Hi everyone,
It’s been a pleasure to have led and supported VUSAC throughout these last few months. I’d love to provide some insight into what I have been doing since the last semi-annual report.
To begin, Jackson, Anne, and I have worked to restructure some of our meeting procedures at the end of December. A section for first-year, upper-year, and international councillors has been added to our updates which provides spaces for councillors to speak about their work. Next, during VUSAC meetings, people are now seated randomly to allow for more council mingling. In addition, land acknowledgements are now being done by a different council member at every meeting; this allows for everyone to express gratitude to the land we work on and to honour Indigenous people who have been present on this land throughout history and today.
In January, I assisted Ninon with Semiformal, Amelia with Gardiner Gala, and Charlie with a Lunar New Year event. Ninon, Amelia, and Charlie all did a phenomenal job at spearheading and organizing these events, and seeing large-scale in-person events come back to life was incredible. Highball, which is organized by the Scarlet and Gold Commission, is happening in mid-March and I look forward to seeing how Ninon, Kate, Luca, and Carolyn’s visions will come to life.
In terms of other council initiatives, the VUSAC office is being reorganized and re-structured over reading week, so swing by and give it a look if you have not done so yet. I have also been contributing to the review of all of our governing documents, which will all be modified by the end of this term.
Lastly, I am working with Diana, Shane, Food Services, Emmanuel College, and the Muslim Students’ Association to support students who observe Ramadan. VUSAC and Vic do not have the facilities to offer students proper services, but we are in touch with groups who do so and are working to make sure that there are provisions in place for Ramadan.
As part of my role as President, I meet regularly with head administrative members at Victoria College, notably President McEwen and Dean Castle. Most recently, we have focused on food services at Vic and the police response to mental health. To begin, Burwash Dining Hall is in need of data collection. How much food do students eat? Which days and meals are the most popular among students? Determining these will help us understand how to eliminate food waste and to better serve students while being more costeffective. To add, I have been focusing on the campus response to mental health crises, especially when police become involved. There is currently little information on what circumstances the police become involved in during student mental health crises and no information at all on how often the police have been called this past academic year. There needs to be more transparency on what procedures are followed in order for police to be called for students’ safety and more data on how frequently these procedures are implemented.
With the Principal’s Office, a working group on EDIA within Vic College programs has been established. I
have been advocating for improved diversity within Vic College courses since my time as Equity Co-Chair in 2020-2021, so seeing this work finally come to fruition is very exciting. So far, the conversations have been focused on accessibility, representation of diverse backgrounds and perspectives among faculty, EDIA training for instructors and TAs, diversity and inclusion in teaching materials and curriculum, and how “student success” is defined. The group will continue to meet throughout the winter term and continue these conversations with Principal Esterhammer. Like most initiatives, permanent change takes time, but I look forward to seeing where the group’s work will take Vic programs in the future.
On the Board of Regents, student fees have been raised by 6.4%. Students continue to feel the increasing pressure of a city that becomes more unaffordable to live in, and as costs continue to rise, students find themselves in need of affordable student housing and food. I am thinking of how VUSAC can play its part in supporting students financially through reduced service costs or through a better connection of Vic and UofT’s financial resources.
Speaking of the Board, we are in the process of hiring a new Bursar/CAO. This is an incredibly confidential process, but I have approached it with the VCU’s values of equity and sustainability in mind, which I have made sure to share with the search committee and the Board.
There are initiatives that I have delayed due to my own faults and shortcomings, for which I acknowledge and apologize. The Goldring Student Centre space review survey will be released after reading week and results will be compiled by the end of April into a report for next year’s council to work with. This work is being done with the goal of understanding how spaces in Goldring are used so that VUSAC and other student groups can best serve the VCU.
For next year’s leadership, I advise that VUSAC be led with care and compassion. There is great power in the collective and VUSAC must do the work to lead the Victoria College Union and represent all its voices to their fullest potential. To everyone on this year’s council, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s been incredible working with you and seeing everyone’s growth over this past year. You’ve found your strengths, pulled off successful events, and have started meaningful initiatives that will leave a mark on the VCU. Each and every one of you have accomplished so much and will continue to grow. I cannot wait to see what VUSAC will do with the rest of the term. Thank you for allowing me to be your President, for it has been the honour of a lifetime.
I’ve been working on many things since writing my last report in November 2022. Over the winter break, I worked with the councillors under my portfolio to conduct research into the meal plan and residence policies of other colleges at the University of Toronto. This work was meant to inform our approach to opposing administrators’ attempts to raise fees, but despite the opposition of all its student representatives, the Board of Regents nevertheless voted to increase ancillary fees by 6.4% for Victoria College students on February 9th, 2023. Rather than limiting spending on unproductive and less useful projects, the Board made the decision to shift the rising costs of living onto students, making life at Victoria College increasingly unaffordable. It is imperative that our administrators find ways to ensure that affordable housing is available for students with financial need, as Victoria College cannot claim to be supportive of diversity and inclusion while it ensures that only the most privileged students can live on its campus.
Divestment at Victoria University and the University of Toronto is another issue I have been focusing on since my election to this position. Rather than reviewing reports from the Investment and Property committees and the President’s Office on the feasibility of divestment at the Board meeting on February 9th (in accordance with commitments made in June 2022), the Board will not see any reports nor make any decisions on divestment until April 2023 at the earliest. It has taken Victoria University far too long to do the right thing and commit to divesting from direct and indirect exposure to fossil fuels, but I remain optimistic that important results will be achieved by the end of 2023. On the other hand, I have called into question the University of Toronto’s commitment to divesting completely from indirect exposure to fossil fuels at meetings with top administrators, and rather than receiving an answer in the positive or negative, they have told me that they do not know and will follow up with more information. This, to me, suggests that students are being deceived by their administration. Over the next two months, I will continue pushing for answers about what the University has actually committed to.
Another initiative I’ve taken on along with several other members of VUSAC is advocating for better data collection and reporting on mental health responses at Victoria College. Currently, the Office of the Dean of Students has no policies or procedures in place to guide its actions and does not collect weekly, monthly, or yearly data on how many crisis calls they get or how many times they call Campus Safety or Toronto Police, yet collecting and publicizing this data is crucial for students to understand the climate of mental health at Victoria College. Furthermore, the use of police personnel rather than trained mental health professionals in response to crises is a questionable practice that must be called out. For the final months of my term, I will continue to advocate for better alternatives for and greater transparency surrounding mental health response at Victoria College.
