Amy Kishek

Can you explain your role in the campaign?

I was a candidate for the BOG. I was close friends and part of a group of students who would work together on various issues, specifically on the BoA. We collectively organized candidates for the next executive. The current exec, excluding Joël Larose, was involved. François actively organized a meeting for peopel interested in running for the exec. We were going to decide who should run for president to represent our group. Meeting at Cheevers' residence, i don't have evidence of it because I felt shady about it and covered my tracks. We kept it quiet.

When we went to his residence, Roxanne mentioned that they were uncomfortable discussing these things in front of Ted.
I had a conversation with Dean and Seamus at the CFS AGM after-party, I mentioned I was upset Seamus was running. Dean asked if he should run for a 3rd term.

Was told by Seamus, Roxanne, and Francois that they were not supporting Ted Horton for University Affairs (was deemed "not radical enough").

Mentions that the following were there: Francois, Cheevers, Julie, Rox, Iain, Seamus, Danika, not sure if Dean was there.

Feb 11 - Seamus told her he spent the day with JG in the UCU campaigning together. Saw JG after 7pm, and he mentioned the same thing.

Seamus interupts - this wasn't mentioned in the report. No new evidence is allowed to be presented
Maureen says that the report was a summary. Amy is elaborating.

Amy - I was wearing one of Ted's buttons in the UCU couch lounge. Julie mentioned she made it. She had asked Francois where she can make buttons, he said he had no idea where to get a button maker, yet 4 days later they all had buttons made. OPIRG button maker was broken, and Francois had mentioned

JdB cross examination:

JdB: You seem to have a lot of details for someone who claims not to have any evidence

Amy: Yea, I have a good memory. Someone was taking notes at the meeting.

JdB: I'm flabbergasted! You identify these things were going on in November. Why didn't you do anything? You obviously

Amy: To me, these meetings show intent.

JdB: Why didn't you report them during the campaign?

Amy: I didnt find out until late in the campaign. I was running a campaign by myself... I didn't sit around and chat about this. I was busy.

Seamus cross examination -

Seamus: So, you remember people at the meeting, but you forgot to mention Julien de Bellefeuille. Are you sure that those individuals you pointed out were there?

Amy: Yes. It was five months ago.

Seamus: Are intent and motive in the constitution?

Amy: No.

Seamus: You said that these conversations proved intent and motive. There is nothing against that in the constitution.

Updatezzz.

Social:

- End of Year Bash Theme - Light Brite - 5$ as of Monday

- Planning Leader Action - 'wants to have smoothest transition ever' ... great, but who are you transitioning?

Student Affairs:

- Semaine de la Francophonie, etc

- yay Volunteer Gala

- Services Emergency Fund

Comm (who Seamus is creepily staring and nodding at throughout her update... ?):

- Islam Awareness Week

- Plastic Bag Campaign

- bunch of other stuff

- something about dj snugglebots

- not too much to do with comm... but, lots going on I spose...

VP Seamus:

- something about rave cards and translation (was he telepathically getting Julie to do his update, and now he is doing hers?!?)

- blah blah, Fed Gov t budget is bad for students, CFS Ontario exec meeting next weekend, blah.

Money:

- 1848 made big dollars on St Patty's day! yay for drunken students!

- job postings are online

- has ideas re: fed purchases without using personal credit cards

Prez:

- thanks to our gentle viewers - once Ken gets us up and running...

- he's wrapping up his year.

A word of advice.

This year has been a difficult one, student politics-wise. A lot of shit has gone down. There has been a media frenzy around such crazy situations as the CFS Referendum, the e-vote debacle, and (of course) issues surrounding the BOA and the contested elections. All of these events have resulted in a very divided campus, and a lot of broken friendships.

And now, the student associations' elections are coming up. SAFA just finished theirs last week, and the CSA, PIDSSA, & ESS/SSA are getting the ball rolling on theirs.

A word to the wise. Student associations hit close to home. This is where students go to find their home base, to meet/work with people from within their programs. From what I've seen, students will usually identify themselves as being an "artsie", a "commie", or an "engineer" before identifying with the SFUO.

So what does this mean for the potential candidates? One-up the SFUO and make your elections a positive experience. Remind students that getting involved doesn't necessarily mean being slandered and plastered all over the on-campus media. Run a fun & engaging campaign that gets apathetic students to care about their student associations. Not mine, not yours. Everyone's.

CFS! the mother of all controversy!

Apparently, the referendum has been deemed valid and properly run. hmm. we are now a full member of CFS. fantastic.

BAH.

This should be fun.

