The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) is a council composed of a body of students elected by their peers, who are in charge of running the Acadia Students’ Union. The Council meets weekly on Wednesdays at 5:00 PM in the Beveridge Forum which is located off of the Michener Lounge in the old Students’ Union Building (SUB). Every meeting is open to the public and students are encouraged to attend the meetings to learn more about the decisions being made on their behalf.
On September 18th the council held their first meeting of the new academic year. During this meeting council primarily went over the requirements of each position as it pertains to committees and other obligations. Kyle Vandertoorn, ASU President, gave council an update regarding the Vice President Finance and Operations position and also proposed a change in the SRC bi-weekly meetings. Additionally, there were a few announcements made that closed out the meeting.
Students’ Representative Council Meetings
At the start of the meeting ASU President, Kyle Vandertoorn, proposed to move the SRC meetings from bi-weekly to weekly. Vandertoorn told the council that the bi-weekly system was fairly new and while it does work, the council has quite a lot on their plates this semester and weekly meetings will enable all members of council to stay up to date on relevant matters as well as to become fully engaged in them as well. While weekly meetings may mean that some are quite short, Vandertoorn admits, it will also provide more accessibility for students concerned about matters and will help all members of the council to effectively tackle their responsibilities sooner than bi-weekly meetings would allow. Vandertoorn then opened it up for discussion at the table.
Theology Senator, Zachary Goldsmith, suggested that if one of the reasons why weekly meetings were being proposed is because of increased accessibility to the students, then the council needs to effectively share with the student body that the meetings are open to the public. Vandertoorn immediately agreed with Goldsmith and discussed that student awareness is something the ASU wants to promote this year.
The matter was opened to a vote and it was passed that meetings will now be Wednesday 5-7 every week.
Committees
Council was alerted by Vandertoorn that each member was required to serve on different committees as stated within the bylaws. Members then committed to various committees including Hiring Committee, Student Life Committee, Events and Promotions Committee, Elections Committee along with a few others. Several committees were deferred until the first meeting after the by-election due to there being many committees requiring SRC members and current members already being over committed.
VP Student Life, Robbie Holmes, will be taking over as chair of the Financial Affairs Committee in the absence of VP Finance and Operations so that the money sitting in their accounts can be approved and sent out to the student groups that it belongs to. Holmes assured the council that the annual budget would not be assessed by him and instead will wait until the role of VP Finance and Operations has been filled.
Office Hours
Every council member is required to hold office hours each week, with the amount of time differing depending on the position. It was made aware to council that they are not required to hold their office hours in the same place constantly. Instead, council members can help the community by volunteering to help with events and that too can count as office hours.
Zachary Goldsmith asked how it will be communicated to students if he decides to deviate from the original office hours he submits. VP Events and Promotions, Gabrielle Bailey, answered this concern by telling Goldsmith that the Chairperson will be made aware so that he can effectively tell students when and where they can meet council members. She suggested that she can investigate how they could potentially use the website to let students know as well.
Vandertoorn then requested that every member submit their hours to the Chairperson as soon as they figure them out.
VP Finance and Operations Update
As was previously made aware to the student body, former VP Finance and Operations, Yoram Schroll was having some issues with his visa. These complications reached a point where he could no longer fulfill his duties on the executive team and unfortunately had to resign. The SRC plans to fill this position in the upcoming by-election. Until then the tasks of VP Finance and Operations have been delegated amongst other members of the council.
Announcements
Mackenzie Jarvin, VP Academic and External, announced nominations for the positions of: Vice President Finance & Operations, Professional Studies Senator, Community Relations Representative, First-Year Representative and Councilor in the fall by-election opened yesterday and will close Friday, September 27th. There will be an all-candidates meeting the following Monday the 30th and campaigning will be beginning Tuesday, October 1st.
SMILE is on the lookout for instructors for Saturday mornings. In addition, they require male volunteers across programming for all days and welcome all volunteers.
Charity day has been moved to Saturday, September 21st due to Hurricane Dorian and will be from 9-1 in condensed locations throughout Wolfville and neighbouring towns. There will be a bus that will take people to these neighbouring towns. Poster making will be the morning of starting around 8:00 am and there will be fundraising taking place throughout the day and the Athletic Complex.
I love that they’ve gone back to weekly meetings! The school year is so short to cut the meeting schedule in half. Well done SRC!