Tag: ASFA

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ASFA passes anti-racism motion, appoints new member

Member association representatives photographed at ASFA meeting held on the seventh floor of the Hall building. Photo by Ana Hernandez

ASFA hires new vice president of communications and promotions and presents two motions

The Arts and Sciences Federation of Associations (ASFA) hired a new vice-president of communications and promotions during their first council meeting of the winter semester. The council also passed an anti-racism position motion and a motion to support those who menstruate.

The council meeting took place in the Hall building on Jan. 12. The ASFA vice-president of internal affairs, Julia Sutera Sardo, submitted and presented the anti-racism motion. It passed with supporting votes from all member associations (MAs).

“The anti-racist position motion requires ASFA to recognize the influence of colonialism, discrimination and systemic racism that has and continues to happen to this day to black, [and] indigenous people of color (POC),” said Sutera Sardo.

ASFA president Andrea Krasznai photographed on left. Photo by Ana Hernandez

In addition, the motion calls for ASFA to value the outlooks, experiences and identities of black and indigenous POC. “Be it further resolved that the ASFA condemn any and all forms of oppression, and be a voice for and an ally to individuals who experience marginalization,” said Sutera Sardo during council. The motion would require the association to support a safer, all-inclusive campus for those of any religion or culture—while holding Concordia administration to an equal standard, as written in the motion.

Furthermore, the motion acknowledges that ASFA currently commences council meetings by acknowledging Concordia University is located on Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) land. The motion encourages the association to continue this formal land recognition at the beginning of each meeting.

The second motion, the Support for Individuals that Menstruate Position Motion, was also submitted and presented by Sutera Sardo. It requests that ASFA finance and supply feminine products in all MA offices for students in need. Sutera Sardo said that ASFA, an organization which represents more than 20,000 students, many of whom experience menstruation, may not have the funds or means to acquire feminine hygiene products. She said this is especially prominent at the Loyola Campus, which is located in an area where it is not as easy to acquire these products, as pharmacies are not close by.

“Be it resolved that the ASFA recognize the experiences of individuals who menstruate and actively take actions to alleviate the barriers that they face,” said Sutera Sardo.

In Sutera Sardo’s motion, she requested that ASFA create a permanent “Feminine Hygiene Products” budget line within the Advocacy Committee budget, allocating $2,000 to the purchasing of a variety of feminine hygiene products for each school year.

“ASFA Advocacy Committee [would] be responsible for making a variety of feminine hygiene products available for free in continuity to its members on both campuses through its downtown and Loyola offices, as well as the offices of its member associations,” said Sutera Sardo.

Christina Massaro, the ASFA vice-president of finance, spoke against the motion. “If you go to Health Services, you can easily get a pack that comes with two tampons and a pad,” Massaro said during council. Those in need of feminine products will think of Health Services before they think to come to ASFA, said Massaro.

In response, Sutera Sardo said she has been approached by some students who said it was easier and more accessible to go to a MA office, rather than Health Services. “If you’re on the 12th floor of [the Hall building], it’s easier to go to either the Geography Undergraduate Student Society or the Political Science Students’ Association and get yourself a pad and tampon,” said Sutera Sardo. “You can’t necessarily run to Health Services.”

Sutera Sardo said Health Services has run out of these supplies before and for someone in need on the Loyola campus, it is harder to find feminine products close by.

The motion was not fully passed, but the motion was tweaked so that MAs, councillors and executives would agree that ASFA should recognize the barriers people who menstruate may face.

Sutera Sardo told The Concordian the $2,000 ASFA would be budgeting towards the initiative discussed will be on hold until the next ASFA council meeting in February. By then, a plan for how to distribute the supplies from MA offices will be determined.

Sutera Sardo told The Concordian ASFA appointed Georgios Simeonidis as an independant councillor during council.

ASFA went into closed session for the hiring of ASFA vice-president of communications and promotions, and the details of the deliberations were not disclosed. However, ASFA president Andrea Krasznai told The Concordian the position will be filled by Paula Monroy, an undergraduate from the urban studies program.

Krasznai mentioned that, during the closed session, there was a motion passed concerning the general elections. “All I know right now is that we’re going to have the general elections between March 1 and 31,” she said. The general elections will be held to choose the incoming ASFA executives and independent councillors for the 2017-2018 school year.

ASFA’s next council meeting will be held on Feb. 9 held in Hingston Hall, Wing HC, Room 155 on Loyola campus.