Dean is not going to go over the report at length - it does not require the approval of the Board. He does represent the ROC here. He is aggressively defensive. 'don t even think about ASKING questions!'

Michele: Is it possible to add pertinent information to the report? Like INCIDENTS that were not included?

Dean: We will send it to the Yes and No side for input. Send me your feedback by email. I really just don t care so much.

-- by the way, if you have a bus transfer, the BOA will reimburse you! even the audience! sweet! 3 bucks! --

Miscellaneous (aka warning shots!): 

PJ-Saurus: (Gender parity controversy alert!) Directors should identify their gender at the beginning of the meeting, so that the Chair is not making assumptions re: gender.

Kyle: missed it. sorry : \ please add it in the comments!

Dean: Policy! By-Law!

Amy: Motion on first year committee under the BOA - will bring it up at the next meeting.

Myriam: Point of Info - Faculty of Education - will bring forth a motion to change the mandate dates for the Faculty of Education

Antonio: Requests documents from Dean more than 5 days in advance of the next meeting

Danika: looking over By-Law for clubs, will come up

Question Period: 

Virginie - not a question. just yelled at everyone and called them children without any specific examples. how entirely unproductive and self-serving!

Peter - question re: exec meeting. Rox and Julie motion regarding a controversial subsidy decision. Peter thinks they have acted against the Constitution rewarding one for SCAW. 

Rox: Came out of a special SFUO Partnership Fund? Will remedy the mistake of reporting, but otherwise, there is no problem... The Constitution has changed slightly regarding amounts.

Dean: it was a subsidy, not a donation - the policy is apparently for donations.

Peter - can you update that bitch online (paraphrase...)?

Federico: welll, it s a lot of workkkkk, but i GUESS.

well, good luck and good night! this thing is finally OVER!

happy commenting, kids!

VOTE: Alumni Association Partnership

Dean invites the BOA to Volunteer Gala! what a warm and fuzzy moment! Volunteers work really hard... SEGUE!

Alumni deal - will match a pledge of $60 000 to the endowment fund.

Yay scholarships!

(annoying blogger note: my laptop has been unplugged! Who does that without asking?!? I need POWER! bitches.)

oh crap! i stopped listening because of laptop-gate! what the hell is going on?!??!

eff it. CFS is next.

Second Reading: CFS Delegation Composition - PART 2

wow. this is taking FOREVER!

Antonio wants to re-amend the motion! GREAT! He wants the BOA to approve the choice of the staff member being sent.

Dean: disagrees with the amendment. He thinks that it is micro-management.

Miriam: speaking in French to even out the language karma in the room. awww, thanks! so thoughtful. Against the motion because it will take up time. 

The CHEEVE! : sides with the exec - should be hands off when it comes to HR, because the employee will need to be paid. 

Amy: thinks the opposite - the board should approve the entire delegation. wants to make an amendment to the amendment. amazing. adding bullet that the delegation be ratified by the BOA. Federico is making her wait and add it later. TABLED!

Seamus: calls micro-managing shenanigans. thinks it s impractical.

Ted: it s ratification - not decision

PJ-Saurus/Rawb: if it s a good decision, then, what s the problem. Keeps the power with the BOA. 

Danika: 'micro-management'

Faris: extend this mess of a debate. fails.

voting time!

Amendment: fails.

Motion: passes. finally.

Second Reading: CFS Delegation Composition

Rox: blah blah I love CFS! Trying to get everyone interested... failing mostly. 

Anyone interested? Questions?

Ted: delegate vs attache? Can we send people who can t vote?

Seamus: we can t bring someone who isn t a registered delegate to an AGM ... would be WAY too STRANGE! might not be able to figure out where they would sit! these are insurmountable ISSUES! WHAT TO DO!? bring your OWN CHAIR, perhaps? ........ pretty much, it s just too confusing.

Danika: when the actual decisions are made, there is only one vote per local. The attache might accidentally get to vote (i think that was the gist - forgive me if I am mistaken : D ) 

Kyle: how are the delegates chosen?

Rox: r-h-e-t-o-r-i-c ... the point: exec will decide. suck it if you don t like it.

Antonio: how is the staff position chosen?

Rox: more wandering explanation - hard to follow, but real message is the same: exec will decide. (just say that! so much wasted oxygen!)

Antonio: doesn t really seem to make sense to me with the corporate history approach

Seamus: we clearly need to be more specific! The exec would just probably send the executive coordinator. 

(colour me effing surprised. the hell with '42,' the answer is always: Francois!)

