agenda - sra 17n student representative assembly€¦ · abstained: fama motion passes vote to...

AGENDA - SRA 17N

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY Sunday, February 4, 2017 at 5:00pm

Council Chambers, GH111 PROCEDURE Call of the Roll, Playing of National Anthem, Territory Recognition, Adoption of Agenda, Adoption of SRA Minutes 17L & 17M, Announcements from the Chair, Special Orders of the Day, Delegation from the Floor, Report Period, Information Period, Question Period, Business Arising from the Minutes, Business, Committee Business, Unfinished Business, New Business, Time of Next Meeting, Call of the Roll, Adjournment

The SRA would like to recognize today that we are situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe territories through the ‘Dish with One Spoon Wampum Treaty’.

REPORTS

1. FYC Justin Lee 2. Nursing Caucus Nwamadi 3. Science caucus Sabra Salim 4. Social Science Caucus Patel 5. Municipal Affairs Committee Stephanie Bertolo 6. University Affairs Committee Lee 7. Executive Board 8. President Ibe 9. Health Services Review Lee

BUSINESS

1. Open SRA seats on Standing Committees Deshpande 2. Close SRA seats on Standing Committees Deshpande 3. Open SRA seat on Executive Board Ibe 4. Close SRA seat on Executive Board Ibe

MOTIONS 1. Moved by ___, seconded by ___ that the Assembly open SRA seats on the following

committees: ▪ Municipal Affairs Committee (1) ▪ Services Committee (1)

2. Moved by ___, seconded by ___ that the Assembly close SRA seats on the following committees:

▪ Municipal Affairs Committee (2) ▪ Services Committee (1)

3. Moved by ___, seconded by ___ that the Assembly open one (1) SRA seat on Executive Board.

4. Moved by ___, seconded by ___ that the Assembly close one (1) SRA seat on Executive Board.

Student Representative Assembly Meeting 17N Sunday, February 4, 2018 at 5:00pm

Council Chambers, GH111

Called to Order at 5:01pm CALL OF THE ROLL

Present: Anas, Anbalagan, Arbess, Chestney, Deshpande, Fama, Florean, Ibe, Lao, Lee, McGill, Nwamadi, Obaidullah, Ochocinski, Ráez-Villanueva, Patel, Risi, Sabra Salim, Sabrin Salim, Senthillmohan, Shin, Sooriyakumaran, Stott, Szeliga, Webb, Yun

Absent Excused: Absent Aoki, Hackett, McNally, Risi, Vlatkovic, Zhang Late D’Souza, Gardner Others Present: E. Ferguson (Recording Secretary) Chair Helen Zeng

TERRITORY RECOGNITION

▪ The SRA would like to recognize today that we are situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe territories through the ‘Dish with One Spoon Wampum Treaty’.

ADOPTION OF AGENDA Moved by Stott, seconded by Lao that the Assembly adopt the agenda, as presented. Amendment Moved by Ibe, seconded by Stott to add “Student Activity Building Updates” to Delegation from the Floor item #1.

▪ Ibe stated that he had circulated a document and wanted to discuss it more in depth. ▪ Sabra Salim stated that she did not think they had enough time to go over and review the document. ▪ Ibe stated that it was just for information and no decisions had to be made.

Vote on Amendment

In Favour: 16 Opposed: 5 Abstentions: 1 Opposed: Obaidullah, Sabra Salim, Anas, Sabrin Salim, Patel

Abstained: Fama Motion Passes

Vote to Adopt Agenda Moved by Stott, seconded by Lao that the Assembly adopt the agenda, as amended.

Passes Unanimously

ADOPTION OF MINUTES Moved by Lao, seconded by Aoki that the Assembly adopt the minutes from SRA meeting 17L – January 7, 2018 and 17M – January 21, 2018 as circulated.

Passes Unanimously

SRA 17N Page 2 February 4, 2018

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR

▪ The Chair asked for Observers in the back to sign the Observer’s List for the minutes. The Chair reminded the Assembly to be punctual with agenda items in order to be respectful of the rest of the Assembly.

DELEGATIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Parameters

Moved by Stott, seconded by Deshpande to set parameters to be 15 minutes for presentation, 15 minutes for

questions.

Passes Unanimously

1. Student Activity Building Updates – Ibe presented (attached)

▪ Ibe went over the presentation with the Assembly.

Questions

▪ Arnold asked if he could elaborate what was considered ‘nap-friendly’ furniture. Ibe responded that MUSC would be getting a napping room on the third floor through SLEF funding so they felt they didn’t need the exact concept in the new building. Nap-friendly furniture would be flat surfaces in a quiet area.

