VUSAC Semi-Annual Report 2019-2020

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT WINTER 2020

Compiled by Holly Johnstone, Communications Coordinator

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TABLE OF CONTENTS +

PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT, EXTERNAL VICE PRESIDENT, INTERNAL VICE PRESIDENT, STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

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ACADEMIC COMMISSIONER + CO-CHAIR COMMUTER COMMISSIONER + CO-CHAIR EQUITY COMMISSIONER + CO-CHAIR MENTAL WELLNESS COMMISSIONER SCARLET AND GOLD COMMISSIONER SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSIONER + CO-CHAIR ARTS AND CULTURE COMMISSIONER

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CHAIR COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR CHIEF RETURNING OFFICER FINANCE OFFICE MANAGER COUNCILLORS

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PRESIDENT ALEXA BALLIS

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I’m constantly blown away by all the amazing work members of council, our clubs, and our levies have been up to at Victoria College. As President, a lot of my job consists of supporting the team with their projects and initiatives, as well as ensuring the overall function of council. At the start of this semester, I held check-in meetings with all the commissioners and staff members to talk about their plans for the rest of their term and how I can support them throughout it. This includes on-going support with event planning, as well as meetings about new initiatives, such as the Academic Commission’s financial aid project. Moreover, I continue to hold Internal Office Hours for the entire council so they could come to me with any questions or ideas they would like to pursue.

In addition, I continue to advocate for the interests of Victoria College students on the various governing bodies and committees that I sit on in my capacity as President. The Victoria University Board of Regents, the Victoria College Council, the Student Projects, the Dean’s Advisory Committee, the Provost Undergraduate Student Advisory Group, and the St. George Round Table have all met since this past November.

Student Choice Initiative On November 21st, Ontario’s Divisional Court unanimously struck down the Provincial Government’s Student Choice Initiative (SCI). One of the arguments that led to this decision was that the policy was not authorized by law and is “inconsistent with the autonomy granted universities.” Since then, the Office of the Vice Provost took down the out-out portal that was initially supposed to come down in late January. We were told that we would be receiving our opt-out numbers for the second semester by the first week of February, and this has yet to happen which created numerous problems for our budgeting process.

The Provincial Government will be appealing this decision, and student groups are still in a position of uncertainty until then. I’m still crafting a document of feedback on this year’s situation to give to next year’s council as a guide in the unfortunate case that the Student Choice Initiative returns in Fall 2020.

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VUSAC Strategic Plan VUSAC is undergoing a strategic planning exercise to give us a better understanding of how this organization can better serve Victoria College students for years to come. Currently, I’m seeking student input in numerous ways to inform our recommendations moving forward.

Along with Councillor Cedric, we made five surveys. These surveys are on our outreach & communications, services, advocacy efforts, events, and spaces. I’ve made various graphics and promotional material to advertise these surveys online and in-person.

I’m in the process of conducting in-person consultations for the strategic plan as well.

Cedric and I will be tabling across Vic campus during the next couple of weeks to spread awareness of the surveys and to talk to students about their feedback in person. I hope to finish collecting student input within the first week of March, and then I will be presenting the document to council toward the end of the month.

Office Improvements Over the winter break, I made various improvements to the VUSAC office. For starters, I reorganized our crafting supplies, as well as our resource table outside of the VUSAC office. In addition, I revamped our merchandise system. I created a display of all our merchandise that can be found by the VUSAC front desk for students to clearly view what we offer. I also made a sign with all our prices. Our merchandise used to take up a lot of space in our storage in big brown boxes, but now our inventory is organized and stored in the lockers in the VUSAC office.

In the next month, I’m looking into purchasing HTMI cables for students to sign out and USB-C chargers for the office.

Governance VUSAC is in the process of reviewing our governing documents. We ratified the changes to our Elections and Referenda Code on January 31st, and we’re in the process of examining our Constitution and Council Policies. I’ve been active on both the Constitutional Review Committee and the Council Policies Review Committee, trying to update VUSAC’s policies and determine which information fits under which governing document. Katie and I have been supporting Michelle and Gabby, the chairs of these review committees, throughout this operation.

Grad Photography In the Fall, Victoria University signed a new contract with New Paramount Studios for Graduate Photography. I was involved in the negotiations process alongside members of the Dean’s Office and Registrar’s Office. Last year, President Jayde Jones conducted a feedback survey about graduate photography which we kept in mind during the negotiations. This contract will be up for renegotiation this summer. In the next month, I will be releasing a

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In the next month, I will be releasing a feedback form about the services New Paramount Studios provided for next year’s grad photography contract discussions to ensure we continue to serve our graduate students the best.

Endowments To promote the use of the Victoria College endowments as alternative sources of funding for Vic student groups, I emailed all the club and levy heads last semester and I made graphics that I posted online to advertise the applications and their deadlines.

Vic One Visits In the next month, I will be visiting a class for each of the Vic One streams to chat about VUSAC and our upcoming elections. This is an outreach initiative that I campaigned on last Spring, and I’m very excited to chat with all those first year students. I hope that this will be expanded in the future to include all Vic courses.

Elections VUSAC election season has begun! I’ve been working very closely with our Chief Returning Officer, Maria Pepelassis to come up with a strategy for the upcoming weeks. In particular, I helped make promotional materials, such as graphics that outline the roles of each VUSAC and governing body position. I will be available at all the Elections Info-Sessions as well to answer any position specific questions. We will also be tabling during the weekdays of the voting period to encourage Vic students to vote.

Vice-President Equity The Vice-President Equity position was first proposed by the 2017-2018 VUSAC Equity Commissioner, Shailee Koranne. In my campaign platform, I mentioned that I would like to explore introducing a Vice-President Equity to VUSAC. In the next month, we will be finalizing our consultations for this position and bringing forward the idea to VUSAC to discuss with care.

If council would like to institute this position, we would be putting it up to a vote on the last VUSAC meeting of the year on Friday, April 3rd so next year’s council can have a say as well.

If you have any questions or comments about anything VUSAC related, or you just want to have a chat, please email me at president@vusac.ca or stop by my office hours on Mondays from 3:30pm to 5:30pm in the VUSAC Office!

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VICE PRESIDENT, EXTERNAL VIBHUTI KACHOLIA

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As the end of my term is on its way, I have been super excited but busy making sure I’ve been staying on track on both the VPE duties and projects! Here are some things I’ve been working on: VPE General Duties I have been meeting with the Dean’s Office, UTSU Vic Directors, senior administration and exofficio members throughout the last few months to update them on what VUSAC has been up to and how we can support each other. I recently met with the building presidents (as per constitutional VPE duties) and we decided to collaboration for a karaoke night for February 26th which we are excited for! I will be meeting with the Residence Don team in the next two weeks to fill them in on election protocol and a refresher on being a neutral party.

International Councillor This is a position I thought of last semester and have brought it to council at the last meeting. We will be voting on it this coming meeting (March 6th). I see this position as a mix of a co-chair and councillor position that is accessible to any year student and can be an introductory position on VUSAC. It would be a councillor position as it would be under the VPE portfolio. Elected in the fall, this creates space for a student who pays international fees to have an advocacy role on VUSAC. Furthermore, they would liaise with international student groups on campus with VUSAC to make our services, space, and culture more welcoming and actually cater to international students. I believe this role will move VUSAC in a more equitable path.

