Student Union Hacks Unite!

Hello hacks!

My role as a Students' Union Councillor at the University of Alberta might have ended when I received my undergraduate degree, but my love of student governance certainly didn't.  I am very happy to report that I am the new Graduate Students Union Representative for the School of Public Policy and Governance here at the University of Toronto.  Let the fun times commence.

I attended my first official meeting this evening and sat in an auditorium with graduate students from across campus.  We discussed a couple of issues, oriented ourselves with the rules and regulations of a meeting, and dove head first into some interesting debate about the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Plan.  It made me long for my Tuesday night meetings at home, and also made me appreciate how well the U of A's Students' Union is operated.  The GSU here is no comparison.  Here are my first impressions:

1) Being a member of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is really throwing me for a loop.  Heavy union involvement and an emphasis on social justice issues outside of campus (and, in my personal opinion, outside the jurisdiction of a students' union) is far different from the mandate found at the U of A.

2) The simple organization of meetings leaves me wanting more.  We aren't given placards to ensure that those voting are indeed the people who have been given the right to vote by their departments and "course unions." I even inquired as to the process to ensure that voting was legitimate and our "chairperson" indicated that it really only mattered on issues that were contentious.  Hardly! As well, my question about the records of the meeting was greeted with confusion.  Unlike the U of A, the audio recording is for the secretary only.  As well, no one seemed to be able to confirm what quorum was.  It's based on the number of "course unions" in the School of Graduate Studies and apparently that number is hard to calculate (or maybe no one had looked the number up).

3) The GSU follows Bourinot's Rules of Order and not Robert's Rules of Order.  While they're similar, they are different enough to warrant further investigation on my part to ensure that I know how to work within the system.

Dear readers, I could go on and on about my frustration about this Union, but let me end with this.  The most amusing part of my evening was when the "chairperson" indicated that she would be observing "gender parity" when it came to speaking turns.  This is used in the following situation:
       a) Two people are standing at the provided microphones (yes my U of A hacks, we are not all provided with the microphones I've grown accustomed to at home)
      b.) One is male and one is female

In this situation, the woman gets to speak.  No question about it, even if she arrived at the mic ages after the guy did.

First off, while there were more men at the meeting this evening, us women certainly weren't discouraged to voice our opinion by the mere presence of the opposite sex.  Second, it seems like a pointless exercise as the "chairperson" let every single person who had something to say on an issue have their turn at the mic.  So all this "gender parity" nonsense really just allowed women to skip to the front of the line.  Really? That's what "gender parity" really is all about; my ability to speak before a man, even though I arrived long after the man was, and even though I am already guaranteed the chance to speak.  Thank you, GSU.  I always wondered what the whole "gender parity" movement thing was all about.  I'm glad we cleared that up.

Well, I'm sure my experience on the GSU will be fodder for several more postings in the future, but for now, this will have to do my fellow hacks.

In parity and trust, letting this woman speak her mind since 1988,

Cait