An overview of Vic’s Fall 2024 Caucus
Administrative Reports
Registrar Yvette Ali started the caucus with a report on the recent move of their office to the third floor of the Goldring Student Centre. When asked about the impact of recent government policies on international student visas, Ali stated that the percentage of international students in the student body had increased to 31 percent. She noted that the process for international students is already difficult, that many students even now were forced to defer their admissions because of issues in attaining student visas. Although Vic can offer little help in such issues, she stated that various other resources are available to help tackle common concerns of international students.
Principal Hernandez reported that the Education and Creativity Society courses have been running waitlists. To accommodate the rise of demand, Hernandez plans to increase fellowship position offerings. He further reported that the Vic Global Program, an upper-year abroad program, plans to close in March 2025. This is due to the discontinuation of funding for the program, which had reached $400 000. Despite this discontinuation, a new program for second-year students, the Faculty Mentorship Program, has had a successful kick-off event since September. Principal Hernandez is continuing to host monthly Thursday office hours in collaboration with VUSAC.
Dean Castle reported that the Dean of Students is launching a new program called Vic Volunteers which is a tutoring program for students from K-8. Furthermore, Castle introduced having a new orientation at the end of January for students who could not make the initial orientation week. In a question about the operation of Vic resources in supporting Emmanuel and Victoria College, she noted the progress made towards creating more opportunities for religious and spiritual gatherings at Emmanuel College. Additionally, Castle highlighted the assistance of Emmanuel College in providing Mental Health Counsellors to expand Vic’s mental health programming.
Vikas Mehta, the Interim Chief Operating Officer of the Office of the Bursar, reported on the replacements of the interior finishes, windows, and hot water systems of Lower and Upper Burwash and renovations to the exterior steps at Old Vic. They have moved away from the use of fossil fuels for heating in Lower Burwash, transitioning to electric heating instead. The sustainability committee will be meeting for this academic season on December 6. Mehta detailed that the first community-led garden in front of Annesley Hall was a success. Recently, there has been a supervisor position change in the security departments. Regarding high Wi-Fi coverage, the ITS team has been adding more access points in buildings. Anthony Yeung, the Interim Bursar, detailed the university pension plan that is in collaboration with other large universities. Yeung explained that this is a long term financial sustainability strategy that protects the universities finances and stabilises funding for students. Regarding security, Yeung reported that there are plans on updating the lock system for buildings across campus, such as residences and offices. Alongside this project, new CCTV cameras are being installed around campus for better security.
President Rhonda McEwen applauded the success of the Rhodes Scholar recipients. She reported that there is a new board chair for the Board of Regents, Keith Pamas. President McEwen has been selected by Universities Canada to be the chair of its Education committee along with sitting as a representative of other committees with focuses on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA), Indigenisation, Teaching, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Strand raised concerns with President McEwen about Vic’s boundaries on topics of civil discourse given its invitation of controversial New York Times journalist Pamela Paul as guest lecturer for a Vic One Plenary Session on September 18. In response, McEwen held that civil discourse boundaries are set by codes of freedom of expression and hate speech that Pamela Paul did not violate. McEwen further stated that listening to a variety of perspectives is necessary to eliminate a world of polarised viewpoints. Principal Hernandez clarified that harmful speech is not tolerated in civil discourse and was not brought up by Pamela Paul during her talk.
VUSAC VP and Levy reports
VUSAC President Juhyung Yun has kickstarted the “Meet the Admin” initiative in partnership with Principal Hernandez. Amoly Agarwal, the Vice-President Internal, detailed that the Home For the Holidays event was a success, with 200 students attending. Additionally, Agarwal has been planning for the Gardiner Gala in January/February and has begun researching a venue for Highball in March. Medha Barath, the Vice-President External, reported reinstituting, expanding and improving the Eat After Eight initiative, which redistributes leftover food from Burwash Dining Hall. Barath plans on creating a volunteer system in collaboration with the Sustainability Commission to support the Eat After Eight program. In collaboration with VicPride!, Barath is furthering VUSAC’s efforts in instituting a scholarship to honour 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy at Vic. Barath reported the lack of student attendance at external governing body meetings. For the rest of the year, Barath plans on implementing a VUSAC resource library, supporting councilor initiatives, and instituting an off-campus buddy system. Jack Cochrane, the Vice-President Student Organisations, discussed club and levy head check-ins as well as general support for student groups.
VicPride! President Leslie Pan went over the levy’s various past programming and overviewed plans for future events, namely Queer Prom and Valentine bracelet-making. Similarly, Cat’s Eye Co-Manager Mathen Mageswaran reviewed improvements this semester such as the purchase of a new dart board, Mac computer, and LED light installation. In a question about incorporating student feedback into the Cat’s Eye, Mageswaran stated that most improvements are made from Subcomm suggestions, but the executive team also hears from students renting out equipment. Acta Victoriana reported a large number of submissions relative to previous years and an unwanted imbalance of UofT to non-UofT submissions: 25:75. Caffiends Finance Co-Director, Shane Joy noted recent purchases made by Caffiends, the creation of a pet wall in the café, its recent collaboration with Hearts & Hooks, and the creation of a recent clothing drive. Victoria International Student Association (VISA) co-president Dhir Shah reported a slow start to its operations given its recent revival after a long hiatus. He reported that work has been done to amend the VISA constitution to align it with more sustainable working practices. The hiring process of the levy was recently completed and event planning for next semester is reported to have begun. The Strand Editor-in-Chief Michael Elsaesser reported a high number of applications over the summer, attempts to increase social media presence, and preparations for its end-of-year magazine. The Student Project Fund chair Lucia Rodriguez highlighted a lack of utilisation of student funds over the past several years. The report stated an overflow of $60 000 from previous years culminating in a fund capacity of $90 000. Victoria College Athletics Association (VCAA) president Aiko Reis reported a successful expansion of its council, the operation of 21 teams across various sports, and its preparation for the Athletic Banquet. Victoria College Drama Society (VCDS) Executive Producer Anya Ivantchenko reported four upcoming productions spanning until mid-March, and its implementation of new approaches to promoting equity. Finally, VicXposure reported an expanded team to run more events smoothly.
Caucus concluded with an open-ended discussion on the issues of “student spaces at Victoria College” and “increasing student participation at events.”