The Concordian has updated this article for accuracy purposes. We apologize and deeply regret the error.

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ASFA announces first winter frosh

Photograph of the Loyola Quad where Snowyola will be held on Jan. 19. Photo by Savanna Craig.

“Snowyola” will take place on Jan. 19 at the Loyola Quad

The Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) welcomes Concordia students to “Snowyola,” a winter orientation inviting new and returning students to enjoy music, raffle prizes, food and music at the Loyola Quad on Jan. 19 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“It is a reality that the majority of new students miss the chance to attend orientation events organized by the university or their faculty association,” said ASFA vice-president of academic and Loyola affairs Rachel Rammal, because these events are usually held during the summer months. She said this can leave students with a small window of opportunity to become accustomed to university life, by meeting new people and making new friends.

Rammal said this event was initially inspired to bring more life to the Loyola campus during the winter and to raise money and knowledge about the issue of homelessness during the winter. “Our aim is to donate at least 25 per cent of the ticket sales revenue to the Dans la rue foundation,” said Rammal. She added that 100 per cent of the proceeds from their pom-pom hats sales will go to the Dans la rue organization, which provides aid to homeless at-risk youth.

“We hope that with Snowyola we can help reduce some of the anxiety that comes with starting university for the first time,” said Rammal, describing Snowyola as a carnival-type of event. By showing up to the event, participants can expect to be accompanied by music, food, beverages, and raffle prizes, said Rammal.

She said the event will give students the chance to make new connections and learn more about the different faculty associations, as all faculty associations have been invited. Students will also be able to enjoy Loyola’s transformed, snow-filled campus during the winter.

“With this activity, Snowyola, ASFA wanted to ensure that incoming students are also made to feel comfortable,” said ASFA VP of internal affairs and administration Julia Sutera Sardo. “Loyola campus covered in fairy lights with a ton of hot chocolate is definitely a great way for this to be done.”

“For returning students, the situation is a bit different in the sense that, often, many need an energy boost come the winter semester or feel demoralized after not getting the fall GPA they wanted,” said Rammal. For others, the event can be a boost “get back to the grind” for the second semester, said Rammal.

“With an event that celebrates the new semester like Snowyola, we hope to give students an opportunity to enjoy themselves with their friends before they are submerged with assignments and midterms,” said Rammal.

According to Rammal, the event fully came together halfway through the fall semester. “The Loyola and social committees decided to join their forces and host the event together to maximize the success of Snowyola,” said Rammal.

Sutera Sardo said Snowyola is a precursor to more social events and workshops that will be held in the winter semester. ASFA has been criticized for not being as active as usual on campus during the fall semester, however, Sutera Sardo said ASFA is open to all feedback and critique from students.

“Our goals for the semester are centered around engaging our peers and providing them with various tools and opportunities,” said Sutera Sardo.

Snowyola takes place on Jan. 19 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Quad on the Loyola campus.

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ASFA introduces mandatory bystander intervention training

Graphic by Florence Yee.

ASFA Executive believes there should be more steps to ensure a safer campus

Concordia’s Arts and Sciences Federation of Associations (ASFA) will be teaming up with the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) to deliver comprehensive bystander intervention training to all employees and volunteers of ASFA and executives of its member associations later this year.

The measure was proposed by Julia Sutera Sardo, ASFA’s vice president of internal affairs and administration. This was passed unanimously by ASFA’s executives. While consent training was already mandatory for ASFA members, Sutera Sardo felt additional training was a necessary next step to ensure a more safe campus.

“I wanted to bring something complimentary to consent training,” said Sutera Sardo. “It would be something different, but just as important… you can’t talk about one without talking about the other, which is why I wanted to have them both.”

The training sessions, which will be available to members of ASFA and its member organizations during both the fall and winter semesters, will be led by Jennifer Drummond, SARC’s coordinator. The sessions will cover strategies to help students recognize potentially dangerous situations and safe intervention methods.

The training is mandatory for ASFA executives and executives of AFSA’s official member associations, including the Loyola College Student Association, the Liberal Arts Society and the Science College Student Association, among others. In total, approximately 200 students will be receiving this training, and students will not have to pay for the sessions.

ASFA represents Concordia’s largest faculty association, which consists of nearly 15,000 undergraduate students and approximately 20,450 students overall. Sutera Sardo believes executives of ASFA’s member associations are seen as student leaders, so having them receive this training could help prevent sexual assault, bullying and other forms of harassment or violence on campus.

