October 2, 2020
The SFSS Board kicked off the Fall semester with an eventful and productive month of September.
In the first Board meeting, the Board of Directors passed a motion to approve the addition of an ordinary resolution vote to the Fall 2020 Annual General Meeting agenda to condemn the University’s decision to increase domestic and international undergraduate tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year. The Board also resolved to approve the spending of $1945.08 for the purchase of 250 SFSS branded face masks that will be distributed to students, staff, and members of the Board for the Fall term. VP University Relations Gabe Liosis gave an AGM planning update. The AGM will be held on Monday, October 26, at 3:30 pm and will require a quorum of 250 students. Gabe Liosis also gave an update on the by-law review stating that we are currently in a good spot with the by-law review.
In the second Board meeting, SFU Esports gave a presentation about the gaming lounge in the SUB. There were questions raised regarding the safety and security needs in the gaming lounge. SFSS can fund a part-time lounge manager who can help oversee the lounge 24/7 on rotation. SFU Esports suggested that the club executives can run the lounge for SFSS and, therefore, track the students going in and out of the lounge to ensure safety and security. A working group has been assigned to figure out the details of the gaming lounge. The directors also discussed an important issue regarding the SFU Refund Deadlines. The course drop deadline for 100% refund and no notation on the academic record was Tuesday, September 15. However, the SFU website was confusing regarding the dates. Furthermore, the directors also suggested that one week is not enough for course drop deadline as one class lecture is not enough to give a complete overview of the course.
On September 25, the Board held a special Board meeting to discuss the by-law changes. The directors raised important questions regarding the by-law review while voicing in their support for the proposed changes.
SFSS Events committee initiated some interesting events in the month of September, which included Hip Hop dance workshop, SFU SOCA Afro dance workshop, Pets social, NHL Watch party and Food Justice Webinar. The Accessibility Advisory Committee is working on setting up an Accessibility Bursary using the Accessibility Fund money. University and Academic Affairs Committee is working with SFU C19 Coalition to advocate around the tuition increase. The committee also prepared a second Covid-19 survey that was sent out to the members on September 8.
We all wish you good luck for the fall term, and hope to see you at our AGM on October 26!
September Timeline:
[4th September] SFSS Board Meeting
[14th-19th September] SFSS Dance Week
[15th-17th September] SFSS Clubs Day
[16th September] SFSS Council Meeting
[18th September] SFSS Board meeting
[23rd September] Pets Social
[23rd September] Special Council Meeting
[24th September] Joint Operations Group Meeting
[25th September] SFSS Special Board Meeting
[25th September] Food Justice Workshop
[26th September] NHL Watch Party
[28th September-October 5th] Cultural week Instagram take over
[30th September] SFSS Council Meeting