In Fall 2022, following several years of demands from myself and other members of VUSAC and the wider Victoria College community, President McEwen and Principal Esterhammer agreed to establish a studentfocused working group seeking to better integrate EDIA principles into Victoria College’s academic offerings. This group, consisting of students currently enrolled in Victoria College programs and courses and former Vic One students, has been meeting over the course of the Winter semester, and will continue to meet in the coming months and hopefully years, as this work is never really finished. Some of the topics discussed include increasing BIPOC representation among course instructors, including course materials from a more
diverse group of scholars, changing teaching methodologies, and creating opportunities for students to take different pathways within Victoria College programs. It is my expectation that some tangible results will be achieved from this working group in the not too distant future.
In the coming weeks, I will be working to ensure the smooth running of our semesterly Caucus meeting and the Crescam Serviendo Awards Ceremony. Furthermore, I will be working in conjunction with the Equity Commission and Muslim Students’ Association to ensure that the needs and interests of Muslim students observing Ramadan at Victoria College are being met by the Office of the Dean of Students. The accommodations available for Muslim students are an improvement upon those offered last year, but much work still needs to be done. Finally, I plan to work with the councillors on my portfolio to create informative posts to be published on Instagram and one-pagers to be posted on campus in an attempt to raise students’ awareness of the many issues facing them at Victoria College and beyond.
Hi Vickies!
I hope you all are having a great winter semester and a relaxing reading week! I am Jackson Leslie, VUSAC’S Vice-President Internal, and I am back to give you updates since we spoke last in November. I appreciate you taking the time to read this.
I wrapped up November doing check-ins with councillors. This year VUSAC has 3 first-year councillors, 5 upper-year councillors and 1 international councillor. Check-ins are a great way for me to see how folks are personally (VUSAC aside) and then talk about how they are finding the role. I dedicated the time with councillors to review their assigned portfolios– how they are finding their involvement, discussing expectations and areas we can improve. Across the board, councillors expressed gratitude for the love and support other council members showed– a feeling I share.
In December, I would be meeting with Amelia (Arts and Culture Commissioner), Soo (President), and Ali (Campus Life Coordinator) to begin planning for Gardiner Gala. We had meetings to brainstorm what we wanted the event to look like, capacity, meeting with potential student bands, and catering. To wrap up this month, I chair the Orientation Student Co-Chair interviews. I met with Ali to organize the interview panel, draft questions, and coordinate interview times.
January and February were quite hectic for me, partly because of a short winter break and largely due to the many events and responsibilities that needed to be completed. In January, there would be weekly Gardiner Gala meetings to finalize event details, catering, volunteer schedules, advertising and ticket release as February 2nd approached. Ninon (Scarlet and Gold Commissioner), Soo and I would also frequently meet to discuss and finalize the event details for Semi-Formal that was held on January 20th. I took the week we returned from winter break to have check-ins with the 7 commissions. We spent this time reviewing events/initiatives, their budgets and reflecting on the previous semester– what we liked, didn’t like, and what we would do differently. During the winter break, President McEwen and I were contacted by a professor from St. Mike’s to collaborate on an event featuring an Italian rap artist Amir Issaa to kick off Black History Month. President McEwen and I met to finalize the event details after the break. I also wanted to take this time to talk with her about what she hopes to accomplish during her term as President. Being heavily involved in the Black community at UTM and an advocate for Black excellence, I specifically wanted to discuss her goals for the Black student at Vic. Another responsibility I have as VPI is to coordinate and chair policy review meetings for our governing documents (Constitution, Council Policies, and the Elections and Referenda Code). I have weekly meetings with interested council members to discuss any edits we want to make, which are then presented to council as a discussion item and voted on two weeks later. I then ended the month having check-ins with our 5 staff members.
In February, Ninon, Soo, Ali, and I began planning for Highball. We have been looking at different venue options, catering, and planning what we want the event to look like. Though the event is a month away, I suspect the time will fly by. I finished off my check-in series by meeting with the councillors. I finished up my February duties chairing the Orientation Executive Interviews. I would meet with Ali to assemble a hiring
committee, draft questions, and coordinate interview slots for the numerous applicants.
I have also been spending some time working on my SAD lamp initiative. As someone who struggled immensely with the lack of sun when moving to Toronto, I saw significant improvements in my mental health when I started light therapy. When we return from the reading week, I plan to make them available to students and have them stationed around the VUSAC office. This has been feeding into the conversations I have been having with Lara (Office Manager) on how we can make the VUSAC more welcoming to students.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, any initiatives, or need support, please feel free to send me an email at vpi@vusac.ca.
I wanted to note at the beginning of this report that it’s been so great working with everyone on council this year! I am very proud of the work we have done, and I can’t wait for all that we and VUSAC are able to do moving forward for Vic students, representing their interests as a union.
Club applications are still open! So far I have been able to help two new clubs with their ratification this term. If anyone would like to start a new club, I would direct them to the Club Application Form under the Student Resources section of the VUSAC website. It’s always great to have new additions to student life here at Vic so that every student can explore their passions and find their group!
As VPSO, I get to meet frequently with each club and levy head to better grasp how I can support them in their work. I have finished the levy check-ins, and I hope to have all of the winter club check-ins done before caucus. During these meetings, we review their terms so far, help resolve any issues they face, and start planning for the future. During the levy head check-ins, we also began the process of reviewing their governing documents. One of the main issues brought up in these meetings regards access to Goldring, which I have been working with the Dean’s Office to find better solutions for and increase student access to the student centre. I will also be conducting levy audits along with our fantastic Finance Chair Thomas.
The All Club Heads Meeting took place near the end of January. During the meeting, we reviewed how budgeting works, connecting with alternate sources of funding, as well as event planning. We also had wonderful discussions on how to continue increasing student involvement in clubs and levies (which you can join at any time!!!). I am now planning club and levy hiring fairs in the spring for their executive positions which start opening soon. I was also able to work with the extraordinary Equity Commissioner Diana to build a new equity training framework for student organisations that is more discussion-based and applicable to their specific functions and potential issues. We’ve since heard great feedback from the participants, and we hope this new model will be able to benefit the Vic community in the future.
After much consultation at VUSAC meetings, fall caucus, and discussions with international students, VUSAC decided to revive the Victoria International Student Association rather than absorbing it as a commission. I ran hiring for all of the levy executive positions, getting it up-and-running. I am very excited for what this team will be able to do for international students! I also helped with the hiring of new Co-Managers for Cat’s Eye and Caffiends, and I know those teams are doing spectacularly as well!
There is a storage room meant specifically for Vic’s student organisations, where we can not only store clubspecific items, but also hold communal supplies which will allow for less spending and waste of duplicates. Unfortunately, this storage room has been un-operational for some time, but over reading week, I am cleaning, re-organizing, and cataloguing it for use.
I’ve also been researching divestment and the Vic oil well. There was a phenomenal Strand article on the topic of the university’s refusal to divest from fossil fuels which I highly encourage everyone to read and share with friends. It is deplorable for an institution like Victoria University to profit off environmental degradation and health devastation. I implore the Board of Regents to search their conscience, thoroughly
investigate their impact, and close the oil well. If Vic hopes to continue promoting itself as a beacon of innovation and progressivism, then they need to live up to that title, joining other institutions that have begun the process of divesting.
