With only VP finance candidate Scott Carr running opposed, the entire CSYou slate was elected to form the executive of the Concordia Student Union for 2013-2014 academic year.
Carr beat Tardivo for the only contested position with nearly twice as many votes. The preliminary results show that Carr garnered 617 votes as opposed to Tardivo, the only independent executive candidate running, who received 334 votes.
However, a recount will be taking place this weekend due to an error in counting the ballots early Friday morning — votes for VP sustainability elect Benjamin Prunty and VP student life elect Katrina Caruso were affected in the John Molson School of Business building. An error left certain polling days with an irregular amount of votes and other dates with none. The mistake is not expected to change the outcome of the vote but there will be a recount.
While the final count or preliminary numbers have not yet been released for councillors and members of Senate, it appears that all undergraduate students running for council will have their seats for the upcoming year. This includes current VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah, VP student life Alexis Suzuki and VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi who received 41, 279, and 294 yes votes respectively in the preliminary results.
All fee levy referendum votes passed, including a motion of support for the Concordia Food Coalition. Approximately 1,142 students voted in favour of a new fee levy of $0.12 for the Concordia Greenhouse project and Sustainable Concordia will also be receiving $0.15 per credit, a ten-cent increase from the current $0.05 fee levy collected.
All final numbers will be released once the CSU’s Chief electoral officer, Andre-Marcil Baril will conduct his recount.
With the Concordia Student Union elections beginning Tuesday and running until March 28, the on-campus debates held at both campuses last week gave potential executives a last-minute platform to discuss relevant issues.
During the two events, topics like student apathy, improving communication with the student body and developing student space such as the Hive Café or the recently-rebranded student centre project were discussed.
Candidates fielded questions about their platforms as well as issues they hoped to address in the upcoming year, such as the perceived disconnect between students at the John Molson School of Business and the rest of Concordia.
The lack of any functioning CSU website all year was an issue addressed by presidential candidate Melissa Kate Wheeler, who said that a new website was needed for a number of reasons.
“There’s no clear place to go for any kind of specific question that any student might have and information is kind of scattered all over at the moment,” she said. “As well, there’s the fact that it doesn’t work. So yes, I think we will have to rebuild the website from the ground up. I think it’s needed not only on an IT level but also in terms of the logical flow and division of information which needs to be examined.”
The debates also gave the two VP finance candidates, Scott Carr, with CSYou and Pierre Tardivo, who is running independently, a chance to compare their ideas for issues like getting JMSB and engineering students involved with the CSU. Carr in particular spoke of his hopes of bridging the gap between JMSB students and the CSU.
“A lot of the times JSMB [students have] no respect for the CSU,” he said. “If they see an email from the CSU they’ll delete it right out of their inbox, it’s come to that point. When I was approached to run I discussed it with my peers and they said ‘Why in the world would you want to do that to yourself Scott?’”
Despite both coming from JMSB backgrounds, the two candidates had plenty to disagree about over the course of the two debates, with the subject of Reggie’s being the most contentious issue by far.
Carr claimed that Reggie’s problems began at the top with CUSACorp’s Board of Directors, saying that the students sitting on the board had no experience running a bar and no vision for the future due to the constant turnover. Tardivo expressed an interest in extending the mandates of directors to increase the board’s institutional memory and reduce the amount of information lost during turnover periods.
On the issue of increasing profit at Reggie’s, Tardivo expressed an interest in potentially serving food there, saying that in the past when it was tried, it proved very profitable for the bar, but Carr insisted that it was not a possibility as it would infringe on the exclusivity contract the school currently has with Chartwell’s to exclusively sell food on campus.
The debates also gave the potential executives a chance to discuss long-term goals beyond their mandates. Carr and Tardivo spoke about reducing Reggie’s debt and making it profitable, respectively, while James Vaccaro, the VP internal and clubs candidate discussed expanding sustainable food options on campus. Crystal Harrison, the candidate for VP Loyola, said that she hoped to put in motion the Hive Café and that it would continue to grow after her term was up.
“I actually hope that the Hive Café extends past my mandate because I want it to be a sustainable long-term investment that lasts for many years to come,” she said. “We’re going to lay down the framework and let it keep growing from there because I think it has so much potential.”