“I know a lot of students, especially first-year students in residence, might not necessarily know what kind of services are offered at Concordia and they often look to their peers. If their peers and their student leaders are aware of [bystander intervention strategies], then they can lead better and they can make the campus safer,” said Sutera Sardo.

The proposal met unanimous support when it came time to vote, but there were initial concerns, mainly regarding the time commitment for mandatory training sessions. However, Sutera Sardo and Drummond arranged for the training to be offered as a one-time session available at various times throughout both semesters, making it flexible for students with busy schedules.

“It was a question of time. People had said that they had already given a lot of time to ASFA,” Sutera Sardo said. “But ultimately, they realized that an hour, two hours more to make sure that the people we represent feel safe, is nothing.”

The training—and its widespread support among associations—leaves Sutera Sardo feeling optimistic about the future of AFSA.

“This was something that needed to be done. There was no question about it and I’m glad all of ASFA is on board. We’re moving towards this change that we need,” Sutera Sardo said.

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News

Task force is back

ASFA executives and volunteers gather to aid in completing the assembly of a task force. Photo by Ana Hernandez

Student-led task force proceeds with implementing requests made in Mei Ling settlement

The student-led task force discussed the creation of an advocacy coordinator position, the composition of this position’s hiring committee, and how to ensure equal representation of different ethnicities in both the hiring committee and the task force during its third meeting on Nov. 2.

The meeting took place in the School for Community and Public Affairs building on Mackay Street at Concordia’s downtown campus. The three task-force meetings thus far come as a response to a request made by the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) for Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) to revise the task force’s mandate. ASFA was required to create a task force as part of the settlement that was reached following the lawsuit against ASFA made by CRARR on behalf of Mei Ling*. Mei Ling was a former ASFA executive who experienced sexual harassment, discrimination and racism from two other ASFA executives.

In a press release published by CRARR on Oct. 3, they requested a revision of the mandate due to the fact that the previous one, while efficiently tackling sexism and sexual violence, did not focus enough on representation of racial minorities.

The new mandate, which was ratified by the ASFA council on Oct. 13, was distributed at the meeting. It listed actions that will be taken by the task force to ensure cases of racism, sexism and sexual violence are dealt with swiftly. These actions include obligatory consent and power dynamic workshops for ASFA executives and others, collaboration with students of different backgrounds to create and implement necessary services, and working with Concordia University to ensure that these services are accessible to all.

Rebecca Paris, a recent Concordia graduate, attended the meeting. She said she wishes there had been such a task force when she was a student, as she felt there were no resources available to women of colour facing discrimination. “If I ever had issues of racism at Concordia, I had to create my own network of people,” said Paris. “It was made for us, by us and it was with no support of the university. It was made with no support of the entities here.”

Paris said many of her friends still go to Concordia and so, “as a support system for them, it’s important for me to be there if I have time.” She said people of colour need more visibility in the university and they should have designated safe spaces.

While the task force is not part of ASFA, Agunik Mamikonyan, the community outreach and sustainability coordinator for ASFA, leads the discussions during the meetings. Mamikonyan said she decided to take on the task“because she felt she had the time and passion for it.

Mamikonyan believes there is an urgent need for this task force. “There’s an obvious gap within Concordia University and it’s been a recurring problem, especially recently,” she said. “There have been a lot of cases coming up and no one to deal with them.”

The meeting concluded with the objective of finding students to sit on the hiring committee. A date for a future meeting has not yet been released.

*Mei Ling is a pseudonym used to protect the identity of the subject involved.

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News

Task force mandate on the horizon

Graphic by Florence Yee.

Agreement and collaboration ensues after CRARR’s mention of lawsuit to ASFA

The Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) issued a press release on Oct. 3 asking the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) to revise their current mandate for a student-led task force. If ASFA fails to accommodate the conditions of the settlement, CRARR is permitted to seek legal action from the provincial Superior Court.

The task force is a settlement requirement of the Mei Ling case—in which allegations of sexual and racial discrimination by the former ASFA president and an ASFA executive were made by Mei Ling, a pseudonym for a former Concordia University student and ASFA executive. She filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission against ASFA under the pretences of discrimination and harassment in February 2015, with CRARR as her representative.

As the Nov. 19 anniversary of Mei Ling’s settlement approaches, CRARR wants to ensure that ASFA has not forgotten about  the mandate or the need to assemble the task force, said CRARR executive director, Fo Niemi. He said the purpose of the press release is not to threaten ASFA. “We’re right now in October, and if things aren’t done by November, people are starting to then gear up for exams and likely people will wait for January,” said Niemi, adding that the winter semester can go by very fast.