▪ Arbess asked if the new building would incorporate desks with outlets and sufficient lighting for study space. Ibe stated that they had not gone directly into what furniture would be placed in the building, but they did request the architects to pay attention to the wireless and outlets.

▪ McGill asked what would happen if the target LEED rating isn’t met. Ibe thanked McGill for flagging it and he said he would bring that back for discussion.

▪ Lee asked if they were able to see the full LEED scorecard. Ibe stated he would try and get it for him. ▪ Anas asked if varsity athletes would be getting a separate gym. Ibe explained they had not spoken

specifically about varsity athletes. He explained they moved away from the high performance gym space because it would not be accessible to a large amount of students.

▪ Florean asked what the timeline for the MUSC nap room was. Ibe responded that the project was in the hands of MUSC Administration.

▪ Yun asked if the current Pulse space would be affected by construction. Ibe responded yes, but the goal of construction was to minimize the amount of disturbance.

▪ Florean asked if they looked into wheelchair accessibility and accessible gym equipment. Ibe responded that the building was put through the accessibility audit with the correct representatives of the university. He stated that there would be accessible equipment coming to the Pulse in the future.

REPORT PERIOD 1. First Year Council – Justin Lee presented

▪ J. Lee summarized the report. Questions

▪ D’Souza asked if any collaboration was doing with Campus Events for the Life’s a Beach event. J. Lee

ceded their time to Hazra Chowdhury. Chowdhury stated it was in collaboration with Campus Events.

▪ D’Souza asked what the engagement level was with the survey. J. Lee ceded their time to Hazra

Chowdhury. Chowdhury stated that she would email Pauline to get an update.


2. Nursing Caucus – Nwamadi presented

▪ Nwamadi summarized the report. Questions

▪ Ibe asked McNally to explain which caucus member was working on which project. McNally stated that Ochocinski was working on the free breakdown. He explained that they had all be attending events and attending DCS Exec meetings.

3. Science Caucus – Sabra Salim presented

▪ Sabra Salim summarized the report. Questions

▪ Webb clarified if Sabra Salim intended to say CISSA space of Indigenous Studies Program space. Sabra Salim clarified she intended to say Indigenous Studies Program space.

▪ Anbalagan asked if they had been receiving support from the MSS for advocacy. Sabra Salim explained that they had been meeting frequently with the MSS during second semester.

4. Social Science Caucus – Patel presented

▪ Patel summarized the report.

5. Municipal Affairs Committee – Stephanie Bertolo presented

▪ Bertolo summarized the report. 6. University Affairs Committee – Lee presented

▪ Lee summarized the report. Questions

▪ Florean asked if he could expand on library funding. Lee stated that the new Provost recognized that a lack of funding goes towards libraries. He stated that he would continue to fund extended hours in Innis but also agreed to put more funding into Thode.

▪ Florean asked if the funding would be for the pilot program. Lee responded that it would be for Winter 2018 and Fall 2018 and then it would be evaluated.

▪ Anas asked if the librarians would continue to collect data on how many students utilize the library. Lee responded that librarians will always continue doing headcounts.

7. Executive Board – Ibe presented

▪ Ibe summarized the report. 8. President – Ibe presented

▪ Ibe summarized the report. Questions

▪ Ráez-Villanueva asked what the next steps were for the green boxes and why it was so difficult to get going. Ibe explained that there was no space to dry the cleaned green boxes. He explained that Paradise


Catering was looking to renovate their entire space, which could fix that issue. Ibe explained that it was not an option at that time to integrate the green box fee into the first year fee.

▪ Florean asked how he planned to getting the word out about the Presidents’ Townhall event with Dr. Patrick Deane. Ibe reported that he was messaging students directly and there was a whole package of promotional materials going out.

▪ Webb asked how Ibe came up with the Women’s Issues Committee and how he reached out to people to sit on it. Ibe explained that he wanted to ensure that the groups on campus doing similar work were able to come together to share interests and resources. He explained that the groups found value in getting together.

9. Health Services Review – Lee presented

Questions

▪ Florean asked if the review would be added to the wellness policy. Lee responded that it was already included in the policy but traditionally it was reported on at the SRA level as well.

Moved by Anbalagan, seconded by Deshpande to add “Elections Seat Allocation” to Report Period #10.

Passes Unanimously

10. Elections Seat Allocation – report attached

INFORMATION PERIOD

▪ Deshpande advised that OUSA Spring General Assembly applications were open until February 7, 2018.

