Carleton Academic Student Government (CASG) met for the first time in 2022 on Jan. 28 to create and fill the hiring board and amend its bylaws and policy compendium.
The hiring board, which is responsible for hiring the chief electoral officer (CEO), will review applications and select a candidate to fill the position on Feb. 12. The CEO is responsible for facilitating the CASG executive and coordinator elections.
With the striking of the hiring board, CASG has effectively commenced its upcoming elections.
The motion to amend CASG’s bylaws and policy compendium came after Livingston met with the governance review committee on Jan. 10 to review major policy documents.
The amendments to Section 2.2.5.7 in the bylaws and Sections 2.1 and 7.2 in the terms of reference policy ensure that working conditions and conduct within CASG comply with the new CASG equity and ethics code that was introduced last academic year. The amendments also direct future meetings to be conducted through the Senate Rules of Order.
All three amendments passed with no opposition.
CASG president Jennifer Ramnarine and Livingston said they met with Carleton administration on Jan. 28 to discuss students’ concerns with course delivery.
Before the meeting, CASG and Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) student representatives were sent a Google Form to share their constituents’ feedback. Students’ answers were then compiled into a presentation to be shared with the university.
The main concerns included in their presentation addressed compassionate grading and accommodations, balance in assigned work, feedback, accountability and transparency from professors, relevance of learning material and accessibility.
Buecking and vice-president (academic) Pierce Burch announced that most of the Academic Initiative Funds for the fall term were distributed and applications for the winter term are now open.
In her report to council, Ramnarine shared that she and CUSA vice-president (student issues) Valentina Vera Gonzalez worked together alongside Carleton administration to create a new relief fund for international students.
Council also discussed the confusion over the return to campus, which started on Feb. 7.
According to Bouwman and child studies student representative Christie Charles, some of their professors said they had the option—given student interest—to move classes originally scheduled to be in-person, online.
Assistant university secretary Kathy McKinley said that this practice “could be problematic” and that professors have no authority to do so. She suggested that students impacted by this contact their department heads instead.
Surges raised concerns with the academic and financial drop-dates for courses being unchanged despite a late return to in-person schooling and asked if there was a way for CASG to advocate to push the dates further.
Ramnarine explained that this has been a part of CASG’s advocacy for compassionate grading reform but that such a move would require senate approval and would not apply this term.
Commerce student representative Yash Gandhi echoed Surges’s sentiments and voiced his own frustrations as well.
“That is really sad,” Gandhi said in the Zoom chat. “The organizational structure of Carleton is preventing the vulnerable students [from] getting their due right.”
The financial and academic withdrawal dates for the winter term are Jan. 31 and April 12, respectively.
Council is scheduled to meet again on Feb. 18.
Featured graphic by Sierra Mclean.
