By Al Downham
The appeal of a men’s issues group attempting to gain ratified status was postponed at Tuesday’s Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) Board of Directors (BoD) meeting.
After the Men’s Issues Awareness Society was absent at a RSU executive committee meeting, the BOD’s decision to appeal their denied status was delayed until Jan. 4.
The group’s founder, Kevin Arriola – a fourth-year politics and governance student – said the group didn’t attend due to lack of communication by RSU executives. He said RSU president Andrea Bartlett didn’t inform him about the meeting’s date until yesterday, leaving the group unprepared.
“The RSU has proven time and time again that they will do anything to undermine the efforts of our group and they’re using bureaucratic incompetence to achieve this,” Arriola wrote via text message.
According to the BoD meeting’s agenda, the group was initially denied student group status over “concerns regarding the ability to create safe(r) spaces on campus.”
The Ryerson Feminist Collective echoed this sentiment in a petition urging the RSU to deny the group’s appeal.
If denied again, Arriola said the group will operate as an unofficial campus group.
Other Ryerson groups were ratified at the BoD meeting, including RU Funny, a stand-up comedy club “bringing light to comedians on campus,” according to executive member William Tang. The group plans to host comedy events, discussions and workshops to help members refine their talent as comics.
RU Billiards was also approved student group status, a club where pool and snooker players can “develop their skill” and play in round-robin tournaments.
Both RU Funny and RU Billiards’ presenters said they will operate on-and-off campus at local venues.
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