▪ Sabra Salim asked that any Assembly member interested in McMaster Energy Week to reach out to her.

▪ Webb asked that the Assembly share Faculty executive hiring with constituents.

▪ D’Souza reported that the Grind café was doing a soft launch. He explained that a full marketing push and

opening would be happening after reading week.

▪ Patel asked the Assembly to please share SRA Generals nominations with their constituents.

QUESTION PERIOD

▪ Florean asked D’Souza if the hours of the Grind would be changing. She asked if there was any way to

extend the hours it was open. D’Souza responded that the hours would be 9am-5pm during the soft

launch. They would be looking into the value in keeping it open later depending on sales and uptake. He

noted that students could still study in the space with the food service closed, as long as TwelvEighty was

open.

▪ Florean asked D’Souza if any other dietary restrictions were planning on being included. D’Souza stated

that alternative milks would be coming during the full launch. He explained he was waiting to see all the

feedback from the soft launch.

▪ Patel asked a member of the Board if the OPIRG ad hoc committee was going to continue given the results

of the referendum. D’Souza stated that they were working on how to best structure conversations with

OPIRG moving forward.

▪ McGill asked D’Souza if there would be composting at the Grind. D’Souza responded that he would have

to double check.

▪ Patel asked D’Souza if the new OPIRG fee would be increasing by CPI. D’Souza responded that he would

be speaking to the Elections team to confirm that.


BUSINESS 1. Open SRA seats on Standing Committees Moved by Patel, seconded by Stott that the Assembly open SRA seats on the following committees:

▪ Municipal Affairs Committee (1) ▪ Services Committee (1)

Passes Unanimously

2. Close SRA seats on Standing Committees

Moved by Patel, seconded by Webb that the Assembly close SRA seats on the following committees: ▪ Municipal Affairs Committee (2) ▪ Services Committee (1)

Nominations – Municipal Affairs Committee

▪ Deshpande nominated Shin – declined ▪ Deshpande nominated Ráez-Villanueva – declined

▪ Deshpande nominated Arbess – accepted

▪ Deshpande nominated Hackett – accepted

Nominations – Services Committee

▪ Gardner nominated Shin – accepted Vote to Close

Passes Unanimously

▪ Arbess and Hackett won the SRA seats on Municipal Affairs Committee by acclamation. ▪ Shin won the SRA seat on Services Committee by acclamation.

3. Open SRA seats on Executive Board Moved by Anas, seconded by Stott that the Assembly open one (1) SRA seat on Executive Board.

Passes Unanimously

4. Close SRA seats on Executive Board Moved by Webb, seconded by Anas that the Assembly close one (1) SRA seat on Executive Board. Nominations

▪ Patel nominated Hackett – accepted ▪ Arnold nominated Webb – accepted

Vote to Close

Passes Unanimously

Set Parameters

Moved by Anbalagan, seconded by Deshpande to set parameters for the election at one minute for opening

statements, and two minute for questions per candidate, pooled.


Vote on Parameters

Passes Unanimously

▪ The candidate spoke within the allotted time. ▪ The Assembly voted by secret ballot.

Candidate Vote

Hackett 6

Webb 21

Spoiled 0

Abstained 0

TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Sunday, February 25, 2018 5:00pm

Council Chambers, GH 111 CALL OF THE ROLL

Present: Anas, Anbalagan, Arbess, Chestney, D’Souza, Deshpande, Fama, Florean, Gardner, Lao, Lee, McGill, Nwamadi, Obaidullah, Ochocinski, Ráez-Villanueva, Patel, Risi, Sabra Salim, Sabrin Salim, Senthillmohan, Shin, Sooriyakumaran, Stott, Szeliga, Webb, Yun

Absent Excused: Absent Aoki, Hackett, Ibe, McNally, Risi, Vlatkovic, Zhang Late Others Present: E. Ferguson (Recording Secretary) Chair Helen Zeng

ADJOURNMENT Moved by Anas, seconded by Fama that the meeting be adjourned.

