VUSAC
SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT FALL 2020
EDITED & COMPILED BY: VERONICA CHIANG, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
www.vusac.ca
Copyright © 2020 by VUSAC All rights reserved.
table of contents EXECUTIVE TEAM
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President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. Vice-President External . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 .. Vice-President Internal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6. Vice-President Student Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ..
COMMISSIONERS & CO-CHAIRS
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STAFF TEAM
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COUNCILLORS
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Academic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ... Arts & Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 .. Commuter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 .. Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ... Mental Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 .. Scarlet & Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ... Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 .. Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 .. Chief Returning Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 .. Communications Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 .. Finance Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 ... Office Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 .. International Councillor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 ..
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executive team
PRESIDENT MICHELLE ZHAO
Preamble In my role as the VUSAC President, I act as the spokesperson for the VUSAC and set the tone for this year’s council. I collaborate and communicate with all members of the council to help support them in their roles and responsibilities, and I act as one of the four VUSAC executives. Most of my work in the past ~7 months has been focused on responding to COVID-19 and its impact on our community members, and figuring out how to navigate this new and unfamiliar world we have all been thrust into so suddenly. As the VUSAC President, I am not only involved in the workings of council, but I also sit on the three governing bodies at Vic; the Victoria College Council (VCC), the Victoria University Senate (VUS), and the Board of Regents (BoR). I also represent Victoria College students on a campus-wide level, within groups such as the St George Roundtable (SGRT) and the Provost’s Undergraduate Students Advisory Group (PUSAG). This report will focus on key initiatives that I have been involved with, both at Victoria College and beyond. Vic-Centered Initiatives VUSAC Fees The Office of the Vice-Provost (OVPS) has asked student societies twice (June and October) to consider reducing their fees for the fall and winter semesters. Upon careful consideration, VUSAC has reduced both our fee and winter fees by 35%, for both full and part-time students. A number of levies have also reduced their fees, and we hope that these changes offer some reprieve to students during a time of financial instability. Preparation for Fall 2020 Survey VUSAC released a survey in August 2020 to help us assess where students were in their preparation for the Fall 2020 semester. We received over 300 responses from students, and an incredible amount of helpful feedback which helped us shape our focus, our programming and our advocacy efforts to the topics that matter most to students. My councillors, Maggie and Kate, are working hard to help publish the results of the survey, and we are preparing to release another survey to gain feedback on the Fall 2020 semester in preparation for Winter 2020. BIPOC Student Leader Award The VP External, Mehr, and I have been working with Yvette Ali, the Registrar, and Louise Yearwood, the head of Alumni Affairs and Advancements, to establish a BIPOC student leader award, which will seek to recognize and encourage the involvement of BIPOC students in leadership positions at Victoria College and beyond. Funds to establish the award will be fundraised from the Victoria College community, and we are seeking a goal amount of $25,000 to establish an annual award of $1000. More information on where you can donate will be available soon!
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executive team Vic-Centered Initiatives (continued) Goldring Student Center Safe Access Plan I have been in conversation with members of the Dean’s Office and the VP Internal, Tran, to establish an access protocol for student group offices and storage spaces. As the university has been tightening public access to buildings on campus, it is important that student leaders are able to access the resources and materials they need to maintain ongoing work (finances, productions, etc) while being as safe as possible. We have developed a protocol for the final weeks of the Fall semester, and will be continuing to develop the procedure so that is more accessible. Internal Changes to VUSAC A VUSAC internal matter that I have been working on has been setting 1:1 meetings with members of council to chat about the culture of VUSAC and how it can be improved. The end goal of this is to create changes and suggestions for future councils which will make the VUSAC a student government that is able to better understand and represent the students we serve. One key change I am focusing on is shifting the focus of VUSAC away from event programming and more towards advocacy, which has always been crucial but is especially important now, during a pandemic. Campus-Wide Initiatives A big priority for me this year is collaborating with student leaders around campus, especially on advocacy initiatives. It is important that student organizations across campus work together to advocate for students' needs, because the problems we are facing are not unique to any individual student. I have enjoyed my time working with Vic-external student leaders, and I am inspired by the drive and dedication that they have! On October 6th, a joint statement from a number of student organizations was released, detailing a number of suggestions that were put together by students regarding the university’s response to COVID-19. I am currently working with elected student representatives within the SGRT, a group of the elected heads of college, to discuss the concerns and suggestions highlighted in the joint statement at an upcoming meeting with the OVPS. VUSAC is also currently supporting the efforts spearheaded by the UofT Mental Health Policy Council and ASSU regarding student mental health on campus. Students and allied community members are encouraged to attend tri-campus planning sessions (link to Facebook event here) to help create immediate and long-lasting action plans. Additional Work The following is a list of additional projects that I have been involved with for the past 7 months, but didn’t have enough space to talk about here! If you are interested in hearing about any of the following, or if you have any questions about anything that was mentioned in this report, I invite you to reach out to me anytime at president@vusac.ca: Orientation 2020, Highball Refunds, Co-chair and Staff Hiring, Fall 2020 Elections, Fall Budget Steering and Budget Ratification, Governing Document Review Committees, & VUSAC Archive Team Final Thoughts Thank you for taking the time to read this report, and I again encourage you to reach out if you have any questions, thoughts or concerns. The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity, and has not been what any of us imagined 7 months ago. However, the amount of leadership that I’ve witnessed from all the students within our community has been nothing short of inspiring, and I am really looking forward to seeing the work of not only my team, but also the work of our community, over the remaining months of my term.
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executive team
VICE-PRESIDENT EXTERNAL MEHR MUKHTAR
The last six months working on the Vice-President External portfolio has been an extremely busy, fulfilling and rewarding experience. I have been super excited and focused on staying on track with the campaign that I ran on for this position. The summer involved navigating the virtual transition for advocacy and touching base with the Dean’s Office. Some other aspects included sitting on the hiring panel for the Student Projects Fund levy, attending a few UTSU Board meetings, going to weekly DAC meetings and having conversations with past council members about the VP Equity position that was proposed and discussed with council last year. I also discussed projects that were related to being in person, such as increasing access to Goldring spaces, reviewing the menstrual product dispensers and making the Smoking policy more accessible, with the relevant stakeholders. There are two awesome councillors assigned to the VPE portfolio (Joy and Elaine) and I’m looking forward to integrating their interests and ideas with the projects that I’m undertaking. I’ve divided the next section into some of the things I’ve been working on. General VPE Duties I have been connecting with members of the Dean’s Office, regularly mainly Dean Kelley and Alero, and meeting others during meetings with the Dean that have extended through the summer into the fall semester. These have provided a chance for students to chat with the administration and create community. I am working on increasing representation and highlighting the advisory roles during the formal DAC meeting. I sat on the Budget Steering Committee, hosted an event for Queer Orientation which involved attending Pride Steering meetings with the Sexual Gender & Diversity Office and worked on writing two official statements from VUSAC. I have also connected with the UTSU Vic Directors to discuss communications and have been reaching out to ex-officio representatives over the semester. A next semester plan is meeting with the members to discuss how we can support each other and streamline outreach to the VCU. To increase feedback from the VCU, I am also working on introducing monthly VUSAC town halls for next semester. I’ve also connected with external groups, such as TedxToronto and Fridays for Future to discuss ongoing support for initiatives. International Student Support One of the aims is to promote international student representation and better connect them with the community of residence and commuter students. This involved connecting with relevant stakeholders and discussing ideas, such as creating a cultural diversity food project across Victoria College. Another aspect of this is supporting the currently elected International Councillor Stuti in this new role on council. Projects we are currently working on are an international student survey, centralizing a communications group for international students and finding ways to secure better housing options.