Melissa Kate Wheeler – Presidential candidate
Caroline Bourbonnière – VP external and mobilization candidate
James Vaccaro – VP internal and clubs candidate
Katrina Caruso – VP student life candidate
Crystal Harrison – VP Loyola candidate
Gene Morrow – VP academic and advocacy candidate
Benjamin Prunty – VP sustainability candidate
Scott Carr – VP finance candidate
Pierre Tardivo – VP finance candidate
News of the Hive Café’s impending opening has been circulating on a loop around campus for years now.
Stories and announcements can be found going back almost five years, each time Concordia Student Union candidates promising that the Hive Café would be opening in the coming weeks. Despite an investment of hundreds of thousand of dollars, and untold hours of work, the Hive Café is still not completed.
Despite a history of devouring any candidates that attempt to fix it, the Hive has found itself (once again) in the spotlight for the current executive campaigns. Candidates have made multiples promises during the campaign for how they intend to fix the broken student space, and despite what history tells us, outgoing VP Loyola Stefan Faina says he thinks they have a good chance of pulling it off.
“I like that the next executive hopefuls are talking about the Hive Café as much as they are,” he told The Concordian. “The Hive Café was not one of my campaign points but I took more and more interest in it as the school year progressed. The fact that the campaign right now is focusing as much as it is on the Hive is a good sign. I think they have what it takes to push the project forward.”
Crystal Harrison, the VP Loyola candidate with CSYou said that she hoped to find out what the community wants from the Hive and said that a member of her team had met that day with the manager of the G Lounge for an informal discussion about possible collaboration in the future.
“We foresee more of these conversations taking place,” she said. “We also plan to sit down with representatives from student groups on campus and in this way we hope to increase both the reach and relevance of our plans.”
Faina said that when he first came into his position as VP Loyola, the Hive was a concept and little else.
“There had been some work done towards setting it up in the past but the main problem always came down to a hesitancy on the side of the council and general manager to embark on what they saw as too great a financial risk,” he said.
Faina said that a lot of that hesitation came down to a few major issues: the rocky financial history of Reggie’s, the fact that no concrete business plan existed for the Hive, perceived difficulties with the electrical output available and problems with having unionized (Loyola Luncheon) and potentially non-unionized (Hive Café) employees sharing the same workspace.
Once he knew the issues, Faina says he worked on a plan of action, with the most important step being a much needed business plan. After exploring the options, he realized that looking within Concordia, such as at the consulting services offered at the JMSB, might be the best answer.
“This is supposed to be a student-run, student-implemented initiative. If we have the resources available to us on our home ground, why not use them? It would greatly save costs and be true to the student-oriented Hive Cafe philosophy.”
By the end of the year, Faina hopes that all the necessary steps will have been taken in order to begin construction at the Hive, with the business plan being the last step he finishes before his mandate is over. With that done, the only obstacle remaining may be the most difficult one to overcome: the turnover rate at the CSU. Faina says that in his opinion, the Hive has taken much longer than necessary because of the constant turnover from one VP Loyola to another, forcing the new executives to start from scratch. Next year, he says, he wants his successor to begin on the same page as he finishes.
The Concordia Student Union is no longer leaderless as VP sustainability Andrew Roberts was appointed to the position of president during last Wednesday’s regular council meeting.
The CSU was without a president since Feb. 12 following the official resignation of Schubert Laforest, who cited a decline in health as his reason for leaving.
The executive began by presenting four candidates as options to council: VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah, VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon, VP Loyola Stefan Faina and the absent VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi. Atallah, despite receiving zero votes from councillors during the contentious Feb.13 council meeting, did not rescind her candidacy.
Immediately following the announcement, Faina withdrew his name prior to the discussion held by council over potential options for a new president. This left three options from the executive to be voted upon.
Lauzon stated that he was ready to take on the position despite adamantly declining the opportunity in February. He explained that as president he would have clear modes of communication with the executive and council.
In a snap decision, Roberts offered to be considered — a suggestion he refused at the earlier date of Feb. 13, stating he did not want to deal with the “politics” that come with the role of president.
“I’ll throw my name in,” said Roberts.
Upon saying that the room was too tense, Roberts put forward his candidacy and council quickly passed a motion from Councillor Gonzo Nieto for Roberts to be the fourth candidate on the list.
Some councillors expressed concern over appointing Roberts since he was initially reluctant to even be considered for the role and were uneasy about putting Roberts in such a position.
“Andrew is awesome,” said councillor Hardial Rosner. “But he really, really doesn’t want to do it.”
However, councillor Chad Walcott argued that Roberts was the best outcome for appointing a new president from the executive.