He said CRARR is seeking to have a mechanism in place to ensure no problem is ignored and no one is left behind in cases of discrimination, racism, sexual assault and harassment. “My main concern is the way the task force was set up in May,” said Niemi. “It focused more on … sexual assault. You didn’t see racism as a stand alone issue.”

CRARR’s ultimatum was meant to motivate ASFA to make the necessary adjustments to the original task force mandate. Niemi said the focus of their current mandate focuses mainly on sexual assault, when the agreement talks about racism, sexism, discrimination and sexual violence.

Niemi said on August 30 he met with ASFA’s lawyer Michael Simkin, ASFA general coordinator, Andrea Krasznai, Sarah Oleil, councillor and social events coordinator for the Women’s Studies Student Association and another ASFA executive in the ASFA office and they were very receptive of CRARR’s demands.

However, Niemi referenced an article in The Concordian written on the last task force meeting. He said the meeting covered in the September 2016 article gives the impression that people are not set on or have understood that addressing racism must be part of the task force mandate. Niemi said since May, CRARR has been concerned with the fact that ASFA has not yet altered the mandate to comply with the spirit of the settlement.

Just hours after the Oct. 3 press release was published, Krasznai and Agunik Mamikonyan, community outreach and sustainability coordinator began working on an updated mandate to meet CRARR’s request. On Oct. 7, the revised mandate was sent by ASFA’s lawyer to CRARR for revision.

Mamikonyan said the mandate was re-written to not only provide solid steps on how they would take action, but they included the aspect of general discrimination.

Krasznai said once both the lawyer and the ASFA council approve this new mandate, the implementation process will begin. This includes an assessment of services to be provided for the task force, how ASFA decides who will be involved in the task force.

“Most likely I would assume that council will be more or less okay with the [mandate] because it’s things that were already in progress,” Mamikonyan said.

Niemi said CRARR is using a one-year mark to assess whether progress has been made and whether legal action needs to be taken.

“I don’t think that we will get to the point where they will have to sue us to a higher level or anything, because we’re really trying,” said Mamikonyan. “We think we can find a mutually agreeable solution.”

Approval of the revised mandate will be decided by ASFA council on Wednesday Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in room H-767 of the Hall building on Concordia’s S.G.W. campus.

Graphic by Florence Yee

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Task force revealed as anniversary of Mei Ling settlement approaches

Photo by Ana Hernandez.

Student-led group seeks a mandate to uphold requirements settled in Mei Ling case

A student-led task force held their first meeting on Sept. 22 at Concordia, where they discussed adapting a mandate aimed at preventing violence and injustice towards minority groups within student associations and university groups.

As the anniversary of the Mei Ling settlement approaches on November 23, Concordia’s Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) has been facing pressure from the Quebec Human Rights Commission (QHRC) to honour their agreement to assemble a task force, operated to review cases of discrimination within student groups and associations.

Mei Ling, a pseudonym used to protect her identity, had experienced sexual and racial discrimination from former ASFA employees she worked with, causing her to file a complaint with the QHRC against ASFA for harassment and discrimination in February 2015.

Sarah Oleil, councillor and social events coordinator for the Women’s Studies Student Association (WSSA) at Concordia, said the original mandate released May 12 was revised by the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), the civil rights advocacy group responsible for filing the complaint to the QHRC on Mei Ling’s behalf. However, CRARR said the mandate lacked content concerning harassment and exclusion—major components of Mei Ling’s complaint—and suggested that ASFA should rework the mandate.

“CRARR sent us an official letter saying it’s not to their satisfaction—there are certain elements and concrete aspects missing from it,” said Andrea Krasznai, ASFA’s general coordinator. Krasznai said her role within task force is to be the coordinator between the parties involved, which she lists as CRARR, Council of Representatives and the task force.

“Since the anniversary of the agreement that has been made with CRARR last year is approaching, they are asking to get this really rolling,” said Andrea Krasznai. Krasznai said CRARR is expecting certain changes to be made to the task force’s original mandate.

Oleil said that CRARR told ASFA the mandate needed to focus not only on sexual assault, but also implement concepts that deal with harassment, exclusion and racism. She said CRARR also demanded that the task force be diverse in its representation.

Photo by Ana Hernandez.