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executive team Conference on Race and Racism This conference was created out of a collaboration between VUSAC, Vic BLVCK and the Dean’s Office through countless meetings over the summer and into the semester. Students actively engaged with these meetings by putting in the emotional labour of sharing their experiences and knowledge to inform changes at an administrative level. One of the recommendations included creating intersectional mental health supports on campus and resulted in the hiring of a BIPOC counsellor. I will be working on continuing to advocate and push for the other identified issues, a part of which is drafting up an anti-racism policy working group to define decisive actions to support students. BIPOC Award I have been working with the VUSAC President, Michelle, on establishing a BIPOC Award to recognize the impactful leadership and community contributions of BIPOC Victoria College students. This has involved meetings with the Registrar’s Office and the Alumni Office as well as creating the language for fundraising. Following up on Renaming Ryerson While the Renaming Ryerson project is involved in consultations to guide how it will move forward, I have been working on building VUSAC’s relationships with Indigenous organizations and groups on campus to better understand how to inform our advocacy. I met with Jonathan Diablo-Hamilton, the Special Advisor on Indigenous Issues, to discuss creating spaces for Indigenous students on campus and connecting with Indigenous students at Vic to chat about engagement. I have also connected with First Nations House to facilitate these discussions. Sexual Violence Campaign I have been creating a proposal based on the recommendations report published by the grassroots organization Silence is Violence to push for these changes. This will involve meeting with the SVPC to determine the best course of action and what this could look like. More information coming soon! Food Box Program This was a project for the fall semester to address food insecurity for students during the pandemic which got delayed due to logistical problems. I am working on this to be reorganized for the winter semester. Race-Based Data Collection I had been connecting with data collection researchers and advocates to discuss how to push for this on campus. However, UofT recently rolled out a Student Equity Census and I’ll be looking for more updates on that!
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executive team
VICE-PRESIDENT INTERNAL TRAN THAI
Hello! My name is Tran and I’m the VPI for VUSAC this year. The past 7 months has been chaotic given the pandemic; however, I’ve loved every moment of it. I’m excited to share what I’ve been up to. I started in April working with the previous Execs in transitioning VUSAC into an online setting. In May, I chaired the hiring committees for each of VUSAC’s five staff positions which met to review applications, interview candidates and make decisions about hiring. This process included updating the job postings for each position, calling hiring panels, coordinating interviews via Zoom, creating interview questions and working with committees to come to a decision. The staff hiring report is completed and available upon request. Throughout May and June, I coordinated on-boarding meetings with every member of VUSAC and Michelle to understand their goals, how we can best support everyone and help with their ideas and initiatives. Later in the Summer, I sat on the hiring committees for all the Co-Chair positions and also helped commissioners forming interview questions. Specifically, I chaired the hiring committee for Equity Co-Chair. During the summer, I also worked on creating an internal guide for VUSAC members to navigate the structure, documents and resources council has. I also fulfilled other executive responsibilities during this time as well. This included tying up loose ends from the previous year due to COVID-19. In September, I worked with Vibhuti run the VUSAC Fall 2020 Elections through updating the nominations package, helping with promotions, and supporting her when she needed it! Recently, I have helped Dorian create the amendments for the new Mental Wellness Co-Chair position. I also helped Fatima plan out the logistics of the Falling for Vic: Arcade Night! Additionally, I assisted Ralph and Zoe in preparing for the Budget Ratification Meeting. Finally, I worked throughout the Summer and the Fall on planning VUSAC’s annual Fall Retreat which took place over the weekend of October 17th and 18th. The retreat involved workshops and training led by internal and external facilitators at Victoria College and UofT, as well as time for us to bond as a team. This year’s retreat took place over Zoom and almost every member of VUSAC attended! It was a wonderful opportunity to work as a team and I’m very grateful to see everyone connect despite being online. Going forward, there are a few goals that I want to achieve. Since the Summer, I have been communicating with members of the Dean’s Office regarding student group access to Goldring Student Centre. Various students have had difficulties in accessing the space in order to continue their operations, so it has been a priority to advocate for student group access. Although there is a temporary plan in place, my goal for the Winter semester is to make it easier for leaders to access the space without compromising health and safety.
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executive team Another goal of mine is to make sure our services remain accessible. I have been working with Holly throughout the semester to figure out how to offer some of our services such as printing despite the pandemic. I also worked with Holly and Veronica in transitioning our office hours online. I hope to reflect on the results from the Fall 2020 Feedback Survey to see what VUSAC can do to support students through our services. Another one of my priorities for this year are updating our governing documents to be more concise and match VUSAC’s current operations. There are also a lot of inconsistencies between the documents which we hope to amend this year. I have been supporting Zoe, Leila and Nerija, who are chairing our governing document review committees, throughout this process and I am excited to see what revisions they will bring to council next semester. I am also reviewing the Equitable Hiring Policy to match the hiring committees outlined in the Constitution and Council Policies. I am also supporting Jay and Michelle is the creation of the VUSAC Archive Team (VAT) to centralize all of VUSAC’s internal memories and important documents. Finally, my goal is to continue to support and advise members of VUSAC throughout the rest of the year. I have started checking in with the team last week and will continue those check ins throughout the rest of November. It has been a challenging year being online, but I am so proud and impressed by everything that this council has accomplished. We have a fantastic team this year, and there is much more to come. For the next few months, I will be sitting on various hiring committees and focusing on my priorities. If you have any questions, please feel free to visit me during my office hours on Fridays from 1:30PM to 2:30PM in the Fall semester! I am more than happy to chat!
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executive team
VICE-PRESIDENT STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS JAY MUOIO
Club Ratification As VPSO, I am responsible for facilitating the ratification of VUSAC clubs each year. Early in the summer, I updated the Clubs Handbook and the Club Application Form to better reflect VUSAC’s policies. I then opened the primary application period on June 4th, which later closed on July 23rd. All clubs who applied during this period and met VUSAC’s standards were ratified at the Club Ratification Meeting on July 31st, and therefore were able to take part in Orientation. Applications have continued to be accepted on a rolling basis since the end of the primary application period, and I still continue to review, follow up on, and bring forward these applications for ratification at VUSAC’s Regular Meetings. Levy Audits This summer, I worked with a representative from the Office of the Bursar to audit levies over email. At this point, the previous Finance Chair’s term had ended and the new chair had yet to be hired, which is why this responsibility landed on me. While levies are meant to be audited at the end of each semester, last year’s audits had unfortunately been delayed, meaning the audits I helped conduct had to cover the entire 2019-20 fiscal year. As of now, 10 out of 11 levies are up to date on audits. Club & Levy Check-Ins As VPSO, I am required to meet with each Levy Head three times a year (once in the summer and once each semester), and each Club Head twice a year (once each semester), to better grasp what each student group is up to and how I can support them in their work. As of October 21st, I have completed all of my summer and fall check-ins, totalling 51 meetings. Cat’s Eye & Student Projects Advisory Boards As VPSO, I chair both the Cat’s Eye and Student Projects Advisory Boards. In the summer, I coordinated and chaired multiple meetings of the Cat’s Eye board to facilitate the hiring of the Junior Co-Manager and Tech Director. I went through a similar process this fall with the Student Projects board to facilitate the hiring of the Student Projects Committee. VicPride! VicPride!’s Judiciary Elections got delayed this year due to the pandemic. Eventually, as it was already so late into the summer and no election materials had been prepared, the outgoing executive appointed me CRO of their elections. I immediately went to work, finally opening the Nominations Period on August 19th. Nominations closed on September 30th (after multiple extensions) and a new President was elected; unfortunately, the President has now resigned, leaving the VicPride! executive entirely vacant once more. I’ll be re-opening elections soon and will be there to support the incoming Judiciary in their roles.
