THE VARSITY Vol. CXXXIII, No. 15
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
4 February, 2013
To-may-to, to-mah-to Turn stale bread and tomatoes into lunch on pg 14
Students gather again, seeking resolution on broad agenda Reforms sought by opposition greeted with dampened public enthusiasm Simon Bredin NEWS EDITOR
The University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) convenes tomorrow for its replacement general meeting, where hundreds of students are expected to vote on more than 20 items on a newly expanded agenda. The high-profile meeting will end a months-long process of consultation and organization that began last November, when the original Annual General Meeting (agm) scheduled by the union ended prematurely, as those present rejected an agenda some believed to be unfairly closed to student input. Since then, utsu executives have solicited many new motions, and met with prominent opposition leaders, in an attempt to avoid another costly shut-down of a meeting. The membership’s decision to reject November’s agenda is estimated to have cost the union up to $3,000. Union leaders have also worked to improve the logistics of the Special General Meeting (sgm), hoping to avoid registration delays similar to those at the November meeting — where wait times of up to two hours were a source of frustration for many — by opening early and increasing staff presence. “We are happy that there are so many different kinds of motions on the agenda and such extensive student engagement,” said Corey Scott, utsu vice-president, internal. “Our hope is to have a respectful, engaging dialogue. Many students are commuting for more than an hour to make the meeting, while others have scheduled work and studying off. “It is important to recognize that there is a lot of interest in this meeting and that it is everyone’s responsibility to create safe and respectful spaces.”
“We deliberately designed the [submission procedure] to give us lots of time to process the amendments,” said utsu president Shaun Shepherd, who has previously spoken with The Varsity about his desire to ensure the sgm goes smoothly. Scott, who chairs the union’s Policy & Procedures Committee and who, with the union’s Board of Directors, was responsible for vetting many of the items ultimately included on the agenda, said he was personally looking forward to debate over a motion to endorse the Idle No More movement. The meeting will also debate and vote upon a bevy of other motions including opposing unpaid internships, investigating additional multi-faith space, allowing international students to seek election to the university’s Governing Council, among others. Some motions, if approved, will immediately alter the union’s governing by-laws. Others are “directive-based motions” that carry symbolic weight, and if approved, will guide the union’s stance on a number of hot-button campus issues. The list of items up for debate is so extensive that the union has said it will be necessary to allocate a time limit for each discussion. Those items that cannot be addressed in the three-hour session will either be punted to the next general meeting, or delegated to the appropriate commission. Tomorrow’s meeting also includes consideration of old business: those matters that should have been addressed at November’s meeting, had it not been for its abrupt ending.
Basketball blues Blues fall out of playoff contention pg 21
MALARIA! The cure for malaria could be GM mosquitos pg 18
Failing to see the point of education How punishing failure stymies learning pg 8
CONTINUED PG 4