Another project I’m working on with other members of council is a report on mental health at Vic. We’re focusing on the policies and procedures relating to mental health, specifically the use of police by the Vic administration and Dean’s Office. Forced police involvement is not the best practice in dealing with mental health crises, and often causes more harm for those seeking help, especially when those students come from marginalised communities.
I’m also starting a report on Victoria University’s finances. Much of that information is private or inaccessible. Students, who pay these fees, deserve to hold the university accountable for their spending. VUSAC has public meetings which invite all Vic students, and we publish our full detailed budgets. I hope that the Vic administration would aim for a similar level of transparency. Vic should be held to the highest standards of accountability, so issues can’t be hidden in the shuffle of numbers released under cloak and dagger.
Dear Vickie,
As I reflect upon my journey with VUSAC, I realize that my team makes me to realize that the successes are not mine but ours, and likewise, the failures. As I have said before, we have one purpose – you! Last semester, our student experience survey received a 5.02% response rate – 19.98 percentage points lower than my personal target. Despite the small figure, our results highlight the following:
• Major transition concerns include mental health (73.70%), time management (71.20%) and effective studying (67.20%).
• Only 42.60% of the respondents ranked their overall educational experience a 4 out of 5.
• Students desire more study spaces (69.70%).
• Major events of interest include career fairs (64.60%), scholarship workshops (60.10%) and networking events with professors (57.60%).
Our analysis stresses the following:
• Mental health concerns do not solely pertain to transition periods hence the need for quick access to mental health support systems with faster response times.
• Students’ concerns over time management may be linked to the struggle of discovering favorable studying habits amongst other factors.
• While there are study spaces on campus, they may not be operational 24 hours or post mid-night.
• The commission needs to organize student demanded events and the lack of such events may justify the low engagement rate with VUSAC and its branches.
Considering this analysis, we choose to add advocacy to our goals of this semester. As stated in my last report, my team is working to build an interactive webpage by the end of March. It shall feature our commission’s new logo from the just concluded logo design competition. The goal is to provide you with an active information channel about the commission.
We commenced this semester by planning ‘Life After Vic – a networking night with the Vic alumni’, scheduled for the 2nd day of March, in the year 2023. This event is a great opportunity for you to engage with the Vic alumni, over various disciplines of interest to bag knowledge about the world beyond academics.
Last semester saw the return of the Burwash study space which had an impressive response rate. My CoChair and I have hosted meetings with the Residence Life Coordinator to devise ways of improving this space and making it more accessible to students. This semester, we hope to make improvements to the available support materials, power sourcing, lighting, and snacks. Study care packages shall also be distributed on the first two days of the program.
I also intend to host meetings with the Mental Wellness Commissioner and VUSAC to discuss the results of the survey. Topics of discussion shall include the mental health concerns, impacts of mental health on academics and lifestyle, available support, amongst others. I perceive that a collaborative effort to provide quick access to support with faster response times is of urgent concern. Holistically, my team and I intend to respond to student needs based on our engagement with you.
Yours Faithfully, Dhir Shah – Academic Commissioner 2022 / 2023
The Academic Commission’s winter term program of events has been hugely emphasized so far on career development, along with preparing first-year students for the years coming ahead throughout their time in university.
Since January, my time as the Academic Co-Chair has been predominantly spent on planning one of the most anticipated events from this commission, Life After Vic in collaboration with the Alumni Affairs Office! We are also excited to announce that the Vic Networking Night will make its comeback to in-person this year. With up to 13 confirmed alumni attending working in various fields across industries such as health science, finance, law, education and much more. Furthermore, we hope this event will be an excellent opportunity for Vic students to meet and connect with professionals in their field of interest, discover job opportunities and initiate contacts for future career opportunities.
Furthermore, our team is also in the early stages of initiating two career development series workshops, focusing on building your resume, cover letter and interview tips. We have been working closely with Vic’s career advisor in establishing this workshop, with the main purpose of strengthening students' confidence and skills when seeking job postings.
It has been a pleasure working with the commission members to make these events come to fruition. I strongly hope that before this school year comes to an end, we manage to successfully serve the Vic students with the right resources and opportunities to prosper on their academic and career journey ahead!
This is one of the annual Vic events which was able to return this year! This took place on February 2nd at the Gardiner Museum. The night was an opportunity to appreciate student art as there were 20 photos displayed which were chosen as the winners of the Gardiner Gala Photo Contest. Additionally, a student band played jazz for the evening and guests were free to give themselves tours of the museum to appreciate all the beautiful ceramics that live there.
This is a film festival happening on March 25th and will involve screening all of the entered short films. The submission period commences from March 1st until March 24th at 11:59pm. The event provides students with the option to create their own short film. There are two options for students to participate in, either shoot their short film on a phone (historically most have been around 5 minutes). The other option involves using a professional camera to shoot their film (historically most in this category are around 15 minutes). There will be a submission form in our Instagram bio for students to submit their short films. The short films will be judged by the Commission and we will be awarding category prizes for best short film shot on a phone and best short film shot on a professional camera. The winners will be announced on our Instagram.
The Arts and Culture Commission will have a signup form coming out soon for (cost-covered) classes at the Gardiner Museum! Look out for more information about how to sign up and specific details with dates and times.
In the fall term, the sustainability commission hosted a clothes swap. We invite you to join us for an event where we will be upcycling some of the clothes that were left over from this the clothes swap (using fabric paint and other deco)r to make them into something you love and want to wear.
The Vic Variety Show is an annual event at Vic and will be returning in person this term.This event will allow Vic students to showcase their gifts, talents, abilities etc. and be celebrated for their contributions. Look out for more information about dates and times
For Commuter Appreciation Week, the Arts and Culture Commission will be collaborating with the Commuter Commission to paint a banner. This event will take place on Tuesday March 7th from 3 - 5pm in the Quad (or in the Wendy Cecil Atrium if it is raining). I hope to see you there!
The Bob Sketch Comedy Revue was invited to Skidmore Comedy Festival in Saratoga Springs. In February, they crossed international borders to perform with other college comedy groups from across the United States.
The winter semester is off to an amazing start! Let’s get into it.
Pancake brunches so far have been great! Though we had a bit of a rocky start, we have settled into the routine once again. We have also started to collaborate with other UofT student groups including CommuKNITy, Students for Collective Resistance Vic, VOICES, and have more planned.
My main project this semester has been Commuter Appreciation Week, a five-day collaboration with different colleges across UofT. As of right now, we have participation from New College, St. Mikes, Innis, and Woodsworth college. We have many events planned such as origami and clay painting, PRESTO ticket giveaway, community mural painting, and a Beavertail’s truck on Friday afternoon to end it all off. The other colleges are planning on hosting a gift card bean bag toss giveaway, movie night, and more.