“Andrew is trying to step up and do the right thing,” said Walcott. “He’s the only one who I would vote for.”
Following tense discussion surrounding all four candidates, council went to a secret ballot to determine the next president of the CSU. Roberts will continue as president through the end of his mandate until June 1.
The CSU was at an impasse for more than a month following the Feb. 13 meeting that left both the executive and councillors unhappy with the outcome and one another.
The executive recommended that Atallah replace Laforest following his unsuspected departure but this didn’t sit well with council. It quickly divided the room, pinning the executive, who felt Atallah was best suited for the position, against councillors, who refused to appoint Atallah. Councillors demanded other options but no other executive was willing to take on the portfolio at the time.
The discussion ended as contentiously as it began, with councillors Nieto and James Vaccaro pursuing a complaint with the CSU’s Judicial Board over bylaw 7.4. The bylaw states that should there be a vacancy in the presidency, council shall appoint a president from the vice-presidents; should no vice-presidents be willing then a councillor may be appointed with two-thirds majority of votes.
However, the bylaw does not instruct what to do should the only vice-president who is willing be rejected by council but does not withdraw their candidacy.
JB ruled in favour of council but allowed the executive to first present other options than Atallah for councillors to choose from.
Now that council has appointed their new president, it seems as though it will not appoint another student to take on Roberts’ portfolio. The new president said he would continue to work in both capacities but that council must move forward together.
“This isn’t a be all, end all,” said Roberts. “It’s a group effort.”
A lack of communication and failure to follow procedure is interfering with the production of the Concordia Student Union once again.
Various changes to the organization’s bylaws are in danger of disappearing should they not be included during the general elections as a referendum question.This process not only went undone, but also went unnoticed until Judicial Board Chairperson Nick Cuillerier brought it to the attention of council last Wednesday.
The oversight could mean that revisions to bylaws ‘I’ and ‘J,’ and a modification to bylaw 10.2, fall flat before they were ever truly recognized. Bylaw ‘I’ was changed to reference bylaw ‘J’ to provide a committee to oversee the spending of the student centre fund.
The executive did not realize the implications until it was brought forth after Cuillerier saw a notice of polls poster at Concordia the same evening.
The mistake, while VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah promised it would be quickly rectified, garnered backlash from council.
“This is a huge dereliction of duties,” said Councillor Chad Walcott. “I want to know what happened to let you screw up to such a massive degree.”
The executive did not have a clear answer as to why the notice requirement was never done other than it was an error.
As the notice requirement was not fulfilled, the CSU used a notwithstanding clause under the standing regulations since the changes were not announced in the postering.
“Any ordinary motion, resolution or regulation who derogates from the code can only be adopted with a clause stating that the motion operates regardless of the code of standing regulations. The clause must state which article(s) are not to be applied towards the motion. Such motion requires a 2/3 majority vote and will cease to have effect 4 months following its approval,” standing regulation 267 reads.
This allows the revisions to the bylaws to be put to referendum and the executive was mandated through a motion to issue an email to the undergraduate student body to inform them of the question before 6 a.m. Thursday morning but has to yet to do so.
Missing report, missing meetings
A Senate report from VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi was missing from the documents presented to council last Wednesday. Councillor James Vaccaro asked for the report but El Jahidi was absent due to illness. However, since Vaccaro and Senator Chuck Wilson were both present, they quickly went over the details of the last Senate meeting.
It also came to light that El Jahidi, since taking her mandate in November, has yet to attend any Steering Committee meetings. The total number of meetings is now at five, three of which El Jahidi was part of the executive for and has missed.
Speaking to The Concordian, El Jahidi said that her absences were unfortunate but were out of hands as factors including IT problems and sickness prevented her from being present for Senate and steering committee meetings.
“For steering committee I was very unfortunate as I haven’t been able to attend. For the first meeting I was out of town but I sent my regrets, and for the second one I was sick and I couldn’t make it,” she said.
El Jahidi also said omplaints about her absences were never brought to her prior to being aired elsewhere such as at CSU meetings, and that despite difficulties attending meetings she had made an effort to keep up with Senate and steering committee events.
“I’ve been keeping in touch with what’s been happening at the steering committee,” she said. “I tried once to talk to the other person who was at steering, I think it was Chuck [Wilson], but he wasn’t that responsive.”
Conversely, Senator Chuck Wilson said that is not true.
“That is not true — no one knew,” said Wilson. “Danielle Tessier would specifically ask me, awkwardly, if I knew if Hajar was coming.”
