Carleton’s Board of Governors hosted its annual open forum meeting Jan. 29, with discussion dominated by issues brought forward by the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA).
The forum, following the regularly scheduled Board of Governors meeting, was meant to be an opportunity for students to present issues and research to the board. Three of the six presentations were by GSA representatives.
GSA vice-president (external) Theo Hug and undergraduate student Andi Finlay presented a petition campaigning for the creation of more gender neutral washrooms on campus.
“The current infrastructure has failed trans and gender non-conforming people,” Hug said to the board. “Washrooms are a big deal for us. Having access to a safe and accessible washroom should be a right for everybody.”
“We did a washroom audit last week and we have 25 gender-neutral washrooms on campus, but for 30,000 students it’s not very adequate,” Hug said.
Hug also made a presentation about the GSA community garden with GSA staff member Phil Robinson, including its removal and placement by the university.
Hug and Robinson asked for the university to appreciate the standards set by the previous garden, recognize the Aboriginal contribution to it, and commit the time and resources to ensure the same standard of garden going forward.
Michael Bueckert, GSA vice-president (academic), made a presentation near the end of the meeting to the board on the administration of Unicentre fees.
Bueckert said the GSA has two demands: to be able to administer their own money and to have the current funds released by the university.
“If Carleton senior administration continues to ignore these demands it is possible that a reasonable outcome can only be obtained through the court system,” he said.
Bueckert also highlighted a private members bill scheduled to come up in the spring that would make it illegal for universities to withhold money from student associations.
“It would basically just make sure that student unions have the right to their finances and not to have their independence threatened by university administrations,” he said.
Bueckert said he hopes the funds are released “immediately” and before this law comes in effect.
Carleton administration is withholding the fees in an attempt to make the Carleton University Students Association (CUSA) and the GSA reconcile their dispute over the GSA levy.
“The thing is, graduate students want to support student initiatives on campus, and are happy to fund CUSA service centres, provided that the funding is accountable to graduate students,” Bueckert said to the board.
Discussion after each of the motions was minimal, however board member Bob Wener said after the presentations, a potential lawsuit would not be a board issue.
“A lawsuit of any type could pose a reputation risk, but it’s really a management issue, and the management deals with those issues,” he said.
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