Kyle: how does the governance coordinator position interact with the VP Comm position

Seamus: PARAPHRASE ALERT: like everything, we create jobs depending on who we want around - like in the case of Francois! I mean, come on, 'nobody works as an island' - that s just silly! where would we find enough coconuts?!?

Amy: does not think the position should just be given to a staff member - give it to an effing student!

PJ-Saurus: completely agrees with Amy and wishes to propose an amendment: strike 4.3 (using a staff member chosen by the SFUO exec), and increase the number of members elected by the BOA to 2

*Seconded Jonathan

PJ-Saurus to motivate: Amy made a good point - staff turnover is really high. Exec mandates and focuses change every year. Does not wish to exclude staff members, but wants to open it up to students-at-large. 

Danika: the job is just soooo big - not sure a REGULAR student could catch up/understand ... employees there for more than a year should do it (FRANCOIS should do it! gawd! no one else could POSSIBLY manage!)

Dean: come on, guys, it s for institutional memory. should be an employee - those never change. moves to amend the amendment - keep the employee section...  thereby, keeping the addition of a student, but keeping the staff member as well. Seconded by Danika.

(*PJ-Saurus just wandered over to whisper sweet nothings in Seamus's ear...)

Amendment to the amendment! whee! wouldn t want to get encumbered in bureaucratic process!

Becky: man, employees are useful! I ve had them before! I loved it! let s do it!

Cheeve: down with keeping staff. 

Danika: elected students are very active in meetings. might have a fresh perspective, so she loooooves the idea of adding a student.

RPG gets some speaking rights: PJ-Saurus SAID we could bring a staff member! It can be decided by the board at the time, depending on if it is appropriate. Employees are not students-at-large and might not be best representatives. He is annoyed that they are arguing as though the motion excludes staff members, but it is not.

Julie: down with Danika.

Seamus: blah blah, I <3>

*point of information for Seamus: process and procedure are the SAME THING*

Amy: moves to extend debate - seconded by Julie. passes.

Amy: bahaha - tells Seamus he s craaaaazy. 

Federico explains that there is no such thing as a 'point of clarification' 

Amy: you are contradicting yourself - need flexibility, but need someone who knows the process inside and out - doesn t make any sense. not in the spirit of the motion.

Faris: thinks it s important to have an employee from the SFUO at the meeting.

*man, this is getting dragggggged out.

Sarah: agreeing with Faris. considering why we are there - the people there must be able to take what they get at the AGM to student life

PJ-Saurus: calls the question. passes. YES!

voting! (reminder: keep employee, but also add another student as elected by the BOA)

passes! Dean's amendment carries! 

SO, the only change is the addition of a student. vote: passes!

main motion in PART 2!

ARTS BOA/Senate Information Session

~ GUEST BLOGGER TODAY!! None of us could make it to the Arts BOA Candidate Debate and Info Session/Meet and Greet, so we sent in a capable emissary. Let's call her 'pseudomadonna'. Don't worry. She's proxy-licious. Be back soon! <3 cartoonmadonna ~

There are a total of 3 people watching the beginning of the info session.

The candidates look a little disappointed that no one is here to see them.

The rest of Café Alt is filled with avid studiers, perhaps no one is interested because elections take place during midterm season?!

11:16am- the candidates are discussing breaking at 11:30 to do a classroom presentation- they decide that they all want to go to a call together and present themselves as THE ARTS CANDIDATES

There are 8 candidates on the elections website, but only 7 showed up for the info session.
Dominique Blouin where are youuuuuuuuu?

Alright, Opening Statements:

Scott Bedard- BOA candidate- “students interest must come foremost”, going to be a moderately responsible voice (spoken like a true liberal).

Mel Book- BOA candidate (reelection)- boa has great power to ensure that student’s interests are met- wants to make a board dedicated to the betterment of everyday student issues, there are 3 major things she wants to work on- making agendas more readily available prior to meetings, improve quiet study space (24hr library time), keep on bringing motions to the board after consultations with students


Danika Brisson- BOA candidate- outgoing-vp student affairs for sfuo- wants to apply her experience (although has only ever voted in the exec-slate on the board to date), interested in environmental issues, food services, representation, talking about the anti-racism taskforce, anti-oppression training, sustainable development, she is talking like she is vp student affairs, not a regular arts student running for board rep.