Caffiends I have been helping Caffiends communicate with Ancillary Services to clear up miscommunications regarding their services. Scot Johnson from the Dean’s Office has been integral in these conversations, and Emily and Nikki have been absolutely fantastic! I love Caffiends!

Ancillary Services Speaking of Ancillary Services, I have been meeting with Lyndon, the director of the office, throughout the semester to reach consensus on two projects; an affordable menu (under $10 with lots of vegetarian and vegan options) for students to cater Vic Food Services and clear

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guidelines surrounding bake sales/food for sale. Both are now finalized! I will be circulating these documents to the caucus list and through other channels to make sure students know about these exciting improvements.

Election and Referenda Code (ERC) I was the chair of the ERC Review Committee, which started work in January. We held a drop-in session for people to drop by and give their input on VUSAC Elections and policies. We reached out to everyone who had ran in an election in the last year as well as made a Facebook event to circulate information about this session. Then, our small but mighty committee put together 30 amendments that ranged from correcting numbers and grammar to clarifying slander. Katie (VPI) and I put together the amendments and presented them to council on January 17th, and ratified them on January 31st.

Meetings regarding Indigenous Initiatives I met with Jonathon Hamilton-Diabo and Jade from the Board of Regents about what VUSAC can do to start building our relationship with Indigenous groups on campus and Indigenous students here at Vic. These meetings were some of the best I have had my entire term because I learned so much and really got a grasp on the fact that VUSAC has to first understand its own culture surrounding “social justice” and work on being critical of our own practices. I’m still in the process of working through the notes and discussions we went through but excited to take the first step.

VUSAC’s appointment to the Board’s special committee on Indigenous Initiates for now is halted because the status of the committee is unknown but there is a student representative of the President Robins’ Indigenous Advisory Circle which is fantastic.

Crescams It’s happening! Applications close February 28th and the ceremony is March 23rd. We are excited to honour Vic students who are doing great things for our community!

VP Equity I proposed this new role to the Executive after two years of Equity Commissioners being in favor of the creation of the role. We will be having a general conversation about the role on the March 6th meeting and proposing policy to council on the 20th. In my opinion, as a member of council for coming up to three years, VUSAC is in need of a role that can lead executive level equityfocused projects and also really focus on VUSAC culture to drive it to a more equitable path in terms of all portfolios.

Neds Composting The Sustainability Commissioner and Co-chair have been doing a fantastic job of pushing this project as a component of the campus-wide composting pilot. More to come about this by the end of the school year!

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VICE PRESIDENT, INTERNAL KATIE MARSLAND

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It feels very strange to only have 2 months left in this position, because the beginning of the semester has flown by. My focus over the first half of the semester has been to continue working on the projects that I’d hope to complete before the year is over, while still supporting other members of our team on their initiatives.

One of the biggest projects I’ve been working on this year, specifically this semester, is the creation of an equitable hiring policy for VUSAC to operate under. The outline for this document was originally created last April ahead of our spring staff and co-chair hiring, and we completed our hiring with these policies in mind. The document was recently written up into policy language, ahead of the upcoming spring hiring period, and was brought forward for discussion at the February 14th (Happy VUSAC-entine’s Day) meeting. The document outlines a number of policies for both internal VUSAC hiring as well as hiring for adjacent positions, and will serve under our Constitution, in conjunction with our Council Policies. This document will hopefully be available on the VUSAC website and outside our office by the time this report is published, and will be going up for ratification at the March 6th meeting.

On February 8th, the VUSAC winter retreat took place, to serve as a compliment/follow-up to our fall retreat. This retreat included information about volunteer at large-scale/high risk events (ahead of Highball), the responsibilities of VUSAC members ahead of our elections, a tour of the office space and reminder about office rules, and Other projects I have been working on are as follows. I have been providing support to Gabby, Michelle, and Vibhuti, who chaired or are currently chairing the review committees for our governing documents (Constitution, Council Policies, and Elections and Referenda Code, respectfully). The word that these three and their committees have accomplished over the last few months has been really incredible, and I’m happy to be supporting the work that they’ve been doing. I have also been working with Maria and the other members of the executive to provide support for the upcoming VUSAC spring elections, including reviewing the nominations package and helping with other aspects of promotion. I also worked with Arts & Culture Commissioner

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Vivian on the planning and execution of Gardiner Gala, a yearly event that celebrates the relationship between Victoria College and the Gardiner Museum.

Currently, I’m in the process of supporting a few members of our team on their initiatives.

I’ve been working with Ellenoor on a project that she has proposed and spearheaded, which aims to bring a version of Trinity College’s Academic Don program to Victoria. We began with consultation sessions at Trinity to figure out what makes their program successful and appealing to students. We have brainstormed a few possible versions of the project, and are currently working to figure out which would best suit the needs of Vic students, while still maintaining a similar structure to Trinity’s program. I’m also working with Disha to create better promotions for the scholarships and bursaries that exist at Vic and U of T. There are a number of scholarships and bursaries available for students, but are not as widely advertised as they could be. Disha is hoping to find a way to better promote these opportunities to students, and we are currently working together to brainstorm ways to accomplish this goal. It’s been fantastic to see councillors on our team spearhead their own projects and initiatives, and I’m happy to be providing them with support.

In the next two months, I have a few projects that I’m aiming to complete. First, I am hoping to create an outline for revamping the Internal Review Committee. Although it is too late in the year to put this plan in place, I hope to create a formal outline that next year’s VPI can use as a guide to ensure that some version of the Internal Review Committee meets. I am hoping to use some of the data gathered by Alexa’s strategic plan to inform what this outline will look like!

As well, I’m currently looking into developing a hired position for first year students on VUSAC. Running in elections is terrifying, but it’s currently the only available way for first year students to join VUSAC. I’m currently brainstorming ideas for a hired position for first year students on VUSAC, to allow them to get involved with the core council in a more accessible way. I’m not really sure what this position will look like yet, and would love to hear any thoughts and feedback!

Being on this team for the last ten months has been fantastic, and I’m excited to finish the year on a high note. Please reach out to me at vpi@vusac.ca, or drop by my office hours on Tuesdays from 1:30-3:30 to share your thoughts on any of my ongoing or upcoming projects, or to say hello!

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VICE PRESIDENT, STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS CAMERON DAVIES

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Club and Levy Meetings I have continued to meet with clubs and levies on a regular basis. The bulk of my meetings happened during the second week back after Winter Break, and these meetings provide an opportunity for me to carefully consult clubs and levies, answer their inquiries, and ensure that their needs are being met by VUSAC. I am planning to finish my scheduled check-ins with clubs and levies over the next few weeks, while continuing to meet with clubs on request.

Additionally, this semester, I have decided to host three hours of internal office hours every Thursday, which allow me to quickly connect clubs and levies with the Vic Administration, and answer inquiries on the spot. I also plan on providing light snacks at my internal office hours in the future, to encourage higher attendance.

