CSU can’t decide on size of council
How many councillors does it take to run a university?
When Concordia students go to the polls next month, they’ll be voting for a smaller CSU council slate. The current council voted at the Feb. 13 meeting to reduce the size of next year’s council from 30 to 27 members.
Arts and Science councillor Steven Rosenshein proposed the motion and had originally called for a reduction to 24 councillors. “I think that the council for the past few years has been too big and hasn’t functioned properly.” He said fewer councillors would mean, “people will be given more responsibilities,” which he hopes would make them more involved.
Not everyone agreed, “I don’t understand what lowering the number of people elected would achieve,” said councillor James Doyle.
Councillor Julien Morency-Laflamme then put forward an amendment to the motion, to go back to 30 councillors. The amendment passed 11 to 10, with one abstention.
Rosenshein then crossed the table and spoke with councillor Samantha Banks, who had supported the amendment; she changed her vote and the motion itself failed, 10 to 9, with two abstentions. After further discussion, a compromise was struck and council settled on 27.
Referendum on a referendum
Decision-making process and sports complex up for vote
In addition to electing a new CSU council and executive students will also be voting on three referendum questions. As well as being asked if they support one-year terms for judicial board members, students will also be asked if they want the right to referendums by petition. If it passes, students will be able to add questions to future referendums if 2.5 per cent of Concordia students (around 675 people) sign a petition prior to the vote. The referendum right had existed in the CSU bylaws until 2002, when it was removed. References to the right were still in the CSU’s standing regulations until last month when council voted to remove them. There was some debate about whether students should be prevented from calling referendums that would affect fees, but council ultimately voted not to include any restrictions.
Students will also be asked if they support the, “speedy expansion and renovation of the Loyola Recreation and Athletics complex.” Improvements to the sports centre would be carried out and paid for by the university. Novoa said that the question asks for students’ “morale” support of the project. She said that this support could be used as a “bargaining tool” in order to get the renovations done more quickly.
External CEO Not Gonna Happen
Elections Quebec proposal shot down
A motion put forward by Julien Morency-Laflamme, calling for an external Chief Electoral Officer for CSU elections, did not come up for debate. According to council Chair Sarah Rodier, “the motion was sent to a committee because it currently contravenes a number of CSU by-laws and standing regulations.” The motion would have required the “CEO not be a student of Concordia University and be hired from Elections Quebec, at their discretion and choosing.”
According to councilor Matthew Forget, who worked on the motion, “somebody from Elections Quebec would avoid a lot of the problems.” The external CEO, “would be much more professional and more experienced,” said Forget. It would also be “nearly impossible [for them] to engage in partisanship.”
Morency-Laflamme agreed, “After a year in Concordia politics, there is so much partisanship here, that somebody from the outside would do a better job.”
According to councillor Elie Chivi, however, “[Council needs] to trust somebody we appoint, if we don’t, why don’t we fill all of our positions with external people?”
The council’s Custodial Committee will review the motion, but they will not report until after the March election