Michael Cheevers- BOA candidate (reelection)- gives a bit of a history about the BOA whilst wearing his version of the Seamus-solidarity suit, wants to introduce general assemblies once per semester for the SFUO students (sounds like Francois’ platform from last year), international students need to be a priority at the SFUO in terms of campaigns (says the campaigns coordinator)

Amy Hammett- BOA- anti-oppression, mandatory training for future boa members (doesn’t that already happen?>), student power, nominations rights, direct campaigns to overrule administrative power, focus on split fees and late fees, wants to improve the environment of the campus

Robert Prazares- BOA- several concerns, storkes his beard, concern between the student body and the SFUO, does a shout out to Cheevers, talking about his own voice/average voice…blah blah blah, people tend to get carried away and take their jobs too seriously. Moves his hand in the OBama style. Wants to find out what other people think and brings up communication between students and SFUO, thinks CFS campaign was good

Martin Schoots-McAlpine- BOA- lack of actually going to students and finding out what they want, cafeteria food, lack of electrical outlets, 24hr library, overpriced rez rent, talking about student union who is not afraid to stand up to the administration

Here's a fun game...

I m getting my face blogged off by girl4, so here is my ridiculous contribution for today!

Let's see how our candidates stand up to the ULTIMATE GOOGLE CHALLENGE (as opposed to this)!!!

VP University Affairs:

Jeremy Stuart - We are off to a great start: Jeremy Stuart has a few interesting personalities in his repertoire! 1) He seems to be a pretty sweet video editor out of san francisco, who might have peaked in the 90s, but has Arrested Development on his resume (I don t care if it is the hip hop group and not the show - I believe what I choose to believe) ... 2) He is also an actor! On imdb and everything! His entire career spans the year 1988. A solid vintage. Anyone seen 'Billy's Christmas Angels'? 3) Last, but by NO means least, he is a college wrestler from Santa Monica.

Cameron Montgomery - Or should I say Dr. Cameron Montgomery? -> A professor here at the University of Ottawa in the Faculty of Education!! Also ... a MAN! Who knew?!? (Secret identity: Lhasa Apso?)

Sidney Loko - Not very exciting - approx 9/10 of the hits on the first page are SFUO Elections blogs ... oh hey! here's another one for you, Sidney! enjoy the extra blog nod.

Ted Horton - A highly respected and influential man in the prestigious field of golf course and resource management consulting! This was the top hit! No lie! He wants you to choose the right consultant, which seems oddly appropriate... (apparently this dude has also won a bunch of awards for being an Environmental Leader) - well played, Ted ... well played.

VP Finance:

Maureen Hasinoff - Looks like there is no one worth google's notice named Maureen Hasinoff besides our very own candidate! Little might you know, she is a Senate Page! from Alberta! She was involved in Western Canada Youth Parliament ... mayhaps inexperience is not a factor to be counted against this young candidate.

Roxanne Dubois - weird. I expected it to be all our own Roxanne all the time for THIS google search, but THIS mysterious letter was the second hit! 'vascular reconstructions!' 'sealing areas of leakage!' ... Is Roxanne secretly the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Cohesion Technologies Inc? I truly hope so. 

ps 'all required documents should be submitted in triplicate'? ... I m not sure that kind of attention to detail is what Roxanne is known for...

VP Social:

Alexandre Chaput - nothing too thrilling: the French version of his own elections blog is the 5th hit, followed directly by his English version. His next real hit is a mention of him in the BOA minutes - *yawn* Come ON, Chaput! Stir up some controversy! I can t wait to get to RPG...

ps Who knew the BOA ever got their minutes online! (Sorry, sliding back into the ol' BOA blogging habits)

Jean Guillaume - JG is much more fun! He was apparently a Belgian writer in Wallon (?!?) who published in French. Oh, and he died in 2001... Maybe they were onto something with the zombies!

VP Comm:

Julie Seguin - as much as Julie has been drastically under the radar, she does win this google battle (so far) for actually being the first hit AND having that hit be her personal website. Makes this blogger think that Julie is fantastic at passive communication - she will hide communication treasures all over the place for you to find! Too bad most people can t be bothered to go looking. Be MORE AGGRESSIVE, Julie! Or Tristan is going to wear your (metaphorical) skin to his (metaphorical) birthday party.

VP Student Affairs:

Michele Lamarche - how international!! Michele pops up in a sexy 'who's who' listing in France! There are also several biographical links - people like to write about your life, Michele! Apparently bankers are newsworthy... (Michele is also a San Franciscan acupunturist - I wonder if she helps Jeremy relax and escape his hectic video editing career...?)

President: 

Marc Kelly - What a great hit! Marc Kelly: Lightstalker. apparently this guy is a photographer, but I prefer to make up my own meaning for Lightstalker. He is also a student at the University of Manchester (Particle Physics?) ... I wonder if he s allowed on THAT campus when he doesn t have class... Possible best: Marc Kelly, former Notre Dame basketball star, now Californian superior court judge. IMAGINE Marc Kelly deciding your sentence!!! 'What do YOU want to do to make up for your crime?'

