By Marissa Dederer
Tuition fees, student space and TTC Metropasses are some of the issues the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) will discuss at the Annual General Meeting on Nov. 9.
The meeting requires at least 100 students to attend or the RSU is “not able to conduct business,” said Caitlin Smith, RSU president.
At the meeting, executives will present students with a report from the last six months and financial statements from the auditor. Students will vote on motions, serve amendments and bring new ideas forward.
In April, the AGM did not meet quorum and the RSU was forced to adjourn early, postponing any significant motion decisions until this fall.
This time around, the RSU is hoping to engage students in an active conversation about the issues that affect them.
“All of these motions are to show that we’ve got the support of the body, the membership,” said Smith.
The RSU hopes the meeting will help inform students about the need to lobby for a reduction in tuition fees. Smith said the Liberal party lied to students when it promised a 30 per cent decrease during the provincial election.
“Unfortunately it’s not a real tuition fee reduction,” said Smith, “it’s actually a grant.”
Smith said she would like to see this grant money go towards an overall tuition reduction, which would amount to about a 13 per cent decrease.
The RSU is also reevaluating the use of student space in the SCC and a motion is being brought forward by Rodney Diverlus, vice-president of equity, to campaign for additional multi-faith space. Right now there is a single non-bookable room in the SCC, while there are over a dozen faith-based groups at Ryerson.
The RSU is also looking to form a committee of five students to look at how SCC space is being used and to make adjustments to match student needs. The ad-hoc student space committee will be decided at Wednesday’s meeting.
Smith said it’s also important to continue lobbying for a student TTC pass, which was introduced in 2010 after continuous pressure from student unions and the Canadian Federation of Students. But the $99 pass could now be in jeopardy due to TTC budget cuts, according to Smith.
“We fought really hard to get that pass to begin with,” said Smith.
Also on the meeting’s agenda are motions for a campaign regarding food security, the workstudy program and a campaign against gender-based violence. The AGM will take place in Room 115 of the SCC starting at 5 p.m.
Ex-Board Member
If, and I stress if, a hundred people showed up, they were most likely the close friends of the RSU gestapo or the brainwashed first years they brought in. The RSU has been held by the same group of people for almost a decade. Until they are gone, Ryerson students are held prisoner by the liberal agenda of these students (Free trade coffee, apartheid, etc.) and not the needs of Ryerson students.