum to leave the CFS. The CFS still has yet to ratify the result.
Board members are elected annually in March and advocacy reps are nominated by their groups and approved of by the board.
(UVic) itself, as the Alma Mater Society of the University of Victoria (AMS). The AMS took its name from student associations like the University of British Columbia
and McGill University
, to which Victoria College
(UVic's predecessor) was affiliated. The name was changed in 1989 to make clearer what the organization actually is, a student union.
Students at the newly founded UVic already had their own building and a ready-made students' society, as students at Victoria College (now the home of Camosun College
) were organized well before the UVic campus opened. As early as 1957, students at Victoria College began levying a building fee in anticipation of their new home at UVic. Consequently, the Student Union Building (SUB) was one of the first buildings built on campus. The SUB opened in 1963, built with matching funds made available by the provincial government's building fund program. The building itself only consisted of the SUB Upper Lounge, the wing where the General Office is now located, and a downstairs section which housed the original Felicita's Pub.
Between 1963 and 1970, membership in the Society was around two thousand students. There were only four buildings on campus and in 1967, when the residence buildings went up, only 300 students lived on campus. The Society at that time was mostly operated by volunteers and a very small staff. However, towards the end of the sixties, the Society began to grow more sophisticated. By the seventies, the cafeteria (previously more of a kiosk) began operating regularly, the Society got a liquor license, and the pub increased its hours. What is now Cinecenta got its start with students, working out of an office in the SUB, showing movies using a 16mm projector in the MacLaurin and Elliot buildings.
In 1976 the building expanded, again financed through students. This time, however, the fee referendum to finance the additional 30 000 square feet failed. The Society's operating budget could only finance a smaller addition of 13 000 square feet, which meant that many of the architectural features originally designed for the expansion were lost. The 1976 addition saw the wing where Cinecenta and the Munchie Bar, Medicine Centre Pharmacy, Back in Line Chiropractor, and On the Fringe are now located. Also the third floor was added as the home of CFUV (now located in the SUB's lower level).
The eighties saw increased activism by the Board. In 1984, students voted to pay executive directors a full-time salary and created a number of standing committees to better facilitate the increased work of the Board. In 1985, students voted to join the Canadian Federation of Students which enabled the Board to implement many more educational and awareness-raising campaign initiatives.
The Student Initiatives Project, approved by referendum in 1991, consisted of a significant fee increase to finance the expansion and renovation of the SUB, to build a campus Day Care building, and to finance an Emergency Student Aid Fund. The completion of the expansion and renovation of the SUB in 1996 was another significant marker in the history of the Society. The SUB as it is known today is a product of that expansion.
After this crisis unfolded, the Board of Directors embarked on a plan to tighten controls in the SUB’s business operations by such methods as reducing labour costs and food wastage, controlling liquor, and putting locks on freezers and coolers to prevent theft. The Society also secured a half-million dollar loan from UVic against the SUB, which was instrumental in ensuring that the Society was able to meet its financial obligations without interruption. As the 2001–2002 financial year was already half over when the financial crisis was uncovered, the Society could not escape another deficit in the hundreds of thousands. However, beginning in 2002–2003 the Society ran surpluses every year until the Society’s debt of approximately $1 million was repaid in full in 2006–2007. However, the current board is projecting going back into a deficit in 2009 due to, among other reason, the international economic slowdown.
Since 2001 the SUB itself has also seen significant improvements. Five successful businesses now operate in leased spaces in the building and offer valuable services for students that the Society would be unable to offer on its own: a pharmacy and post office, hair salon, dentist, chiropractor and travel agency. In 2006 Felicita’s Pub was renovated to improve bar service and special event space. Significant extra seating has been added to almost every hallway, and is used at full capacity by students eating lunch and studying almost everyday. Also, the special event space known as Vertigo will undergo renovations in summer 2008.
Politically the Board of Directors has been extremely active in recent years. In 2002 the provincial government deregulated tuition fees, which more than doubled at UVic over three years. In addition, the provincial government eliminated the non-repayable grants program in 2004. Tuition fee increases were eventually capped at approximately 2.5% per year beginning in 2005. In response to these cuts and tuition fee increases, the Society held days of action in coordination with the Canadian Federation of Students in February 2002, 2004 and 2007.
Since 2000 the political focus of the Board of Directors has shifted from year to year from globalism to rising tuition fees, to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to sustainability and climate change.
PSF dominance, however, would come to an end in 2004, as the opposing Students for Change slate took two of the four executive positions, and four Director-at-Large positions, giving them 6 seats on the board to PSF's 8, and one independent. In 2005, Students for Change's successor, Coalition of Independent Students (CIS), improved on this result, winning 7 seats on the board; however, PSF swept the executive seats.
The PSF era came to in an end in 2006, when Students for Students, successor to CIS, won 9 Director-at-Large positions and two executive seats, including Chairperson, while PSF successor Students for Progressive Change had only one executive candidate and 2 Directors-at-Large get elected. SPC, however, regained a major advantage on the board by successfully disqualifying SFS Chair candidate and Chairperson-elect Mike Waters.
The move was not without controversy, however, and led SPC to rebrand itself as Team FAST (For A Sustainable Tomorrow). Their focus shifted from tuition, which had been their platform centrepiece for the entire decade, to climate change and sustainability, and only ran one incumbent board member: Director of Finance Jamie Strachan. Initially, Team FAST was very successful; in 2007, they took 3 of 4 executive positions, and all but one of their candidates was elected. Given the size of their slate, however- 9 members, compared to a full slate of 15- their opponents, ACT Now, still managed to take 7 of 15 seats on the board. Team FAST would be equally successful in 2008; running a full slate, they won all four executive positions, and 11 of the 15 seats total, while their opposition, Students for Students, managed to elect only two candidates.
Team FAST's dominance, however, would not continue as controversies such as the military ban in Fall 2007, and the SUB Strike of Fall 2008 began to catch up with them. In 2009, they faced opposition from three slates: an almost-full slate named BANG, the four-person Yes slate which sought the executive positions, and the two-man BOLD slate, which ran for Director-at-Large. The results showed an appetite for change, as Team FAST won just 3 Director-at-Large seats, compared to 5 for BANG, 2 for BOLD, and one incumbent independent; however, what was believed to be an anti-FAST vote split between the BANG and Yes slates led to Team FAST winning all four executive positions, all with less than 50% of the popular vote.
In the wake of this vote split, BANG joined with members of the Yes slate and both members of BOLD to form Renew, which contested the 2010 election against Team FAST's successor, Students United. Two two-man slates, Team Work and Unite the UVSS, also contested this election. The results were historic, as Renew swept the executive seats, and won 10 of 15 seats in total. Students United only managed to elect 3 candidates, all Directors-at-Large, while the 2 remaining seats went to the Team Work slate. Although Team Work is currently facing disqualification, this marks the first time a non-CFS slate has won all four executive positions, and only the second time such a slate has had a two-thirds majority of the board.
In 2011 students elected members of the FUSEuvic slate, which was composed of members of Student's United and one member of Renew from the previous year, to a majority of the board. The 11 Directors (4 Executives and 7 Directors at Large) represented the entire slate, making it the first time in UVSS history that a slate of more than 2 people had swept the UVSS elections. The four remaining spots went to members of the Renew slate, which despite sharing a name with the slate from the previous year, ran no incumbents and only one candidate that had run for Renew in 2010.
was an extension of the Society and received its funding through a grant from the Board of Directors. In 1993 the Martlet gained status as an independent society and entered into an agreement with the UVSS for the use of space and equipment with their referendum funding commencing that same year at $1.00 per student. In 1999 the Martlet achieved referendum funding of an additional $1.00 and continues to be independent from the UVSS. The Martlet currently receives $3.75 in referendum funding.