RPG (aka Renaud-Philippe Garner) - wow! RPG helped me find an SFUO blog I had never heard of! ANYhow, back to the business at hand (get it? cuz I m typing... heh.) Apparently, this is old news, but it is a key hit, so I did not want to leave it out. But, really? RPG said something controversial... surprise!!! (ps it was 4 years ago, so I m not sure we can REALLY hold it against him... what is the statute of limitations on being aggressive about political correctness?) Otherwise, it is the predictable La Rotonde, Fulcrum and SFUO blog hits. Not as exciting as I expected.

Tyler Steeves - Way to show up on Serge's Twitter, but that s not very fun to report on... And the only other interesting hit is for a 'waterfront director' at Camp Trillium! Talk about NOT being controversial, Tyler. yeesh. I can t hate on ANY of that...

Seamus Wolfe - Jeepers. I am pretty sure that Seamus rigged this Google search... The first hit is his vp Uni Affairs blog, and then his profile on 4Real.com (a website dedicated to social and cultural change). Then the CFS blog (that I JUST discovered today... see above!) and his Campaign video. 

ps when I googled Seamus (that s what she said) there was also a terrifying link to something called MassWrestling.com. Follow at your own risk. And please explain it in a comment if you have ANY idea what it is or what is going on.

Joël asks a question.

If you are elected, what project are you most excited to work on?

Steeves: It isn't right to give my opinion....as president, whatever the choice is, it's my duty to do the best job i can do with YOUR decision.

Seamus: I don't really want to say which is my fave, so I'll just talk about one that I like....ACRES (high five, Seamus).

Kelly: I don't have any idea....but I want an open environment where students can come and talk about their idea (Translation: Kelly doesn't know what any of the referendum questions are)

RPG: Likes the tobacco free campus idea, but doesn't want to discriminate. Food Bank is a good initiative- Hunger doesn't discriminate (Hey, CFS, do you want to put that on a button?

Seamus and Marc pose for a picture before the debates start. It's already a spectacle.


DRINKING GAME:

-solidarity
- accessibility
- transparency
- CFS
- unity
- administration
- oppression
- change
- rights
- discriminiation

Drink every time one of these is said!

Warning to the candidates....to be respectful. This is going to be interesting.

Opening statements.


Marc - There are classes on campus. Like social classes or actual classes? 15 seconds in, he is talking about the discrimination against him. "We do not have democratic control over our education or our institution".

Julie Séguin (candidate) vs. Julie Séguin (VP Comm)

Changer l'infrastructure (building highways)
Plus de technolgie, moins de papier (moins de posters?)
Campagnes plus diverses.
Accesibilité.
Bulletin et site-web plus à jour.

Campaigns committee- provide resources to clubs and student associations, more.

Student engagement:
A lot of improvements in student engagement. More consults and surveys, we've already had some (unless it's about CFS. Then the survey is invalid)

Volunteering: good "get involved campaign", MORE POSTERS!

Ressources promotionnelles:
Posters (apparently posted less per event.... maybe this is just ignorance talking, but I've found postering harder this year)
Inflitration of websites (like haxx0rz?)

Is TV screen project going to be a priority next year?
Absolutely.

flamenco note: this is A LOT like Julie's BOA update. It's a shame, really.

Audience questions:
Tradction simultanée, est-ce que c'est possible?

Prix serait extrèmement cher.

Last year, promised about 2-way commucation, when is that going to start?
(Audience, "oohs". "I don't want oohs, I just want to know")
We've opened a lot of committess to students. (But not really for any direct student life issues).

Can we fully decrease posters on campus?
Maybe in the future... something about everyone has internet.

girl4 will take it from here....

So we're on break:

and we've decided that since this debate is being held in a bar, it's only fitting that we create a presidential drinking game.

CFS: 1 sip.
Solidarity: 1 sip.
Accessibility: 1 sip.
Marc Kelly showing up to his debate: chug. actually free drinks until the cops show up.

Santé

Student Affairs!

Michèle looks very lonely up there...

10:56 - Opening statement. Goes over her experience. There's a lot of it. Main initiatives: Café Alt, Prez for UESA, VP Comm Franco for Arts. Services: give them the tools they need to reach out to students! Student spaces: we have so LITTLE space on campus for students (this became evident during the bus strike). RGN: These students pay for services, they need to be accessible to RGN-ites. MUCH LUFF FOR uOttawa!.