Wilson said that he was sending updates on meetings since February.
“I’m really not sure where this is coming from,” said Wilson. “I’ve been trying to keep everyone aware of what’s happening at Steering, and I’ve never heard so much as a peep from Hajar about it.”
Part of the responsibilities of VP academic include the coordination and the chairing of meetings of the student academic caucus, as well as sitting on Concordia’s academic bodies.
A Senate report has yet to be filed.
More backlash
The same meeting produced remarkable tension throughout the room, this time aimed at Chairperson Jean-François Ouellet for not following procedure during council.
During multiple votes, Ouellet counted abstentions within the total number of votes — a process that violates Robert’s Rules of Order. An abstention, or the refusal to vote, is not technically supposed to influence the outcome of a vote.
Furthermore, council lost patience with Ouellet when he refused to acknowledge Councillor Gonzo Nieto’s challenge to the chair toward the end of the meeting.
Both Nieto and Walcott left shortly after the challenge was disregarded.
In a unanimous decision late Wednesday night, the Concordia Student Union’s Judicial Board ruled in favour of plaintiff Gonzo Nieto on the matter of choosing a new CSU president.
In its decision, JB cited CSU bylaw 6.3C and standing regulation 52 as the fundamental basis for the conclusion that council is not forced to appoint the only vice-president who is willing or to remain leaderless. Bylaw 6.3C states that council will “act as the final authority on appointments of the student union” while standing regulation 52 states that “all internal and external appointments by council shall be by ordinary resolution.”
The complaint, originally submitted by councillors Nieto and James Vaccaro, stems from a regular meeting held on Feb.13. During the meeting, the executive presented VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah to replace former President Schubert Laforest, who resigned due to health issues.
After hours of arguing, clashing over bylaws and threats of legal action, council rejected the proposal and Atallah refused to rescind her candidacy, leaving the CSU in a deadlock while the issue was sent to JB.
The central issue of the case was two separate interpretations of bylaw 7.4, which states that should there be a vacancy in the presidency, council shall appoint a president from the vice-presidents and should no vice-presidents be willing then a councillor may be appointed with two-thirds majority of votes.
The executive believed that council was violating the bylaws since Atallah was the only vice-president willing to take on the position. Conversely, council expressed their discontent, asking for a second option from the executive or to appoint a councillor.
During the hearing, Nieto represented the councillors who had issue with the idea of being forced to choose Atallah, while Atallah and VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon represented the executive. Over the course of the two-hour meeting, both sides argued their points before the five members of JB. After two hours of closed session deliberation the decision was made public.
Following the decision, Lauzon told The Concordian that the decision would allow the process of choosing a president to move forward.
“The decision defined the boundaries between which we can work,” Lauzon said.
Nadine Atallah told The Concordian that she was happy to have a ruling from the Judicial Board that would allow them to move forward with a discussion.
“I’m glad they were able to clear things up, and I’m glad they recognized that there needs to be some change to the policy as it is unclear,” she said.
The executive is set to present four executives as options: Atallah, Lauzon, VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi and VP Loyola Stefan Faina.
Nieto said that he was pleased with the decision the Board had reached but admitted that neither bylaw 6.3C nor standing regulation 52 were included in his argumentation despite the role they played in deciding the issue. Atallah also told The Concordian that 6.3C was not included in any of the arguments presented, and that its inclusion in the decision was a matter of the Judicial Board’s own research.
“We were debating this particular by-law, 7.4, and so we were arguing about how to interpret it rather than the entirety of the bylaws,” she said.
Vaccaro said he hopes the CSU can move forward from the impasse and that he was happy that JB recognized the importance of council.
Bylaw 6.3C “recognizes what the executive seems to be repeatedly neglecting,” he said. “The council of representatives is there to look out for the interests of students and represent them at all costs. The executive is elected to execute the will of council, which represents the will of students in lieu of a meeting of members.”
Nieto said that going forward he hoped other executives would present themselves as candidates, citing VP sustainability Andrew Roberts as an example.
“The thing with [Roberts] is that he keeps bringing up this thing about not liking the politics side of the position, and that’s exactly why we want him, because he’s been a very forthcoming, open and transparent person that’s shown the ability to listen attentively to both sides,” said Vaccaro.
The next regular CSU meeting is this Wednesday where the issue of presidency will be addressed.
The Judicial Board is expected to render a decision on the issue of electing a new president for the Concordia Student Union, where an impasse is preventing council from moving forward.