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executive team Clubs Policy Update Over the summer and early fall, I worked to draft an update to Chapter 11 of VUSAC’s Council Policies, which consists of our policies on clubs. These amendments were made to reorganize, disambiguate, and update the policy. As of October 30th, the amendments have passed. Equity Training VUSAC requires club and levy executives to attend equity training each year, as coordinated by the VPSO. Throughout summer and early fall, I had meetings with the VUSAC Equity CoChair and the Diversity & Inclusion Training Coordinator (who runs U of T’s Equity Training sessions) discussing how equity training would look this year and other logistics. Since then, sessions have begun, and I’ve been assisting clubs and levies with the registration process (through CLNx), tracking registration numbers to ensure they’re all on course to meet VUSAC’s requirements, and following up if they’re not. Additionally, VCDS ran its own theatre-focused Equity Training for their executives, as designed by their Equity Director. I met with the director and attended the session to ensure that it ran up to VUSAC’s standards. Orientation As VPSO, I was responsible for helping to coordinate the annual club and levy orientation events. As I was also a member of the Orientation Executive, I ended up full-on spearheading the Clubs Fair and directly assisting with the VUSAC/Levies Meet & Greet. Budgeting As a voting member of the Budget Steering Committee, I was heavily involved in the drafting of this year’s Budget Steering Policy and aiding in the general facilitation of the fall budgeting process. All Clubs Meeting The VPSO is mandated to chair a meeting for all club heads. This year, I decided to use this space to allow clubs the opportunity to discuss a variety of subjects with me and each other. Levy Handbook I drafted a new handbook this year, with the intention of consolidating VUSAC’s policies and procedures surrounding levies into a concise document. In addition to everything listed above, I’ve also been fulfilling various VUSAC Executive duties and managing/aiding with individual situations/issues as brought forward by various clubs and levies.
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commissioners & co-chairs
ACADEMIC COMMISSIONER NERIJA GRAY
As the Academic Commissioner, I promote academic and professional events and programming for Vic students through the Academic Commission. In June, I hired a new Academic Co-Chair, and in September, we hired our full commission executive. In order to better adapt to an online setting, we released a survey in September (and had a prize raffle for those who responded) to figure out what kinds of academic resources Vic students want and whether they had any advocacy concerns they wanted us to bring to administrative bodies. Our team has been working hard to provide the Vic community what they asked for! We host weekly Drop-In Study Spaces over Zoom where we have a Pomodoro timer running and lo-fi music playing softly in the background. If you need something keeping you accountable while you study or finish assignments, drop in on Thursdays from 3:30-5:30 PM every week until December 10th! Keep an eye out for our winter semester study spaces, too (date & time TBD). We’ve also had several events so far this semester! Our collaboration with the Mental Wellness Commission in October was a discussion vent about the intersections between academics and mental health. We talked about strategies for managing stress during midterms and exams and making a schedule to include time for studying and self-care. We hosted the Learning from Failure workshop with Vic’s learning strategist in early November. We discussed how to accept and move on from failure, study strategies to help you succeed on future assessments, and personal stories of damage control and bouncing back from a bad assignment or two. We also had a life science research workshop on November 17 with a U of T librarian. Our commission has a bunch of other exciting events on the horizon, including Exam Jam! Mark your calendars from December 7-11 for a week of giveaways, events, and destressing before exams. We’re also going to be hosting our annual Networking Dinner in its first virtual iteration in the last week of January! Stay tuned for more details about the alumni who’ll be in attendance for this year’s event! We have a handful of projects we’re currently working on. We’re currently working on a compilation of helpful links and resources including academic & career-related resources, scholarships, and lists of student discounts and food places. In terms of advocacy work, we have compiled student concerns via survey responses and coffee chat events and will be writing letters to bring these issues to the appropriate administrative bodies on behalf of Vic students. Finally, last year, when I served as the Academic Co-Chair, the Academic Commission received funding for an iClicker loan project. I’ve been working to ensure that we purchase the iClickers before the funding expires, and they will become available when it is safe to resume in-person activities. Outside of the Academic Commission, I’m also chairing the Elections & Referenda Code (ERC) review committee, which makes edits to the ERC to improve future elections and ensure that they run smoothly and fairly. If you have any comments about the ERC as it stands, please feel free to send me an email at academic@vusac.ca!
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commissioners & co-chairs
ACADEMIC CO-CHAIR CATHY GUAN
As the Academic Co-Chair, I work alongside the Academic Commissioner to aid in producing professional, academic, and networking content and events for the VCU. As the co-chair, I specialize in social media management, logistics, and other various responsibilities. In starting off this abnormal year, we knew that we needed to up our social media game and reach our audience in new ways. We did this by utilizing our social media platforms as more than event advertisements and as informational hubs of content. We have produced infographics regarding the different course streams for first-year students, tips for online learning, highly recommended study apps and habits, and more! We are excited to continue with our educational content throughout the semester with more graphics regarding graduate school applications and upper-year advice. At the beginning of November, we also spearheaded our Midterm Destressor Giveaway in which we sent academic-themed giveaway packages to 40 winners in the VCU (both within Canada and internationally). These packages included a newly updated Academic Resource Card, a Muji pen, mechanical pencil, and highlighter. Participants could enter themselves in our daily random raffles by participating in our Instagram polls filled with academic trivia and favourites or by attending our events. During Exam Jam, we plan to do a second giveaway of 60 more packages to relieve student stress during a tumultuous final exam season. We have a lot planned for the winter semester as well so stay tuned with our commission and keep up with us on social media!
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commissioners & co-chairs
ARTS & CULTURE COMMISSIONER JENNY ZHANG
The Bob Sketch Comedy Revue The hiring of Director Eamon happened after 2020 spring elections. Because the pool of applicants was small there was no co-director hired. Hiring for co-producers Barbara and Ava happened in September. Three applicants were interviewed by Eamon and myself. Casting and equity training were facilitated by the director and co-producers. The VCU can expect to see a virtual show at the end of November. Tentatively there is a booking for Isabel Bader Theatre for March 2021. A larger budget for the Bob was requested this year to help purchase filming equipment for cast members and honoraria for the director and co-producers. Halloween Costume Contest The commission hosted a Costume Contest on our Instagram page and $50 gift cards are being distributed virtually to the winners of the voting (occurred over Instagram stories). Categories for submission included random raffle, best scary costume, best funny costume, and best pet costume. Vic Vibes Vic Vibes is an effort to crowdsource suggestions for recreational art. Submit on our google form in our LinkTree if you have a show, film, podcast, book, or any other artwork that you are passionate about! Website Launch We launched our website vicartsandculture.com. It will be used to host a virtual art gallery as well as our short film festival in the upcoming semester. Vic Studios Vic studios is our new short video format content about student life, hobbies, and DIY. Members of the VCU can go on our Instagram to find out how to submit videos for a $20 gift certificate. We would love to see your recipes, and tutorials on crafting! Check it out on TikTok @vicartsandculture Vic Virtual Variety Show The Vic Variety Show is back on Saturday November 28th! It will be a recorded show so feel free to tune in afterwards on YouTube. Submissions are open (close on Nov 22) and everyone is welcome to perform – we are only screening for content and length of performance so please submit a video clip if you want to participate. Vic Art Bursary Project We’ve applied to the Performing Arts Endowment to set up a fund for reimbursing the costs of performing online. The goal is to subsidize costs of recording equipment for virtual content. If there is a lot of student interest, we will look into subsidizing other purchases. Next Semester Plans UofTiff is a short film festival in January 2021. Stay tuned for how to participate, prizes, and the screening night. A virtual art gallery will be hosted in early 2021 on our website. We will be distributing honoraria for accepted submissions. Theme and details to come! With the new redesign of our logo, we’re going to be releasing Arts & Culture merch options like stickers, sweaters, beanies and buttons. Proceeds will be donated to charity. A big thank you to all the wonderful people who run this commission with me: Andy, Anya, Halit, James, Kate, Lisha, Max, Nathan. Congratulations on a brilliant first venture into fully virtual teamwork!