Passes Unanimously Adjourned at 6:48 pm /ef

PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN Due to the busy nature of this month, we have not made much headway into our year plans as much as we have been working on our events. However, we have made significant progress with our consultation committees. We have created the basis of a First Year Council Advocacy Page which includes a description of what First Year Council is and about what each consultation committee is about. We have also tried to include the jurisdiction of each committee to allow for a clearer understanding of what they do. This page would, at the bottom, encourage students to send us their suggestions with our contact information. The page is up and running at https://www.msumcmaster.ca/governance/first-year-council-fyc/advocacy. PAST EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES The council has been busy this past January. We begun First Year Olympics, already having run events such as Dodgeball Showdown (January 20th), A Midwinters Dream (January 25th) and Master Chef (January 30th). Separate from the Olympics the non-campaign team members of FYC facilitated the Who Wants to be MSU President (January 22nd) debate/gameshow which was also available via livestream on Facebook live. We also planned our MSU Spotlight Series which will highlight specific MSU services we can promo for via snapchat videos. We also recently put out the hospitality services survey, so we can find out what first-years thought about hospitality and how we can work to improve it. Prior to 2018, the last thing the council did was create and distribute exam care packages; we gave away the entirety of our package supply. UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES We are excited to complete planning for our first cookies and cram run by this council. We plan to hold this event the week before the mid-semester recess. We believe this time to be strategically placed because it was not too late nor too early for midterm season. We also plan to distribute FYC highlighters at these cookies and crams to also help incentivize students to attend. Our last event of the First Year Olympics, titled Video Olympics, will take place Friday, February 9th, where we showcase the videos made by each residence. Also, quick update on our FYC club night- we have confirmed the name of this event, “Life’s a Beach”. Logistics, decoration planning and pricing is still under discussion as this event is one of the last events we run this semester. CURRENT CHALLENGES

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REPORT From the office of the…

First Year Council Chair

TO: Members of the Student Representative Assembly

FROM: Justin Lee, Chair

SUBJECT: SRA 16F Report

DATE: February 4, 2018

January was tough, and it is crucial to our future event’s success that, as a council, do not fall into a slump after a tiring month. The challenge will be to continue getting things done as efficiently as possible, especially managing our time wisely with the midterm exams and assignments coming in. SUCCESSES To start, A Midwinter’s Dream, while being the most expensive First Year Olympic event to run, was a huge success. The amount of talent that performed was, in lieu of a better way to describe it, awesome. Students from many different residences and upper years performed a range of talent, not to mention one of our special guests Chukky performing a beautiful series of poetry/spoken word. Our Olympics in general have been a great success being able to see lots of competitive first-year students who want to show off their talents. I’d also like to mention Who Wants to be MSU President as we found this experience to be informational as well as entertaining. It was a good way to get students who may not entirely be interested in student politics, to meet this year’s candidates in a light and fun setting. The consultation committees have also been doing a great job of advocating for the needs of first-year students, and to comment specifically on the Student Life committee, we have brought up interesting points to consider relating to the transparency of the entire process as well as the effectiveness of the personality test. OTHER Overall, we started the year off strong and hope to continue the momentum going forward so we can not only run exciting, engaging events for our first-year students, but also to continue advocating for their needs and concerns. We will continue to work on points in our year plan as the semester progresses. We also plan to take a step back from event planning, so we can aim our focus back to advocating and creating meaningful, sustainable change. Thank you for your time. Best, Justin Lee First Year Council Chair McMaster Students Union [email protected]

.


SRA Science Caucus


FROM: Sabra Salim, Caucus Leader

SUBJECT: SRA 17N Report

DATE: February 4, 2017

Dear Assembly Members, Welcome back again to the new year! SRA Science has been working hard on our platform and we’ve accomplished quite a bit in the month that we have been back. Now that I am back from my leave of absence, much of our work will begin to pick up. Below you will find a summary:

PAST AND CURRENT PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN

Sabra: Theme 9: Providing Resources to Clubs On Tuesday January 16th, I planned an Interfaith Council Social. This event brought together over 30 executives from all the faith groups that have membership on this council. It was meant to have us get to familiarize ourselves with one another, discuss faith and have some fun. It was a really successful event and we are going to continue our discussion for planning an Interfaith Week later this semester. We have also released a RISO (Religious, Indigenous and Spiritual Observances) Form survey for feedback and insight on people’s experiences with this accommodation. Sabra, Sabrin and Sinthu: Constituent Outreach We have attended another MSS General Assembly in the past two weeks and went to discuss OPIRG. There were over 300 attendees which was a really good oppoprtunity for us to increase