Following the unexpected resignation of Schubert Laforest in early February, councillors and executive remain divided over who is best to lead the organization for the last months of the mandate. In a contentious council meeting on Feb. 13, the executive’s recommendation of VP internal Nadine Atallah to fill the empty position fell flat with the councillors.
Not a single councillor voted for Atallah, who the executive felt was best for president. A compromise was not reached as both sides adamantly refused to reconsider their choices — including Atallah who did not want to rescind her candidacy.
Councillors Gonzo Nieto and James Vaccaro filed a complaint to the JB, where the three members will rule Wednesday on the issue of presidency and provide clarity on the CSU’s bylaw 7.4.
Bylaw 7.4 states that should there be a vacancy in the presidency, council shall appoint a president from the vice-presidents; should no vice-presidents be willing then a councillor may be appointed with two-thirds majority of votes.
However, the bylaw does not state what to do if only one vice-president is willing but council does not agree.
To end the complaint, Nieto wrote that he hoped the JB could remedy the situation and provide clarity on the bylaw.
“It is our belief that this situation should be handled the same way as if there were no vice-presidents willing to fill the vacancy of the presidency — namely, that a member of the council of representatives would be appointed to fill the vacancy of the presidency, as per bylaw 7.4,” the complaint read.
Vaccaro said that he hopes the issue will be resolved quickly so that the CSU can move forward.
“I’m hoping the JB can clarify the bylaw because as written, it is unclear and does not state how we should proceed if the only willing executive is not appointed by the council,” said Vaccaro. “I would be happy to see another executive state they are willing as I’m sure their team dynamic would be best with a leader they’ve been working with throughout the year.”
Conversely, Atallah hopes that other than volunteering herself for the position of presidency, she hopes that JB will offer different interpretations of the bylaw.
CSU VP clubs and internal affairs Nadine Atallah (left). Photo by Madelayne Hajek
CSU VP clubs and internal affairs Nadine Atallah (left). Photo by Madelayne Hajek
An ideological impasse between the executive and council over who is best suited to lead the Concordia Student Union has left the organization without a president for an undetermined amount of time.
Following the resignation of Schubert Laforest as president last week, the executive issued their recommendation of appointing VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah to replace Laforest.
However, the recommendation failed—not a single councillor voted for Atallah.
When the executive explained why they felt that Atallah was best suited to take on the position of president, it was quickly met with reservations from council.
Councillors, such as Melissa Kate Wheeler, voiced their concerns on what they perceived as a lack of transparency on Atallah’s part. There was also worry about Atallah continuing with the ongoing student centre project while fulfilling the mandate of president. An issue for Chad Walcott, councillor and former VP external, was that Atallah was not sitting as a student representative on either the Board of Governors or Senate.
Atallah immediately disclosed why, although she said that Walcott knew the response, saying that her academic standing prohibited her from sitting on the university’s governing bodies.
However, what concerned councillors the most and fuelled what ended up being a united front against the executive was that they felt backed into corner. Councillors were upset that a recommendation was made from the executive before the issue of finding a new president was brought to council.
“There isn’t even an option being presented,” said Councillor Gonzo Nieto. “That’s not how this scenario plays out.”
Nieto asked if any other executive would consider presidency and the seven vice-presidents adamantly refused. VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon said that he would be unable and unwilling to work as president because he was “burning out” and that “if this had been six months ago it would have been different.”
The executive stated that Atallah was the only option—a belief that fed the backlash from council.
“As an executive our mind is made up about who we want as president,” said VP Loyola Stefan Faina. “If you want to discuss then that’s fine.”
The executive left the room at the request of council, allowing individuals to discuss their concerns candidly before Walcott moved to call the motion to appoint Atallah to question. It failed, with zero councillors in favour, seven opposed and five abstentions.
VP sustainability Andrew Roberts also refused a motion from Walcott to appoint him as president, citing that he was not into the politics that come with the position. He stressed that Atallah was the right choice for the CSU.
Several councillors, including Carlotta Longo and Fine Arts representative with ex officio rights Erika Couto, asked Atallah to reconsider her application.
“Clearly, no one chose you,” said Couto.
However, Atallah chose not to rescind her motion saying that while she understood the opposition to her candidacy, “it was not only her decision.” This left the CSU without a way to move forward unless Atallah agreed to step back.
As the impasse became apparent, the divide grew as each side maintained their resolve. The executive felt that council was breaching the CSU’s bylaws by not following the legal advice they sought about appointing a new president.