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commissioners & co-chairs
COMMUTER COMMISSIONER RHEANNON DEMETER
Greetings VCU members! Please find below a brief overview of the projects and initiatives the Commuter Commission has been working on for the Fall 2020 semester. For clarity’s sake, the following has been divided into three sections: Summer, Fall, and Upcoming programming. SUMMER As commissioner, I facilitated the hiring of a Co-Chair and then 10 upper-year executive members in accordance with the newly introduced commission structure from last year consisting of 5 duos divided by specialized role-type. Due to COVID-19 closures, we were unable to provide free locker rentals over the summer and in the fall semester and instead focused on locker clean-out and item retrieval for winter 2020 tenants who could not access their lockers prior to September. The Co-Chair and I were present at both Commuter Orientation and Orientation Week during which we promoted our commission to incoming students at the VUSAC & Levies meet and greet, hosted a trivia night, and co-hosted the Commuting 101 presentation with the Commuter Dons. FALL Co-chair-run initiatives Released Fall 2020 programming survey on all social media accounts & received over 60 responses September 12: Commuter Open House Collaboration with Mental Wellness Commission (Intro to commuter spaces at Vic and helpful tips on staying connected from home) September 7-11: Back to School Giveaway September 8–30: Hired 2 first-year executives September 14: In lieu of our free pancake brunches (not permitted due to COVID-19, began weekly PC grocery gift card giveaways (20 x $10 gift cards to help combat food insecurity during Covid-19) September 22: Guess the Logo Trivia Night collaboration with Commuter Dons October 2: Programming hand-off to exec duos – I created role-specific programming foundation guides outlining each duos’ tasks for the year based on co-chairs’ expectations and projects each duo expressed interest in pursuing, as well as important resources October 30: Halloween Eggo & Waffle Creation Challenge collaboration with Scarlet and Gold Commission (submit pictures to be featured and win prize) November 2: Co-Chair, Aya, headed Public Speaking Workshop collaboration with UTPS November 2–9: I created graphics and ran the elimination bracket voting system for Fall Photo Contest Executive-run initiatives Weekly until December 2nd: PC Gift card giveaways October 5-9: October Giveaway October 28: Bingo Night collaboration with MEDiversity October 25–31: Fall Photo Contest (Submit to be entered in voting bracket and win prize) November 2–6: November Giveaway November 9: Filming Exploring the City Graffiti Alley video with International Mentors November 11: Reading Week Study with VOCA event UPCOMING November 19: Game Night collaboration with Ultimate Werewolf Club November 24: Holiday Song Trivia Collaboration with Commuter Dons Nov 30 – December 4: December Giveaway December 11-22: Study with VOCA Exam sessions Home for the Holidays From Home Sign up and receive gift pack (between 60-100 gift packs) H4H From Home Photo Submissions + prizes Virtual Activities booklet + prizes Holiday Movie Night
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commissioners & co-chairs
COMMUTER CO-CHAIR AYA RAGHEAI
VOCA currently consists of 5 executive roles each with two individuals working together to achieve the goal of smoothly transitioning our programming to an online environment. Our goal is to engage commuter students and address their needs as best we can. Until now, our pancake brunches from previous years have been modified with weekly grocery gift card giveaways. We are avidly promoting all our resources and events primarily through Facebook, Instagram and our website. Regarding our latest programming: Giveaways: We have had gift card giveaways every month this Fall semester, that started as a Back to School giveaway in September along with one in October and November. Some of the prizes included gift cards for the UofT Bookstore, Starbucks and Indigo. As previously mentioned, we also host weekly PC grocery gift card giveaways that include twenty gift cards each with a value of $10. Collaborations: VOCA has collaborated with the Commuter Dons, MEDiversity, the University of Toronto Public Speaking (UTPS) club and the Scarlet and Gold Commission to deliver Trivia Night, Bingo Night, an Impromptu Speaking workshop and an Eggo waffle and pancake creation challenge via Zoom, respectively. Other: An interactive element to our social media platforms was introduced with the Fall photo contest. We also hosted a virtual study session over reading week via Zoom, which included episodes of Modern Family and the Office during study breaks. I am looking forward to future collaborations and events, which are aimed to best serve commuter students!
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EQUITY COMMISSIONER LULU KARRA
I was elected as the 2020-2021 VUSAC Equity Commissioner this fall. I officially assumed this role on October 3rd 2020. Committees I sit on the Dean’s Advisory Committee, the Student Project Funds Committee and Endowment for the Performing Arts Committee. Equity Commission The commission has fifteen members: Co-chair, Communications Exec, Secretary, 2 councillors, 9 general members, and myself. Our first meeting was held on the 19th of October 2020. Past/Ongoing Activities The Co-chair and I had a meeting with a research student working with the Registrar and talked about some underlying issues and better ways to support BIPOC and first-generation students in their academic pursuits. In terms of Advocacy, I have worked with the Communications Exec, Natalia Sandoval and Beth Gouda (one of the members), who assisted in creating an Instagram account for the Equity commission. The main goal of the platform is to showcase and promote equity-based groups on campus and the work they do, alongside promoting our own upcoming events. In terms of inclusivity, I have been working with Anna Yang (one of the members) on the different ways we can have BIPOC students share their stories. We’re looking into potentially collaborating with one of the student-run publications at Vic to put together a themed call for submissions/pitches centred around BIPOC experiences. Upcoming Events November 20th: A conference and discussion on racism and anti-racism in higher education, courtesy of the Office of the Dean of Students and Vic BLVCK. November 25th: An event - Judy LaMarsh Lecture, celebrating Women in Leadership and public life, courtesy of the Vic One Program. December 6th: A collaboration with the Dean office to hold a ceremony - National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women - in remembrance of the mass shooting that occurred at L’École Polytechnique de Montreal on December 6, 1989.
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commissioners & co-chairs
EQUITY CO-CHAIR SOOYEON LEE
Throughout the last couple of months, I’ve been focused on gathering feedback from VCU members, collaborating with different groups at Victoria College, and advocating for different student groups to the registrar. Towards the start of the semester, I released an anonymous form open to all VCU members that asked for equity concerns they had this year, actions they would like to see from the commission this year, ways they believed the commission could support them this year, and any personal equity-related issues they had experienced at the university. The commissioner and I were able to gauge what our programming and advocacy should target with the feedback we received. I have also been working to plan a BIPOC professional panel in collaboration with the Academic Commission to discuss the intersectionality between pursuing higher education and racial identity. In addition, I have been in contact with the Sustainability Commission to plan for Environmental Equity week which will happen in the winter semester. Lastly, the commissioner and I had a meeting with the executive assistant to the registrar of Victoria College where we gave them feedback on how they could better support BIPOC and first-generation students in their academic pursuits. For the remainder of the semester, the commissioner and I hope to host an event of our own with the help of our executive and general members. All future events will be planned with the feedback that we had received in the feedback form at the beginning of the semester.
