Tag: Lex Gill

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Reggie’s may be forced to increase prices

Reggie's may be forced to increase drink prices to cover outstanding deficit - Photo by Navneet Pall

A grim report of Reggie’s financial state exposed at last Wednesday’s Concordia Student Union council meeting could possibly result in increased drink prices at Concordia’s student bar.

CSU VP finance Jordan Lindsay and CSU President Lex Gill reported that CUSACorp, the union’s for-profit subsidiary that runs the bar, held a deficit of more than $40,000 for the last four months. According to Lindsay, this deficit will most likely double by the end of the winter term.

“Right now we have to find a way to go from $121,833 of semester sales to nearly $300,000,” said Lindsay, who is also on CUSACorp’s board of directors. “The situation is fairly grim and we need to tighten finances. We are going to do all we can to avoid increasing prices, but there is a 25 per cent chance that it will happen.”

Lindsay added that if such a scenario were to present itself, the increase would be minimal; “a matter of 25 cents here and there.”

During the meeting, Gill spoke of a worrying situation where, despite having no rent to pay for the bar and despite collecting a rent from the Java U café located next to Reggie’s in the Hall building, CUSACorp still managed to run constant deficits.

“Historically, Reggie’s has lost an awful lot of money,” said Gill.

Lindsay said the situation has been going on for years and that the bar has often been “eating up” most of the Java U rental profits. Gill explained that the losing money pattern was mainly due to “very poor” internal control, shifting management and high administration costs.

“Reggie’s is a fairly vulnerable institution,” said Gill. “It has a mix-mandate which is to be a bar, sell beer and make profits, but simultaneously to provide services and a community space for students. Therefore, the goal is not always to make money.”

Lindsay said that CUSACorp has not only planned to tighten expenses by controlling inventory and entertainment costs, but also to increase sales through better marketing campaigns, involvement of professional companies, use of social media, better lighting on Thursday nights, increased beer selection and organization of more theme nights.

Lindsay also insisted that Reggie’s was not condemned to bankruptcy, as he was confident the situation was fixable with better management of finances and increased sales campaigns.

However, the price increase seemed to be a concern for several students informed of the possible outcome.

“One of the major draws that Reggie’s has for students is cheap drinks,” said communications studies student Michael Czemerys. “I think they’re going to lose a lot of business if they increase prices.”

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BoG meeting ends abruptly

February’s Board of Governors meeting abruptly ended on Feb. 10 even before its open session began.

The meeting came to a halt toward the end of its hour-long closed session, when three student governors, undergrads AJ West and Cameron Monagle and grad student Erik Chevrier, walked out in protest over a motion to discuss allowing cameras in the meeting. All student representatives, including CSU President Lex Gill who remained in the boardroom, felt that this transparency-related motion should have been discussed during the meeting’s open session, when members of the audience would be able to observe.

With the absence of West, Monagle and Chevrier, quorum, which is 21 governors, was no longer met, effectively prohibiting the rest of the BoG members from voting on motions, and ultimately cancelling the meeting.

The majority of governors already voted down a motion in January put forward by Chevrier that mandated the board to offer live broadcasts of its meetings. The motion presented on Feb. 10 in closed session, according to West, dealt with transparency at the BoG level, including the potential use of cameras by individuals in the boardroom.

“This is still something that has yet to be clarified, and I imagine this is something that will be brought up again,” said West, who had implored students at a Concordia Student Union council meeting in January to bring their cameras to the BoG meeting. There were as many as fifteen to twenty students waiting outside the boardroom on Friday, some of them indeed carrying cameras.

“This was a discussion [during closed session] that the student representatives thought should have happened in open session, so we refused to take part,” added West.

Speaking to reporters outside the boardroom, Gill, who indicated that she could not touch on specific discussions held during closed session, spoke more broadly about the need for cameras during the BoG’s open session.

“The rationale for why people should be able to film and broadcast the open session is that first of all, we’ve always done it anyway,” she said, mentioning the fact that journalists, for example, are allowed in the boardroom with tape recorders. “I think everyone should have the right to film these meetings and have the right to see what’s going on. This university is publicly-funded, financed by your tuition fees and tax dollars. […] The reality, I think, of this situation is that [the BoG]  has to be accountable to someone. Right now they operate in a way that they’re accountable to no one.”

Gill spoke vaguely about the possibility of bringing forward a proposal regarding the use of cameras at the BoG’s next meeting on April 19. All other items that were on the agenda for the Feb. 10 meeting will, in all likelihood, also be discussed during that meeting.

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‘Ceasefire’ called on Lex Gill impeachment petition

Lex and the giant... impeachment? Graphic by Katie Brioux
Lex and the giant... impeachment? Graphic by Katie Brioux

All concerned parties involved in the impeachment process of CSU president Lex Gill have agreed to a “ceasefire,” and will be meeting with the CSU at an undetermined date to hash out their differences.

News of the intent to impeach Gill was made early last week, when former CSU councillor Tomer Shavit, Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) president Alex Gordon and Commerce and Administration Students’ Association (CASA) president Marianna Luciano announced their plans to release a petition that called for Gill’s impeachment. A website called www.stoplexgill.com was also made public the same day.