Levy Consultations Council Policies Review Committee Michelle and I have been working to consult the levies about VUSAC’s review of its Constitution and Council Policies, especially those policies which apply directly to levies. To this end, we are in the process of hosting drop-in consultation sessions for levy heads and members.

Club Ratification Process I continue to facilitate club applications and ratifications, which have slowed down in the Winter Semester. I am pleased to note that Vic has two new clubs this semester, Women of the World and RealTalk - both of which were founded by first-year students.

Club Storage Clean-Up In January, I oversaw a VUSAC cleaning effort to clean up Club Storage. With the help of a number of VUSAC members, who I am extremely thankful for, we cleared out unusable materials, and organized remaining materials. This will provide easier access to materials for clubs, levies, and VUSAC, and generally opened up a significant amount of space in Club Storage.

Club and Levy Equity Training This semester I am working closely with Massoma and Hannah to implement equity training for VUSAC’s clubs and levies. As a matter of policy (and principle!), VUSAC requires that 75% of each levy’s executive and 50% of each club’s executive attend equity training, as clubs

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and levies are outward facing bodies which work directly with our students and communities. In particular, equity training this semester is directed at student organizations who have hired/ elected new representatives, and newly-established student organizations. We invited facilitator Máiri McKenna-Edwards to provide six workshops in mid-February, which should conclude before Caucus. This semester, Massoma, Hannah, and I are very excited that Máiri has agreed to host a new session, entitled “Understanding and Responding to Microaggressions”.

Managing the logistics for equity training remains one of my key priorities as VPSO during this entire period - this involves taking and consolidating attendance lists, notifying clubs and levies of sessions, providing clubs and levies with projections of when they’d meet our requirements, and informing clubs and levies once they had met VUSAC’s requirements.

Budget Steering Committee As VPSO, I am a voting member of the Budget Steering committee, and additionally appointed a club representative (Maria-Victoria Walker-Genovese, Veterinary Medicine Club) and a levy representative (Nikki Pagaling, Caffiends) to the committee. In my work on this committee, I reviewed the budget, and provided my feedback and suggestions to the Finance Chair. In addition to this, after VUSAC elected to table a number of club budget lines at the Budget Ratification Meeting, I followed up with each affected club, and ensured that they had ample opportunity to provide back-up and additional justifications to support their budget requests. In turn, many of these motions were passed at subsequent VUSAC meetings.

Associate Clubs Policy Pursuant to my platform, over the summer, I drafted an Associate Clubs Policy. I raised this policy as an amendment to VUSAC’s Council Policies at the November 22nd meeting, and received some valuable feedback from members of the Victoria College Union. I intend to further revise this policy, and raise it again as a part of VUSAC’s broader efforts to review its governing documents.

General Emails In general, a huge part of my role is responding to email inquiries from clubs, levies, VUSAC, and the Vic Administration. To this end, I have sent around 200 emails so far this semester, concerning everything from general inquiries to equity training.

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ACADEMIC

COMMISSIONER LUCY FARIA

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This semester was a busy term for VUSAC’s Academic Commission, and we’ve facilitated many great events within the academic portfolio. Our programming includes Networking Dinner, Language Learning Cafés, Study Hubs, Immigration Workshops, and a very exciting international potluck event.

We held our annual Networking Dinner event on February 3rd, where we facilitated connections between several amazing Vic alumni and students. Our primary goal with this event is to create a space where students can network and build relationships with past Victoria College graduates. Throughout the night, we welcomed Vic graduates from a range of different professional backgrounds, which allowed our students to assimilate learning experiences not only in areas that they’re familiar with, but also within subjects that they’ve just begun to explore.

For this event, we worked in collaboration with the Alumni Affairs & Advancement Office and the Victoria Alumni Association. The feedback at the event was great, and I’m very happy with how everything ran!

In addition, we’ve also been holding our Language Learning Cafes throughout the term.

Language Cafés are a bi-weekly event where students can get together and practice grammar and vocabulary within a friendly and constructive environment. Our next one will be on Wednesday September 26th, and will be moderated by Spanish facilitators from the Spanish Students’ Organization (SSO).

We’ll also be hosting an Immigration Workshop for international students, where the Immigration Advisor Aziz El Mejdouby will talk to upcoming graduates about the Permanent Residency process, work visas, and more. Aziz currently works for UofT’s Center for International Experience (CIE), and regularly helps international students who are struggling with finding information about the Canadian immigration process.

Throughout the semester, study hub has also been running on a weekly basis. This is a great resource that provides a calm and productive setting where students can work towards specific and concrete goals.

Furthermore, we’re also hiring a Graduation Banquet Chair in conjunction with the Dean’s Office,

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who will be responsible for overseeing the planning and logistics for the annual Graduation Banquet, which takes place in late-April.

I’ve also been working this semester to put forward a new project called the Academic Support Fund, which aims to provide students with refunds on academic materials such as textbooks, iclickers, and software subscriptions. The motivation for this project was largely the financial burden incurred from all the academic expenses that students are forced to pay - which already operate on top of our yearly tuition. I’ve met with several members of Vic staff in order to create the foundations for this project, and it’s a very exciting initiative that could help a lot of undergraduates at Vic! Moreover, it can also help VUSAC branch out from event-focused programs into more advocacy-based work. The Vic institutional bureaucracy has been tough on this end, but hopefully we’ll be able to enact some form of differential programming that helps Vic students who are outside of the Vic bubble.

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ACADEMIC

CO-CHAIR NERIJA GRAY

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As the Academic Co-Chair and newest member on the council, I work alongside our Academic Commissioner to help plan academic events and programming. I’m very excited for you all to see what we have in store for the rest of the year!

First and foremost, a quick recap of the semester so far! At the beginning of February, we hosted our annual Networking Dinner. Attendees were able to have conversations with lawyers, teachers, medical students, and many more remarkable Vic alumni. It was amazing to see such a great turnout, and it seems as if many meaningful connections were made between current students and alums!

The year may be winding down to a close, but the Academic Commission still has plenty of events coming up for all of Vic to enjoy, and we’d love to see you there! On Wednesday, February 26th, make sure you come out to the Spanish Language Learning Café in the Cat’s Eye. Everyone is welcome, including beginners and experts; there will be language learning activities, with tea and snacks catered by Caffiends! If Spanish isn’t your cup of tea (ha ha), keep an eye out for the Portuguese Language Learning Café in early March.

Towards the end of the semester, stay tuned for exam jam! We’ll have plenty of snacks, de-stressing activities, and more to help you feel relaxed and ready to take on the stress-filled frenzy of exam season. You won’t want to miss it!

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COMMUTER COMMISSIONER MICHELLE ZHAO

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Hi VCU members! It’s me, Michelle, reporting back with another semi-annual report on the Commuter Commission! This report will cover things that my commission did in the last month of the fall semester and the beginning of the winter semester, as well as any upcoming events that we are planning.

November 2019 Our biggest event in November (and of the year) is Home for the Holidays. This year we held the event on November 29th in Old Vic Foyer and Alumni Hall. We had just under 100 people in attendance and it was a great night with food and games! We had a variety of activities set up, from a holiday ring toss to guess-the-holidayscent to a scavenger hunt, and we all enjoyed catering by Burwash. I’ve included some photos so make sure to check them out! On the topic of Home for the Holidays, I want to give a huge shoutout to the VOCA Executive team and some members of VUSAC, who were all instrumental in making this event happen and helping it go as smooth as possible!