Our wonderful duos are killing it once again this semester! Here’s what they’ve been up to and some programming they have planned:
• Administrative (Michelle and Jacob) - Update announcements on the whiteboard in the Commuter Lounge, track pancake inventory, record meeting minutes and share highlights with team
• Advocacy (Leeanne and Zaiboon) - Winter programming survey (January), welcome back Victoria College sweatshirt giveaway (January), self-care giveaway with Commuter Dons (February)
• PRESTO ticket giveaway (March, Commuter AW), April giveaway (TBD), Snacks and Ladders multicultural snacks and game night with the Events Duo (March)
• Collaborations (Jiwoo and Aimee) - Board games cafe with Cat’s Eye (February)
• Community Mural Painting with VUSAC Arts and Culture Commission (March, Commuter AW), UofT mental health groups collab (April)
• Communications (Tiffany and Alishba) - Design beautiful graphics for our Instagram, organized Commuter e-Valentines, winter photo contest
• Events (Anne and Spencer) - Vision board making (January)
• Origami and clay painting (March, Commuter AW), Snacks and ladders with advocacy duo (March)
• First-Year Execs and Councillor (Jacob, Armiti, Alexa, and Juhyung) - Vinyl paint night in March
In March, Emilie and I will be hosting the second “Spring Bloom: Build a Bouquet” event. We are also looking into hosting self-defense workshops with the 519 in March depending on their availability. Outside of my work on VOCA, I sat on the Orientation Executive team hiring panel and attended the Cat’s Eye Advisory Board meeting.
It’s hard to believe that my time on VUSAC this year is coming to an end. I am excited for the upcoming March elections and helping the incoming Commissioner transition into the role in April and May. I have had an amazing experience working with others on council to create excellent programming and advocating for students’ needs.
To my phenomenal VOCA team and Co-Chair: Thank you for all your hard work and participation. I appreciate you all so much and I could not do this without you. It’s been a privilege and an incredible experience being your Commissioner <3
VOCA started off the winter semester strong with multiple programs and events occurring in January and February. I re-assigned locker rentals in the Commuter Lounge, and pancake brunches resumed with occasional collaborations with other student groups.
Since my last report, I began to sit on the Student Projects Committee as a Committee Member. Maarib and I have been planning on submitting our own applications to the Fund for commuter safety alarms and tote bags. I have also been a member of the Constitutional Review Committee, where we are reviewing and updating the current VUSAC constitution.
Our main event in March will be Commuter Appreciation Week (March 6th - 10th ) where we will host multiple cross-college events. Our main event will be on Friday March 10th , which will be a free Beavertail truck. I am looking forward to our Co-Chair event, which will be a repeated event Maarib and I did as the Events Duo last year on VOCA. The event is called Spring Bloom: Build a Bouquet, where students will select flowers of their choice and build a mini bouquet for themselves or their loved ones.
My time as the Commuter Co-Chair has been one of my favourite experiences of university thus-far. I want to thank all of VUSAC for being great people to work with, my executive team on VOCA for being absolutely exceptional, and my incredible Commissioner for being my partner through all this. I look forward to continuing to serve the Vic community in the future.
Thus far, the Equity Commission has had an incredibly productive start to the semester. We have notably seen a significant increase in our collaborations with other organizations and entities, leading us to provide a great variety of valuable services to the Vic community.
To begin, VUSAC ended last semester by providing support to the Academic Commission’s exam jam giveaway, helping to purchase, order, and package study and well-being materials given away via Instagram. We gave packages to around 80 winners, and we’re grateful to have been able to support and expand this endeavor by the Academic Commission.
Along with VUSAC’s VPSO, I worked to develop coherent equity training for student organizations. 75% of levy executives and 50% of club executives are mandated to attend equity training, and thus Michael and I conducted four separate training sessions across February 3 and 4. Our in-person attendance was 114 students, and Michael and I are currently editing a virtual version to send out to executives who may not have been able to attend. The feedback we have received both verbally and via our feedback form has been overwhelmingly positive, giving us a strong outline to use moving forward.
With the Sustainability Commission, we ran Environmental Equity Week from February 6 to 10. We had a panel on discussing environmental equity, a story walk with Professor Jon Johnson discussing the Indigenous history of UofT land, a collaboration with RealTalk discussing divestment at Vic, and, ending the week, an exciting DivestFest including trivia and information distribution on what divestment is and how it works. We are incredibly grateful to those who supported us during this week, including our speakers, RealTalk, Stop Ecocide, the Cat’s Eye, and both of our executive teams. Overall, most events saw a turnout of 15-20 people, with DivestFest appearing to hit close to 100 attendees over the course of the four hour event. We are incredibly proud of the work that was done, and hope to see equally well-attended events moving forward!
Our programming moving forward is looking equally (or, perhaps, equitably) exciting. The Commission is currently planning to offer up to four free, inclusive swimming lessons to students, a life-saving skill for those who may not have had access to lessons growing up. In collaboration with VOICES (Victoria College Organization for Information, Care, and Empowerment of Survivors), the Vic branch of the PEARS Project (Prevention, Empowerment, Advocacy, Response, for Survivors), we plan to give away around 25 menstrual cups to Vic students, making sustainable menstrual care more accessible to the general Vic population. We are also planning to collaborate with Vic BLVCK to plan a healing art workshop for Vic students, led by a community artist. Finally, we are coordinating the Gender Affirming Gear Giveaway with Vic Pride, providing lifesaving gender-affirming services and supplies to the Vic community.
Overall, we are greatly looking forward to this semester, and are grateful for the support we have received throughout the year so far.
The Equity Commission continues to work hard to deliver tangible results for students. I am proud of the work we did last semester to make campus more equitable and excited for our plans this term.
In collaboration with Diana, I have addressed and will continue to engage with several key issues of concern.
At Trinity College, the allocation of funds for a gender-affirming gear program was the subject of controversy that made transgender students feel unwelcome and marginalized. I am pleased that, at Vic, our commission’s budget which included an $1,000 commitment to Vic Pride’s gender-affirming gear giveaway passed unanimously.
Additionally, our budget included funding for iftar meals during Ramadan. The Equity Commission has been advocating for Food Services to provide adequate options for Muslim students during Ramadan for several years. While they continue to abdicate responsibility, we will do our best to fill the void.
A particular focus for me has been the annual Equity Commission survey, which will be sent out soon after reading week. Our commission relies on student consultation, and the survey will be a vital guide for our advocacy for years to come.
VUSAC continues to provide free menstrual products, and in collaboration with PEARS, the Equity Commission will be hosting a menstrual cup giveaway later this year.