The election problems began when Chair candidates Mike Waters and Penny Lane Beames (running to be reelected again as Chair) were both disqualified by the Chief Electoral Officer. Beames was disqualified for campaigning too close to a polling station while Waters was disqualified for receiving a “third party endorsement” by Access UVic. Both candidates appealed their disqualification to the electoral committee and successfully overturned their appeals. However, once it became clear that Penny was losing the election, she appealed the electoral committee’s decision to the UVSS board.
The resolution to overturn Mike Waters disqualification was heard by the board where his disqualification was overturned by the board 4-3, reinstating Waters as the winning candidate. During this meeting 6 directors at the meeting abstained from voting due to a misunderstanding of conflict of interest rules. After this period and with only a couple weeks left in the Board's term, many Directors resigned, lowering the total number of board directors necessary to run a meeting due to quorum being defined as a "majority of the Board of Directors".
Despite every avenue of appeal being exhausted, board members held a closed off session where they passed a motion to rehear the election appeal and declaring numerous other Directors on the board in conflict in interest, denying them the ability to vote on election appeals.
After this, a special board meeting was called to rehear Mike Waters disqualification (giving Waters lawyer two hours notice) despite already making an earlier decision. After numerous director resignations brought the number of board members down to a lower quorum level, the meeting was held with 7 directors present, just enough to make quorum (Shamus Reid, Jonny Morris, Mark Chandler, Penny Lane Beames, Mike Mulroney, Loren Husband and Alyssa Chang). At this meeting a new board member rep for Access UVic was appointed, raising the meeting number to 8 present (Kyla Berry). As the board began hearing election appeals again, Mike Waters lawyer had a board member move a motion to adjourn the meeting, citing the unfairness of the process for his client. When it became clear to one side that fairness of the meeting was in question, Access rep Kyla Berry and Director Mike Mulroney left the meeting to break quorum by lowering the number of directors present to 6, which should have forced the meeting to a halt. However the meeting continued due to Chair Mark Chandler declaring that fellow Putting Students First board member Julia Lee had resigned, lowering the quorum to 6 again—just enough to continue the meeting without Berry and Mulroney. After Berry and Mulroney reentered the meeting, and when it became clear that the motion to overturn Mike Waters disqualification would pass by 4–3 (making the disqualification fail, reinstating him as the winner), a motion to "reconsider" Kyla Berry's ratification as the Access UVic representative was made, successfully kicking her off the board in a 4–3 vote that lowered the number of votes need to disqualify Waters (Berry was forced to abstain while Beames voted to overturn her ratification). With only 7 members left on the board, Mike Waters appeal was heard again, this time with the vote to overturn tying 3–3 (with Beames now abstaining), the motion failed and Waters was officially disqualified. The next day on April 26 and five days before the new board's term was set to begin, Penny Lane Beames was officially ratified as the 2006–2007 Chair with only 5 directors present in the meeting.
The election appeal, and in particular, the manner in which it was conducted, prompted outrage among students at UVic, with Mike Waters attempting to stop the April 25th meeting with a BC Supreme Court injunction that failed, forcing him to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees. Other complaints to the media, Ombudsperson and UVic Human Rights office were unsuccessful and Penny Lane Beames ratification as Chairperson was upheld. The newly elected board that year attempted to prevent the decisions from becoming binding, but as a result of legal issues, instead passed a motion recognizing the unfairness brought against Mike Waters. After the disqualification, an Annual General Meeting motions to reimburse Mike Waters for his legal fees and conduct an independent review of the elections both passed with wide student support.
The anger eventually climaxed during balloting. When the CEO was asked during ballot counting about her opinion of the ACT Now slate, Bourque was quoted as saying: “A.C.T. Now ran an entirely negative campaign… It just speaks to their character.”
A leaked 2008 CFS document outlining campaign plans for the SFU defederation referendum listed "Lindsay Bourque" as a Canadian Federation of Students
volunteer for UVic, an organization the ACT Now slate openly opposed during the election.
The board heard two appeals to the Board of Directors, both of which upheld the ruling of the Electoral Committee, which had upheld the ruling of the Chief Electoral Officer. The 2007 election was the last election to have an appeal be heard by the Board of Directors until the 2010 UVSS elections.
In reviewing the 2006 election crisis, by UVic Law Professor Sandra McCallum found that multiple bylaws were broken in order to disqualify Mike Waters and subsequently concluded that the board was “truly dysfunctional." McCallum found that the board had no power to reduce quorum by declaring that Board Director Julia Lee had resigned due to the April 25 meeting being an emergency meeting and not a "regularly scheduled" meeting as stated in the Bylaws. Furthermore, McCallum found it legally questionable whether the board could rehear an election appeal after making a decision, as it did in the controversial April 25 meeting that resulted in Waters disqualification. Finally, McCallum could find no policy or bylaw that allowed the Board of Directors to force certain Directors to recuse themselves as a result of an alleged conflict of interest, making the suggestion that forced recusals were used in bad faith
to prevent opponents from participating.
In reviewing the 2007 elections, McCallum didn't find nearly as many problems as the 2006 election, but did find unfairness in the inconsistent material instructions by the CEO, elaborating that it greatly disadvantaged those who had already spent their election budgets before knowing that material such as duct tape was permitted. McCallum pointed to a major problem of the new Chief Electoral Officer having less time than usual to acquaint with the electoral rules, which made the Electoral Office less able to issue consistent instructions.
The McCallum Report included a list of 23 recommendations to improve the UVSS election process, with the board implementing some of them. Recommendations from the McCallum report that were eventually added to the Electoral Policy Manual include a requirement that the CEO to be an independent person who is not a UVSS member, that UVic Campus Security takes responsibility for the handling and storage of ballot boxes, and that respondents must receive a written copy of complaints with a chance to respond before the electoral office can make a complaint ruling. Recommendations not followed in the McCallum report included removing the politically active Board of Directors from hearing election appeals, changing the membership of the electoral committee to impartial individuals and allowing only the subject of complaints the right to appeal unfavourable rulings.
After a two years of relatively smooth but competitive board elections. The highly competitive March 2010 Board of Director election plunged into a protracted month-long controversy after two Director-at-Large candidates were disqualified from the board after winning the election. The election was also controversial for the disqualification of Ryan Lewis, an independent candidate for Chairperson who was disqualified during the voting period, but who was confirmed to have not won the election.
Since the 2007 McCallum report, the UVSS hired independent Chief Electoral Officer Conrad Vanderkamp to run the electoral office and make initial rulings on all complaints for the 2008 and 2009 elections. Conrad continued this role into the much more aggressively contested 2010 elections, where the CEO had to rule on more than forty election complaints, over double the number of complaints from the previous years election. The election is also notable for requiring two ballot recounts—one for the position of Academics and another for the Director at Large positions.
The first major news of controversy from the 2010 election came from the disqualification of independent Chairperson candidate Ryan Levis for having three posters on painted surfaces, a minor offense prohibited under the Electoral Policy that automatically became a Major (disqualifying) offense upon the third complaint. Since the disqualification occurred during voting, the ballots for Levis were not released, though the electoral officers has stated that the number was fewer than 600 votes—in comparison to the over 1500 votes received by the winning Chairperson candidate, ensuring that Levis could not win the election if he was not disqualified. Levis appealed the ruling to the Electoral Committee—which ruled against him, and Levis decided not to appeal his disqualification on to the Board of Directors.