Winter Semester We kicked off the winter semester with a welcome-back pancake brunch in collaboration with Tran, the Scarlet and Gold commissioner. We had a great turnout and brought in some whipped cream as a new specialty topping. Since then, we’ve received suggestions on new pancake toppings that we are working to bring to the VCU…stay tuned for more!

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REPORT On February 5th, we collaborated with the Dean’s Office and several VUSAC commissions and levies to hold a Victoria College Wellness and Opportunities Fair.

We had an incredible turn out and students had the opportunity to sign up for 10minute massages, grab food from a variety of food stations and learn more about different ways to get involved at Vic in the winter semester! Apart from our weekly pancake brunches, we also held two events so far this semester: a Bob Ross Paint Night on February 6th and a Sugar Cookie Decorating Event on February 14th, which was planned by our collaborations executive!

Upcoming On February 24th-March 6th, we are hosting a game of Commuter Assassins. We’re excited to see how this goes and if there is a large interest in the game! Registration for the game opened on February 12th and will stay open until February 19th. If there are enough open spots, registration may be opened for another day. We also have a Harry Potter Trivia Night coming up in March, as well as a public speaking workshop, which will be organized by a VOCA exec in collaboration with a UofT club that focuses on public speaking. On March 18th, we are collaborating with VUSAC Equity Commission to hold an Open Mic/Karaoke night.

Finally, we are currently in discussion with off-campus representatives from the colleges and direct entry faculties to plan a Commuter Appreciation week in mid-March. This was an initiative introduced a few years ago and involves a week of programming at various locations on campus, all targeted specifically towards commuter students.

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COMMUTER

CO-CHAIR RHEANNON DEMETER

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In addition to the regular services/events VOCA is in charge of throughout the semester: weekly pancake brunches plus collaborations & Goldring locker rentals, we have had several other projects on the go.

Home for the Holidays, which occurred on November 29th, welcomed numerous Vic students and received much positive feedback. On the whole, it was a very successful event!

In terms of other events and updates this semester: - Locker Rentals: Implemented a new 15$ cleaning fee to help ensure lockers are cleaned out in a timely manner and made available for the summer term - Bob Ross Painting Night: Hosted on February 6th in the Cat’s Eye - Sugar Cookie Decorating Competition: Amazing oneoff event headed by our Collaborations Exec duo, hosted on Valentine’s Day in the Cat’s Eye - Commuter Assassins: Reintroduced this year and will be running from February 24th - March 6th - Final Trivia Tuesday of the year with Commuter Dons: Harry Potter themed Kahoot trivia will be happening March 10th with more food and prize packs including Wizarding World treats and Caffiends Stojo cups + gift cards - Commuter Appreciation Week: Will run from March 16th-20th: Is a campus-wide collaboration between commuter representatives, with plans currently in the works As the 2019-2020 school year wraps up, Michelle and I will be conducting an end-of-term review which includes reviewing feedback given from both students throughout the year and our own executive team members, as well as our personal notes pertaining to the overall successes and potential improvements to be made with each facet of our programming.

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EQUITY

COMMISSIONER MASSOMA KISOB

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Committees

I sat on the hiring committees for the Student Orientation Co-Chair and the Orientation Executive team. Additionally, I sit on the Student Projects Fund Committee which began meetings this semester and will continue for the remainder of my term. I attended the February Performing Arts Endowment meeting as a VUSAC representative as well.

Equity Training Additional Equity Training Sessions are being held in the last weeks of February. The workshops were organized in collaboration with Vice President Student Organizations, Cameron Davies, and facilitated by Maìri McKenna Edwards, Coordinator for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Training with UofT Student Life. Upon the request of Tran Thai, Hannah, the Equity Co-Chair, and I will be organizing and Co-Facilitating an Equity Training session for the Highball Committee.

Ongoing Projects Diva Cup Sale – Diva Cups will now be for sale on Fridays in the VUSAC office. They are $20 each with a limit of one per student. Cash only!

Novel Corona Virus Infographic – Working with Equity Commission Member Cheryl Nong to deliver information regarding the virus as well as non-discriminatory actions for individual and community health and safety.

Care Packages – Collaborating with Mental Health and Wellness Commissioner, Spandan Sengupta to determine ideal items to include in packages as well as general logistics for them to be sold to students with proceeds going to the Carey Project. Led by Hannah Ahamedi Letters of Solidarity – Looking to establish letter writing popups to encourage student body to express concerns to Victoria College Administration regarding student mental health. Led

by Hannah Ahamedi

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Guidelines for Student Equity Concerns – Brainstorming a potential document outlining steps that students can take when faced with Equity concerns regarding professors and/or administration.

Past and/or Upcoming Events Equity-Seeking Experiences in Career Pathways: Collaboration with the Office of the Dean of Students and the Office of Alumni Affairs and Advancement to facilitate exploration of career pathways with recent alumni.

January 16: Benjamin Bongolan Vic 0T9 and Clara Ho Vic 1T3 – Special thanks to Natalia Sandoval Sanchez and Alexandra Kurtesi February 11: Devonnia Miller Vic 0T9 and Maryam Shahid Vic 1T4 - Moderated by Ellenoor Shameli March 11 and May 11: Upcoming events with Panelists TBD Environmental Equity Week – Collaboration with the Sustainability Commission to put forward a week of programming encouraging sustainable practices while employing an equity lens Cultural Celebration Series – Will host event in March recognizing Purim, a celebration of Jewish deliverance Led by Katherine Burke Doc n Talks March 17: Collaborating with Science for Peace to show “I am a Citizen of the World” Led by Natalia Sandoval Sanchez Collaborating with Students for Change to host film screening as was done last semester Led by Jenny Zhang March 12: Vic goes to Black on Bay – Hosting Hadiya Roderique in collaboration with Vic Blvck and the UofT Pre-Law Society with financial support from the Victoria College Student Project Fund and the Hart House Good Ideas Fund. A Victoria College Group will walk over to Innis Town Hall together to enjoy the speaker.

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CO-CHAIR HANNAH AHAMEDI

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The past year working with VUSAC has been life-changing in so many ways. Starting off 2019, I had no idea of the community that VUSAC would give to me.

Honestly speaking, doing equity is hard. As someone who has been doing equity-related activities on campus for the past two years, I can say that it is a demanding job that sometimes makes me sad and upset, especially when witnessing incidents that embody discrimination. On the other hand, meeting people across Vic and the UofT campus has reminded me that there is so much good in this world. People are involved, concerned and willing to try their hardest to make a difference regardless of the cost. Having the privilege of being able to work with my commissioner and equity members has brought such happiness to my life. This looks like meetings in the evening bi-weekly, planning projects, having meetings with people from across the university and even sitting down and discussing how equity has impacted us and those in our communities. One of my happiest moments was from an event that I held with the Sustainability Commissioner, Aaminah Attar. Understanding the current attack on indigenous land happening to the Wet’suwet’en people in British Columbia, we held a solidarity event with Amnesty International.