I thoroughly enjoy supporting Diana and the commission executives as co-Chair. If you are interested in Equity at Vic and want to get involved, please email us at equity@vusac.ca.
Hello Vickies! I hope you are having a lovely day wherever you are reading this from. My second year leading the VUSAC Mental Wellness Commission is reaching an end, and with that comes feelings of both excitement and bittersweetness. My goal at the beginning of this year was to create “signature” events for our commission, as well as branch out and continue to evolve as Victoria College and the unique circumstances students face change. Here is a list of events, initiatives, and plans we have for the remainder of the term.
I have been an avid user of the bullet journal since 2015, and I have found it immensely helpful for tracking habits and retaining structure. As I have begun facing more difficulties in my mental health, I have found having an outlet immensely helpful. On March 2nd, our commission will be hosting a journaling workshop, complete with a journal kit for each participant, helpful prompts, and snacks.
Our team is always inspired by VOCA (shoutout to the amazing team leading an elite commission!) and their programming, especially their traditional weekly pancakes. We have begun a weekly wellness tea party and are hoping that this will become a part of our programming for years to come. We have experimented with different locations, snacks, and are looking forward to implementing creative programming each week. Please join us on Thursdays from 3-4 in Wymillwood!
As our commission is named Mental Wellness, we are hoping to develop a more nuanced understanding of mental health and become more prepared to assist with situations involving mental health. I have begun seeking out training for suicide prevention, and am hoping to find more training for our team to undergo.
Our commission’s mission is split between programming and advocacy. While we are aware of multiple issues that harm student mental health at Victoria College, such as UMLAP policies and Burwash Dining Hall’s portion control, we know that there are many issues that we may not be aware of. We will be conducting a mental health survey closer to the end of the term to identify these issues, which hopefully next year’s commission can begin addressing.
My favourite event, our bi-annual plant giveaway, will be occurring in March. We have had tremendous success with this event in the past, and are hoping to tie in helpful resources and promote our survey and other programming during the event.
Thank you for electing me to this position, and continuing to support the work that our commission does. Please do not hesitate to reach out over email at mentalwellness@vusac.ca if you want to get in touch!
JulieThe Mental Wellness Commission continues to shift towards more active programming in-person events for this year. Here are some events our commission plans to hold this semester.
The success of this event last semester has promoted our commission to increase the scale of our plant giveaway where students have the opportunity to take a plant home. We also share insightful research surrounding plants and their benefits on our mental health through environmental psychology.
This cozy event is a great way to destress, have a snack, and drink some tea with our commission every Thursday from 3-4 pm at the Wymilwood Lounge. Additionally, we plan to add variety by setting themes every week, such as a study session, movie hangout, and more.
There are many benefits that journaling provides to our mental well-being. Our commission plans to have a workshop that gives students the resources needed to learn how to use a journal to improve overall wellbeing.
With the possibility of holding more in-person workshops, our commission plans to have a ceramics-making class at the Gardiner Museum where students can construct their own ceramic pieces as a creative and fun way to improve mental health.
As Mental Wellness Co-Chair, I will continue my efforts, alongside Julie, our Mental Wellness Commissioner, to organize and execute events focusing on mental wellness for the Victoria College community.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at mentalwellnesscochair@vusac.ca
In the Fall semester, the Scarlet & Gold Commission has been dedicated to bringing our commission back to the forefront and planning for our highly anticipated event in the Winter semester. As part of the student experience, it is essential to connect with peers and gain diverse perspectives, and the Scarlet & Gold strives to create events where students feel a sense of belonging within Victoria College and among their peers. Last semester, we ended with a booth at VOCA's Home for the Holiday Event, where students learned to make snowflake decorations. The turnout was fantastic, and the snowflakes made an appearance as decoration for our Midwinter Semi-formal in January.
Midwinter Semi-formal
Speaking of Midwinter Semi-formal, we started the winter semester with a bang by hosting the successful event in our very own Old Vic. We transformed the foyer into a winter wonderland using the snowflakes that students had made at the Home for the Holiday event. We were thrilled to have sold out the event, and students enjoyed the festivities all night long. The dance floor was packed with enthusiastic students, and both group dances and competitions were observed. Above all, the evening remained safe for everyone, and no incidents were encountered. Many students told us that the event made up for the prom they were unable to have due to COVID-19, which was heartwarming to hear. Based on our experience with this event, we are confident in hosting a successful Highball in March.
Highball has long been the most highly anticipated social event at Victoria College, providing students with the opportunity to celebrate the end of the year in a luxurious and unforgettable manner. Sadly, the COVID19 pandemic forced us to put Highball on hold for the past four years. However, we are thrilled to announce that Highball will be making a comeback this year! Our goal is to make this event as accessible as possible to all Vic students, and we're working tirelessly to strike the perfect balance between attendance and ticket costs.
The VUSAC council has been buzzing with excitement, coming up with a plethora of creative ideas for themes and activities to elevate the night beyond a simple ball. We're passionate about delivering an exceptional experience, and we can't wait to unveil the results next month. Stay tuned for updates and get ready to join us for a night you'll never forget!
What a year it has been! Two weeks ago, we held environmental equity week. The week started with a wonderful speaker panel on environmental equity featuring many knowledge academics and activists in the community. On Wednesday, we held a decolonial walking tour of U of T with Dr. Jon Johnson to learn about the Indigenous history and on-going presence on campus as well as the on-going struggle for justice at the University of Toronto. Finally, we ended the week with Divest Fest, a full-day event to talk about divestment, drink hot chocolate, play games, and establish our presence on campus. It was pouring so we had to move the event inside to the Cat’s Eye. The event was on the same day as the Board of Regents met, the body that decides whether Victoria University divests from fossil fuels. While, they did not make the decision to divest that meeting, we are excited to continuing being part of this important conversation.
We have more planned this semester. We will be holding an eco-grief café in the upcoming months to give students a change to debrief and talk about eco-anxiety and drink some coffee and eat snacks. More details will come in the upcoming weeks so stay tuned (if you don’t already, be sure to follow us @vic.sustainability). We also have more advocacy goals this semester we hope to accomplish – the roll out of compost bins at Victoria College has been delayed several times this term but we are hopeful that it will finally happen in the upcoming weeks.
Thank you to everyone that helped with our events this term, showed up, and kept showing up even though change is slow and painful! Throughout this year, I have been constantly reminded of the power and necessity of community for to create change. By refusing to take a stance that everything is hopeless, we have actively changed the odds and created a different path. I feel so incredibly grateful to the Vic community. None of this would be possible without you.
If you have not gotten involved yet, we would love to have you come out to our events. We meet every Monday from 5-6pm in the VUSAC office. Everyone is welcome (if you email me ahead of time with your favourite snack, I can make sure it is there). You can also follow us on Instagram to hear about events we are putting on. I hope to see you there!