By far the most contested complaints occurred on the last day of voting against an independent two-person slate called Team Work, which resulted in the disqualification of both winning candidates after a protracted two-month controversy. The TeamWork slate consisted of director-at-large candidates Geoff Sharpe and Justin Bedi, who were elected to 9th and 11th place respectively out of the 11 Director-at-Large spots available—with Justin Bedi securing the 11th spot by 10 votes after a recount to the 12th place finisher.
The independent Electoral Office run by Chief Electoral Officer Conrad Vandercamp initially ruled that the complaints were without merit and dismissed them. Harrison subsequently appealed the complaints to the Electoral Committee (EC), which is the next level of appeal in the process. The EC overturned the Chief Electoral Officer's decision and voted to disqualify both Sharpe and Bedi. However, many students were upset by this ruling, as the EC is made up of three UVic students.
In overturning the Electoral Office's ruling and voting to disqualify Sharpe and Bedi, it was alleged that the Electoral Committee actually violated policy as there is ambiguity of whether the Electoral Committee has the power to disqualify candidates. The Electoral Policy says that candidates may only be disqualified by the Chief Electoral Officer.
Comrie, Pullman and the third EC member, Justin Levine, overturned the Electoral Office's decision, and ruled that Team Work had in fact committed major infractions against the Electoral Policy Manual (EPM) by creating "poster collages" (taping several smaller posters together to create a larger poster). The Chief Electoral Officer had originally ruled that this did not violate electoral policy and allowed it. The EC also ruled that another of Harrison's complaints — that Sharpe and Bedi both exceeded the $75-per-candidate campaign spending limit — was valid, even though they had submitted invoices proving that they had not exceeded the limit.
The Electoral Committee also ruled that TeamWork had "acted maliciously" in trying to "willfully subvert" the Electoral Policy. It has also been noted that several other candidates used the same techniques that Team Work did, yet complaints against those individuals were not pursued. For this reason, Harrison's focus on Team Work has been perceived by many as a direct attempt to eliminate candidates to whom she is politically opposed. Her motives were seen as especially dubious since the two candidates that would take their spot (if Sharpe and Bedi were to be disqualified) would both be from her slate, Students United.
Moments after the announcement of the Electoral Committees ruling, Chief Electoral Officer Conrad Vandercamp resigned from his position, leaving the two Deputy Electoral Officers to fully represent the electoral office in subsequent complaints.
Ultimately the board was left with a very undesirable situation in which no neutral decision could be reached. Several board members who were aligned with the Team FAST and Students United slates claimed not to be biased and that they could make an unbiased decision should the disqualification appeal reach the board. However, as they were politically aligned with Harrison, and since over two-thirds of the board had a conflict of interest, it became clear that the case had to be sent to an independent body for third-party arbitration.
Although one motion to send the case to arbitration was defeated by one at the board meeting on March 22, 2010, a special meeting of the board was called for the following Monday. At this meeting, over 100 students turned out — one of the largest-ever turnouts to a board meeting. At the meeting, several directors who originally voted against the motion the previous week changed their minds and voted in favour of the motion after nearly an hour deliberating over the cost of arbitration.
Three of the board members that had originally opposed the motion were not present that night: Pullman, Comrie, and Brodie Metcalfe. Leah Staples was the only board member to remain opposed to the motion.
The committee charged with finding a third party eventually selected Greg Harney, a local Victoria lawyer, for the job.
After several weeks, the third party recommendation came in on April 26 and ruled against the Team Work candidates. The recommendation was delivered one week late via electronic mail; in addition, Greg Harney was not present at the meeting to defend his decision.
His report stated that since Team Work: (1) submitted an invoice instead of a receipt for their printing; (2) taped posters together to create banners, and; (3) illegally made use of an email listserv; they deserved to be disqualified on the grounds that they had "violated the spirit" of the electoral policy.
However, the report failed to address the conflict of interest created by the nature of the Electoral Committee's membership and their ties to the complainant. The report also did not address the sections of the Electoral Policy Manual that were not followed in the EC's ruling, namely a section that states that only the Chief Electoral Officer may disqualify opponents. It also failed to address the significance of the Electoral Office's original ruling that Team Work was not in violation of electoral policy.
Almost all directors present at the board meeting voted, as many said they would, to disqualify Team Work, even though several disagreed with the analysis carried out by Harney.
Director-at-large Meghan Shannon was the sole dissenting vote. She maintained that it was unethical to disqualify candidates based on the Electoral Committee's ruling. Rob MacDonald and Jaraad Marani were subsequently selected to fill the open positions created by the disqualification. Although Marani originally finished 15th in the election, since the two candidates that would have taken the position instead of him, Leah Ritch and Sabrina Buzzalino, resigned from the election the same day of the board meeting that officially disqualified both members of Team Work, bringing Marani up to the elected 11th position by default.
loaned $500,000 to the UVSS in order to save it from bankruptcy.
were also in attendance.
The following are excerpts from the Decision of the General Manager, Liquor Control and Licensing Branch
, regarding the matter:
The Business and Operations Manager of the SUB testified in the hearing that "We had clearance for 2,200 people. We started with 2,200 wristbands but we were running out so we handed out 200 more. 200 people got in who did not have tickets, so we handed out wristbands to another 200 people because they had tickets."
The General Manager of the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch
ordered the suspension
of the UVSS's liquor license
for ten days and also ordered the UVSS to pay a $10,000 fine.
On March 16, 2007, a Saanich
police officer observed staff at Felicita's allowing an intoxicated person to remain in the pub. The officer observed the student drinking alone and exhibiting signs of drunkenness, such as his head hanging very low. “I watched as the male took a drink from the glass but then appeared to allow some of the drink to dribble back out of his mouth into the glass,” said the officer in his report.
The officer, who is also a former liquor inspector, observed a server clearing the customer’s table without addressing the student or alerting security staff. The student told the officer that he had just consumed six pints of beer in the last 75 minutes at Felicita's.
As a result of this incident, the UVSS received a second 10 day liquor license
suspension.
(CF) from the upcoming University of Victoria Career Fair. Directors Christine Comrie, Edward Pullman, Caitlin Meggs, Anna Planedin, Veronica Harisson, and Jamie Strachan all voted in favor of banning the CF. Ami Brosseau, Trevor Doyle, Corrine Harbridge, Erin Lacharity, Rebecca Laing, Richard Park, Genevieve Roberts did not vote for the ban. Six Directors voted against the motion. UVSS Chairperson, Tracy Ho, broke the 6-6 deadlock by also voting to ban the CF. Director-at-large Christine Comrie said it was important to ban the military from recruiting because some students are ignorant about the issues. “A lot of students don’t know about the issues and don’t know about the facts,” she said. “We have to make this decision for students.” [10]
This decision outraged students at UVic, including many who were involved with the military or were considering military careers, forcing the Board to rescind its original motion after over 150 students showed up at the Sept. 24 Board meeting to protest the ban.
The Board sent the decision on whether to ban the CF to a vote at the UVSS' Annual General Meeting. An estimated 500 students were present, a number not seen at an AGM in over a decade. The ban was overturned in a vote by a significant majority but following the meeting, some pro-ban students accused the pro-military side of cutting off debate before those in favour of the ban had been sufficiently able to argue their case. A video of the vote overturning the ban can be found here.