“This task force was set up [with the idea] that students should have protection against racist and sexist violences,” said Oleil. “Students should be involved in protecting each other and holding different bodies at Concordia accountable for these actions that occur within their environment, but specifically that occur at ASFA.”

Krasznai said she is not certain when the task force will be fully organized and assembled. She explained she does not want to rush the assembly and creation of the mandate just for the sake of finishing the project.

Krasznai said that she and other ASFA executives have been seeking professional help from a lawyer to further understand the legal aspects related to CRARR’s demands in association to the Mei Ling settlement. “At this point I don’t think we should focus so much on when is it going to be done, but how is it going to be done, and who can help us,” she said.

She added that they have yet to assemble a full group. “I would love to be at that point,” she said.

The meeting did not result in any alterations to the current mandate. However, the task force members plan to meet in approximately three weeks to continue adapting the current mandate to match CRARR’s suggestions.

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ASFA tackles the culture of frosh

Photo by Florence Yee.

Arts & Sciences Federation Association (ASFA) will be kicking off Frosh week by hosting consent workshops for the first time on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.

It will be mandatory for anyone who has purchased a ticket to Frosh for the full week to attend the workshop prior to being let into Frosh events. “We decided we would take precautions this year and be careful and [ensure] that everyone was safe,” said ASFA internal affairs and administrative coordinator Julia Sutera Sardo. “Executives, leaders and volunteers have already undergone consent, harm reduction and the safe serve program (SSP) in preparation for frosh week.”

This is part of ASFA’s goal to reduce the typical culture surrounding Frosh, said Sutera Sardo. She said that she had not previously attended Frosh, due to not appreciating the culture of binge drinking and lack of consent surrounding the week.

However, Sutera Sardo said ASFA wanted to change how frosh was organized this year to provide a safer space for everyone attending the events. “I was really happy I got to take part in changing the culture of how things work,” she said.

ASFA social events coordiantor Marc Da Silva said Frosh is really well organized this year as opposed to last year. “I’m definitely really excited about the consent workshops that are being given,” said Da Silva. “I think that’s a necessity in making sure frosh is safer.”

Sutera Sardo said that ASFA’s goal in changing the culture of Frosh has definitely been a group effort. ASFA is working in collaboration with the Dean of Students office to provide the consent workshops.

ASFA VP of community outreach and sustainability coordinator Agunik Mamikonyan said ASFA will be hosting five different sessions for the consent training, each session lasting an hour and a half each.

“We’re going to register [Froshees] when they come in and they are going to get their bracelets by the end of the session.” Mamikonyan said this is in order to ensure all attending the week of events at Frosh will have undergone consent training.

Dean of Students Andrew Woodall said ASFA reached out to the Dean of Students to get information about consent, bystander intervention and how to organize safer events. “We’ve been working with the execs—the outgoing and incoming since January as a group on trying to change the culture of orientation of Frosh,” said Woodall.

Woodall said Froshees will undergo workshops focused on consent training and understanding how alcohol may impact and limit decision making. While executives and Frosh leaders are undergoing workshops focused on not only consent, but risk reduction as well, said Woodall. “Generally what we’re doing with the execs and the Frosh leaders is more about risk reduction—so consent and bystander [intervention], alcohol, what to watch out for and some drugs, too.”

Woodall said that the extensive training for leaders and executives is due to them setting up the event. The training will address how to set up an event in a manner with least risk to the Froshies—such as having longer lineups for alcohol, having water and food available and not having alcohol as the point of a game.

Sutera Sardo also ensured Frosh participants would have a safe space if they needed it. “I made sure that we had a safe room [for beach day], because I feel having experienced panic attacks myself before, sometimes you just don’t feel comfortable in a specific zone with people or you may be dehydrated,” said Sutera Sardo. The safe room will help those attending Frosh by offering a separate space to relax and lay down.

In addition, there will be plenty of water available, first aid certified executives and security will be present. “By implementing some chill stations and safe rooms in all of our events we’re going to be able to have that place there, in case somebody feels uncomfortable and wants to speak to us,” said Sutera Sardo.

Sutera Sardo said that in order to create a more inclusive platform for Frosh week, ASFA is trying to involve not only first years, but undergraduate and graduate students. “Frosh isn’t only about freshmen,” she said. Sutera Sardo explained the first event being the cocktail mixer party is designed to incorporate more mature students. Sardo said her goal is to make more of a connection between new students, experienced undergraduates and graduate students, as well as creating a better network between students at Sir George Williams campus and Loyola Campus.