The first half of the winter semester has been very busy for the Sustainability Commission. The bulk of our efforts have been devoted towards Environmental Equity week, which took place at the beginning of February.
The first week was all online through our Instagram, where we engaged commuters through trivia about Vic’s sustainability commitments (and lack thereof). We wanted to generate publicity about our events, and advertise the in-person events we would be running the next week as much as possible.
We started our in-person events the next week with our environmental equity panel, where we heard from a professor and two students about the intersections between equity and sustainability. We also hosted a U of T story walk led by Prof. Jon Johnson from the Indigenous Studies department, where we were able to learn more about the history of the land U of T is situated on. Finally, we had DivestFest, where we ran educational booths in collaboration with Stop Ecocide U of T. Despite the weather outside forcing us to move from the Quad to the Cat’s Eye, we still had a very popular event that many people were able to enjoy.
Since that week, we have also run a collaborative Art Destressor Night with VOICES, and are planning other events such as an Eco Grief Café and an Upcycling Workshop with the Arts & Culture Commission. I am very excited to continue working with the Sustainability Commission this semester!
This semester, we planned for 6 general meetings taking place bi-weekly. We have continued with hosting these meetings on Fridays at 5:30 pm in the Copper Room of the Goldring Student Centre. I have also continued buying snacks for these meetings. So far, I have chaired 3 general meetings which have gone relatively smoothly. We’ve had many action items and discussion items brought forth this semester that have resulted in productive conversations. Examples include student access to the Goldring Student Centre, the University Mandated Leave of Absence Policy (UMLAP) and portion control in Burwash Dining Hall.
We also had our first post pandemic in person budget ratification meeting in January. I chaired this meeting along with our Finance Chair and it went pretty well. We were able to stay within the three hours and ratify the new Winter 2023 budget. The second budget ratification meeting happened a few weeks later and we were able to make final additional changes to the budget.
You can find the meeting package for every meeting on our website at https://www.vusac.ca/meetings usually within 24 hours before the meeting. All VCU members are invited and encouraged to submit discussion items to talk about during the meeting, as well as attend the meeting even if you don’t have anything you want to discuss in particular and just want to listen in. Our meetings usually only consist of VUSAC members but the topics we discuss pertain to the entire Vic community!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get in touch with me at chair@vusac.ca and we can chat about it!
As the Chief Returning Officer for VUSAC this semester, my main duty is to run VUSAC elections this semester. Elections period is fast approaching with nominations opening on March 1st Everyone be sure to look out for the nominations package and run! These elections will result in most of the council for next year being elected with the President, Vice-presidents, Commissioner and Ex-Officio positions all available. I have begun preparing the nominations package and the VUSAC President and I decided on the elections dates a few weeks ago.
This semester, the VUSAC executives and I conducted a review of the ERC to determine what needs to be changed or updated. There was discussion over whether to remove campaigning on Facebook as an option given that no one used it for the past few election cycles. However, we decided to review again after the upcoming elections end. The main changes made were to account for campaigning and voting periods overlapping from now on. During the fall election, we decided to allow campaigning and voting periods to fully overlap rather than no campaigning being allowed during voting period. I believe this helped increase voter turnout and engagement therefore, this is something that will be done for future elections too.
Like the previous election, this one will allow campaigning online and in-person! This is to make campaigning easier for those who may not come to campus as often and hopefully encourages more candidates to apply.
One of the challenges we faced last election cycle was people not running for bigger, heavier workload roles like Execs and Commissioners. I had spoken to the VPI, Jackson about continuing Instagram takeovers this semester to increase visibility for these roles and make them seem manageable. The Instagram takeovers seem to be going well and I will be doing one later this semester to explain more about the CRO role and elections too. Given that there will be more candidates this election cycle, I will also need to be more vigilant about postering as I anticipate that possibly being a problem given that so many candidates will be vying for similar postering spots. I will tackle this by getting help from the dons and VUSAC exec that are not running while also trying to check more myself.
I am excited to hold Q&A sessions during nominations period to possibly entice more students to run (look out for more information on those in the coming weeks). Some students have already expressed interest in running so I expect the upcoming elections to be quite interesting and aim to maintain or even increase engagement and voter turnout this semester.
It’s been great working on VUSAC this year and I hope to facilitate a smooth elections cycle!
Many changes have been made as we entered the winter semester along with the duties I continued to perform since last term.
The management of VUSAC’s social media accounts continued as usual. I have changed certain templates for the cover pages in order to increase the consistency of the theme within the VUSAC’s Instagram feed. I also continued to repost various events on the Instagram story and responded to inquiries from Vic students through both email and direct messages through social media. However, the usage of the Facebook account have significantly decreased – including the events page – as most people preferred to only upload on Instagram and/or VUSAC’s website.
I also continued to manage the VUSAC website with regular updates as requested by both internal and external bodies of VUSAC. I have updated the Arts & Culture Commission’s page onto the newly created Commissions’ Menu – which currently contains Academic, Commuter, and Sustainability Commissions’ individual pages. The Equity Commission’s page will be updated within the upcoming week, and the other commissions are still in the process of submitting their designs. I am hoping to finish this project within this year.
The monthly e-newsletters have transitioned into bi-weekly newsletters as planned from last semester. I publish the newsletters every 2nd and last week of the month to account for the upcoming events at the start of the next month and within. The number of submissions have remained consistent without much fluctuations. Moreover, the newsletters are now being sent to all Vic students registered in the Listerv service instead of the subscription form to increase engagement – allowing it to reach a wider audience.
I have also conducted two Instagram takeovers with the President, Soo, since the last semi-annual report. It was a successful initiative to promote each positions, gather feedback, and interact with the students through the platform. As the Spring elections are approaching, we will be conducting another Instagram takeover from March 6th – 10th to inform people about the positions that we have yet to cover. I hope these takeovers will be a useful reference for the students to understand the roles of different positions in VUSAC and increase engagement.
Lastly, I have compiled this semi-annual report. My time on VUSAC as the Communications Coordinator was fulfilling and interesting, providing an opportunity to become more engaged with the Vic community. I am excited to see how the council can further develop themselves in order to better engage the students for various issues and purposes.
On VUSAC’s Financial Position
VUSAC’s current winter budget is approximately double the size of the fall budget Roughly $35,000 of the fall budget was not spent. These funds have since been re-budgeted for the winter. The fall surplus has allowed VUSAC to be less frugal this term
Winter budgeting proceeded smoothly. Student organizations were given a one-month window, from midDecember to mid-January, to submit their budget requests. Most were submitted on time, with minor extensions granted for several budgets. The Budget Steering Committee was able to meet twice prior to winter Budget Ratification on January 27th . These meetings were instrumental in identifying complications with budgets and addressing them prior to the Ratification meeting. I believe that lengthening the budgeting process allowed it to proceed relatively effortlessly, since there was much more time for student groups and for myself to meet all necessary deadlines.