10:59 - First Question. How do plan to increase the visibility of the SFUO's services?

Use more interactive means to promote services. Do class presentations. Move away from just using posters to promote.

How will you be a ressource for the SFUO's clubs?

Wants to find more ressources for the services. Her experience working with Member Associations for SAFA can be applied.

Do you think enough stuents use the services?

No! But it's a shame, they are great. Didn't know a lot of them existed until halfway through her first year. But they are important - students need to be informed about what exactly the services do!

Questions from the Floor

What experience do you have working with the services?

Never directly worked with the services, but has friends working with them. Has good experience and resources that she can bring to the services.

You said you wanted to more English representation...do you value the francophone community??

Question is out of context! It has nothing to do with the admin having an 'accent'. Comes from the English department, a lot of comments from students about the difficulties anglophone students have working with staff at the faculty level.

SFUO is perceived to be mainly ANGLOPHONE. What will you do to make sure Franchophones feel comfortable using the services?

Billingualism centre is a step in the right direction. Would like to see an equality in the languages, not one language above the other.

You had a visible role in the CFS referendum. What will your role be with the CFS?

Continue to work possitively to address problems students have with the CFS. They do have a lot of knowledge and ressources. Is open to working with them, and won't fight them. I won't dwell on this!

How do you plan to keep the integrity and individuality of the services?

Interview process when hiring, making sure applicants know what they are applying for.

Clubs. How are you going to distribute resources and finances? (For example, offices)

Rewarding clubs that work hardest on campus with more resources, however everyone has access to the clubs and resources. Explore structures at other communities to see how we can improve.

CLOSING STATEMENT! 90 SECONDS. GO!!

Create more student spaces. Let students know about services. Wants to do a lot, but feels she will work hard to do as much as possible. Website plug! michelelarmarche.com

Electronic Voting (*sigh)

First off: We, the gallery, got SHUSHED - stop looking at us, FARIS. yeesh.

Fancie: blah blah hating on e-voting. (psst, it s too late. The board AND the SAC have ruled it constitutional - effing relax!) He is concerned about willy-nilly vote giveaways. He really really wants to make students e-vote ON campus

Dick: what about co-op students and people out of the country?

Speaking rights are given to Chris Saunders (I think it was Lisa who hooked him up with some floor, but I am not sure - it was two days ago!). He wants to distribute info to the Board (*distributes info to the board):

- current system: only uses two numbers - not good enough as an identifier

- physical ID prevents people voting for someone else (thereby giving people more votes than the alloted one)

- the internet is RISKY! Effing WILD WILD WEST OUT THERE! Final Frontier! THE SKY IS FALLING!

Johnathan is slammed by gender parity! sucka! get some ovaries if you want to speak!

does the board want to go in camera?

- Cam: if we do, can i give away my seat? no.

- Rob: it is detrimental to go in camera, especially for the students here; it should be public why the BOA makes the decision

- Someone (sorry, it seems I didn t note who): media FRENZY should allow for in camera (bloggers are flattered!)

- Faris, Cam, Ryan: no in camera

(gallery thinks that you shouldn t be on BOA if you can t debate something as relevant and wide-reaching as the elections in public without feeling ‘self-conscious’)

- Laura: all for going in camera - thinks they could just flip back and forth ... something something (didn t really make sense and was definitely NOT a practical solution...)

- Sam: going in camera when it is not about HR or the constitution sets a dangerous precedent

- Cheevers: supports the motion 

VOTE: straight to a vote = shot DOWN! Fail. not going in camera, suckas. 

(bloggers are trying to get ONLINE! EFF!)

Back to debate...

- Johnathan: ID cards don t ensure accountability

- Rob: I look like a lot people - lots of people could steal my ID (ridiculous observation, but skewers the point pretty well)! Additionally, to make sure the person is not entering someone else’s information, you would need someone to look over your shoulder anyway! POINT: ppl can (and will) fraud any system. The board should respect the ppl hired to do this job. Also, he argues that people who are that impressionable will already just vote the way their friends tell them anyway, and it is the voter’s CHOICE to give away their vote. ULTIMATE POINT: get it off the table, and let it stand since it already passed at the BOA and the SAC!

- Amy: IDing voters is not simple - references the veil issue. She thinks we are overdoing it and being too cautious. She makes the point that voters can swap at a NATIONAL level

- Cheevers: against e-voting for confusing, garbled reasons - not sure he knows what he is talking about... summary of (probable) internal monologue: what is the LEFT WING DOING?!? I want to do THAT! 