Bylaw 7.3 states that council may appoint a new president from the vice-presidents with a simple majority. Similarly, bylaw 7.4 says that should there be no executive willing to be president that a councillor may fulfill the role of president with a two-thirds majority.
“I feel uncomfortable sitting in a council where its members are knowingly breaching its bylaws,” said VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi.
When the notion of legal action was implied as the executive believed council was violating their own bylaws, Councillor Jordan Lindsay said he felt uneasy with the actions of the executive and that, should they sue council, they would be going down a difficult road.
“I hate being threatened,” said Lindsay. “Your threat is so empty.”
Council maintained that their concerns were not being taken seriously and that there was more than the options presented.
Nick Cuillerier, who chaired the meeting since Jean-François Ouellet was absent, said that “there had to be a way to move forward.”
It was decided that the matter would be sent to the Judicial Board to render a decision. The bylaws do not state what a solution is for the current circumstances. As Atallah was opposed and no executive is willing, it will be determined if council must choose from the executive or not.
Council must name a plaintiff in order for the case to proceed to JB and the members of JB can take up to two weeks to issue a decision.
Until then, the CSU will continue without a president.
File photo of VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah
File photo of VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah
An ideological impasse between the executive and council over who is best suited to lead the Concordia Student Union has left the organization without a president for an undetermined amount of time.
Following the resignation of Schubert Laforest as president last week, the executive issued their recommendation of appointing VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah to replace him.
Except the recommendation failed — not a single councillor voted for Atallah.
When the executive explained why they felt that Atallah was best suited to take on the position of president, it was quickly met with reservations from council.
Councillors voiced their concerns on what they perceived as a lack of transparency on Atallah’s part. There was also worry about Atallah continuing with the ongoing student centre project while fulfilling the mandate of president. An issue for Chad Walcott, councillor and former VP external, was that Atallah was not sitting as a student representative on either the Board of Governors or Senate.
Atallah immediately disclosed why, although she said that Walcott knew the response, saying that her academic standing prohibited her from sitting on the university’s governing bodies.
However, what concerned councillors the most and fuelled what ended up being a united front against the executive was that they felt backed into corner. Councillors were upset that a recommendation was made from the executive before the issue of finding a new president was brought to council.
“There isn’t even an option being presented,” said Councillor Gonzo Nieto. “That’s not how this scenario plays out.”
Nieto asked if any other executive would consider presidency and the seven vice-presidents adamantly refused. VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon said that he would be unable and unwilling to work as president because he was “burning out” and that “if this had been six months ago it would have been different.”
The executive stated that Atallah was the only option — a belief that fed the backlash from council.
“As an executive our mind is made up about who we want as president,” said VP Loyola Stefan Faina. “If you want to discuss then that’s fine.”
The executive left the room at the request of council, allowing individuals to discuss their concerns candidly before Walcott moved to call the motion to appoint Atallah to question. It failed with zero councillors in favour, seven opposed and five abstentions.
VP sustainability Andrew Roberts also refused a motion from Walcott to appoint him as president, saying that he was not into the politics that come with the position. He stressed that Atallah was the right choice for the CSU.
Several councillors, including Carlotta Longo and Fine Arts representative with ex-officio rights Erika Couto, asked Atallah to reconsider her application.
“Clearly, no one chose you,” said Couto.
However, Atallah chose not to rescind her motion saying that while she understood the opposition to her candidacy, “it was not only her decision.” This left the CSU without a way to move forward unless Atallah agreed to step back.
As the impasse became apparent, the divide grew as each side maintained their resolve. The executive felt that council was breaching the CSU’s bylaws by not following the legal advice they sought about appointing a new president.
Bylaw 7.3 states that council may appoint a new president from the vice-presidents with a simple majority. Similarly, bylaw 7.4 says that should there be no executive willing to be president that a councillor may fulfill the role of president with a two-thirds majority.
“I feel uncomfortable sitting in a council where its members are knowingly breaching its bylaws,” said VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi.
When the notion of legal action was implied as the executive believed council was violating their own bylaws, Councillor Jordan Lindsay said he felt uneasy with the actions of the executive and that should they sue council, that they would be going down a difficult road.
“I hate being threatened,” said Lindsay. “Your threat is so empty.”
Nick Cuillerier, who chaired the meeting since Jean-François Ouellet was absent, said that “there had to be a way to move forward.”