Unfortunately, the lengthening of the winter budgeting process meant that levy audits had to be delayed. They are scheduled to begin on February 27th , and will be conducted by Michael Elsaesser (VPSO), Hannah Muigai from the Office of the Bursar, and myself. Every levy will be audited with the exception of VISA and WUSC, as they did not submit budgets to VUSAC this year.
As briefly noted earlier, $35,000 of budgeted fall expenses were not spent. This accounts for approximately 55% of all budgeted expenses. This is not a unique situation. It is a common trend with VUSAC’s spending year-over-year. Large deficits in utilization were prevalent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic especially. This winter, I plan to advocate for greater utilization by giving frequent updates on our utilization status. I hope that this reminds student groups of how much money they have to spend and inspires them to follow through on the programming that they planned. Moreover, I will encourage student groups to submit reallocation requests if they have found a better way to use the funds they have been given. I plan to give a new update on VUSAC’s budget utilization at the meeting on March 3rd , 2023. For more information on VUSAC’s utilization, I’d recommend reading Maeve Ellis’s recent article in The Strand titled “Victoria College Clubs Spent Less Than Half Their Fall-Term Budgets. What Happened?”. It can be found on page 2 of The Strand’s 2023 Wellness Issue or accessed online here
If you would like to further discuss the topics of this report, please send me an email at finance@vusac.ca
Best, Thomas KeoughAs my time on council this year comes to an end, I look towards the ways in which we can improve our services and make clear the direction we want to serve the student body. For my report, I’d like to explain how I’ve been striving and approaching to improve the various aspects of council, such as the office organization, meeting minutes, and events.
Over the Reading Week, I worked alongside a few council members to remodel the VUSAC office to be more accommodating and welcoming for students. This included making the layout much more conducive to our services, including highlighting the snacks available, creating a separate conversation area and quiet study zone, as well as moving printing to the sectioned off corner off the room. We also organized the back office, which has been one of my top priorities since I was hired. We have sectioned it off based on club, levy, commission, and general supplies, and keeping a table in the center for expected usages and pickups throughout the week. I’m eager to see how these two systems work and how we can continue to improve the efficiency of the VUSAC office in the future.
Taking meeting minutes has been nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve definitely felt the workload of university catch up to me as I try to meet the deadline of minutes being sent out. Due to the weight of midterm season, I’ve been spending my Reading Week working on Fall Caucus, Budget Ratification, and the two regular meetings before the break. I’ve also been on the Council Policies review team, and have discussed possibly incorporating a secondary form of minutes that would be succinct and in bullet point-form. This would be handled by the Chair and me, so that minutes would be more readable for the VCU.
In terms of events, I’ve been taking more of an initiative to get people engaged with the office. In January, I created a form for feedback on the office to be collected, so that the changes made over Reading Week would be aligned to the needs and wants of the students. For February, I decorated the office to be Valentine’s themed, and started a ‘VUSAC Plays Cupid’ project, where students could send love letters anonymously. The project was successful, and I sent out over sixty emails. In the remaining month of this council, I’ll be working with the Academic Commission to hold an anti-procrastination study night in the office, and with the First-Year Councillors to have a scavenger hunt in our office to increase foot traffic and awareness of our services.
While this was my first year involved in student leadership at Vic, this definitely won’t be my last. Constitutionally, Office Manager means having very specific responsibilities in relation to the maintenance of council. But as I’ve learned, this position has given me the opportunity to work towards resolutions, discuss developments, and grow as a leader. I have made mistakes, but I have learned quite a lot, and that’s all I could really ask for. I am excited to see the trajectory and direction of council in the future, and hope to be a part of that growth.
This semester, as an extension of the space audit I have been involved in with Soo, I am working with the Dean’s office to attempt to get the maker space open for student use! The maker space is a room off of the commuter lounge with a variety of equipment such as a sewing machine, recording equipment, and a 3D printer. This space was unfortunately unable to open before the pandemic so I have been working to find students who are interested and knowledgeable about the equipment to begin using it. I am gauging interest to help get the room open for both student groups and individual students to use so that we can make use of the space and equipment in our student centre that should be available.
Additionally, I have been working with the Equity Commission on their projects. One initiative I will be spearheading with the support of the Equity Commission is inclusive swimming lessons. Swimming lessons are often unaffordable and daunting, along with Equity, as a certified instructor I will plan and teach a series of lessons to help students feel comfortable and confident in and around water for free. With all of the fresh water we have in Canada, swimming is a life skill. I aim to provide water safety swimming lessons catering to Vic’s international students, students who may not be able to afford campus lessons and those who may have experienced exclusion from previous swimming lessons.
Since assuming my role as a Councillor in Fall 2022, it has been an absolute honour and pleasure to serve the Victoria College community on VUSAC for the 2022-2023 school year.
In the Mental Wellness Commission, I have pitched a potential initiative called MyStory. It is an anonymous form in which people from the Vic community can share their stories about mental health and hopefully make others in the community going through the same thing feel less alone and more seen. As a mental health advocate, having been through my own battles, it is something very dear to my heart as I would’ve loved to have that when I was going through my battle (and still on-going battle) with mental health. This links into what I promised during my campaign period: Breaking the Stigma around mental health.
The Social Season is now upon us. In the Scarlet and Gold Commission, I have been able to create a memorable social season for those in the Vic community by putting on a very successful Mid-Winter Ball (Semi-Formal). And being involved in planning the highly anticipated highlight of our Social Season, High Ball. This councillor hopes that it will be a stellar event that will be remembered for years to come.
In the coming year of 2023-2024, I hope to continue my service to the community next year, whether it be in VUSAC or in other ways.
Good luck on the home stretch!
Fair winds and following seas,
Carolyn GaoWith the new semester, I have been focusing much on being more actively involved in VUSAC and my assigned commissions.
As an international student, it has been one of my greatest pleasures to help organize and volunteer in events such as the Lunar New Year event and also in the recent Valentine’s Day Photo Booth, which was a collaborative event held between VUSAC and VISA.
Throughout the past few months, I have also been able to further contribute to the projects of my assigned commissions. For VOCA, I have been participating in the weekly pancake-making sessions while also cooperating with other first-year VOCA representatives on an event, which will be happening at the end of the semester. With the Mental Wellness Commission, I have been helping with the weekly Mental Wellness Tea sessions as well as brainstorming further initiatives that the commission could pursue in the near future.
This semester has also further progressed my connection with the other first-year councillors in organizing events for the first years. We started the semester with a Valentine's Day Karaoke Night for first-years, and I look forward to initiating the other events we have planned for the rest of the semester.