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commissioners & co-chairs
MENTAL WELLNESS COMMISSIONER DORIAN DITOMMASO
While COVID-19 has doubtless impacted the Mental Wellness Commission, this year has been one of tremendous growth for us. With many new projects, events, and initiatives in the works, we hope to contribute more to the Vic community. Social Media and Internal Overhaul This past summer, the Mental Wellness Commission went through a complete overhaul of its social media and internal structure. We created a formal executive team made up of eight members: six upper-year students and two first-year students. In addition, we boast a strong general membership of over 20 students who bring a plethora of experience to our commission. We also sought to reinvent ourselves on our social media pages, creating a new logo, a new Instagram account, and increasing our activity on Facebook. We saw massive growth in our interaction with students and hope to continue this trend throughout the rest of the year. Mental Wellness Resource Guide Upon becoming Mental Wellness Commissioner, I made it a priority to update and expand our resource list. Myself and my executive team worked tirelessly to gather and organize a myriad of resources which can now be found in a centralized location (vusac.ca/mental-health-resources). We intend to check-up on this list come January and fix any errors if necessary. We also intend to take time to expand it and create a second list which will focus on wellness activities and stress management. Mental Wellness Co-Chair Another priority of mine was to create the Mental Wellness Co-Chair position. As of writing, the position has been ratified by VUSAC and we will be hiring a co-chair over the next few weeks. We are hoping to add a co-chair to the Mental Wellness Commission team by the end of the semester. Vic Across the Globe The Vic Across the Globe Project started as an idea to replace our yearly ‘build your own stress kit’ event due to COVID-19. It has turned into a project which I am tremendously excited about and hope that future Mental Wellness Commissioners take on. As of writing, we have received 160 orders for a Vic Across the Globe care package, with one more week left to go. The packages will include a number of trinkets and merchandise items from clubs, levies, and commissions here at Victoria College. We are hoping to have these packages mailed out by January. Executive Members Our executive members have worked tirelessly to bring programming and advocacy to life. Our exec have worked on a variety of projects including collaborations with other commissions, creating a variety of media, updating our resource list, and working to bring new projects to life in the Mental Wellness Commission. I am forever grateful for them and appreciate all of the work they do. Future Projects Some upcoming projects we have planned include the creation of a website of our own, more programming to be held throughout this semester and next, the development of a cross-campus Mental Health Roundtable, and working to advocate for mental health consideration in bursary applications.
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commissioners & co-chairs
SCARLET & GOLD COMMISSIONER FATIMA RANA
Being the Scarlet and Gold Commissioner this year so far has been a very interesting journey thus far. As we all know, this commission is very much a socially based one in regards to all its regular annual events: back to school pub night, semi-formal, and Highball! In the past, these main events have mostly been large-scale, in person, social events with a huge gathering. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the course of these events and I had to rework what the Scarlet and Gold Commission would be offering to the Victoria College community, while adhering to the main purpose of the commission. In order to gauge what the main thing students would be looking for in terms of their social bubbles, I decided to do a pandemic version of a survey: More Scarlet, More Gold?! 2020-2021 survey. From that, I figured that the main thing students were looking for, were opportunities to meet new people and just interact. From there, I started to plan virtual social events with the main goal of providing means or opportunities for students to be able to interact with each other safely in a social-like setting. At this point in time, the VUSAC Fall elections took place and I got assigned my three councillors, which was really helpful with future planning of events. The first official event that was planned by the S&G was the Falling for Vic: Arcade Night in mid-October. This was the replacement (virtual event delivered through zoom) event to the Falling for Vic: Pub Night. The event was incredibly successful, we had a lot of students attend (over 50!) and the feedback we got after the event was really good. The students found it easy to socialize and the move between breakout rooms to talk to different people and play different games. This was a good starting point for us, as it showed us what kind of events are not only successful, but are able to provide that social platform students are looking for. Following this event, the S&G commission decided to collaborate with the Commuter commission for a Halloween event: Halloween Eggo Waffle/ Pancake Creation Challenge. We had a form that people could submit their creations to, and we had quite a few responses. The winner was chosen at random and received a VUSAC gift bag. We also had raffle winners for the survey and arcade night participants, the winners also being chosen by random and in an equitable way. Currently, my councillors and I are working on getting relevant information for the Highball 2020 refunds. We also have brainstormed some Holiday related events and are figuring out relevant details for them to take place during the remaining of the semester! It definitely has been a learning process so far while figuring events out during these unprecedented times, but it has been a fun journey and I cannot wait to plan more good things for Scarlet and Gold in the months to come!
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commissioners & co-chairs
SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSIONER LEILA TJIANG
Since assuming the role of Sustainability Commissioner this past April, I have attempted to prioritize intersectional and politically-consequential perspectives on sustainability in all commission activities. The multitude of global crises that our world is presently facing has made it such that it would be irresponsible to ignore such perspectives. On the ground, this translates to centering climate advocacy work and focusing on issues of climate justice in all our programming. The following are projects that I have worked on over the past seven months. Vic Zero Founded by the previous commissioner, Aminah Attar, this entirely student-driven project aims to represent the sustainability interests of the VCU through the presentation of a formal set of recommendations to the Board of Regents. Over the summer, I participated in over 30 meetings with our authoring team to collectively draft our report and carry out consultations with students and field experts. Since September, I helped to manage weekly meetings and several day-long retreats with our authoring team. This project is set to be completed for next semester, and will tentatively be presented to the Governance and University Affairs Subcommittee in January or February. Sustainability Training I developed a sustainability training framework for immediate internal use and with the intention of making it accessible to all Vic student groups. This training contains two sections: (1) a sustainability education section focused on principles of climate justice and intersectional discourses on sustainability and (2) a pre-existing sustainable event planning section designed by myself and Aminah last year. I plan to work with our VPSO to pilot this training with clubs and levies next semester. Sustainability Policy I worked with our VPE to begin developing a sustainability policy to implement in the operations of all Vic student groups. This policy will be divided into two sections: (1) a sustainable event policy and (2) a sustainable office policy. So far, we have completed consultations with all the necessary stakeholders, but have yet to begin drafting the policy. Work on this project will continue into the winter semester. SGSRT In collaboration with UCLit’s Sustainability Commission, I founded and will continue to organize meetings of the St. George Sustainability Round Table. This coalition includes 1-2 representatives, some hailing from independent sustainability groups and others more closely associated with their respective student council, from each of the seven colleges. Meetings will take place on a monthly basis into the foreseeable future. Programming Given the unique restrictions of this year, we converted our typical Doc N’ Talk programming into a monthly Discussion Club. This semester we have hosted or plan to host a Student Panel on Eco-Anxiety with the Mental Wellness Commission, a panel titled Migrant Justice Amidst Global Crises with UTEA, a divestment letter writing workshop with Leap UofT and UTERN, and asynchronous “workshops” on sustainable cooking. For next semester, we plan to continue with our usual Environmental Equity Week programming and host an event centered on eco-grief in collaboration with Emmanuel College.