- Mel: low voter turnout is why we brought in e-voting! We need to move into the 21st century! AGAIN: BOA and SAC already voted that it is constitutional! and in the best interests of our students! let s move ON!

- Ryan: troubled by the fact that candidates IN the elections are being allowed a say in this motion. He is also worried about over-turning the BOA’s OWN decision. He thinks they are abusing the system by bringing this up again when it needs less of a vote presence from the board (*correction: Federico says it is the same amount of voting presence). Ryan also makes the point that we would be taking away the WHOLE POINT of online voting - convenience!

- Lisa: worried about the fact that the BOA is divided, thinks they should just respect the board’s previous decision and stand together behind it

CHEEVERS ATTACKS with a point of order! Down, boy. Let her speak

- Seamus: he will be voting for this motion, because he wants access to more research and information before the board decides this. (blogger’s note: maybe he should have thought of this the last time they voted and decided ... instead of being entirely consumed with CFS, the board and exec could have hired Sylvia ON TIME and had this on the table IN TIME)

- Med Rep: feels like there isn t enough info - gets this across with a snarky ‘i m not friends with the right people, so I don t know anything’ ... (or something along those lines). She says she has been trying to get info, but cannot get it. She also thinks that getting students more involved in the SFUO is how to get voter turnout up (why do so many people just REFUSE to believe in apathy? Let’s take it to the next level and only let involved students vote! We will be so old school like when you had to own land to have a say!) ... She does make the good point that there is a huge difference in social attitudes between online and in-person fraud.

- Ted: says that he has lots of info and research and iterates that it is up to each board member to find it and become informed. He announces that he will abstain from the vote b/c it is a ‘devastating conflict of interest’ since he is a candidate in said election.

Chair update! Federico = lost in the rhetoric! has no idea what motion people have spoken on: ‘look guys, my job is hard!’ *shrug

** WHOA! New Motion! Amy wants to limit the meeting to ending at 4:30pm (this is allowed because they were supposed to deal with her motion earlier, but forgot...)

Debate -

- Rob: SUPERBOWL!

- Amy: People won t be able to consider the issues, because they will be distracted by wanting to go start working on campaigns

- Faris: That is what their campaign managers are for

- Lisa: I m the dedicatedest! I will stay until the END! (yeesh - you win, already!)

- Ted: Have it be over at 4:00pm to respect the elections

- Rob: football!

- Megan: wants Rob to take this seriously

- Cheevers: spazzes to Federico about Rob’s speaking rights. He tattles real good.

vote: motion fails - meeting will end when it s over

debate extended on Fancie’s anti-e-voting motion (*collective groan...)

- Michael: if it s good enough for his municipality to have SNAIL mail voting, it should be good enough for the SFUO to do online voting. The BOA would not be showing enough faith in the voters if they got rid of e-voting - nutshell: against motion

- Dick: will speak against the motion ... IF HE CAN; his voice is AWFUL - sandpaper throat! Someone got too invested in the cheer-off portion of GDT! He thinks that it would be irresponsible to take away the option now that it has been offered to the students.

(blogger’s note: we in the gallery are shocked at the resemblance of fancie and cheevers to pinky and the brain... what do YOU think, gentle readers?)

- Faris: not sure how to vote? wondering if it is overreaching to go against the SAC and their own decision? will it hurt our elections to take it away now? BOA showed poor judgment in not doing better research, but it IS decided, and the campaigns start TODAY!

- Sam: The real question is whether or not the BOA made a good decision? we don t have any new information, except opinions - and it is easy to find people for and against. So, why are we revisiting this? we decided!

- Kyle: voting against the motion

(Seamus is eating a banana! he meanders carelessly to the garbage as Antonio speaks to the issue, and doesn t seem to be upset that there isn t a composting option! just saying... Presidents compost.)

- Antonio: It would do a disservice to students to reverse the decision. The students would feel that we do not trust them, greatly affecting the relationship between students and SFUO.

- Joel: we already do SO MUCH voting stuff online - hacking is already an issue - what s the difference? He is not sure there was enough research done to bring the motion forward, and thinks it is up to the students to be excited about voting and protect their votes

- Med School: she doesn t feel it s an issue of trust. She says that students deserve a fair, safe system and it is the BOA’s responsibility to ensure that things work out that way

- Fancie: ‘Listen.’ (SO RUDE!) He is worried that someone will appeal the election. He is totally into photo ID - it s soooo much sexier that way...

(ps ‘irregardless’ is NOT A WORD, Fancie!)