This included painting cloth with messages of unity, watching a documentary that was describing the situation and meeting members of the Victoria community and sharing information regarding the issue. Seeing people come together and work towards activism was a moment in which I felt most accomplished, especially when the turnout was one of the best that I had seen all year!

Additionally, an event that I had coordinated included a conversation with Uzma Jalaluddin, a well-known author who wrote the book “Ayesha at Last”. Seeing the event come together and watching people engage was both meaningful and entertaining.

Moving forward, I hope that by the end of my term I will be able to have completed the current equity forum I have been working on for the past two months. This initiative, which I discussed in my last report, is something that means a lot to me and I hope that by the end of this semester I will have concluded it.

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MENTAL WELLNESS

COMMISSIONER SPANDAN SENGUPTA

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It has been quite an eventful semester so far for the Mental Wellness Commission, with a bunch of events and initiatives we had over the past couple of months. We have a lot more in store too, so watch this space!

At the start of the semester, we put up the Compliment Wall in the Wendy Cecil Atrium in the Goldring Student Centre. It exists as a space for anyone to leave a compliment or message to themselves or someone else and try to help foster a supportive and welcoming community here at Vic. We hope to be able to keep the Wall up for the rest of the semester a n d t h ro u g h o u t ex a m season.

As part of the Wellness and Resource Fair put forward by the Dean’s Office, VOCA, and VUSAC, the commission had a table where participants could play a card game matching campus resources to the services they provide. There was also candy on offer.

We also collaborated with the Commuter and Arts and Culture commissions to put together the Bob Ross Painting Night in the Cat’s Eye. It was a fairly chill event where we followed a Bob Ross painting tutorial and created some art to relax and destress.

The last of the events we have had was called Checking Our Vibes, and it was set up as a self-authoring session, where people had a chance to reflect on the past, check-in on themselves in the present, and set goals for themselves for the future.

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I have also been working with the Dean’s Office on Minding Our Minds, a mental health conference that is scheduled for the 27th of February (if you’re reading this at Caucus, it was yesterday). I’m working primarily on the panel on student narratives and reflections on the state of mental health on campus and the supports that we have access to.

For the remainder of the semester, we have a few things in the works. Firstly, an update to the Mental Wellness Resource Review that was compiled last year along with a set of info cards on the commission along with contact information for different mental health supports on and off campus. Secondly, a collaboration with the Sustainability Commission relating to eco-anxiety, and finally, FARM ANIMALS! Yes, you read that right, we’re planning to have a session with farm animals around the time exams start knocking.

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SCARLET AND GOLD COMMISSIONER TRAN THAI

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Semi-Formal 2020 Starstruck: SemiFormal took place January 10th, 2020 at Old Vic! Tickets were $10 for Vic and $15 for N o n -V i c s t u d e n t s . W e decorated Old Vic with lots of star decorations and lights.

The event was catered by Vic Food Services and we held a cash bar. We also ordered more food than last year and even had a cake! VicXposure took some beautiful photos throughout the night. A shout-out also goes to DJ Bhuti who played fantastic bops throughout the night and had the dance floor moving. After the event, a survey was put out to see what guests thought! I am thankful to say that this year’s semi-formal had the highest attendance of guests and I couldn’t have done it without the help and support from the rest of VUSAC! Highball Highball Committee has been working very hard these past few months in preparing for one of Vic’s most beloved events. This year, we researched and visited many venues in Toronto before finally deciding on the Fairmont Royal York. We wanted a venue in downtown Toronto that was able to accompany a large number of students, accessible, on the TTC line, and was able to provide a variety of food options. The Fairmont Royal York has been very cooperative throughout this process and met all of our standards in a venue for Highball! This year’s theme we selected was “Castle in the Clouds”. The Highball Communications Team consisting of Jay, Cathy, Jocelyn, May and Rheannon have done a fantastic job at promotions! In particular, a large amount of credit goes to Nerija who created the beautiful posters and Facebook Event cover.

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Additionally, I have reached out to VUSAC Equity Commission to have Massoma and Hannah conduct Equity Training for Highball which will take place sometime after reading week! This training is to help the committee to understand how to make people feel comfortable at a large-scale event like Highball. I am also working with our VPI, Katie, to host an Alcohol Training session. Highball is a high-risk event and it is very important that the committee knows how to handle a variety of situations.

Highball Ticket Reservations opened Thursday February 13th at 10AM and 4PM. The 10AM tickets sold out in 10 minutes while the 4PM batch sold out in 15! We plan on having 630 attendees at this year’s Highball, both guests and volunteers. The waitlist went live Friday February 14th.

Overall, I would like to thank Highball Committee for all of the hard work and effort they’ve put into helping me make this year’s Highball spectacular.

Affordable Formal Wear Sale VUSAC’s Highball Committee is collaborating with SuitsU for the second year in a row to provide affordable formal attire to students. We’ve extended the donation system to include suits as well! This will be March 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in the Music Room at Goldring

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SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSIONER AMINAH ATTAR

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Since the commencement of my term in October of 2019 I have worked closely with the Sustainability cochair, Leila, to make the sustainability commission more transparent and work towards goals highlighted in my platform. This includes collaboration, waste reduction, student engagement, working with administration to set sustainability targets, and working with the larger environmental community.

Transparency With regards to transparency we have started to share pictures and information of what we do in the larger University of Toronto community such as the Sustainability Commission’s involvement in the Environmental Working Group.

Our meeting minutes are available upon request. Students with ideas or general comments and questions concerning sustainability at Victoria University are encouraged to email sustainability@vusac.ca.

Student Engagement and Collaboration The Sustainability Commission had held a variety of events over the past school year. We held a solidarity event with Free Grassy, several Doc n’ Talks and most recently a successful Environmental Equity week with the Equity Commission! Students on the Sustainability Commission have been doing fantastic work. Students organized a waste sorting campaign and helped coordinate several events.

We have started a collab with Write Out Waste! You can now recycle Pens/Markers in the VUSAC office! We have more collaborations with LEAP and other campus organizations coming and possibly a clean up!

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Working with Administration On working with administration, this year the commission has focused on three main area: Overall governance, physical plant, and ancillary services.

We wrapped up our Sustainability Strategic Planning Petition towards the end of the Fall semester last year. We collected 138 VCU signatures. This petition highlighted overarching values and principles that we believe should guide Victoria University’s decisions for the future. Currently, various members on the sustainability commission are working on developing concrete asks and a sustainability report to present to administration.

Students on the commission also attended a Board of Regents meeting to get a better understanding of how governance operates at Victoria University. We will be consulting with the VCU in early March of 2020.

Our work with Physical Plant has been going well.

We are in the process of reviewing our composting pilot in VUSAC office and in Annesley Hall Residence and hopefully expanding the pilot and setting goals towards for the pilot. Continuing with the education component of our work with physical plant, Commission members launched the beginning of our waste sorting campaign in November of last year. It was a successful tabling session where students sorted waste and were able to test their knowledge. We are continuing our recycling education campaign this semester.