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commissioners & co-chairs
SUSTAINABILITY CO-CHAIR JERICO RAGUINDIN
The Sustainability Commission has been relatively successful amidst the pandemic. We have hosted a couple events. The event I conducted, a discussion club, I would consider unsuccessful, as a result of swathes of virtual events. However, it was useful as a proving ground for future events which will likely be limited to a panel or discussion format, specifically during Environmental Equity Week. Much of my efforts have been focused on Vic Zero, a comprehensive report of demands for Vic administration to reform Vic to focus on climate justice and carbon neutrality. I have coauthored, edited, revised, facilitated consultations, etcetera, for Vic Zero. For the future, I hope to run a successful campaign with the Vic Zero Committee and to apply the necessary pressure on Vic administration, aligning with VUSAC’s shift towards advocacy. Similarly, I would like to restart and aid in a Vic-specific divestment campaign. I am excited in assisting in the creation and continuance of the St. George Sustainability Round Table, a forum for sustainability arms of the seven St. George college unions, in order to better amplify the voices of students organizing college- and university-wide. Ultimately, I want to better foster a sense of holistic and intersectional environmentalism, in the form of climate justice, which focuses on anti-racism, equity, and especially important on a university campus, mental health. This is done through community education, as well as systemic institutional change, an extensive endeavour, which I can only hope to contribute to.
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staff team
CHAIR
ZOE LAZARIS Coming into my role as VUSAC chair during the COVID-19 pandemic tasked me with moving VUSAC meetings onto an online format. While doing this, I made sure to keep in mind the principles of equity and accessibility to ensure all members of the Victoria College community can attend comfortably. An upside to the Zoom online format that VUSAC meetings are currently being held on is that all participants can rename themselves to include preferred names and pronouns. When VUSAC eventually moves back to an in-person setting, I hope this is carried over somehow. The current online meeting process is everevolving as I receive feedback from VUSAC members and those in the Victoria College community. I plan to send out follow up forms to those who attend VUSAC meetings which will look for more feedback about how to adapt the online process. As well as chairing VUSAC meetings, this year I will also be chairing the constitutional review committee. My goal for this committee is to make the constitution more accessible and concise. As a new VUSAC member who had to become familiar with the constitution and other governing documents when I stepped into my role, I know how overwhelming and at times confusing they can be. This confusion can make getting involved in VUSAC more difficult, and can also make it harder to hold VUSAC accountable. I will be keeping all of this in mind during the constitution review. As of Thursday, November 19th, I have chaired eight VUSAC meetings, all of which start at 5:30 pm on Fridays. This has historically been the time that VUSAC meetings are held as there tend to be few class conflicts during this block. I have set the schedule for Winter meetings, which will also be at this time. In consultation with the VUSAC executive members, we made sure to release these dates early so all members have time to make sure they can attend. For the VUSAC retreat, I created an infographic that can act as a guide to VUSAC meetings, as Robert’s Rules can be confusing at times. I hope to share this guide with the wider Victoria College community in the future so that members of our community feel more comfortable attending meetings.
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staff team
CHIEF RETURNING OFFICER VIBHUTI KACHOLIA
After being hired in the summer, I organized the Fall VUSAC Election. Here are some highlights from my report: I worked to create multiple streams of engagement through the summer. I filmed and captioned a 10-part Instagram story on August 20th geared towards upper year students, as well as hosted a live question and answer period for an hour on the “Victoria College in the University of Toronto- Class of 2024” Facebook group with Michelle on September 1st. We had a great turn out from first years asking questions about VUSAC, Elections, and getting involved. Then I joined the Orientation event, Dinner with VUSAC and Levies in the general VUSAC room with Michelle, Veronica, and Zoe, where we conversed with many first students (and even some leaders!) about the VUSAC election. The nomination period opened on the first day of Orientation, September 3rd. We took a hardline stance on in person campaigning and postering (disqualification) to ensure equitable elections for everyone running, no matter where they were. We also cut down signatures to one, instead of five/ten. This was to give leeway to first year students who would have to not have the opportunity to connect with students traditionally. We had three information sessions during the nomination period, where about 5-25 students attended at any time, which was a wonderful turn out for the beginning of the year. At the end of the nomination period, we had 23 total candidates. 21 were Councillor candidates (12 first year and 9 upper year), 1 for International Councillor, and 1 for Equity Commissioner. After the All Candidates Meeting, we had 16 candidates for Councillor, 1 for International Councillor, and 1 for Equity Commissioner. This campaigning period was of course every different than others I had experienced, so adjusting to all online campaigning was a challenge. A noticeable shift to Instagramdominant campaigning was interesting and must be adjusted for the next year - especially as Facebook becomes out of touch for incoming students. Town Hall was the most difficult part of the election, as the Zoom bombers at the beginning of the event put quite a damper on the rest of the night and was honestly very scary. Otherwise, the event was smooth and was a site for great conversation amongst candidates. The voting period went smoothly as well. There was one infraction for the entire election cycle, as a candidate did not submit their budget on time. They appealed the infraction, and the EAC voted in the CRO’s favor. We had 274 votes, with a 6.7% voter turnout. This is in line with the average of 7% turnout for Fall elections. We had 5 first year councillors, 3 upper year councillors, an Equity Commissioner, and an International Councillor. We had a low spoil rate, which is wonderful and displays confidence from the VCU. For the first online election, I believe that we had overall success, with lots of candidates for councillor and strong engagement leading up to the nomination period and campaign period.
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staff team
COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR VERONICA CHIANG
Since beginning my position as Communications Coordinator in June, daily tasks have included responding to emails, uploading meeting agendas and minutes onto the VUSAC website, processing and posting communication requests on VUSAC’s social media accounts, and aiding in the creation of promotional graphics for any club, levy, and commissioner when necessary. Currently, I am in the process of compiling this semi-annual report but in the future, I hope to start introducing members of VUSAC on our Instagram page! Orientation and Fall Elections 2020 Due to COVID-19, for the first time, orientation this year was held completely online. To introduce VUSAC and its seven wonderful commissions, I helped out with the creation of several of the commissions’ infographics, which were then sent out to first-year students. I also worked with the Vice-President Student Organizations to revitalize VUSAC’s YouTube channel by posting promotional videos created by the various clubs, levies, and commissions of Vic. Additionally, I have assisted the Vice-President Internal, Tran, and Chief Returning Officer, Vibhuti, with creating and posting over 10 informational graphics regarding the 2020 Fall Elections, which had great engagement and was overall a success! Social Media Outreach In terms of our social media statistics, VUSAC’s Instagram account has seen a dramatic increase from 859 to 1080 followers over the past 9 months (February to November 2020), possibly due to COVID-19 and thus, Orientation 2020 being held completely online. As a result, we were able to better promote VUSAC’s online presence and increase our following. Typically, a post on Instagram will gain between 20 to 50 “likes”. VUSAC’s Facebook page has also seen an increase in follower numbers, from 1726 followers in February 2020 to 1917 followers in November 2020. As well, we have a total of 1756 page likes. However, there seem to be fewer post engagements and interactions occurring on Facebook as compared with the same post on Instagram. Lastly, since the beginning of 2020, our website has seen a 6% increase in unique visitors (5528), a 32% increase in total site sessions (10,548), and a 73% increase in average session duration (11 minutes and 33 seconds). Monthly e-Newsletter As an initiative started by VUSAC’s previous Communications Coordinator, I have continued to collect requests from all of Vic’s 30 clubs, 11 levies, council members, and a representative from Emanuel College on a monthly basis to populate each month’s newsletter. So far, I have published three (September to November 2020) and will continue to do so for December and into the next year. The number of newsletter email “opens” are ranging between 24% and 44%. The lower numbers are unfortunately likely due to the newsletter being sent to people’s junk folder. We currently have 254 subscribers, but that number is steadily growing!