Go to a vote? Yes!

secret ballot? objections? According to Federico: There is nothing specific in the constitution 

- must be agreed upon by board. So are we voting by secret ballot? Yes, the motion carries. 

- They take a few minutes to prep ballots...

Rob wants a roll call since we re two hours in, also notes that we did not recognize that we are on aboriginal land

3:14pm (why the only time stamp, you ask? no idea!) - Federico is distributing the ballots and explaining how to vote (which boils down to ‘write what you would say’)

Not so secret update!!!

- Amy: ‘I wrote nay’

- Dick presents gallery with phone pic of his No! ballot - noted: a heart as the dot in the exclamation point!

(maybe they should all get out their IDs so that nobody votes twice - I mean, HOW DO YOU KNOW?!?)

(another gallery idea! Allan Rock should rush in with a video camera!!)

vote: Motion FAIL! Fancie’s wackiness defeated by a reasonable majority! or a close enough version of it! (19-7-3)

The present members of the Fulcrum peace out about now. e-voting is constitutional = newsworthy enough!

Roll Call. yawn.

(part of the gallery accidentally looks up porn - yet, two of our faithful bloggers still have NO INTERWEBZ!)

OK. Let's try this again! Starting with the Exec Update...

Due to ___whelming support for the posting of my notes, here you go, public! I hope you do not regret prompting me to post them!!

Exec Updates

VP Social:

- Arts won Guerre de Tuques - big surprise, but a welcome change - dynasty toppled!

- Dance competition tryouts are coming up

- Dive In - Feb 25 (Jaws)

- We in the gallery can see Rob’s underpants. : /

VP Student Affairs:

- Pride Week

- Opened Anti-Oppression Training to any and all board members

- Taking a class - 1st year history... she s a ‘student now’ - heaven forbid.

VP Comm:

- Updating Campus Print Interface

- Zoom QuickFlick Competition (2nd one)

- More Campaigns: The team is tabling, making posters... the usual.

VP Uni Affairs:

- excited about Journey to Justice video w/ panel discussion: Black history in Canada

- last week was Int’l Week which helped push campaigns for such as: Students United Against Racism, OHIP for international students

- New Campaigns: Student Taking Action Now - Darfur, Remembrance Day - Academic Amnesty?, Task Force on Campus Racism (meeting Thurs 6pm @ SFUO Office if you care to join!)

- SAC - 6 new cases everyday - representin’

- Centre of Equity and Human Rights is working on: Positive Space in Rez, International Conference on Diversity and Accessibility on Campus

- Provincial AGM - CFS. Outcome: 1) They are in a frenzy of Union-o-philia, 2) you can get a copy of all passed motions in Seamus’s office - do it! 3) in CFS-Ontario, Roxanne was elected provincial treasurer

VP Finance:

- businesses are fine

- HR is prepping for hiring blitz in Feb (jobs starting in the summer)

- Financial updates with services and department: follow-ups, on budget so far, Health Plan evaluated since ppl were upset about difficulty

Prez:

- Strike is over! By Feb 9th - 80% usefulness... he wrote a letter saying that this is the time to negotiate the UPass - we can offer them guaranteed business when they are hurting

- congrats to Joel on Winter Games/concert/GDT

- Exciting new frontier for Dean: Will launch videoblog updates

- New website coming

- SAC Decision on e-voting: decided that it is constitutional - does not require paper ballots. The logic is that risks of fraud always exist - not convinced that this will be more vulnerable

Question Period

- Cameron: SAC - what about cases that are pending/ongoing now that Pam is gone

Answer: will be considered by replacement

- Cheevers: UPass - will students get reimbursed for money lost during strike?

Answer: Make it a priority for negotiations

- Med School Rep (I could NOT see her placard for the life of me): thanks to Joel for shaving his head - raised over $30 000 (not a question, but pretty badass...)

- Faris:

1) Screens: looking into viability of doing it ourselves and what it will cost - building managers...

2) ListServ: give Elections Committee a lot of freedom - decided to prep for voting, assuming it would be approved

3) Role of Fed Bodies in Transition? Will be consulted - Faris will email Dean with suggestions

Answer: VP Finance - MRT: putting together a purchase book with info on where to get what for cheap

4) SFUO Credit Cards?

- Cam:

1) SFUO needs to communicate to students that it is not them giving out email

Answer: Dean does not want to point fingers, but Cam wants it to be more obvious

2) Another strike? If arbitrator decides in favour of the city, there might be another one... how does that affect the UPass?

Answer from Seamus: legally the union has decided to accept binding arbitration - would be a legal minefield...

Not convinced Cam: can t be sure - we should keep it in mind

Update Over!