Sutera Sardo said while planning frosh there were many meetings with other student groups and associations, as well as representatives from Concordia’s security, hospitality, electricity department and facilities management departments to generate a greater communication with one another.

“I feel like a lot of times problems that arise at Frosh all start in the planning of it, so we took about four months to plan everything,” she said.

Last year ASFA changed the title of Frosh week to “launch week” in order to change the bad vibes associate with the events. However, this year the title has been changed back to Frosh. “Students were not familiar with the term “launch” and didn’t realize it pertained to orientation activities,” said Da Silva.

“We’re doing the best we can and I really buy into this team’s desire to do away with the reputation [ASFA] had a couple of years ago,” said Woodall.

“In the end, all we want is to be able to communicate and share our ideas in a really safe manner,” said Sutera Sardo. “[ASFA] council has sometimes been an unsafe place and by having these trainings [for frosh executives] hopefully it will be safer and will be conducive to just better communication.”

This article has been updated for accuracy and clarity since publishing. The Concordian regrets the error.

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News

ASFA asks for per credit fee levy increase

November by-elections to fill VP Academic & Loyola, VP External positions

The Arts and Science Federation of Associations will be asking students to increase its per credit fee levy by 0.38 cents as of winter 2015.

At a special council meeting held Oct. 23, ASFA voted to put the question to a referendum during a by-election to be held Nov. 25-27.

This proposed increase was put forward by ASFA’s Financial Committee in order to offset the increased expenditures of the federation on services and Member Association budgets.

ASFA represents almost 15,000 undergraduate students and currently receives a fee levy of $1.22 per credit. While it represents the most students of any other faculty association, with the Commerce and Administration Student Association coming closest at just over 7,000, it receives the smallest levy. CASA receives $2.35, the Engineering and Computer Science Association receives $2.00 and the Fine Arts Student Alliance, representing only 3,700 students, gets $1.35.

This year, ASFA has budgeted a deficit of $61,690—an increase from last fiscal year’s $57,977 deficit. The federation cites financial restructuring, increase of costs and additional services as the reason for the budget imbalance.

While ASFA is not in a position where it is unable to continue its operations, the federation’s bylaws state that the year-end cash balance must be $150,000 or more.

The referendum question, approved by ASFA reads as follows: “Do you agree to increase ASFA’s per credit fee levy by $0.38 to a total of $1.60 per credit, effective starting in the winter 2015 semester (January 2015)?”

In addition to voting on the fee levy increase question, the by-election will also see the vacant positions of VP External and VP Academic & Loyola filled.

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News

ASFA 2014-2015 budget loosens belt with $61,000 deficit

Banks on fee levy increase to mitigate deficit

The Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA), Concordia’s largest faculty organization, recently voted to add $16,000 in additional expenses to bring an already red budget deficit to a total of $61,000.

VP Finance Melina Ghio explained that the deficit is a response to rising costs, inflation, and additional funds given to ASFA’s member associations (MAs), which are department specific student associations. She says two budgets were originally proposed during council deliberations back in June.

“There was one option where we did not have a deficit, where we had cut majorly where we could …so you ended up having a zero dollar deficit,” she said of the so-called ‘Thrifty Budget.’ These cuts would have been to variable costs, like administration.

Ultimately the council decided on adopting the ‘Generous Budget’ over the one that would have curtailed costs and eliminated the gap. Originally, before additional costs were voted in late August, the previewed deficit was at $44,000.

“The reason, I think, that council thought it was best to go to the generous budget is that we’re going to look into increasing our fee levy this year,” Ghio said. “Economically speaking, ASFA’s income has been fairly stable — our main source of income has been the fee levy, by far. Essentially the fee levy is the source of our income.”

Comparing last year’s budget to this year’s showed the fee levy income (which currently accounts for around 75 per cent of ASFA’s revenue) to have increased by less than $2,800, while expenses have in some cases gone up dramatically. Currently, the fee levy for ASFA stands at $1.22 per credit per student.

“That [fee levy] has not increased, but MAs…need more money,” Ghio said. She believed the fee levy discussions and changes would most likely come next year, but couldn’t commit to any firm dates.

“Nothing’s been set in stone…but we definitely want to look towards covering most of…the deficit [with the fee levy],” she answered to the question of how big the increase would be, saying several more weeks would be required to crunch the math and come up with accurate numbers.

Alongside factors like election expenses and the creation of a communications coordinator position, ASFA purchased a printer and related office supplies for some of the MAs located at the Loyola campus.