It was decided that the matter would be sent to the Judicial Board to render a decision. At this point in time, the bylaws do not state what a solution is for the current circumstances. As Atallah was opposed and no executive is willing, it will be determined if council must choose from the executive or not.
Council must name a plaintiff in order for the case to proceed to JB and the members of JB can take up to two weeks to issue a decision.
Until then, the CSU will continue without a president.
The Fine Arts Student Association voted unanimously to accept a motion that would grant them three ex-officio seats on the Concordia Student Union’s council after byelections last November left Fine Arts students without representation.
At their meeting last Wednesday, FASA voted on the motion originally introduced at the CSU’s last regular meeting on Jan. 23 as a partial remedy for the lack of representation on council.
The motion passed by FASA accepted the three seats offered by the CSU. The same motion included amendments on issues like postering and communication with faculty associations to pressure the CSU to make changes to avoid similar situations in the future.
Iain Meyer-Macaulay, a Fine Arts student who attended the previous CSU meeting when the issue of representation was being discussed, said that the motion in question was an acceptable alternative to another byelection.
“It’s a pretty good offer considering what is able to happen now,” said Meyer-Macaulay.
He also gave some context to the issue and spoke of the petition authored by FASA VP clubs and services Erika Couto that first brought the lack of representation to light.
“This petition was sent in November to CSU council, and nothing really happened out of it,” he said. “However, because of time constraints and other issues within and without the CSU, these ex-officio seats are probably the best we can do to get representation for Fine Arts students.”
Another sore point for some of the FASA councillors and executives was the fact that in the CSU’s standing regulations under article 181, the Chief Electoral Officer is not required to post flyers in the VA building where a large percentage of Fine Arts classes are held. VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon explained that the issue of electoral postering was not one that the CSU had direct control over, but that they would work to amend the standing regulations if necessary.
“When it comes to election posters, it’s very much separated from the executive,” Lauzon said. “It’s handled by the Chief Electoral Officer, and he of course has policies that he has to follow, so when it comes to the postering it’s not our personal decision where the electoral posters go, it’s the CEO’s job to make sure that everything’s postered with the appropriate resources.”
VP clubs and internal affairs Nadine Atallah was also present at the meeting to answer questions about the last byelections and what is being done to avoid a similar situation occurring in the future.
Emissary promises
Atallah also discussed an idea she originally included in her campaign platform, to have emissaries between the CSU and student faculty associations like FASA, that is now being revisited as a possible solution to a lack of communication between the two groups.
“The way that it would work, and this is up to discussion, is that every year there would be councillors who would be appointed to faculty associations and the idea would be that the faculty associations would choose which councillors they would want to be their emissaries, so to speak,” she said. “So the idea would be that you would ask this councillor if they would be willing and if they are then we would appoint them to the faculty association and their job would be to be the go-between between the CSU and the faculty associations both by speaking about what happened at your meetings and what are your concerns and also bringing the CSU’s concerns back to your table as well.”
Atallah said that the original idea was first conceived when she was running for her current position, but that a lack of response from faculty associations on the project created concerns that implementing it without their involvement would encroach on other associations.
Under the CSU’s bylaws, it is the role of VP student life to act as a liaison between the executive and faculty associations. Bylaw 7.12 outlines the duties of VP student life to collaborate with the the other unions.
The executive of the Concordia Student Union will be recommending to council during the next regular meeting Wednesday that Nadine Atallah, current VP clubs and internal affairs, take over the position of president.
President Schubert Laforest officially gave notice on Feb. 7. In a public letter, Laforest stated a decline in health as his reason for departure, citing ongoing mononucleosis and strep throat.
Laforest explained in the letter that he endorsed Atallah as a candidate for his replacement.
“I hope Nadine Atallah, current VP clubs and internal affairs, will take over my position and all my responsibilities with council’s approval. The team and I are very confident in her abilities to lead the union and to carry on with the team of executives through the remainder of the year,” the letter read.
Atallah said that for about two to three days, the executive sat down to speak about the situation and what would be best to move forward. The executive decided together that the best option was that Laforest resign and Atallah to be recommended to the council to take over the position of president.
“The idea was that we would appoint one of us to take over the position and as a team, we felt as if the best person to finish out the mandate is me,” Atallah said.
Bylaw 7.4 states that a majority from council must appoint a new president from the remaining vice-presidents. However, if no vice-presidents will take on the role, a councillor may take the position of president provided a two-thirds majority vote from the council is given.
