THE Varsity
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 8
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
5 November, 2012
pg 11 ASSU op-ed: SGRT meeting with Murray allows government to avoid public discussion
pg 14
Women’s field hockey team takes CIS silver at home pg 26
Indie bookstores in Toronto keep wordlovers satiated
Pressure mounts on UTSU for electoral reform
Declaration from colleges, Simcoe Hall recommendations give new urgency to changes Zane Schwartz ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Pressure began mounting this week for electoral reform by the University of Toronto Students’ Union. The St. George Roundtable has backed a “non-partisan declaration” calling for reforms that are, according to the three-page document, “both necessary and overdue.” The declaration was well received by all the nine college leaders who sit on the SGRT. “All of the presidents have agreed that this is necessary,” said Paulina Bogdanova, co-head of college at Trinity. “They’re very basic issues, very basic suggestions,” she said. Also this week, The Varsity obtained a letter from vice-provost, students Jill Matus to former UTSU president Danielle Sandhu detailing Simcoe Hall’s concerns with the union’s electoral policy in the wake of the spring 2011 elections, and admonishing Sandhu to implement many of the same reforms currently being pushed for by the SGRT declaration.
“I’m sure you know that the complaints, both formal and informal, raised annually about the fairness of UTSU’s election procedures are an on-going concern,” Matus wrote in the January 2012 letter, adding, “Once again, Danielle … it would be a fine outcome of your tenure as President if you were able to bolster confidence in your organization’s electoral system.” Matus clarified that the concerns raised in the letter remained outstanding via email on Friday. “We have been given assurances by UTSU that the organization would address the issues raised in the letter no later than the fall of 2012,” wrote Matus. “The president of UTSU repeated this assurance in a meeting several weeks ago.” Meanwhile, the SGRT declaration’s widespread adoption could add to the urgency for reforms before this spring’s election, an effort that will likely come to a head when the UTSU convenes its annual general meeting on November 22. The declaration was endorsed by both the University College Literary Institute (UCLit) and the Trinity College Meeting last week. Other colleges and professional faculty associations will be considering the declaration in the weeks to come.
Benjamin Dionne, president of the UCLit, stresses the importance of “getting the discussion going” with the declaration. “We decided to support it because it contains genuinely good measures that any democracy cannot, in good faith, turn down,” said Dionne. Dionne admitted that the UCLit did have some reservations about the declaration, “mostly regarding the membership of the appeal committee.” He added that many of the aspects of the Declaration “are already part of the election code of the UCLit, and are therefore coherent with what we stand for.” The university administration and the SGRT appear to have raised similar concerns about the optics and policy of UTSUrun elections. The SGRT declaration calls on the union to address procedural issues by reforming the electoral code. Proposed changes include reviewing the appointment and powers of the chief returning officer, altering the composition and structure of various electoral appeals bodies, and removing financial barriers for
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