“Instead of imposing it on their budget, FinCom thought it would be better to have it as part of ASFA’s budget,” she said. Counting the supplies, printer, and surrounding expenses, it added $1,500 to the bill.

“If [the fee levy hike] doesn’t pass, ASFA has enough money in its bank account to account for the deficit,” assured Ghio, though she would not say how much of a surplus the ASFA coffers contained.

Aside from fee levies, Ghio did say there has already been a higher-than-expected profit from ASFA’s first event of the year, Frosh Week. “When we hold events, there’s a certain amount of money that comes in from our events, but not much,” she said, saying Frosh had earned around $5,000 more than anticipated.

In any case, the VP explained that previous experience has shown budget spending to be more prudent than the figures show.

“Generally speaking, according to the budgets that we make, we don’t spend as much as we anticipate. To look at ASFA historically, I’d say we anticipate spending more money than we do over the course of the years.” She says MAs, for example, typically organize less activities than planned because of time constraints and other commitments.

She also said the deficits were broadly proportionate to those of other organizations like the CSU, which she says will also be asking for a fee levy increase to cope with rising expenses.

“We didn’t want to be in a situation where we end up with a crash,” she said at the fattening of the budget and in relation to previous financial difficulties encountered by Concordia student organizations.

 

NOTE: An earlier version of this article stated that fixed costs would be reduced in the Thrifty Budget. As these costs are fixed, they would not be reduced with this plan.

It was also stated that ASFA’s cost for students per credit is $9.75, when it is in fact $1.22.

The Concordian apologizes for these errors.

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Opinions

Love Letter (And Simple Request) to ASFA

Frosh makes strange bedfellows, but this is a bit much.

To my representatives, the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) – I’m sorry, and you’re welcome.

Wait, wait, no. No publication should ever start with something as insulting and pretentious as that. But that’s exactly what MTL Blog did in their open letter to Montreal, following mounting criticism due to their unsavoury business practices.

Frankly, there’s a rabbit hole of problems here. Here we have a self-identified for-profit organization that has a track record of not paying its writers. What we see is a revolving door of unpaid interns and university students, and according to Pierre Chauvin of Canadaland, only two paid writers actually on staff.

And it isn’t just the writers, either: the photographers are also getting the short end of the stick. Many bloggers have claimed that MTL Blog had stolen their pictures and placed them on the site with no credit and no payment. The anti-MTL Blog site StopMTLBlog.to even has a blog post detailing instances of stolen photography – three of them, actually.

When confronted for stealing a picture, the MTL Blog twitter claimed that “if there is no [credit] it is because it was found on Google with no [credit]”. In their Love Letter to Montreal, they admitted that their “lack of initial experience… has led to unacceptable errors on our end”, adding that “[t]he ethics of the internet are ever-evolving”.

Know what else is in an ethical gray area? Taking money to write stories. Wait, sorry, my mistake – pretty sure everyone can agree that’s just plain wrong, especially from a site that strives “every day to deliver important news”, according to their History page. One look at the “Submit Your Event” page makes it very clear: Twitter promotion, featured banner, a photographer and writer, event listings – all available to you, for a fee. (The words “Contact Us for Pricing” appear eight times on the page, by the way.)

Which brings me back to you, ASFA. You represent nearly 15,000 undergrads, including writers and journalists. Knowing what we know about MTL Blog, and considering who you are supposed to be representing, it begs the question – why did you partner with them for #FROSH?

When one goes to the ticket site for #FROSH, their logo is at the bottom of the page. Not to mention all the articles and pictures they’ve been posting of your events, with such great lines as: “This was definitely a great way for everyone to start their semester and academic program” and that “[y]ou definitely don’t want to miss out on this year’s Frosh celebration”.

Paul Jerajian, President of ASFA, said there was no exchange of money for the partnership with MTL Blog. “What they mainly get is exposure, and we get coverage of the event,” said Jerajian, who added that Concordia’s student body was likely “big market” for the publication.

But out of all the publications to promote, out of everyone you could have picked, why go with the one with a proven track record of shady operations? When the tuition of writers, photographers and journalists goes to keeping you running, why run with someone who would stab us in the back?

It might be too late for this year, but something to keep in mind, ASFA – if you’re going to promote yourselves, how about picking someone who wouldn’t try to swindle us? Strange concept, I know, but we’d all really appreciate it next time.