In the year 2000, the existing UVSS policy supporting freedom of reproductive choice was affirmed at a mass meeting of students convened by the UVSS outside the SUB, since no rooms were large enough to accommodate the gathering. Over 600 students attended the semi-annual general meeting, with 55 percent voting against a motion that would have provided student funding to YPY for its campaigns against reproductive choice. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association wrote this letter to the board of directors on Oct 21, 2009 urging them to reconsider their refusal of funding after the board voted 10 to 6 and 1 abstention against funding at their October 5, 2009 meeting. The issue was brought up again at a meeting on November 16, 2009 by director at large Dylan Hardie. After a lengthy discussion the group was denied funding again by a vote of 10 opposed to funding, 5 in favour, and 2 abstentions.
Current director at large Nathan Warner and Finance director elect Kelsey Hannan have been leading the arguments in favour of funding the club saying that this is an issue of free speech. Warner argued that discussion around a controversial issue such as abortion is a perfect fit for a university. He said that there is no clear right or wrong on the issue and people should be open to discuss it. Hannan argued that not giving YPY funding is a form of discrimination and should not be tolerated on campus.
Other members of the board were strongly opposed to granting funding. Former Students of Colour representative Tracy Ho said that no one should be allowed to discuss the rights of a woman to her body. Current director at large Christine Comrie said that comparing a woman's choice to have an abortion to genocide is a form of harassment referring to the genocide awareness project that YPY was accused of trying to bring to campus.
With less than two weeks left in the Spring Semester, the Board of Director granted YPY their status back while continuing to deny them funding due to the passage of a new Harassment policy for dealing with club complaints. The new process removes the students from Clubs Council, and instead brings over complaints to a "complaints committee" that is conducted privately and made up of board members.
Student society
A student society or student organization is an organization, operated by students at a university, whose membership normally consists only of students. They are often affiliated with a university's students' union...
that represents all undergraduate students at the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
. The Society operates several businesses and provides services to students in the Student Union Building (SUB).
The Society advocates on behalf of students on important issues such as increasing accessibility to education, racism, affordable public transportation and environmental sustainability. In addition, the UVSS helps to provide a discounted "Universal Bus Pass" (UPass) to students. The Society administers clubs and course unions and also organizes several events on- and off-campus.
The UVSS was a member local of the Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Federation of Students
The Canadian Federation of Students is the largest student organization in Canada. Founded in 1981, the stated goal of the CFS is to work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education.-Structure:...
, which, in terms of membership, is Canada's largest student lobbying organization. In late 2009, a petition was circulated among the membership to demand a referendum on continued membership. Proponents of the petition cited nontransparent governance and accounting, the litigious nature of the CFS and past scandals. Despite having reached the required number of signatures, the CFS has denied that the petition is valid. The UVSS has retained a lawyer on behalf of the membership in order to demand a legal referendum. In March of 2011, 70.5% of UVic students voted in a referendum to leave the CFS. The CFS still has yet to ratify the result.
Governance
The Board of Directors is the decision-making body for the Society and directs all work of the Society. The board is composed of student representatives elected from the student body. The board is made up of:- four salaried executives (Chairperson, Director of Academics, Director of Finance and Director of Services);
- 11 volunteer at-large directors; and,
- five advocacy group representatives (from Access UVic, the Native Students' Union, UVic Pride Collective, the Students of Colour Collective, and the Women's Centre).
Board members are elected annually in March and advocacy reps are nominated by their groups and approved of by the board.
Founding
The Students' Society was first incorporated in 1964, just one year after the creation of the University of VictoriaUniversity of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
(UVic) itself, as the Alma Mater Society of the University of Victoria (AMS). The AMS took its name from student associations like the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
and McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, to which Victoria College
Victoria College, British Columbia
Victoria College was a two-year college in Victoria, British Columbia founded in 1903 with sponsorship from McGill University. It was one of the first post-secondary institutions in British Columbia...
(UVic's predecessor) was affiliated. The name was changed in 1989 to make clearer what the organization actually is, a student union.
Students at the newly founded UVic already had their own building and a ready-made students' society, as students at Victoria College (now the home of Camosun College
Camosun College
Camosun College is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2009 it had over 12,500 full-time and part-time students between its Lansdowne and Interurban campuses. The Lansdowne campus provides university transfer and access programs, as well as career, technical and vocational...
) were organized well before the UVic campus opened. As early as 1957, students at Victoria College began levying a building fee in anticipation of their new home at UVic. Consequently, the Student Union Building (SUB) was one of the first buildings built on campus. The SUB opened in 1963, built with matching funds made available by the provincial government's building fund program. The building itself only consisted of the SUB Upper Lounge, the wing where the General Office is now located, and a downstairs section which housed the original Felicita's Pub.
Between 1963 and 1970, membership in the Society was around two thousand students. There were only four buildings on campus and in 1967, when the residence buildings went up, only 300 students lived on campus. The Society at that time was mostly operated by volunteers and a very small staff. However, towards the end of the sixties, the Society began to grow more sophisticated. By the seventies, the cafeteria (previously more of a kiosk) began operating regularly, the Society got a liquor license, and the pub increased its hours. What is now Cinecenta got its start with students, working out of an office in the SUB, showing movies using a 16mm projector in the MacLaurin and Elliot buildings.
In 1976 the building expanded, again financed through students. This time, however, the fee referendum to finance the additional 30 000 square feet failed. The Society's operating budget could only finance a smaller addition of 13 000 square feet, which meant that many of the architectural features originally designed for the expansion were lost. The 1976 addition saw the wing where Cinecenta and the Munchie Bar, Medicine Centre Pharmacy, Back in Line Chiropractor, and On the Fringe are now located. Also the third floor was added as the home of CFUV (now located in the SUB's lower level).
Growth of activism
UVic students have been active and vocal on the UVic campus for as long as the University has existed. However, the autonomy of the Alma Mater Society (and later the Students' Society) from the University from time to time has been a challenge to assert. UVic Administration has tended to view the UVSS as simply another university department. In fact, until 1989 the Student Union Building was run by a general manager who was employed by and reported to UVic administration and not the student-elected Board of Directors.The eighties saw increased activism by the Board. In 1984, students voted to pay executive directors a full-time salary and created a number of standing committees to better facilitate the increased work of the Board. In 1985, students voted to join the Canadian Federation of Students which enabled the Board to implement many more educational and awareness-raising campaign initiatives.
1980s and 1990s
The Society’s organizational structure changed significantly in 1989. At this point, the Society began employing its own general manager. The staff in the building unionized under the United Steelworkers (presently local 2952). In the fall of 1989, the entire structure of the Society was reorganized into the divisional structure, which exists with some modifications today.The Student Initiatives Project, approved by referendum in 1991, consisted of a significant fee increase to finance the expansion and renovation of the SUB, to build a campus Day Care building, and to finance an Emergency Student Aid Fund. The completion of the expansion and renovation of the SUB in 1996 was another significant marker in the history of the Society. The SUB as it is known today is a product of that expansion.