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staff team
FINANCE CHAIR RALPH SAYEGH
In April 2020, I fully assumed my duties as Finance Chair from my predecessor Katherine Hovdestad. Within these few short months, I was able to accomplish a significant amount of work along with the VUSAC executive team. The finances of the association were in an unsatisfactory state when I initially began. VUSAC was behind on its financial obligations and responsibilities, predominantly due to reimbursements prompted by COVID-19. As Finance Chair, I had to issue several cheques for Highball Ticket Sales refunds and pay out lease expenditures to some of our equipment suppliers. Furthermore, due to issues with certain levies that had been dragging on for 3 years, no bank reconciliations had been made since January 2020. Moreover, I also had to update the budget steering policy for the Fall 2020 Budgetary Period. Within the first month, our president Michelle and I facilitated thousands of dollars in reimbursements for Highball and Levy cheques that were dated back to Winter of 2018 and outstanding payment to Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Within that month, we became half-way up to date with our obligations. After that, the Levy audits issues dating back to 2018 became apparent and needed tending to. With a significant amount of support from the Registrar’s office, VUSAC executives, and alumnus, we were able to uncover and facilitate a solution to a 4-year long issue with one of our levies. At the end of the process, we got them back into a strong financial position with a more streamlined transition of signing authority process and contingency plans in order to prevent the recurrence of such an event. Through collaboration with our wonderful VPSO Jay, I was able to streamline a large part of VUSAC’s internal finance operations. We created an automated ledger system ensuring a more accurate, effective, and streamlined budgetary update experience. We also revised the Cheque Requisition process creating a centralized spreadsheet keeping track of the status of each cheque issued, to be issued, and sent out from VUSAC improving responsiveness and transparency of the council’s financial operation. Finally, we have implemented a similar solution to the budget submission process using complimentary spreadsheet forms that relayed relevant financial information to a centralized, standardized spreadsheet, accelerating the budget ratification process. For incoming executives, I am also creating a budget tracking dashboard through which clubs and internals alike will have the ability to keep track of their remaining funds. This project is aimed at improving transparency between VUSAC and the student body. We were able to successfully navigate the fee reduction decision brought on by the pandemic. We have decided on a 30% fee reduction after careful deliberation and collaboration with VUSAC community. Additionally, we have performed bank reconciliations from January of 2020 to March of 2020. We hope to complete the bank reconciliations to date before the beginning of the winter break. We are currently distributing the cheques to the internals and clubs who have submitted their requisition forms while distributing the levy fees for the Fall 2020 semester. Overall, we are still catching up with our business affairs. We have begun discussions of the Winter 2020 Budgetary Policy and details regarding the budgeting period will be released to the general public soon. I’m also proud to announce that for the first time since 2018, we were able to revamp VUSAC’s budgetary policy. Currently, we are considering an update of the President’s office’s computer hardware, due to difficulties that occurred on several occasions since April 2020. Furthermore, we are looking to take our accounting software, QuickBooks Online, to accommodate the limited and restricted access to the Goldring Student Centre as well as to take advantage of the updated features and flexibility that come with a new online platform. It is my expectation that this migration to QuickBooks Online with further streamline and automate our bookkeeping system while providing flexibility to our finance team that I believe will prove to be invaluable to future executive teams.
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staff team
OFFICE MANAGER HOLLY JOHNSTONE
Like so many other positions on VUSAC, the role of Office Manager this year as compared to years past has changed drastically. I was hired as the 2020-2021 VUSAC Office Manager in the late spring and have been working with the executive team since then to transition the services that we typically supply in our office to a digital format. When we still believed that our office could open in September, I met with Tran and Michelle, our VPI and President respectively, to devise sufficient COVID safety protocols for the office that would keep both our council and patrons safe. When in early September, we were informed by the Dean’s Office that our space would have to remain closed, we began working instead on how to shift our office offerings online. Alongside Tran, we worked to create guidelines for office hours which involved updating the office rules and revisiting past guidelines. We also devised the system that we currently have in place for online office hours which has been running for a little over 3 weeks now with relative ease and simplicity. At the Fall 2020 VUSAC Retreat I gave a brief presentation on office hour etiquette and rules which has hopefully contributed to the smooth transition of office hours on to a digital format. Although these office hours are usually very quiet, we believe that simply offering them is important regardless of whether or not they are fully utilized. In addition to the re-imagining of our space in a digital sphere, I have been taking weekly minutes at VUSAC meetings. Minuting entails attending the meeting for the initial minutes, re-listening to the recorded audio, and editing the final draft to ensure clarity and accuracy. Looking forward to next semester, I am hoping to do a tidy of the office and an inventory of what we have in the space. In addition to that, I will be putting together individually wrapped and sanitized baggies filled with safe-sex and menstrual supplies for students who might need them. Now that the Dean’s Office has created a more streamlined way to access the Goldring Student Centre, getting into the space to start working on these projects will be much easier than it has been in the last few months. If you have any services or office-related questions, feel free to email me at officemanager@vusac.ca!
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councillors
COUNCILLOR ALEXANDRA KURTESI
For VOCA, one of my goals this year is to create a commuter cookbook. This would be a great way to inspire some cooking ideas for commuter students that won PC gift cards and want quick access to easy meals. This cookbook will include sections for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and snacks, with vegan, vegetarian, and allergy-free options. The plan will also include a level of difficulty for each of the meals and provide a variety of substitutions for everyone to enjoy. In addition, I hope to plan and organize many VOCA socials, such as trivia nights and PC gift card giveaways. For the Mental Wellness Commission, one of my priorities is to work with general members as well as programming executives to come up with new programming opportunities for the next semester. In addition, I plan to work with the Registrar’s Office to help create a mental wellness bursary for students since there currently are no bursaries dedicated towards addressing those needs. For the Academic Commission, a goal of mine is to hold a BIPOC Professional Panel collaboration with the Equity Commission around February to March of 2021. This would include BIPOC individuals in Medicine, Law, Dentistry and Academia discussing the intersectionality of pursuing higher education and racial identity. I hope that this will provide a unique networking experience for BIPOC students at the university. In addition, I plan to help the Academic Co-Chair with research for the graphics she posts on vicacademics Instagram.
COUNCILLOR ELAINE LEE
It has been incredibly rewarding so far to have the opportunity to collaborate with many student bodies and learn about student life at Vic. In addition to attending all VUSAC meetings and office hours, I have been working with my assigned portfolios. I attended an initial Equity Commission meeting where we brainstormed some initial ideas, which include continuing to develop the new social medias of the commission and a documentary screening event. One of my personal priorities this year is to inform Vic students on why the Land Acknowledgement is important and, if they are ever in a position to deliver one, how to improve on the standard acknowledgement to make it a better opportunity for learning and reflection. As I have been assigned to the Vice-President External portfolio as well, I have been learning about the administrative operations of Vic. I am excited to engage with several ongoing projects, which include continuing the work of Renaming Ryerson, the Foodbox program, and building relationships with other groups on campus. In my role on VOCA, I have had the pleasure of supporting the work of Rheannon and Aya and connecting VOCA to other student groups. For example, I filmed the “Exploring the City: Graffiti Alley” video with the International Mentors, spreading the word about VOCA. I am currently planning a song trivia night in late November with the commuter dons and in the early stages of planning a social media initiative where Vic students can submit songs to make collaborative playlists.
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councillors
COUNCILLOR JOY WANG
As a First Year Councillor, it is my absolute pleasure to be working with the Academic Commission, the Sustainability Commission, and Vice President External this year. For the Academic Commission, I brainstormed discussion questions related to self-care and stress management for a collaboration event with the Mental Wellness Commission. Furthermore, I am working with other members to plan and compile resources for Vickipedia, an info hub we hope to present to the Victoria community as soon as possible. For the remainder of the semester, I look forward to taking part in organizing exam de-stressor events. For the Sustainability Commission, I am currently working with the first-year representative to host a discussion club about fast fashion, which will likely take place in the last week of November. Additionally, I am hoping to aid the Vice President External in creating a sexual violence campaign, increasing the Goldring Student Center access, and supporting our International Councillor. The retreat and council meetings I have attended enabled me to understand how VUSAC functions in order to make tangible changes for the Victoria community. It warms my heart to see that although the pandemic has separated us physically, the online workshops and social events still connect us at the end of the day. At last, I would like to thank everyone in the VUSAC body for being incredibly understanding and approachable. It is my honor to be a part of this big family.