Lastly, we launched an incentivized reusable mug program with Ancillary services at Ned’s café. We are currently drafting plans for possible future projects. A subcommittee of students to work with Ancillary services to make Victoria College more sustainable was set up in the beginning of this semester Environmental Movement at Large A significant component of the Sustainability Commission involves engaging students in the environmental social issues nationally and globally. In the fall semester we held a speaker solidarity event for Free Grassy and in the Winter semester we held a screening and solidarity event for the Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders. We have students on the commission working with LEAP UofT. We attended the global climate strike in September and November and are currently advertising the next upcoming global climate strike on April 3rd.

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SUSTAINABILITY

CO-CHAIR LEILA TJIANG

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In the past several months, my primary role has been to coordinate the Sustainability Commission’s programming. We coordinated our annual Environmental Equity week with the Equity Commission, and we will continue to run our monthly Doc N’ Talks. Tentative events include an activity on “eco-grief” with the Mental Wellness Commission and a clean-up with the UofT Trash Team. I am confident that we will have great programming this term, as we have had increasing interest and participation from commission members in organizing events.

I have also initiated several organizational systems to help manage various projects. Firstly, to better accommodate members’ schedules we have decided to run our meetings on a biweekly schedule: meetings rotate between Mondays and Thursdays. There has already been an increase in attendance at both meetings. Secondly, at the beginning of the semester, I put together a large chart detailing all of the commission’s potential events, projects, and meetings. We then allowed commission members to sign up for items they wanted to lead or help out with. This helped Aminah and I weed out the ideas with low interest, prioritize ideas with high interest, and keep track of which items each member had committed to helping out with. These two systems were sorely needed, as we had learned last term that it is difficult for two people to consistently keep up with 15 or so commission members while also managing internal projects, liaising with administration, and carrying out VUSAC business.

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ARTS AND CULTURE COMMISSIONER VIVIAN LI

+ Gardiner Gala The Gardiner Gala was a success this year—many thanks to all members of VUSAC, the Arts and Culture councillors, as well as Katie for making it happen!

Lunar New Year Origami with UT FOLD We collaborated with UT FOLD to create tiny mice and rats in celebration of Lunar New Year. We had a good turn-out, and the location (Music Room) was particularly popular with the UT FOLD club members.

Arts and Culture Festival Arts and Culture councillors as well as myself (along with potentially VISA and the councillors of the VPE) are currently planning a festival that cultivates an understanding of unique cultures, food, and artistic disciplines from across the world.

Vic Variety Talent Night We’re currently planning a talent night on the evening of April 2nd for anyone who wishes to participate.

Collaboration with Art Starts I am currently corresponding with Julian from Art Starts as well as Paula, a visual artist, to host a workshop on art sometime in March.

Intersectional Art Panel I am looking into speakers who are in intersectional disciplines related to the arts (ex. video game designer, journalists, music/ sound designers).

ROM After Dark Currently corresponding with the ROM about tickets for the evening of April 24, and will be releasing more details about this event shortly (previously called Friday Night Live).

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CHAIR GABRIELLE DA SILVA

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For me as Chair, the second semester looks ultimately quite similar to the first. Six regular meetings are planned for the semester, again taking place biweekly on Friday nights in the Copper Room. At the beginning of the semester, I ensured that our updated documents on meeting procedures & Robert’s Rules were posted to the website so that they can always be accessible — and they will always also be included within each meeting package.

My focus this semester shifted from facilitating policy to interpreting it! In December we created policy review committees, dedicated to completely going over all of VUSAC’s governing documents. I chair the Constitutional Review Committee, which has been meeting weekly throughout the semester, going over the Constitution in its entirety and updating, clarifying, and adding to the out-of-date document. I’m working in consultation with Michelle and Vibhuti, who chair the Council Policies and Elections & Referenda Code Committees respectively, to ensure that the documents work in tandem to communicate exactly how VUSAC should operate. The process has involved going back through previous meeting minutes and amendments and ensuring everything is up to date, checking in with members of council to ensure that the policies properly reflect their role in practice, and editing the documents for clarity and legibility.

I’ve been trying to work with council this semester on ensuring better communication within council - especially when it comes to attendance. I gave a quick update/presentation at our winter retreat about this and have been reaching out to members to ensure that the way VUSAC operates in terms of the expectations of council members is communicated clearly and fairly. This has been taken into account when going over VUSAC policies - to ensure not only that the policy reflects realistic expectations of students, but also to ensure that all members know what is expected of them.

For the rest of the semester, my goals are to ensure that our policies are updated and not only ratified by council, but retyped, uploaded onto the website, and kept within VUSAC’s internal memory. I’m also hoping to get an early start on a transition report so that whoever takes on this role next year has a good starting point for the summer - and can then work to make this position their own!

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COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR HOLLY JOHNSTONE

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Another semester, another semi annual report! The past few months working with VUSAC have been incredibly productive and I am so proud of the work that this council has achieved thus far. These folks deserve a round of applause and a congratulatory Caffiends latte for all the work they’ve poured into their portfolios.

Working alongside the executive members of council, the various commissioners, cochairs and counsellors, my goal for this semester was to advance VUSAC’s digital presence and promote the council's brand via our social media channels and newly established newsletter.

Newsletters for the months of January, February, and soon to be March, have been compiled in collaboration with the Dean’s Office, 55+ club and levy heads, and the entirety of the VUSAC council. We now have 200+ contacts on our mailing list with a printed sign-up sheet posted on the VUSAC front desk which collects anywhere from 5-10 signatures per week.

Daily tasks of responding to emails, processing post requests, generating promotional materials, and updating the website with relevant information has remained the bulk of my work for the past few months. However, in recent weeks larger projects like Crescam Serviendo Awards promos, the compilation of this semi-annual report, and designing VUSAC council merch have been occupying much of my time.

Over the past three months (from November 20-February 20), visitation for the VUSAC website has increased by 12%, with over 3,300 unique visits during that period. This is likely due to more consistent updates on the website itself and frequent link-sharing on social media posts.

On Instagram our following has grown from 794 followers in late November 2019 to 859 followers as of late February 2020. On Facebook our following has marginally increased from 1,693 to 1,726 during that same 3 month period. Considering that Facebook is a platform used less and less by younger students, it makes sense why the bulk of our follower growth has occurred on Instagram. Regardless, our most popular posts on both platforms are consistently the Member Monday posts and any posts containing information regarding High Ball.

All in all, VUSAC’s social media presence is growing, albeit gradually, which is a trend I hope continues for the next head of this portfolio!

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CHIEF RETURNING OFFICER MARIA PEPELASSIS

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This semester, I have been singularly focused on preparing for the upcoming Spring Elections. Under VPE Vibhuti’s leadership, I was involved in the ERC reform process, which was completed successfully. We clarified certain rules relating to social media and other technical matters, and made the document much easier to read.

Nominations opened on February 14, and I put together the nominations package which was made available as a physical copy on campus, and an electronic copy on the VUSAC website.

This semester, I have planned for the All-Candidates meeting, information sessions on the elections, voting sessions on campus, and the Town Hall. Our goal is to ensure each post is competitive and to encourage participation in elections from a wider range of the student body.

Towards this end, we have developed a digital campaign aimed to communicate with the student body frequently about the benefits of working on VUSAC. With the help of VUSAC and the Dean’s Office, we hope to make this election session the best yet!