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Choose your ASFA executive team

Graphic by Jenny Kwan

Arts and science students are encouraged to come out to the ballot box for the ASFA Annual General Elections from March 4-6 to vote for the 2014-2015 executive team.

Graphic by Jenny Kwan

From 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. polling booths will be up at Sir George William Campus in the first floor of the Hall building and in the Library building lobby; and at the Loyola Campus in the Vanier Library lobby and the atrium of the SP building.

The Arts & Science Student Association (ASFA) is the largest student association representing nearly 18,000 students. ASFA is made up of member associations who represent the individual departments of the arts and science faculty.

ASFA is responsible for organizing events, for managing their member association’s funds and for trying to engage in various initiatives to better the experience of arts and science students at Concordia.

While 700 students voted in last year’s general election, ASFA’s Chief Electoral Officer, Trevor Wilkinson, would like to see that number increase:

“Voting, for me, is like a statement to the organization and the University about who we believe is best suited for the job of representing our rights, managing the funds we give them, and ensuring that our interests and voices are heard.”

Beyond voting in student elections Wilkinson suggests students should take the opportunity to get involved in student life.

“There are multiple advantages of joining a student executive like ASFA. For one, it provides those who are successful at acquiring the position a chance to effect change, which can benefit their fellow students. For another, the steep learning curve required of first-time executives as well as the ability to manage one’s studies, the executive position, and work outside of school as many of the current executives do, provides one with a set of skills that many employers look for in recently graduated students.”

Paul Jerajin, ASFA’s current president, is running for re-election for the second year in a row with no competitors. Jerajin explains that his favourite part of the job is seeing fellow executives and councilors get together and discuss change they want to implement in the university and then actually working together to achieve it.

“The multidisciplinary aspect of ASFA is unmatched. Having so much diversity within a faculty is a great way to see many opinions and expertise come together and have a critical yet constructive discussion on various topics,” said Jerajin.

Jerajin explained that working for ASFA has been not only essential to his university experience, but also to his life experience.

  

Candidates for the 2014-2015 ASFA Executive

President

Paul Jerajin

VP Internal:

Jenna Cocullo

Veronic Godbout

Peggy Kabeya-Honeyglow

Pauline Sarah Pfingsten.

VP Finance:

Melina Ghio

Parisa Mehrabi

VP Communications:

Justin Caruso

Haroon Mohar

Tiffany Thompson.

VP Social Affairs:

Farhana Jumki Haque

Sean Nolan.

VP Academic & Loyola Affairs:

Patricia Martone

VP External Affairs & Sustainability:

Charles Bourassa

Damian Skulic

There are eight students running for five independent councilor spots:

Crystal Harrison

Léa Lacroix

Alex Longinotti

Basma Ben Moussa

Justin Occhionero

Javier Eduardo Valbuena Ramírez

James Vaccaro

Nikitas Vekris

For more information on the candidates visit www.asfa.ca/asfa-general-elections-get-to-know-the-candidates.

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News

ASFA elections end predictably

The annual general elections for the Arts and Science Federation of Associations wrapped up last week following three days of voting in which all candidates ran unopposed for the 2013-14 academic year.

Following a tally of the votes, all candidates were declared winners for their positions and will take them on the following academic year.

Despite initial competition during campaigning, some candidates dropped out for various reasons leaving only a single candidate in each position. Crystal Harrison, a candidate for VP academic Loyola, dropped out of the race to run as as a candidate for VP Loyola for the Concordia Student Union.

Justin Occhionero, the newly elected VP external and sustainability, told The Concordian that he was not surprised when he found himself running uncontested. He cited student apathy as an issue, but said that he hopes to use his position to reach out to students and increase participation.

“Concordia has so much more to offer than just going to class,” he said. “There is a whole other world at our university that the majority of our students should but don’t know about.”

Occhionero also said that in his time as VP external and sustainability he hopes to improve ASFA’s bylaws and also improve communication between ASFA and groups such as the CSU and the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec.

“It is important that the rights and needs of arts and science students are properly represented at all levels of student governance,” he said. “This can be achieved by consistently communicating with other student unions and hopefully collaborating with them on new campaigns and events.”

Upcoming ASFA executives:
Paul Jerajian – President
Justin Occhionero – VP external and sustainability
Sean Nolan – VP social candidate
TingLi Lucia Lorigiano – VP academic and Loyola
Francis Boyer – VP internal
Anne-Sophie Grenier – VP finance
Stéphanie Gagnon-Laberge – VP communications

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