Atallah stated that there are two significant reasons why the executive felt she would be best to fill the position. One reason being that her job now, VP clubs and internal affairs, is more administrative. According to Atallah, it would be easier to teach someone else her position than any other on the executive.
The second reason is that she and Laforest worked closely together throughout the year. “I’m already in the loop, I know where we’re at and what needs to be done,” she said.
Atallah echoed Laforest’s sentiments expressed in a public letter stating it was a difficult personal decision.
“It’s a big deal, we get attached to the job, the union, the way things are run,” Atallah said. “Unless you do this job, you won’t understand how attached you get and for [Laforest] to resign, it’s an extremely big deal, it’s a sign of how much he cared for the union since he put our interests before his.”
Atallah explained that Laforest was an essential part to the team and although the transition won’t be easy without him, she knows that he will be there as much as he can and that his relationship with the union isn’t over.
Councillor Chad Walcott said although it is unfortunate that Laforest had to resign, he didn’t appreciate that the executive chose who they felt should take on the role of president without consulting council.
“I’m a little confused because Nadine refused to sit on both the Board of Governors and Senate,” said Walcott. “When do we get consulted on this?”
Looking to the future, Atallah says she doesn’t take the position of president lightly and realizes it’s a hard job to perform.
“We want this to be a turning point for us, we’re disappointed for [Laforest] leaving but we want to come out of this stronger than we were,” Atallah said. “But ultimately, it’s the council’s decision.”
President Schubert Laforest officially resigned from the Concordia Student Union citing health reasons last Thursday night.
Laforest addressed the issue in a public letter stating that due to a case of mononucleosis and strep throat, he was unable to withstand long workdays and properly lead the executive for the remainder of his mandate.
“This is really the only option,” said Laforest. “It’s just irresponsible for me to put myself at risk and put the CSU at risk by staying in that position — I have to put the wellbeing of the CSU before that.”
The executive discussed other options but Laforest said it was ultimately his resignation that would be best for the union and stated that it was the “hardest decision of his life.”
“My doctor said that that the way it looks now is it might last another seven weeks to, worst scenario, six months,” said Laforest. “It could be indefinite.”
The resignation is effective as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. Laforest pushed the date past the weekend to have the opportunity to finish initiatives taken regarding ongoing problems with the information technology services issues and the search for a new general manager.
In an open letter to council and students, Laforest stated that he had tried to work through his illness but it was simply not manageable.
“Before receiving the latest results, I had hoped that if I was adamant enough I would be able to recover quickly or, at the very least, make myself work through it. However, I have come to realize that is neither feasible nor in the best interest of all the parties involved. It would not be fair for me to delegate my duties to my executives in the hopes that I recover rapidly, nor would it be fair for the Concordia student body to be represented in this manner,” the letter read.
Schubert Laforest. Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Shortly after the resignation came to light, the A Better Concordia slate issued a statement of its own, commending the now former-president’s “selflessness to put the executive and that of the Concordia Student Union above those of his own.”
“Obviously, we’re very grateful to Schubert for all he’s done this year, including all the long nights and rough days. Struggling with health issues recently, he’s still stayed strong in his conviction to serving the Concordia Student Union, leading us as a team and helping us individually with our mandates,” the letter read.
At the upcoming meeting this Wednesday, council will appoint a new president. Furthermore, should the executive’s recommendation for VP internal and clubs Nadine Atallah as president be accepted by a simple majority of council, then a second appointment will be made to fulfill the vacated role of VP internal and clubs.
Left in the dark
Most councillors were unaware of the resignation of Laforest until they read about it in the student press Thursday night. For Councillor Chad Walcott, there was no indication of Laforest’s departure prior to articles detailing the resignation.
“As far as I know, no one knew,” said Walcott.
Walcott explained that the lack of notice reflected the year the executive was having in terms of communicating with council.
“It’s unfortunate that it got leaked but at the same time but we could have been given a preemptive heads up and that’s indicative of this year where things have been brought up at council,” said Walcott. “When do we get consulted on this?”
Councillor James Vaccaro said that he was informed that the email server used by the executive crashed and that the email forwarding the resignation letter didn’t make it to council as Laforest intended. However, Vaccaro told The Concordian that ceaseless infighting and “petty arguments” over the undelivered email was affecting the productivity of council.
“We should be acting towards the best interests of the union at a time that is clearly difficult instead of continuously infighting,” said Vaccaro. “It’s frustrating to see bright and passionate people fighting amongst each other instead of working together to bring great things to Concordia.”