Being part of VUSAC has been one of the biggest joys in my first year at Victoria College and I look forward to working more collaboratively in making Victoria College an environment that stands for students’ voices and well-being.
Since my Last Semi-Annual Report my position on VUSAC has evolved and I have become more confident in my place on council. As I have continued to be a part of the Scarlet and Gold Commissions I have successfully been able to help plan the semi-formal along with High Ball coming up in March which the commission is currently working on. As part of the Arts and Culture Commission, we had a very successful Gardiner Gala in which I was also able to help volunteer at as a VUSAC member.
Aside from the commissions I have been assigned to, I am proud to say that I have been working with the other First-Year Counselors to plan various events for other first year students. Our first event titled “First Year Valentine’s Karaoke” took place on February 13th and was very successful with a lot of attendance and engagement with the event. Many people were participating and said that they thoroughly enjoyed the event as a whole. Over the course of the semester we are continuing to plan more first year events such as a scavenger hunt aimed to bring more students to the VUSAC office, as well as a mocktail themed event which will allow students to connect and wind down before exam seasons and enjoy some refreshing drinks. Additionally, through my office hours I have found myself more comfortable answering questions and making the space feel as welcoming as possible.
I look forward to the many events that are happening this semester and feel that I have grown in the position and am continuing to positively contribute to the community and the student life here at Victoria College.
Hello Victoria College! For my second mid-semester report, I wanted to give you a few updates about some of the initiatives I have been planning and carrying out for you all.
One of my initiatives on my platform was to create new merchandise for Vic students, namely a customizable letterman jacket with your graduation year and programmes. The Victoria College Jacket Project has seen some huge progress since I last mentioned the idea to members of VUSAC back in November. A supplier for the jacket has been confirmed (see the mock-up below!), and we are planning to set a date for selling the initial run of the jackets soon.
Second, I have been working with VOCA and the Commuter Commission to run some new arts-themed events and am happy to announce we are going to be running a screening of the movie “La La Land” on March 28th , a collaboration between Scarlet and Gold and VOCA! It should be a wonderful event, so be sure to set aside your Thursday evening that day to attend.
Finally, as a councillor on the Scarlet and Gold Committee, some updates. March 17th is the set date for Highball, and we are so excited to be able to bring you a fabulous dance to cap off the year. Be on the lookout for ticket sales and advertisements post-reading week! It has been an pleasure serving you all in my role, and I hope you can enjoy some of my initiatives.
Keep being awesome,
LucaSince my Semi-Annual Report in the fall semester, I have been committed to improving the first-year experience at Vic.
My fellow first-year councillors and I have been organising various activities to build the community in our year. Our first event was Valentine's Karaoke, which helped us provide students with a relaxing and entertaining night during the midterm season and gave us a sound foundation for our future events. We are excited to plan a mocktail night for students to celebrate the end of their first year and collaborate with student representatives from other colleges to organise a trivia night in the upcoming weeks.
I am also making progress on my initiative to expand the Peer Tutoring program for first-year courses at Vic. I have been in contact with the Registrar's office. While there are many administrative challenges behind implementing this idea, I hope we can brainstorm ways to increase assistance for first-years in their large courses.
My work on the various portfolios I am a part of has also been fascinating. For example, I volunteered at some helpful Academic Commission events last semester. My role as councillor is also one tied to learning about the workings of VUSAC, which I was able to do by sitting on the Budget Steering Committee this winter. Something I've found particularly interesting is the Vice President External portfolio, where we've been exploring rising residence fees and changes in various university policies. I hope to continue learning more from these portfolios in the coming weeks.
I am thrilled to share with you what I have been working on in my role as VUSAC Councillor since my last semi-annual report in the Fall semester.
In December, as part of my portfolio under the VPE, Shane Joy, I helped to finalize VUSAC’s statement on the Iranian protests and call for more support from both the University of Toronto and Victoria College.
In January, also under my VPE portfolio I helped research meal plan and housing costs at Victoria College in comparison to other Canadian universities as part of a larger effort to raise awareness of how students are struggling to meet the exorbitant prices that the University demands.
In February, as part of my portfolio with the Sustainability Commission I helped organize and run Divestment Week at Victoria College. As part of Divestment Week I co-moderated a panel with Rebecca Muscant Sustainability Co-Chair about the impacts of climate change and why divestment is important. I was thrilled to help with raising awareness about divestment at Victoria College because of how central it is to student concerns about the future.
There are two primary initiatives I hope to pursue moving towards the end of my term as Councillor. As part of the VPE portfolio, I hope to help research and inform the Victoria College student body about UMLAP, specifically University how it can affect international students. Finally, I will be collaborating with other Councillors to hold a fun Trivia Night. A great way to end what a fantastic experience serving the Vic community.
This year, some of my goals were to progress the movement to get Vic to divest from fossil fuels, continue to push for affordability, and continue work on getting a more trauma-informed and student centered protocol for mental health crises.
In terms of divestment, most of my work came from within the Board of Regents (BoR). I continue to bring up divestment at every meeting, and have been heavily pushing for divestment of the Weyburn Oil well as it falls under my purview as a member of the property committee.
With affordability, the VPE portfolio has been researching and comparing prices of meal plans and residences at other colleges. On the BoR, I (along with all the other student representatives) voted against the increase to student fees. We spoke at length at the meeting about how the administration should not be pushing increased costs off to students. I also published my article (along with Shane and Kate) about the end of Stephenson house, the past affordable housing option at Vic.
For the mental health response, I have been working with Students for Collective resistance to research alternatives that better care for student mental health. I also spoke with Provost of UofT about coming up with a police-free alternative to responding to mental health emergencies.
This term is a well-organized and pre-planned semester for the current events I am working on. With the great collaboration with VUSAC members, the Dean’s office, and VISA team, most of the implementation of the event has been much smoother and more manageable. I have planned four events for international students this winter semester, and we have successfully launched our first culture celebration event - the Lunar New Year celebration; it achieved great success with above 200 students' turn out rate and earned a tremendous amount of positive feedback from Victoria students. Also, we received a lot of love and smiles from the Valentine photo booth; students enjoyed the loved atmosphere and found a relaxing time in the middle of midterm week.
Also, I am planning a bubble tea chat time event to further foster community bonds, connection, and friendship by providing opportunities for conversation; and thinking about a networking event at the end of the semester so people can keep in touch with each other after the summer.
We have had a great collaboration with the reactivated Victoria International Students Association (VISA), successfully launching the first social event together. I am looking forward to future collaboration together to facilitate a strong bond team and work ethic to serve international students in the community. I hope to create a pro-social community value on collaboration, sharing, and caring; actively structuring a community that rewards members who contributed positively to this community. We, as a team, aim to provide greater opportunities for international students thriving in this community and global society.