2000—present
The growth and change of the 90’s led to a worsening financial situation which reached a crisis point in 2001. The Society had been running deficits every year for about 10 years until the cumulative deficit had reached the hundreds of thousands. As if this unsustainable trend wasn’t enough, the Society rang up an over $400,000 deficit in just one year in 2000–2001. The huge deficit was only discovered during the Society’s annual audit in fall 2001, as the corrupt Business & Operations Manager, Vivek Sharma, had been falsifying statements and stealing from the Society. The Board responded swiftly and decisively by pressing charges against the since resigned Sharma, terminating the General Manager, and conducting a forensic audit.After this crisis unfolded, the Board of Directors embarked on a plan to tighten controls in the SUB’s business operations by such methods as reducing labour costs and food wastage, controlling liquor, and putting locks on freezers and coolers to prevent theft. The Society also secured a half-million dollar loan from UVic against the SUB, which was instrumental in ensuring that the Society was able to meet its financial obligations without interruption. As the 2001–2002 financial year was already half over when the financial crisis was uncovered, the Society could not escape another deficit in the hundreds of thousands. However, beginning in 2002–2003 the Society ran surpluses every year until the Society’s debt of approximately $1 million was repaid in full in 2006–2007. However, the current board is projecting going back into a deficit in 2009 due to, among other reason, the international economic slowdown.
Since 2001 the SUB itself has also seen significant improvements. Five successful businesses now operate in leased spaces in the building and offer valuable services for students that the Society would be unable to offer on its own: a pharmacy and post office, hair salon, dentist, chiropractor and travel agency. In 2006 Felicita’s Pub was renovated to improve bar service and special event space. Significant extra seating has been added to almost every hallway, and is used at full capacity by students eating lunch and studying almost everyday. Also, the special event space known as Vertigo will undergo renovations in summer 2008.
Politically the Board of Directors has been extremely active in recent years. In 2002 the provincial government deregulated tuition fees, which more than doubled at UVic over three years. In addition, the provincial government eliminated the non-repayable grants program in 2004. Tuition fee increases were eventually capped at approximately 2.5% per year beginning in 2005. In response to these cuts and tuition fee increases, the Society held days of action in coordination with the Canadian Federation of Students in February 2002, 2004 and 2007.
Since 2000 the political focus of the Board of Directors has shifted from year to year from globalism to rising tuition fees, to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to sustainability and climate change.
Elections, 2000-present
This past decade has generally seen elections contested between slates of two factions: one that is overtly pro-CFS, and one that has usually been neutral, reformist, and/or critical towards the organization, if not outright against it. For the first half of the decade, the pro-CFS side, running under the name Putting Students First (PSF), was largely successful. Running with a focus on post-secondary funding and reduced tuition fees, PSF handily defeated its opposition. It took 12 of 15 seats against Students for Progressive Unified Democracy (SPUD) in 2001, and 14 of 15 against The Student Alternative (TSA) in 2002, with the one other seat going to an independent candidate. After being swept in 2002, TSA did not field a slate in next year's election, leaving PSF to run virtually unopposed in 2003.PSF dominance, however, would come to an end in 2004, as the opposing Students for Change slate took two of the four executive positions, and four Director-at-Large positions, giving them 6 seats on the board to PSF's 8, and one independent. In 2005, Students for Change's successor, Coalition of Independent Students (CIS), improved on this result, winning 7 seats on the board; however, PSF swept the executive seats.
The PSF era came to in an end in 2006, when Students for Students, successor to CIS, won 9 Director-at-Large positions and two executive seats, including Chairperson, while PSF successor Students for Progressive Change had only one executive candidate and 2 Directors-at-Large get elected. SPC, however, regained a major advantage on the board by successfully disqualifying SFS Chair candidate and Chairperson-elect Mike Waters.
The move was not without controversy, however, and led SPC to rebrand itself as Team FAST (For A Sustainable Tomorrow). Their focus shifted from tuition, which had been their platform centrepiece for the entire decade, to climate change and sustainability, and only ran one incumbent board member: Director of Finance Jamie Strachan. Initially, Team FAST was very successful; in 2007, they took 3 of 4 executive positions, and all but one of their candidates was elected. Given the size of their slate, however- 9 members, compared to a full slate of 15- their opponents, ACT Now, still managed to take 7 of 15 seats on the board. Team FAST would be equally successful in 2008; running a full slate, they won all four executive positions, and 11 of the 15 seats total, while their opposition, Students for Students, managed to elect only two candidates.
Team FAST's dominance, however, would not continue as controversies such as the military ban in Fall 2007, and the SUB Strike of Fall 2008 began to catch up with them. In 2009, they faced opposition from three slates: an almost-full slate named BANG, the four-person Yes slate which sought the executive positions, and the two-man BOLD slate, which ran for Director-at-Large. The results showed an appetite for change, as Team FAST won just 3 Director-at-Large seats, compared to 5 for BANG, 2 for BOLD, and one incumbent independent; however, what was believed to be an anti-FAST vote split between the BANG and Yes slates led to Team FAST winning all four executive positions, all with less than 50% of the popular vote.
In the wake of this vote split, BANG joined with members of the Yes slate and both members of BOLD to form Renew, which contested the 2010 election against Team FAST's successor, Students United. Two two-man slates, Team Work and Unite the UVSS, also contested this election. The results were historic, as Renew swept the executive seats, and won 10 of 15 seats in total. Students United only managed to elect 3 candidates, all Directors-at-Large, while the 2 remaining seats went to the Team Work slate. Although Team Work is currently facing disqualification, this marks the first time a non-CFS slate has won all four executive positions, and only the second time such a slate has had a two-thirds majority of the board.
In 2011 students elected members of the FUSEuvic slate, which was composed of members of Student's United and one member of Renew from the previous year, to a majority of the board. The 11 Directors (4 Executives and 7 Directors at Large) represented the entire slate, making it the first time in UVSS history that a slate of more than 2 people had swept the UVSS elections. The four remaining spots went to members of the Renew slate, which despite sharing a name with the slate from the previous year, ran no incumbents and only one candidate that had run for Renew in 2010.
The Martlet
Prior to 1992 the MartletThe Martlet
The Martlet is a weekly student newspaper at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. There are over a dozen employees on the payroll, but significant work is done by student volunteers . The Martlet is funded partially by student fees, and partially by advertisements...
was an extension of the Society and received its funding through a grant from the Board of Directors. In 1993 the Martlet gained status as an independent society and entered into an agreement with the UVSS for the use of space and equipment with their referendum funding commencing that same year at $1.00 per student. In 1999 the Martlet achieved referendum funding of an additional $1.00 and continues to be independent from the UVSS. The Martlet currently receives $3.75 in referendum funding.
Advocacy groups
Constituency Groups and their representatives on the Board of Directors were established at the October 1995 Annual General Meeting of the Society. The purpose was to establish advocacy organizations within the Society to represent traditionally marginalized persons on campus and within the society. Currently the Women’s Centre, Students of Colour Collective, ACCESS UVic (formerly the Society for Students with a Disability), and UVIC Pride (formerly the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance) are constituency groups as per the bylaws of the society. Constituency groups operated by means of a grant from the UVSS from their conception until gaining referendum funding of $2.00 per student in March 2001. The Women’s Centre had referendum funding of $0.95 per student as per a 1993 referendum and now operates based on those two funding allocations combined. In March 2005, ACCESS UVic gained referendum funding of $1.00 per student in additional to their constituency group funding. The Native Students Union also has had representation on the Board of Directors since a February 1996 Semi-Annual General Meeting. In March 2002 the NSU gained referendum funding of $1.00 per student to maintain operations. Prior to this the NSU relied upon a grant from the Board of Directors.Crisis services
In March 1998 the Anti-Violence Project (formerly the Open University Resource Sexual Assault Centre, or OURSAC) gained referendum funding of $2.00 per student for its operations. Rising tuition costs and debt loads signaled an increase in the needs of the membership and in September 2000 the Board of Directors began funding and operating an emergency food bank in the SUB. By 2003 the need increased substantially and the society gained a $0.50 per student levy by referendum for the food bank. It continues to provide much needed food and clothing to members and their families.Election problems
The UVSS has a long history of contentious election disqualifications and results. This can partly be attributed to the strict election rules that have govered UVic elections, which make it easy for candidates to be disqualified. A central problem causing controversy is that the appeal committee involved for hearing election appeals is the electoral committee—which membership is made up of board directors with a political involvement in the results.2006
The 2006 board election spiraled into major controversy after Chair candidate Mike Waters was disqualified by the previous board for receiving a “third party endorsement” despite winning the election.The election problems began when Chair candidates Mike Waters and Penny Lane Beames (running to be reelected again as Chair) were both disqualified by the Chief Electoral Officer. Beames was disqualified for campaigning too close to a polling station while Waters was disqualified for receiving a “third party endorsement” by Access UVic. Both candidates appealed their disqualification to the electoral committee and successfully overturned their appeals. However, once it became clear that Penny was losing the election, she appealed the electoral committee’s decision to the UVSS board.