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FINANCE CHAIR KATHERINE HOVDESTAD

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I fully assumed the role of Finance Chair in December 2019, taking over from Tyler Biswurm. Within these few short months, a lot has happened!

When I initially took over the position, we were in a pretty rough state. VUSAC has always very responsible with its finances, and thus in using the word “rough” I mean that VUSAC was very behind on its financial obligations and responsibilities. Coming into the position, I had piles of cheques to issue to students and vendors, dating all the way back to March 2019, there wasn’t a single bank reconciliation since February, and I had to gear up for the Winter 2020 budgeting season. Within assuming the role: 1. In the first 2 full days on the job, Alexa and I issued tens of thousands of dollars’ worth in cheques owed to Victoria College students. Within these 2 days, we were fully up to speed on all payments we owed to students and vendors accumulating since March of 2019.

2. With a ton of help of all VUSAC members, I was able to get through my first budgeting period with VUSAC! It was an incredibly stressful time, chasing down budgets from clubs, levies, and staff members where having the official, ratified budget posted to the VUSAC website was the greatest weight lifted off my shoulders!

3. We’ve performed bank reconciliations from March 2019 to October 2019. Promptly after reading week we will be performing the November to February reconciliations.

4. We’re currently organizing levy audits. Details to levies will be made available within the next 2 weeks.

5. Business continues on as usual. In some regards, we are still catching up.

While we’ve been able to stay up to date with our typical duties and financial obligations, we’re behind on some aspects. For example, we use this software called Quickbooks to track all our budgets, but this was never properly set up when I came into term. In comparing actual money spent to budgeted money for the Fall 2019 term, I had to go review every single cheque we issued last semester, tracking spending manually on an excel sheet. From this I applied it to our Winter budget to get a more accurate view of our spending. I am working to set up the system properly to automate this in the future!

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OFFICE MANAGER RENA SEEGER

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Since my last report, most of my time has gone towards my weekly responsibilities. Within the physical office space, this includes decorating and keeping track of printing supplies as well as general office supplies. At the start of this semester I organized a clean-up to organize the club storage and back room space so that resources are more easily accessible, and the space can be used more effectively. This involved keeping stock of what supplies we do have or are missing. This process has also involved making sure supplies are disposed of in a sustainable way. For example, alongside the Sustainability Commission, a box will be set up in the office to dispose of pens and markers that have run out of ink.

Within the physical space, I have also tried to incorporate elements within the office to make the space more welcoming for members of the VCU, including changing the layout of the space, having a box of questions at the front, as well as leaving notes for people to write each other nice messages on. The office decorations also serve to make the office a more welcoming and festive space, and after decorating for the holidays and Valentine’s day, I will start to incorporate more springtime elements as we move into March and the warmer months.

Moving forward, making the space more inviting to members outside of VUSAC is my main priority — I still hear comments that people do not know that the board room is open for all students to come in and study when it is not already being used. I hope to explore different ways of making the office more welcoming that are visible from the outside, like putting out a welcome mat or a larger sign. Recently Alexa put up photographs in the office, and I hope to incorporate more student artwork in the space as well to not only improve the general ambiance of the office but to also showcase the VCU’s talent!

Before the semester finishes, I would like to focus my time on replacing resources that have been around for a while and are no long serving their purpose. I have started this on a smaller scale, replacing old boxes and office supplies, and hope to move to bigger projects soon!

The old printing computers that have now been replaced will also be repurposed and will be likely relocated to the back room. Outside of the physical office, my weekly responsibilities include responding to room bookings in a timely manner, responding to emails regarding supplies, and taking and editing the minutes from meetings.

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COUNCILLOR PAUL CEDRIC BADERE

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For the Mental Wellness Commission, a few members and I ran a booth at the Dean’s Office Opportunities & Wellness Fair in early February. I also ran the event Checking Our Vibes in the Cat’s Eye and it was a pleasant and uplifting time to reflect on our failures and successes of the school year. For the remainder of the semester, I hope to help set up SAD Lamp rentals at the VUSAC office, and to help find potential services for therapy animals for the exam season.

For the Commuter Commission, I have continued making delicious pancakes for the VCU with my peers. Furthermore, this week we started the Pancake Wall of Fame which involves completing a pancake-related challenge to get a polaroid picture of oneself on the wall in the Cat’s Eye. Commuter Assassins is also currently happening, and I will help facilitate the event to its end.

The VUSAC President and I have been conducting the VUSAC Strategic Planning Initiative to gauge the feedback of the VCU and compile a guide for future councils. Thus far, the feedback has been thorough and enlightening as to what future councils can do to better the community, so I extend my thanks to those who filled it out. The surveys will be up until the second week of March, so I encourage more to reach out and give us feedback.

Being a councillor this year has been a great service and learning experience to help bring my own concerns and those of others into discussion and initiatives within VUSAC as much as it has allowed me to work with a variety of hardworking and openminded individuals. I encourage the community to continue to reach out to VUSAC and use the available resources/services that we have to offer, and to address issues/concerns when needed.

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COUNCILLOR DISHA DOBBY

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From foundational projects like budget ratification, Gardiner Gala and Caucus to fresh projects like Inter-Collegiate mixers, VUSACxVISA events, and a Student Scholarship advertising plan, I’ve been very happily engaged at VUSAC this winter.

I supported the Finance Chair by creating the Winter Semester Expense Sheet for the clubs and levies at Vic. I’m excited to gain more insight in the budgeting process by assisting in the preparation of bank reconciliations. While the budget ratification process was in fullswing, the Arts and Culture Commission was also in full-swing as we were actively planning for the much awaited Gardiner Gala. I worked with the two other commission councillors and the Vice-President Internal on everything related to set-up of the event- from deciding on a theme for the night to pinning up photographs for the art exhibit. I’m happy to report that the night was a success!

With regards to new projects, I’m planning on collaborating with St. Michael's College and Trinity College on a few events. This would give Vic students an opportunity to mingle with students from other colleges and would allow us, as a whole, to build relations with.

Another prospect I’m excited about is collaborating with VISA to launch a large-scale event that would run across Vic campus, allowing us to expand our outreach to Vic’s international students.

As we’re getting closer to the end of the academic year, I’m currently working on an advertising strategy in order to make students more knowledgeable about scholarship opportunities for next year. I’m excited to see how these projects are received by the Vic community!

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COUNCILLOR RINTARO ALEXANDER MASUDA

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My name is Rintaro Masuda and I am one of the Upper year councillors for VUSAC. For this semester I am continuing to work with Arts and Culture, Mental Wellness, and the Sustainability Commissions. For the Sustainability Commission, I am working on the Vic Zero project, which is a document with suggestions and guidelines to help Vic become a more sustainable campus. We are using examples from sustainable buildings on U of T campus such as the Exam Center, as well as steps taken by other universities around Canada to make their campuses more sustainable, to aid in building this document.

Furthermore, I am currently in the process of planning a Sustainability x Mental Wellness collaboration which revolves around discussions about eco-anxiety while making a mural. We are reaching out to Healing Hearts Through Art to get some assistance with executing this event.

