By Julianna Cummins
The Ryerson Students’ Union semi-annual general meeting ended abruptly last week in shouts, slammed chairs and accusations that board chair Ashkon Hashemi was biased.
The students disagreed with how Hashemi handled the vote on the controversial motion of introducing online voting to RSU elections.
Hashemi said the disrespect he saw at the RSU SAGM was the most he’d ever seen in 10 years of chairing student union meetings.
For those of you who missed the fun, here’s the rundown of the motions that were passed and those that failed:
PASS: RUtv Funding
RUtv will receive $17,000 from the RSU to buy equipment. The station will feature student-produced content and air on the Ryerson campus and online, with the goal of broadcasting on the Open Student Television Network to other participating campuses.
RUtv currently has exclusive access to one camera, basic audio and no lighting. The station will be a media outlet that all students will have access to and be able to participate in.
FAIL: Online Voting
Online voting will not be introduced in the next RSU elections. Instead, the ballot system will stay.
The online voting bylaw amendment, which was said to keep better track of the vote count (no lost or spoiled ballots) and be more sustainable (no paper used), caused an uproar.
It was voted down and after several recounts, a motion to redo the voting was also voted down.
PASS: Health and Dental Plan
The RSU will shop around for a new insurance broker to help them get a good deal on a new Health and Dental Plan.
There was previous talk of extending the current contract with Gallivan & Associates for one more year without looking at other brokers.
A new contract for the Health and Dental plan needs to be signed by Aug. 31, 2009.
FAIL: Election Campaigning
Non-Ryerson students won’t be banned from campaining for RSU candidates. The motion would have been in place to prevent external influences on RSU elections.
But as it stands, your friends from U of T can still help you put up campaign posters and anything else you are doing to snag an RSU executive position.
PASS: Sustainability Commissioner
The RSU will have a sustainability commissioner on the board but the details won’t be figured out until a meeting sometime in the future.
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