The resolution to overturn Mike Waters disqualification was heard by the board where his disqualification was overturned by the board 4-3, reinstating Waters as the winning candidate. During this meeting 6 directors at the meeting abstained from voting due to a misunderstanding of conflict of interest rules. After this period and with only a couple weeks left in the Board's term, many Directors resigned, lowering the total number of board directors necessary to run a meeting due to quorum being defined as a "majority of the Board of Directors".
Despite every avenue of appeal being exhausted, board members held a closed off session where they passed a motion to rehear the election appeal and declaring numerous other Directors on the board in conflict in interest, denying them the ability to vote on election appeals.
After this, a special board meeting was called to rehear Mike Waters disqualification (giving Waters lawyer two hours notice) despite already making an earlier decision. After numerous director resignations brought the number of board members down to a lower quorum level, the meeting was held with 7 directors present, just enough to make quorum (Shamus Reid, Jonny Morris, Mark Chandler, Penny Lane Beames, Mike Mulroney, Loren Husband and Alyssa Chang). At this meeting a new board member rep for Access UVic was appointed, raising the meeting number to 8 present (Kyla Berry). As the board began hearing election appeals again, Mike Waters lawyer had a board member move a motion to adjourn the meeting, citing the unfairness of the process for his client. When it became clear to one side that fairness of the meeting was in question, Access rep Kyla Berry and Director Mike Mulroney left the meeting to break quorum by lowering the number of directors present to 6, which should have forced the meeting to a halt. However the meeting continued due to Chair Mark Chandler declaring that fellow Putting Students First board member Julia Lee had resigned, lowering the quorum to 6 again—just enough to continue the meeting without Berry and Mulroney. After Berry and Mulroney reentered the meeting, and when it became clear that the motion to overturn Mike Waters disqualification would pass by 4–3 (making the disqualification fail, reinstating him as the winner), a motion to "reconsider" Kyla Berry's ratification as the Access UVic representative was made, successfully kicking her off the board in a 4–3 vote that lowered the number of votes need to disqualify Waters (Berry was forced to abstain while Beames voted to overturn her ratification). With only 7 members left on the board, Mike Waters appeal was heard again, this time with the vote to overturn tying 3–3 (with Beames now abstaining), the motion failed and Waters was officially disqualified. The next day on April 26 and five days before the new board's term was set to begin, Penny Lane Beames was officially ratified as the 2006–2007 Chair with only 5 directors present in the meeting.
The election appeal, and in particular, the manner in which it was conducted, prompted outrage among students at UVic, with Mike Waters attempting to stop the April 25th meeting with a BC Supreme Court injunction that failed, forcing him to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees. Other complaints to the media, Ombudsperson and UVic Human Rights office were unsuccessful and Penny Lane Beames ratification as Chairperson was upheld. The newly elected board that year attempted to prevent the decisions from becoming binding, but as a result of legal issues, instead passed a motion recognizing the unfairness brought against Mike Waters. After the disqualification, an Annual General Meeting motions to reimburse Mike Waters for his legal fees and conduct an independent review of the elections both passed with wide student support.
2007
The 2007 election produced significant controversy over allegations that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) was not impartial. Electoral Officer Lindsay Bourque made repeated rulings that allegedly disadvantaged one slate (ACT Now) over the other (Team FAST). Disadvantages including different standards for taping posters that burdened ACT Now and orders to remove ACT Now banners that were later rescinded for Team FAST. On the first day of polling, it was discovered that ACT Now candidates Mike Waters and Andrew Wade were accidentally left off the ballot by Bourque.The anger eventually climaxed during balloting. When the CEO was asked during ballot counting about her opinion of the ACT Now slate, Bourque was quoted as saying: “A.C.T. Now ran an entirely negative campaign… It just speaks to their character.”
A leaked 2008 CFS document outlining campaign plans for the SFU defederation referendum listed "Lindsay Bourque" as a Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Federation of Students
The Canadian Federation of Students is the largest student organization in Canada. Founded in 1981, the stated goal of the CFS is to work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education.-Structure:...
volunteer for UVic, an organization the ACT Now slate openly opposed during the election.
The board heard two appeals to the Board of Directors, both of which upheld the ruling of the Electoral Committee, which had upheld the ruling of the Chief Electoral Officer. The 2007 election was the last election to have an appeal be heard by the Board of Directors until the 2010 UVSS elections.
McCallum Report
After the 2007 election, UVic Law Professor Sandra McCallum was hired to conduct a review of the problems that arose from the 2006 and 2007 elections. McCallum found many problems with the UVSS election process, including an ambiguous electoral policy that automatically disqualified candidates after a certain number of minor infractions. McCallum found that many candidates she interviewed admitted to lodging complaints "not out of a sense of genuine wrongdoing, but rather, as an opportunity to disqualify a rival by alleging three minor offences." The report resulted in McCallum making 23 recommendations to the board for improving the process and problems she found.In reviewing the 2006 election crisis, by UVic Law Professor Sandra McCallum found that multiple bylaws were broken in order to disqualify Mike Waters and subsequently concluded that the board was “truly dysfunctional." McCallum found that the board had no power to reduce quorum by declaring that Board Director Julia Lee had resigned due to the April 25 meeting being an emergency meeting and not a "regularly scheduled" meeting as stated in the Bylaws. Furthermore, McCallum found it legally questionable whether the board could rehear an election appeal after making a decision, as it did in the controversial April 25 meeting that resulted in Waters disqualification. Finally, McCallum could find no policy or bylaw that allowed the Board of Directors to force certain Directors to recuse themselves as a result of an alleged conflict of interest, making the suggestion that forced recusals were used in bad faith
Bad faith
Bad faith is double mindedness or double heartedness in duplicity, fraud, or deception. It may involve intentional deceit of others, or self deception....
to prevent opponents from participating.
In reviewing the 2007 elections, McCallum didn't find nearly as many problems as the 2006 election, but did find unfairness in the inconsistent material instructions by the CEO, elaborating that it greatly disadvantaged those who had already spent their election budgets before knowing that material such as duct tape was permitted. McCallum pointed to a major problem of the new Chief Electoral Officer having less time than usual to acquaint with the electoral rules, which made the Electoral Office less able to issue consistent instructions.