For Mental Wellness, I am planning an event similar to the one hosted by the Commuter Dons last year, which was the farm animal therapy session during Exam Jam. I have been reaching out to the Commuter Dons about this event, however due to a slow response rate, this event has been pushed back.

Finally for Arts and Culture, we had a successful Gardiner Gala event, and I am currently in the process of planning the Culture Festival event for mid-late March. This event will bring together the diversity of Vic, where students will be able showcase food, music, and Art from their own cultures.

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COUNCILLOR MEHR MUKHTAR

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Apart from fulfilling my duties of attending meetings, sitting on the Constitutional Review Committee and supporting VUSAC council members in their events and initiatives, the second semester brought about numerous wonderful opportunities to assist the portfolios I was assigned to.

On the Sustainability Commission, I was regularly present at commission meetings to engage with members of the VCU who are passionate about implementing sustainable practices and policies. I worked with commission members to implement projects, which included a productive waste sorting campaign, and to plan events such as an upcoming waste clean up project. The Sustainability Commission, alongside the Equity Commission, held an Environmental Equity Week which I helped support through logistical aid as well as attending the events which involved a consumerism workshop as well as talks by indigenous activists. I have tentative visions for what I want to bring to the commission; namely the introduction of a sustainability mandate for VUSAC and sustainability training for clubs and levies. I would like to see this come to fruition as a beneficial guide to increase awareness and improve the way VUSAC functions.

For the Scarlet & Gold Commission, we successfully hosted the Semi-Formal which was widely attended by the VCU. I continued facilitating the Commissioner with planning Highball through site visits and spearheading the creation of Decorations alongside the other assigned councillors. I was involved in the logistical planning for the Affordable Formal Wear Sale which would make formal clothes more accessible for the VCU, reducing the barriers to attending events such as Highball.

On the VPE portfolio, I was focused on ways to advocate for and promote the interests of the VCU. This involved meeting with VISA to collaborate on events which endorse the needs of international students to highlight their unique experiences. I was also interested in looking for more avenues to augment indigenous activism at Victoria College through improving relations with indigenous communities in a way that is collaborative, representative and respectful. My role also includes assisting in hosting Caucus to ensure that all governing bodies and levies are transparent and accountable to the VCU which is a necessary facet of student government.

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COUNCILLOR JAY MUOIO

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Since submitting my fall semi-annual report, I have performed a variety of duties on VUSAC. I sat on the Elections and Referenda Code Review Committee, where I helped construct the amendments to VUSAC’s Elections and Referenda Code that were ratified at the January 31st VUSAC Meeting. I have also attended multiple joint meetings between the Council Policy Review Committee and the Constitutional Review Committee.

VOCA (Commuter Commission) Since the fall report, I have continued to attend a weekly shift at VOCA's Pancake Brunches, where I help prepare and serve pancakes, as well as aid with take down and clean-up. I worked on Home for the Holidays, where I helped prepare and set-up decorations, as well as helped create and run various games during the event. I am also working with other members of the VOCA exec to get the Commuter Assassins event running this semester.

Arts & Culture Commission I attended a commission meeting and helped plan out decorations and other logistics for Gardiner Gala.

Scarlet & Gold Commission Under the leadership of the Scarlet & Gold Commissioner, I, and the other two councillors on the commission, helped plan Semi-Formal; this ranged from coming up with the theme and name, to creating decorations, and more. I was specifically responsible for helping design this year’s ticket and promotional material. Along with the rest of VUSAC, I helped set-up the event and had a couple one-hour shifts performing certain responsibilities throughout the night to help the event run smoothly. I was a part of the decision-making process concerning this year’s Highball venue, discussing quotes with the rest of the commission, which were then brought to the Highball Committee, to then finalize the venue. As a member of the Scarlet & Gold Commission, I sit on the Highball Committee. I have attended multiple meetings where we have discussed the details surrounding Highball, and I oversee the tickets/communications sub-committee according to the instructions provided to me by the Commissioner. As part of this sub-committee, I am working with a team of other committee members to help design the Highball tickets and all promotional material related to Highball.

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COUNCILLOR FATIMA RANA

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Being a VUSAC Councillor this year has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I have been able to see behind the scenes of how major things operate at Victoria College and it has truly been wonderful and a pleasure so far. I have been able to get to know the commissions in a unique leadership and operations perspective.

In the last few months, I worked really closely with the Scarlet and Gold commission. I was and currently am still one of the heads of the decorations sub-committee where I got the chance to plan and execute the decorations for semi-formal. I am currently doing the same for Highball as well.

In addition to that, as a Councillor I have gained important insights and leadership roles involved with being on the council by attending regular meetings for not only the commissions i am involved with, but also for VUSAC as well. For VOCA, I am sitting on the committee that is leading Commuter Assassins and I was able to sit with the other heads to plan the rules and regulation of this major event. I cannot wait to see how the remaining of these Vic events turn out! It is truly an exciting and insightful experience!

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2019-2020

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COUNCILLOR ELLENOOR SHAMELI

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During my second term as councillor, I have continued to work under various commissions. I have been particularly engaged in the Equity and Academics commissions this term. The Equity Commission has held a number of ‘Equity-Seeking in Career Pathways’ events, one of which I moderated and lead discussions for.

The event I moderated was an enlightening experience for participants (including myself) and the conversations fostered were both meaningful and useful in terms of future career aspirations. Some of the topics discussed included healthy work and life habits, a typical workday for the alumni, and the importance of self-care.

As for the Academic Commission, I have attended and contributed to meetings in preparation for the Networking Dinner. I have also continued exploring the possibility of an Academic Don role at Victoria College through various meetings, notes, and conversations. The feasibility of this project will become clearer through subsequent meetings in the coming weeks.

In addition to my work on commissions, I worked with other council members in a committee to update the Election and Referenda Code for the coming elections. Many important revisions were made, including the clarification of language in the areas of social media, postering, and the definition of slander. Furthermore, I contributed to the preparation for both the Semi-Formal and Gardiner Gala.

Finally, I attended a naloxone training session to ensure that I was well equipped for any emergencies that may arise at various events. I intend to continue working within my commissions and elsewhere in VUSAC for the rest of the term.

VUSAC

38

2019-2020

REPORT

COUNCILLOR JENNY ZHANG

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Over the past semester, along with the other councillors, I have been ardently participating in VUSAC meetings and helping out at events such as Semi-formal and Networking Dinner. The Academic commission is bringing back language learning cafés; I am looking forward to attending and seeing you there if we are able to secure a facilitator for French!

On the Equity Commission, I made food arrangements for a Doc n’ Talk last semester that was ultimately cancelled due to a projector failure at the Cat’s Eye. In the coming weeks I will hopefully be more successful in running another Doc n’ Talk in collaboration with Students for Change; stay connected with VUSAC on socials for more details!

I’d also like to take a moment to advertise that Diva Cups, a sustainable medical grade menstrual product, will be back for sale in the VUSAC office on Fridays at an unbeatable price of $20.

VUSAC

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CONTACT ADDRESS: 150 Charles Street West Toronto, ON M5S1K9

E-MAIL: communications@vusac.ca

WEBSITE: vusac.ca

PHONE: (416) 585-4473

THANK YOU!