COUNCILLOR KATE HABERL
As a Councillor, I am assigned to three portfolios: the Sustainability Commission, the Arts & Culture Commission, and our lovely president Michelle! I am also the Events Director for the Sustainability Commission, which means I get to work on lots of different projects! This semester we collaborated with the Mental Wellness commission on an Eco-Anxiety panel, and there are collaborations with UTEA and the Equity Commission coming up. I am also filming a video series for the Sus Comm. With respect to the Arts & Culture Commission, I have helped with numerous events, such as a virtual talent show and our Halloween Costume Competition. Most of my work with Michelle takes place behind the scenes, so if you notice a mistake on some paperwork, blame me. I have been the least involved in this area, so I am hoping to take on more responsibility and understand my role more fully next semester. Outside of my portfolios, I sat on the Budget Steering Committee this year as the club representative, and I am involved with the Constitution Review Committee, the Council Policies Review Committee and the Elections and Referenda Code Review Committee. I also hold weekly office hours, which are a great opportunity to meet people. I am having a great time being a councillor, attending all of these meetings and learning to plan events online! It is very rewarding to be part of an organization that works so hard to make Victoria College the best place to be at U of T!
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councillors
COUNCILLOR MAGGIE ZHANG
My experience thus far on council has been enjoyable and inspiring. It’s exciting to address, discuss, and vote on issues or initiatives that concern the student body. It’s truly an honour to take part in deciding how Victoria College proceeds in response to obstacles. Everyone is approachable and driven to better our community. I’m humbled to contribute. So far, I’ve attended the Fall Budget-Ratification Meeting, Fall Retreat, office hours and every biweekly meeting. Scarlet & Gold must adapt to restrictions this year. Nonetheless, I strongly believe people need to be connected more than ever. It’s so easy to feel isolated during difficult times. I hope to plan virtual events, providing students the safe opportunity to socialize. We’ve already hosted a Games Night and I’m also aiding with Highball refunds. I use social media platforms to spread awareness of resources available to students. Mental wellness is always important but I would argue that it’s even more so now. I see mental health as the umbrella under which other aspects of life fall; without it, there’s no motivation to do anything. I plan on creating a Humans-of-Vic series documenting a relatable day-in-the-life of students to show that no one is alone. Working with the President is such a privilege. I get to see the council from a bird’s eye view. I will be compiling and analyzing data collected from student surveys to better understand what students need. I’m hoping to join governing-document review committees to learn more about the pillars on which VUSAC operates.
COUNCILLOR MAXIMUS CARON
This is not only my first year on VUSAC, but as a Vic student, during a global pandemic. During my time so far in VUSAC, I have been working with the Sustainability, Arts & Culture, and Scarlet & Gold commissions. In the sustainability commission, I have mainly worked to help create correspondence between the main VUSAC council and its members and the commission. I plan in the future to help host a Discussion club meeting, hopefully in the next two months. I am also going to start working to implement sustainability into VUSAC’s policy. For Arts & Culture, I have started working on technological logistics behind hosting our virtual variety show, and how we can compile, edit, and put together, asynchronous, and live performances. In Scarlet & Gold, I have mainly worked to help with organizing new ideas for the upcoming months, such as a potential comedy show, and working on organizing last year's Highball refunds. In this past month, I have found myself working more to advocate to the dean's office on behalf of students living in residence. Many have found that the current administration is not listening to students and are not providing essential services. I had a call with Associate Dean Scott Johnston, where we began to talk about issues the school faces, but not limited to: Covid testing access, seating accommodations outside, opening up of common spaces. I plan to continue to address these issues as they still haven’t been addressed by the admin.
VUSAC Fall 2020 Semi-Annual Report
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councillors
COUNCILLOR NATHAN CHING
In a time of uncertainty and change, I have never been more hopeful of VUSAC to embrace those changes and continue its amazing legacy, if not create an even better one as 2020 continues. I had the privilege of serving under the Arts and Culture Commission, Scarlet and Gold Commission and the Communications branch, each of which have worked immensely hard on bringing their unique vision to VUSAC’s COVID-19 operations. Communications-wise, we are up-ing our game through the pilot project of a new Vic Online forum website. It is estimated that it will be online by Q1 2021, whilst implementing features that will go beyond scope of COVID-19’s era. Scarlet and Gold is inherently an in-person oriented commission, but with the help of our chair Fatima and fellow Councillors, we’ve redefined what our commission means. This Christmas, we’re launching a Christmas Choose-your-own-adventure style Event, spearheaded by me, to introduce the spirit of a Victorian Christmas to fellow Vickies. Last but not least, the Arts and Culture Commission are bringing its inaugural international film festival online, UofTiff. This is perhaps the most exciting new initiative for me, since I’ve always loved watching various directors exercising their creative talents! This year is a weird one, but I have my confidence that VUSAC is able to navigate itself through the storms and bring about another year of success!
COUNCILLOR VEDIKA JHA
My experience as a first year councillor has been amazing so far; I have enjoyed training, attending meetings, and engaging with other councillors and members of VUSAC. With the Academies commission, I am organizing and analyzing survey data about student concerns about online learning. This feedback will help the commission provide Vic students with the resources that they need the most, and help us understand what concerns need to be brought up with the administration or with professors. I am also helping gather information to create a comprehensive database of resources for Vic students. I hope to continue to work with the Academics commission on making online learning as smooth and straightforward as possible. With the Equity commission and the Academic commission, I am helping organize a BIPOC Professional Studies Panel planned for this January. This panel aims to showcase BIPOC individuals in careers such as Medicine, Law and Academia, and discuss the challenges they face in their fields and possible ways to overcome them. Moving forward, I hope to work with the other first year councillors in organizing community events such that first years both on and off campus can meet and better get to know one another. Overall, being on VUSAC has been wonderful and rewarding, and I have learned lots. I hope to continue and add to my work on VUSAC, constantly striving to make this year the best it can be for all students.
VUSAC Fall 2020 Semi-Annual Report
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councillors
INTERNATIONAL COUNCILLOR STUTI ROY
My name is Stuti and I was elected as International Councillor, a position geared towards representing international students at Victoria College. It has been an exciting start, and I have had the wonderful opportunity to learn the ins and outs of student government and its operations, from running an election, attending meetings and events, to planning my own initiatives.
In terms of advocating for international students, I have been in close contact with Mehr to plan a way ahead. So far, I have a survey going out soon to gauge the needs and concerns of internationals at Vic and a Facebook group intended to act as a platform for communitybuilding within Vic. Additionally, I have been in contact with the Victoria International Student’s Association (VISA) in order to collaborate with them and engage in more advocacybased activity. Advocating for international students means recognizing that everyone’s needs, and experiences are unique, which is why understanding the main concerns within our student body through the survey is so important. Once this is done, I plan to host an event later this semester that will help people come together, such as a movie night or virtual study space. For the longer term, I want to work with organizations such as ISAN to see exactly where international student needs have to be met, especially in light of this ongoing pandemic. My main goal now is to get in touch with the internationals at Vic and build a stronger network for people to engage.
VUSAC Fall 2020 Semi-Annual Report
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