The McCallum Report included a list of 23 recommendations to improve the UVSS election process, with the board implementing some of them. Recommendations from the McCallum report that were eventually added to the Electoral Policy Manual include a requirement that the CEO to be an independent person who is not a UVSS member, that UVic Campus Security takes responsibility for the handling and storage of ballot boxes, and that respondents must receive a written copy of complaints with a chance to respond before the electoral office can make a complaint ruling. Recommendations not followed in the McCallum report included removing the politically active Board of Directors from hearing election appeals, changing the membership of the electoral committee to impartial individuals and allowing only the subject of complaints the right to appeal unfavourable rulings.
Background
After a two years of relatively smooth but competitive board elections. The highly competitive March 2010 Board of Director election plunged into a protracted month-long controversy after two Director-at-Large candidates were disqualified from the board after winning the election. The election was also controversial for the disqualification of Ryan Lewis, an independent candidate for Chairperson who was disqualified during the voting period, but who was confirmed to have not won the election.
Since the 2007 McCallum report, the UVSS hired independent Chief Electoral Officer Conrad Vanderkamp to run the electoral office and make initial rulings on all complaints for the 2008 and 2009 elections. Conrad continued this role into the much more aggressively contested 2010 elections, where the CEO had to rule on more than forty election complaints, over double the number of complaints from the previous years election. The election is also notable for requiring two ballot recounts—one for the position of Academics and another for the Director at Large positions.
Chairperson-candidate disqualification
The first major news of controversy from the 2010 election came from the disqualification of independent Chairperson candidate Ryan Levis for having three posters on painted surfaces, a minor offense prohibited under the Electoral Policy that automatically became a Major (disqualifying) offense upon the third complaint. Since the disqualification occurred during voting, the ballots for Levis were not released, though the electoral officers has stated that the number was fewer than 600 votes—in comparison to the over 1500 votes received by the winning Chairperson candidate, ensuring that Levis could not win the election if he was not disqualified. Levis appealed the ruling to the Electoral Committee—which ruled against him, and Levis decided not to appeal his disqualification on to the Board of Directors.
TeamWork disqualifications
By far the most contested complaints occurred on the last day of voting against an independent two-person slate called Team Work, which resulted in the disqualification of both winning candidates after a protracted two-month controversy. The TeamWork slate consisted of director-at-large candidates Geoff Sharpe and Justin Bedi, who were elected to 9th and 11th place respectively out of the 11 Director-at-Large spots available—with Justin Bedi securing the 11th spot by 10 votes after a recount to the 12th place finisher.
The independent Electoral Office run by Chief Electoral Officer Conrad Vandercamp initially ruled that the complaints were without merit and dismissed them. Harrison subsequently appealed the complaints to the Electoral Committee (EC), which is the next level of appeal in the process. The EC overturned the Chief Electoral Officer's decision and voted to disqualify both Sharpe and Bedi. However, many students were upset by this ruling, as the EC is made up of three UVic students.
In overturning the Electoral Office's ruling and voting to disqualify Sharpe and Bedi, it was alleged that the Electoral Committee actually violated policy as there is ambiguity of whether the Electoral Committee has the power to disqualify candidates. The Electoral Policy says that candidates may only be disqualified by the Chief Electoral Officer.
Comrie, Pullman and the third EC member, Justin Levine, overturned the Electoral Office's decision, and ruled that Team Work had in fact committed major infractions against the Electoral Policy Manual (EPM) by creating "poster collages" (taping several smaller posters together to create a larger poster). The Chief Electoral Officer had originally ruled that this did not violate electoral policy and allowed it. The EC also ruled that another of Harrison's complaints — that Sharpe and Bedi both exceeded the $75-per-candidate campaign spending limit — was valid, even though they had submitted invoices proving that they had not exceeded the limit.
The Electoral Committee also ruled that TeamWork had "acted maliciously" in trying to "willfully subvert" the Electoral Policy. It has also been noted that several other candidates used the same techniques that Team Work did, yet complaints against those individuals were not pursued. For this reason, Harrison's focus on Team Work has been perceived by many as a direct attempt to eliminate candidates to whom she is politically opposed. Her motives were seen as especially dubious since the two candidates that would take their spot (if Sharpe and Bedi were to be disqualified) would both be from her slate, Students United.
Moments after the announcement of the Electoral Committees ruling, Chief Electoral Officer Conrad Vandercamp resigned from his position, leaving the two Deputy Electoral Officers to fully represent the electoral office in subsequent complaints.
Ultimately the board was left with a very undesirable situation in which no neutral decision could be reached. Several board members who were aligned with the Team FAST and Students United slates claimed not to be biased and that they could make an unbiased decision should the disqualification appeal reach the board. However, as they were politically aligned with Harrison, and since over two-thirds of the board had a conflict of interest, it became clear that the case had to be sent to an independent body for third-party arbitration.
Although one motion to send the case to arbitration was defeated by one at the board meeting on March 22, 2010, a special meeting of the board was called for the following Monday. At this meeting, over 100 students turned out — one of the largest-ever turnouts to a board meeting. At the meeting, several directors who originally voted against the motion the previous week changed their minds and voted in favour of the motion after nearly an hour deliberating over the cost of arbitration.
Three of the board members that had originally opposed the motion were not present that night: Pullman, Comrie, and Brodie Metcalfe. Leah Staples was the only board member to remain opposed to the motion.
Aftermath of 2010 scandal
The committee charged with finding a third party eventually selected Greg Harney, a local Victoria lawyer, for the job.
After several weeks, the third party recommendation came in on April 26 and ruled against the Team Work candidates. The recommendation was delivered one week late via electronic mail; in addition, Greg Harney was not present at the meeting to defend his decision.
His report stated that since Team Work: (1) submitted an invoice instead of a receipt for their printing; (2) taped posters together to create banners, and; (3) illegally made use of an email listserv; they deserved to be disqualified on the grounds that they had "violated the spirit" of the electoral policy.
However, the report failed to address the conflict of interest created by the nature of the Electoral Committee's membership and their ties to the complainant. The report also did not address the sections of the Electoral Policy Manual that were not followed in the EC's ruling, namely a section that states that only the Chief Electoral Officer may disqualify opponents. It also failed to address the significance of the Electoral Office's original ruling that Team Work was not in violation of electoral policy.
Almost all directors present at the board meeting voted, as many said they would, to disqualify Team Work, even though several disagreed with the analysis carried out by Harney.
Director-at-large Meghan Shannon was the sole dissenting vote. She maintained that it was unethical to disqualify candidates based on the Electoral Committee's ruling. Rob MacDonald and Jaraad Marani were subsequently selected to fill the open positions created by the disqualification. Although Marani originally finished 15th in the election, since the two candidates that would have taken the position instead of him, Leah Ritch and Sabrina Buzzalino, resigned from the election the same day of the board meeting that officially disqualified both members of Team Work, bringing Marani up to the elected 11th position by default.
Fraud
In 2002, a former University of Victoria Students' Society (UVSS) Business and Operations Manager was charged with fraud, theft, and causing a person to use a forged document by the Saanich police after an internal audit uncovered a $450,000 misappropriation of the society's funds. The UVSS was left with a $1,000,000 debt at the end of 2002. The University of VictoriaUniversity of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
loaned $500,000 to the UVSS in order to save it from bankruptcy.
Liquor license suspensions
On September 23, 2006, the UVSS hosted a welcome back party in the Student Union Building (SUB) for 2,200 students. An undercover police constable and an inspector from the Liquor Control and Licensing BranchLiquor Control and Licensing Branch
The Liquor Control and Licensing Branch is part of the government of British Columbia, within the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General...
were also in attendance.
The following are excerpts from the Decision of the General Manager, Liquor Control and Licensing Branch
Liquor Control and Licensing Branch
The Liquor Control and Licensing Branch is part of the government of British Columbia, within the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General...
