Vol. CXXV, No. 1
11 August, 2014
University of Toronto’s student newspaper since 1880
News
Tuition fees on the rise again Pg. 3 Arts & Culture
Science
The changing landscape of Toronto’s music venues Pg. 14
U of T researchers work towards a modern form of anaesthesia Pg. 19
Sports Comment
Students share the highs and lows of summer work and studies Pg. 10
Women’s soccer team shoots for the playoffs Pg. 23
Feature
Dress up your dorm room with DIY tips Pg. 12
Students seek clarification on Student Societies Summit report Recommendations criticized for opening campus groups to administrative interference Iris Robin and Alex Verman VARSITY CONTRIBUTORS
Four months after the release of the Student Societies Summit report, student groups continue to seek clarification on the report’s eight recommendations. Over the summer, the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (scsu) hosted a series of post- summit review meetings with student leaders from all three campuses, independent of university administration. Eight divisions were present at the most recent meeting hosted by scsu, including the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu), the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (utmsu), and the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (apus). Representatives from the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (vusac), the University College Literary and Athletic Society
(UCLit), the Medical Student Society (mss), and Students of Sociology utsc were also in attendance. Thus far, scsu has hosted four meetings to discuss the final report of the Student Societies Summit, the structure of a new suite of summit sessions with increased participation from student groups, and proposals for changes to the layout of the utsu. Last year, university administration organized the Student Societies Summit, a series of meetings aimed at fostering conversation between different campus organizations and the university, after nearly a decade of disputes with various student societies and the utsu. A number of long-standing issues, including fee diversion and the autonomy of student societies, were brought to the table.
Summer summit responses Kriya Siewattan, president of the APUS, praised the scsu-led summer meetings for
including a variety of campus groups. According to Siewattan, university administration has not attempted to consult apus regarding the summit recommendations. “This lack of consultation emphasizes the need for the societies to work together to flesh out how to operate in an ‘open, democratic and accessible’ manner that is relevant to each society,” said Siewattan. apus previously expressed its discontent with administrative interference in a letter that threatened legal action against the university. Abdullah Shihipar, president of the Arts & Science Students’ Union (assu), said that the meetings have been a positive step in reducing some of the longstanding distrust between student societies. He added that the assu has found itself acting as a mediator at post-summit meetings. assu was not invited to participate in the summit. Althea Blackburn-Evans, director of media relations, confirmed that the office of the
vice-president and provost is analyzing the Student Societies Summit report and will provide a formal administrative response to Governing Council in the fall. All submissions and feedback received by the office will be considered in the response. According to Blackburn-Evans, the administrative response to the report will emphasize the importance of democratic principles and good governance, and may recommend possible policy development to enshrine such principles. She added that any policy development will also require broad consultation before being brought forward to Governing Council for consideration.
The Student Societies Summit Twenty student societies participated in the summit, which began on October 7, 2013. The summit took place after various divisions,
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