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«NEWS
THE MEDIUM 11.16.2015
Bylaw amendments passed at UTMSU AGM November 5, 5:45 p.m. Theft under $5,000 A student reported the theft of his Beats Pro headphones. November 9, 10:18 p.m. Motor Vehicle Accident A student noticed that a car had made contact with another car parked in P9. Both owners were contacted by Campus Police. November 10, 3:30 p.m. Theft under $5,000 A student reported to Campus Police that his iPhone had been stolen from the RAWC. November 10, 1:30 p.m. Fraud A student had forgotten his debit card in the ATM in the Student
Centre. He later received a phone call from his bank asking about transactions that were deemed fraudulent. The transactions were blocked by the bank. November 10, 9:10 p.m. Unauthorized Activities Campus Police received reports of students conducting a social experiment in the stairway. A student faked falling to see who would stop and help. Another student filmed the event. November 11, 12:30 p.m. Trespass to Property Act RAWC staff reported a that student who entered the gym had used his friend’s card for entry. The student had forgotten his card at home. Both students were cautioned.
These reports are those that have been released to The Medium and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list. Students can contact the UTM Campus Police at 905 828 5200, Peel Regional Police at 905 453 3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477.
UTM remembers with a moment of silence
JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM
Ceremony cut short after Campus Police manager falls ill. AMANDA BORTHWICK
Faculty, students, and members of the community came together on the steps of Davis to pay their respects during Wednesday’s Remembrance Day ceremony. “We live in an open society with a great deal of freedom and democracy, but in this society there is also the opportunity to become complacent,” said acting VP and UTM principal Ulrich Krull, who addressed the crowd during the ceremony. “[Freedom] isn’t something that is a natural consequence of being in Canada. It is something that has been fought for by those before us […] we need to appreciate this,” he said. Calling the ceremony to order was manager of Campus Police Services Rob Messacar, who made opening remarks discussing the significance of gathering as a community to show gratitude to and pride for those who helped establish the rights and freedoms Canadians have today. Closing remarks of the ceremony were
cut short when Messacar passed out and collapsed. Soon after, Messacar regained consciousness and was assisted by UTM’s emergency response team, ECSpeRT. Regor Abuloc, a UTM student and member of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserves at HMCS York, recited “In Flanders Fields” while “The Last Post” was played as UTM police services lowered the Canadian and provincial flags to half-mast. Professor Scott Munro played “The Lament” on his bagpipes while Krull and ECSpeRT laid wreaths by the flagpole. Those in attendance included Officer Cadet Zeeshan Macklai of the Governor Generals Horse Guard, who shared what he reflected on during the two minutes of observed silence. “I reflected on all of our fallen comrades and what they have sacrificed so that we can walk freely here. I think about how proud I am to be Canadian,” he said. “Freedom isn’t free. It’s not free at all.”
MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM
UTMSU financials reported $1.5 million worth of assets. UTMSU continued from Cover Shortly thereafter, Gomes apologized for his original objection to adding the resolution to the agenda, calling it a mistake. “I didn’t realize that the motion required unanimous consent,” said Gomes. “At the end of the day, this is a decision of Mississauga students and you all have the right to debate it and vote on it”. According to Gomes, UTSU scheduled the meeting to be held on November 18, as that is the week the UTSU AGM is usually held, but was bumped up to early October this year. “We’ve actually had discussions about this with UTMSU executives,” said Gomes. “As it stands right now, we don’t believe in changing the date of the AGM.” BYLAW AMENDMENTS PASS Passed by a unanimous vote at the AGM, UTMSU removed the VP part-time affairs position from the union’s executive as of May 1, 2016. "We didn't feel like the position is needed anymore," said UTMSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe. Also voicing support for the change was UTMSU’s current VP part-time affairs, Amir Moazzami. “All of the things that VP parttime does can be done by the rest of the executive team,” said Moazzami. “[The change is] a good thing”. As previously reported by The Medium, the removal of the position would result in UTMSU hiring two coordinators—a mature students coordinator and part-time students coordinator—to help reallocate work typically conducted by the VP part-time affairs. Also present to support the removal of the position was Richie Pyne, VP internal at the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students downtown. “On behalf of APUS, we support the bylaw changes being made,” said Pyne. UTMSU FINANCES The financial audit passed at the AGM reported $1.5 million worth of assets retained by the union, up from UTMSU’s $1.1 million assets in 2014. The financial statements report no
cash listed under the 2015 list of assets and a bank overdraft of $39,276. In 2014, UTMSU retained $5,286 in cash with no reported overdraft. UTMSU VP internal and services Francesco Otello-DeLuca also reported a raise in UTMSU staff wages from $12 to $13 an hour effective January 2016. As of April 30, 2015, UTMSU accounted for $186,498 spent on frosh week orientation, up from the $152,979 spent in 2014. Revenue from ministries, the graduation formal, and orientation totalled $345,837, while expenditures for the three line items totalled $382,768, leaving UTMSU in a $36,931 deficit in social activities and planning. Finances as of the same date report that the Blind Duck ran a deficit of $32,917, with sales reaching $427,343. With regards to academic societies, $48,504 of an available revenue of $65,634 was allocated to 20 societies on campus leaving $17,130 unspent. Expensing $6,976, the Undergraduate Commerce Society led the pack with the largest amount spent. Following the approval of UTMSU’s audited financial statements, Charles Havill Chartered Accountants were reappointed as UTMSU’s auditors. PRESS RESTRICTIONS In an email sent to The Medium several hours prior to the meeting, UTMSU executive director Walied Khogali informed The Medium that no audio or visual recordings were to take place during the meeting and photographs were to only be taken by UTMSU staff. “With regards to video footage and audio recordings, please note that we received complaints in the past of photographs and videos being taped without the consent of our members,” wrote Khogali. “To promote participation at the annual general meeting, we restricted the use of those devices at the meeting to UTMSU staff, who must seek consent from participants before photos are published.” “Students will be sharing their experiences, which can be sensitive. We hope that you and others will respect the wishes of UTM students
that want to participate at the meeting, without fear of being reported on without their consent,” Khogali continued. “Staff of The Medium or other publications can choose to record students that voluntarily participate in the interview after the meeting is concluded.” At the meeting, Agbeyegbe said that photographs could be taken during the meeting after those in attendance were asked to self-identify if they did not want to be photographed. PARKING PROBLEMS A student identified as “Dwayne” approached the mic during the portion of the agenda designated as “Other Business” to discuss parking costs on campus. “I feel like there needs to be better regulation on the prices as it concerns parking,” said Dwayne. “I find parking prices to be way too expensive on campus.” In response, Moazzami encouraged students to send all concerns to UTM’s chief administrative officer, Paul Donoghue. “F— it, just email him,” said Moazzami referring to Donoghue. “Email him and call him and let him know that these parking fees are pretty ridiculous.” Khogali proceeded to pull Donoghue’s contact information up on the projector. TRANS ISSUES RAISED UTMSU LGBTQ coordinator Jasbina Sekhon discussed issues related to trans and gender-diverse students at UTM. “Students aren’t being served the way that they could be served,” said Sekhon, who also identified past issues related to transphobia at the university level and within UTMSU. “Trans and gender-diverse students are an independent group that need addressing. This is a very real issue.” SYRIAN WUSC STUDENT VP external Naveed Ahmed announced that UTMSU will sponsor a second refugee student through the World University Service of Canada program. The student, who will be from Syria, will be sponsored in January 2016.