, regarding the matter:
They described an environment rife with broken bottles and liquor containers scattered throughout the outdoor red lined areas and beyond the facility. They observed more than a hundred persons in line to get in to the facility, many of them intoxicated, boisterous and staggering. Some of the persons in line were consuming liquor while in the line. The inspector and police constable did not see any licensee staff members or security personnel monitoring the line-up. At the entry gate, nobody was checking for identification, containers or bags. A group of five obviously intoxicated patrons, one of them drinking from an open wine bottle, were provided with wristbands and permitted entry.
…The inspector and police constable also observed three female patrons; two inside Felicitas and one just outside the window by their table, who were clearly intoxicated and either passed-out or wavering in and out of consciousness. One of the females inside Felicitas had as many as 25–30 liquor containers on the table in front of her, and she was seen to awake long enough to take a drink and then pass out again. The outside patron fell to the ground "like a limp dead body" on a couple of occasions and each time was picked up and supported by other patrons. The witnesses observed each of these patrons for a significant period of time, during which no staff or security personnel provided assistance or even approached the patrons.
…Outside the building, both inside and outside the licensed area, were piles of
vomit, at least two unconscious males, and several sick or violently ill patrons –
some of which were being tended to by ambulance attendants and uniformed
police officers. The unconscious males were observed over a significant period
of time. The ground was littered with broken glass and blood and at least one
barefooted female was being treated for cuts to her feet.
Some patrons were sitting on the ground or leaning against the patio fences,
some were climbing the fences and the light standards, and some were on the
roof of the building. Prior to the sounding of the fire alarm, the inspector and the
police constable decided to retreat for reasons of their own safety. Bottles and
glasses were being thrown, glass was smashing around them and the crowd was
getting out of control. The contingent of uniformed police officers were advised
by their superior officer to back away due to the danger. The undercover officer
believed there was the potential for a riot.
When the fire department arrived, there remained people on the roof of the
building. One male jumped from the building. The witnesses did not know if the
jumper was injured as a result.
…The constable testified that there were a number of arrests made and "a number
of patrons were taken and lodged in police cells until sober, for their own safety."
The Business and Operations Manager of the SUB testified in the hearing that "We had clearance for 2,200 people. We started with 2,200 wristbands but we were running out so we handed out 200 more. 200 people got in who did not have tickets, so we handed out wristbands to another 200 people because they had tickets."
The General Manager of the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch
Liquor Control and Licensing Branch
The Liquor Control and Licensing Branch is part of the government of British Columbia, within the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General...
ordered the suspension
Suspension (punishment)
Suspension is a form of punishment that people receive for violating rules and regulations.- Workplace :Suspension is a common practice in the workplace for being in violation of an organization's policy...
of the UVSS's liquor license
Liquor license
-Alberta:In Alberta, liquor licences are issued by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.-United Kingdom:Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. The individual responsible for the...
for ten days and also ordered the UVSS to pay a $10,000 fine.
On March 16, 2007, a Saanich
Saanich
The Saanich or W̱SÁNEĆ are indigenous nations from the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, the Gulf and San Juan Islands, southern Vancouver Island and the southern edge of the Lower Mainland in British Columbia.*BOḰEĆEN – Pauquachin...
police officer observed staff at Felicita's allowing an intoxicated person to remain in the pub. The officer observed the student drinking alone and exhibiting signs of drunkenness, such as his head hanging very low. “I watched as the male took a drink from the glass but then appeared to allow some of the drink to dribble back out of his mouth into the glass,” said the officer in his report.
The officer, who is also a former liquor inspector, observed a server clearing the customer’s table without addressing the student or alerting security staff. The student told the officer that he had just consumed six pints of beer in the last 75 minutes at Felicita's.
As a result of this incident, the UVSS received a second 10 day liquor license
Liquor license
-Alberta:In Alberta, liquor licences are issued by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.-United Kingdom:Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. The individual responsible for the...
suspension.
Canadian Forces
At the September 10th, 2007 meeting of the UVSS Board of Directors, a motion was put forward to ban the Canadian ForcesCanadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
(CF) from the upcoming University of Victoria Career Fair. Directors Christine Comrie, Edward Pullman, Caitlin Meggs, Anna Planedin, Veronica Harisson, and Jamie Strachan all voted in favor of banning the CF. Ami Brosseau, Trevor Doyle, Corrine Harbridge, Erin Lacharity, Rebecca Laing, Richard Park, Genevieve Roberts did not vote for the ban. Six Directors voted against the motion. UVSS Chairperson, Tracy Ho, broke the 6-6 deadlock by also voting to ban the CF. Director-at-large Christine Comrie said it was important to ban the military from recruiting because some students are ignorant about the issues. “A lot of students don’t know about the issues and don’t know about the facts,” she said. “We have to make this decision for students.” [10]
This decision outraged students at UVic, including many who were involved with the military or were considering military careers, forcing the Board to rescind its original motion after over 150 students showed up at the Sept. 24 Board meeting to protest the ban.
The Board sent the decision on whether to ban the CF to a vote at the UVSS' Annual General Meeting. An estimated 500 students were present, a number not seen at an AGM in over a decade. The ban was overturned in a vote by a significant majority but following the meeting, some pro-ban students accused the pro-military side of cutting off debate before those in favour of the ban had been sufficiently able to argue their case. A video of the vote overturning the ban can be found here.
Youth Protecting Youth (YPY)
An ongoing matter of controversy has been the dispute over whether or not the Student Society should fund the campus pro-life group Youth Protecting Youth. Those in favour of denying funding have claimed that they are required to do so by UVSS Issues Policies, while the opposite side holds has argued that this position is flawed and harms free speech and assembly on campus. It has also been argued that the UVSS issues policy does not apply to issues such as this.In the year 2000, the existing UVSS policy supporting freedom of reproductive choice was affirmed at a mass meeting of students convened by the UVSS outside the SUB, since no rooms were large enough to accommodate the gathering. Over 600 students attended the semi-annual general meeting, with 55 percent voting against a motion that would have provided student funding to YPY for its campaigns against reproductive choice. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association wrote this letter to the board of directors on Oct 21, 2009 urging them to reconsider their refusal of funding after the board voted 10 to 6 and 1 abstention against funding at their October 5, 2009 meeting. The issue was brought up again at a meeting on November 16, 2009 by director at large Dylan Hardie. After a lengthy discussion the group was denied funding again by a vote of 10 opposed to funding, 5 in favour, and 2 abstentions.
Current director at large Nathan Warner and Finance director elect Kelsey Hannan have been leading the arguments in favour of funding the club saying that this is an issue of free speech. Warner argued that discussion around a controversial issue such as abortion is a perfect fit for a university. He said that there is no clear right or wrong on the issue and people should be open to discuss it. Hannan argued that not giving YPY funding is a form of discrimination and should not be tolerated on campus.
Other members of the board were strongly opposed to granting funding. Former Students of Colour representative Tracy Ho said that no one should be allowed to discuss the rights of a woman to her body. Current director at large Christine Comrie said that comparing a woman's choice to have an abortion to genocide is a form of harassment referring to the genocide awareness project that YPY was accused of trying to bring to campus.
With less than two weeks left in the Spring Semester, the Board of Director granted YPY their status back while continuing to deny them funding due to the passage of a new Harassment policy for dealing with club complaints. The new process removes the students from Clubs Council, and instead brings over complaints to a "complaints committee" that is conducted privately and made up of board members.