2024-25 VUSAC’s aims for the academic year and a revisit to their stance on Palestine.
Missions and Philosophies
The Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC) is Victoria College’s student representative body, which works yearly to bridge relations between Vic students and administration. The 2024/2025 year’s VUSAC brings a new approach to student governance and representation. A statement to The Strand from VUSAC’s Executives outlined the frame of this perspective and their plans for the current academic year. “Our main responsibility is to be the hub for student-led activities while also representing the Victoria College student body,” wrote the VUSAC Executives.
VUSAC is comprised of seven commissions which collaborate to accomplish this goal. The Academic Commission provides academic and career programming, which include, but are not limited to, academic-development workshops, resource guides and wellness programming. The Arts & Culture Commission provides opportunities for Vic students to engage in artistic and cultural experiences across and beyond campus. The Commuter Commission works with commuter students to ensure that they do not experience isolation and can be fully immersed in the Vic experience. The Equity Commission is committed to making Vic more safe, comfortable, accessible, and equitable for all – a primary goal of this year’s VUSAC executives. The Mental Wellness Commission ensures that Vic students are aware of and have access to mental health resources for any occasion, and emphasises self and communal care. The Sustainability Commission advocates for divestment from fossil fuels, and for making Vic campus an exemplar of environmental sustainability and activism. Lastly, the Scarlet and Gold Commission aims to create a vibrant student social culture, hosting a range of Vic-wide events including the Semi-Formal and Highball.
During this academic year, VUSAC will implement various initiatives with a focus on bringing together students and student organisations to foster a sense of community and collaboration.
One of these goals is to promote student affordability on campus through multiple initiatives, most notably by furthering the Eat After Eight program. Eat After Eight is a program which offers Vic students leftover food from Burwash Dining Hall without cost. This initiative alleviates food waste while providing affordable meals to Vic students. Student affordability is an integral objective for VUSAC this year given the impact of post-Covid price inflation on affordability. Most VUSAC events price tickets to prevent incurring significant losses and inflicting financial strain on its budget. Although ticket prices for events and initiatives are subsidised, their funding is inadequate to allow free entries. However, ticket pricing is primarily limited to major events such as Highball, Gardiner Gala, Semi-Formal etc. Even in light of price inflation, VUSAC aims to use various initiatives to create a financially inclusive student-life environment and tackle the challenge of affordability.
One of VUSAC’s primary concerns for this year is expanding Vic’s body of student spaces, especially amid this year’s increased construction initiatives. Birge-Carnegie, which served as Victoria College’s official library until E.J. Pratt’s completion in 1961, has been limited in access to students since then. Its idleness broke at the end of the 2023/2024 academic year which marked the beginning of renovations. The changes are intended to revitalise the space by Summer 2026, with goals to maintain the space’s unique architectural style. The Goldring Student Centre, which has long been a hub of student activity at Vic, is seeing the end of renovations on the second floor. With the ground floor maintaining a series of vibrant student spaces, the second floor will house Vic student services and simultaneously be a student space.
Student spaces serve as important third spaces in developing a sense of community on campus, and maintaining the emotional, social, and mental well-being of students. Examples of these spaces include the Cats Eye, Commuter Lounge, Caffeinds etc. Much of Vic’s space is limited in access to students; thereby, possibly narrowing the College’s experience into something primarily academic. VUSAC’s goals for this upcoming year will work to confront this growing issue and ensure that Vic students always have access to a myriad of student-centric spaces.
As elected representatives of the student body, VUSAC claims to be the advocate for Vic student needs and voice within Victoria College administration. Members of the student body are also elected to be part of The Board of Regents. The board reviews and ensures the efficient functioning of Victoria College’s administrative, financial and academic matters according to its policies and guidelines. As members of the Board, elected student members represent student voices in the Board’s decision-making. By having a strong sense of systematic governance and an emphasis on the well-being of the student body, VUSAC’s new executive team can make the 2024/2025 school year a successful run.
On Palestine
In the final topic question, The Strand requested VUSAC executives to comment on its stance on the Palestinian genocide. An eye skim of the statement shows that the executives refrain from explicitly asserting any opinions and stance on UofT’s movement of Palestinian solidarity. Instead, the taciturn response attempts to foundation itself on a reserved stance by primarily empathising with Vic student concerns and freedom of speech.
The statement claims that VUSAC executives are “deeply saddened by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and understand that it has “detrimentally impacted many lives across the world.” It aims to acknowledge the situation’s depth and impact on the Vic community. However, its language and stance risk offending both sides of the movement. As with other similar statements, such as the central UofT administration’s over the past year, many would criticize the missing historical context and background that shapes the lived experiences of students affected by the genocide. Hence, the statement’s meaning would be hollow to those involved in the movement.
On its second implicit point, VUSAC holds that it “appreciates the students and organisations who have exercised their right to peacefully protest” and “will continue to support student safety and freedom of speech.” The statement claims to support student voice and safety during protests by acknowledging its “appreciat[ion]” for it. However, its silence on the alarming rise of anti-semitism, Islamophobia and racism against student demonstrators contradicts this assertion.
In the concluding remarks, the VUSAC executives state, “we hope to live by the mandate of VUSAC to be representative of the diverse student body at Victoria College.” The executives strived to create inclusive representation by being neutral in their remarks on the movement. However, by turning a blind eye, they may have accomplished its inverse.
In response, the Equity Commissioner and Co-Chair, Aiden Kong and Sijil Jindani, released an additional statement to provide their distinct views and clarify their role at Victoria College during the genocide. The VUSAC statement solely reflects the executives’ views, while the equity commissioner and the co-chair’s statement exemplifies their views as members of VUSAC. Much of the statement dissents from the stance of the executives.
Although not stated, it is implied that the Equity Commission wrote an additional statement to echo the council’s tenet of “eliminat[ing] inequitable practices by combating the systems of oppression they operate under.”
The comparatively substantial two-page statement introduces itself with a brief description of the historical background of the genocide. The statement claims to situate itself in the historical context of the genocide to “recognise the diverse experiences and circumstances of different groups and uplifting communities that experience systemic injustice.”
The statement explicitly acknowledges various active “systems of oppression cause[d] to students within the community,” by detailing the forms they manifest themselves. The commission details instances of “campus safety and Toronto police services brutalising students at protests and sit-ins”, “Islamophobia, anti-Arab racism”, “risked academic careers” and “anti-semitism.”
The statement concludes by encouraging students to “further engage with resources and educational material on this topic, such as hearing Palestine” and advises “to be critical in their consumption of media.”
The dissent of the Equity Commission’s stance on the Palestinian solidarity movement and its impact on the Vic community from the VUSAC executives is glaringly evident. The distinct difference prevents the body from being static and monolithic in its views. Such diversity represents the voices of the student body.
Link to the statement by the VUSAC Executives
Link to the statement by the Equity Commission
Correction: Parts of the “Missions and Philosophies” content have been revised due to factual inaccuracy. This includes information on the Academic Commission (paragraph 2), affordability (paragraph 3) and Board of Regents (paragraph 6).