On Saturday, Gordon arranged a meeting with Gill, along with members of the CSU and Shavit, to “mediate [their] problems outside of the petition,” he said. They have agreed to a “ceasefire” where the petition is concerned, and to arrange a round table with members of ASFA, CASA, CSU and Shavit to address all parties’ concerns.

In an interview with The Concordian, Gordon admitted he was not certain of the legality of the petition and that the website was lacking some documentation. “It would be ideal if we could settle this and move forward,” he said. “We had a really productive meeting. All parties are now on the same page.”

Gordon said there was a lot of discontent among ASFA and CASA, and that he was looking out for ASFA’s best interests by originally supporting the petition and bringing to the forefront a number of unsettled issues.

The creators of the website pointed to alleged inappropriate behaviour on Gill’s part, a lack of transparency and professionalism, and orchestration of the “illegal” firing of former CSU CEO Bram Goldstein as their central complaints.

Gill described the documents on the website as being “misleading, inflammatory and an insult to Concordia student’s intelligence.”
At the CSU council meeting last Wednesday, Gill said the petition’s clauses were “rife with conjecture, misinformation, logical fallacies, defamatory statements and straightforward lies… I stand by my team’s work, dedication, leadership and courage, and implore [Shavit] not to drag the rest of them into his personal problem with me.”

As the meeting heated up, many members of the executive stepped forward to defend Gill, including VP external Chad Walcott, and CSU councillor and student governor Cameron Monagle.

“[Gill] is doing an excellent job… we do not need controversy and petty insults, we need a stable student body and we need to deal with serious matters,” said Walcott. Monagle proposed a motion that expressed the council’s support for Gill, which was passed unanimously.

Shavit said later that he was disappointed that CSU members spent so much time trying to prove his arguments were petty instead of focusing on the concerns brought up over Gill’s transparency and accountability.

“We are not making any claims against the other executives,” Shavit said. “We appreciate the work they do. This is an issue with Lex Gill, and Lex Gill alone.”

At the council meeting, Gill suggested that Shavit wait until March 1 to present his petition, at which time the new CSU bylaws would allow him to collect signatures for a petition that could trigger a general assembly to remove her from office. The current bylaws would require a petition to impeach the entire executive. She even added that if a petition was made and validated according to the rules, she would be happy to call the general meeting, book the room and move the motion herself. “That is, after all, how democracy works,” she said.

With files from Paula Rivas.

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Gill says petition to impeach her is ‘rife with misinformation’

Source: http://stoplexgill.com
“WHEREAS president Lex Gill orchestrated the illegal dismissal of the Chief Electoral Officer;
WHEREAS in an interview to the Link, president Lex Gill publicly attacked the competency of the ASFA executives of the last 3 years;WHEREAS under Lex Gill’s presidency, there was a record number of councillor resignations”
And the list goes on.
Concordia Student Union president Lex Gill addressed, at last Wednesday’s CSU council meeting, the long list of “whereas” clauses on the recently-launched website, www.stoplexgill.com.
The website was made public on Wednesday, the same day former CSU councillor Tomer Shavit, Arts and Science Federation of Associations president Alex Gordon (ASFA), and Commerce and Administration Students’ Association (CASA) president Marianna Luciano announced their intent to release a petition that could lead to Gill’s impeachment.
Gill said that the clauses were “rife with conjecture, misinformation, logical fallacies, defamatory statements and straightforward lies…I stand by my team’s work, dedication, leadership and courage, and implore him not to drag the rest of them into his personal problem with me.”
Gill suggested that Shavit wait until March 1, at which time the new CSU bylaws would allow him to collect signatures for a petition that could trigger a general assembly to remove her from office. The current bylaws would require a petition to impeach the entire executive. She even added that if a petition was made and validated according to the rules, she would be happy to call the general meeting, book the room, and move the motion herself. “That is, after all, how democracy works,” she added.
Shavit responded that he would continue with the petition regardless and that he believed that waiting until March would be “counterproductive,” whereas if it is done now, it would be easier for someone else to replace Gill “and to pick up the pieces.”
The creators of the website cite alleged inappropriate behaviour on Gill’s part, a lack of transparency and professionalism, and the “illegal” firing of CSU CEO Bram Goldstein, as their central complaints.
“Lex Gill’s behaviour brought controversy and shame to the CSU,” reads a section of the website.
Website co-founder Shavit said that “discontent with Lex Gill has been going on for a while.”
He said that the website, which contains a number of documents critical of Gill’s actions and those of her executive, was created so information would be accessible. There is also an interactive component in the form of a Facebook page. “Students need to feel like they are being informed,” he said.
As Wednesday’s CSU council meeting heated up, many members of the executive stepped forward to defend Gill, including VP external Chad Walcott, and CSU councillor and student governor Cameron Monagle.
“She [Gill] is doing an excellent job…we do not need controversy and petty insults, we need a stable student body and we need to deal with serious matters,” said Walcott.
Cameron Monagle called Shavit’s allegations unproductive. “We have bigger fish to fry right now,” he said. Monagle proposed a motion that expressed the council’s support for Gill, which was passed unanimously.More updates to come.

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