our outreach. In conjunction with Selene from SRA Commerce, we also hired a student of mine (Khaleel Ghandi) in recording a video on the OPIRG referendum which got over 3,000 views on Facebook. This was important as not many students were informed about the OPIRG referendum or their mandate. At our first office hour, we also engaged many students my giving 200 UM Coffee Cards away. This got people coming to the hour to find out more about the work that we do, have done, and will do over the remaining period in the year. All: Theme 1, Theme 3, Theme 6 (Advocacy Related) In late November, we sent out a survey known as Science Speaks. Now back in the new year, I will be sending a memo for the next meeting with all the data amalgamated can help us push our advocacy efforts as well as improve our outreach. We also had 3, $50 campus store gift cards up for grabs and we have our three winners. Sabra and Sinthu: Theme 1: Course Registration and Management, Theme 4: Accessibility Sitting on the University Affairs committee and will now be shifting our focus on Podcasted Courses as well as Mosaic changes. Sinthu and I will be attending an IT Forum this coming Monday from 3-5:30PM to discuss our ideas. We will also be waiting for David Lee, AVP UA, to set up a meeting with the Office of the Registrar to discuss podcasted courses. This will be an SRA Science priority for the rest of the year. I have also set up a meeting with Maureen Macdonald, the Dean of Science, to discuss the logistics of this issue as I had previously mentioned this idea to her. Sabra and Sabrin: Theme 5: Career Networking Night Quantum Leap with the MSS is well on its way. We are currently assisting Sabrina Campbell in recruiting a large employment-based service, similar to the Forge, to attend this event for Science students to explore. Sabrin:Theme 6: Diversity in Governance Sabrin will be reaching out to Chukky to book a meeting to continue planning the People Project conference shortly.

CURRENT CHALLENGES

Advocacy is always hard. Now that we have set the groundwork for a lot of our advocacy platforms, we have to push and overcome the stagnation that follows. We hope to do this by working with the respective standing committees.

UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

Our upcoming events and projects are continuations of our current projects, namely the podcasted courses work as well as the Interfaith Week by the Interfaith Council.

SUCCESSES

1. OPIRG Video outreach 2. Interfaith Council Event 3. General Outreach Efforts

mailto:[email protected]

PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN Since my last report, we have made significant process on our year plan. Notably, we participated in forWard One by hosting our Cupcakes & Community Change event, where students were invited to submit their ideas for infrastructure projects in Ward One. Additionally, we completed our Municipal Pre-Budget Submission outlining our priorities for how Council should allocate tax dollars in 2018. Additionally, we are lobbying to City Councillors on this report, achieving our goal to increase our presence within City Hall. I am continuing the engage with the City as they develop their Youth Strategy through a recent meeting with the Project Manager Jesse Williamson. Additionally, we are continuing our transit advocacy through being part of developing a Hamilton Transit Riders Union with other municipal stakeholders. All of these items will be further elaborated on in the rest of my report. It is also important to note that we have decided not to hold a Shop the Corridor Campaign this year and instead delay doing so till construction on the LRT corridor begins. PAST EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES Last semester, we ran a successful Cupcakes and Community Change event. This event promoted ForWard One, which is this ward’s participatory budgeting process. Residents had the opportunity to submit infrastructure project ideas. It was well attended and we received over 30 paper ballot submissions. The Participatory Budgeting Advisory Committee informed us we had the most successful pop-up event in the Ward and submitted the most paper ballots. I met with Councillor Tom Jackson, HSR Manager Debbie Dalle Vedove, and Transit Planning and Infrastructure Manager Jason VanderHeide, where I advocated for better transit for commuter students. There are taking into consideration many concerns that I have addressed. However, they were upfront about how long the process can take on issues such as expanding services or rerouting buses. They hope to continue to have a more open dialogue about these issues and set up a mechanism for students to send their complaints and concerns directly to the HSR. My committee successfully completed the Municipal Pre-Budget Submission! This submission demonstrates priorities for how students would like to see their tax dollars spent as the City is determining their 2018 budget. Our priorities highlighted are transit,

.


AVP Municipal Affairs


FROM: Stephanie Bertolo, Associate Vice President of Municipal Affairs


DATE: Tuesday, November 30, 2017

student retention and employment, housing, by-laws, and waste management. The full submission can be viewed msumcmaster.ca/reports. We are coordinating meetings with Councillors to advocate for our priorities. As of this date, we have met with Councillor Sam Merulla, Councillor Tom Jackson, Councillor Doug Conley, and Councillor Matthew Green. They have all expressed overwhelming support for us going to engage with them. Some have never engaged with the MSU before. They did have mixed responses on our asks, but most were positive. I had a meeting with Jesse Williamson, the Project Manager, Strategic Youth Initiatives who is developing the City of Hamilton’s Youth Strategy. He is very eager to work collaboratively on this with us, recognizing the MSU as a large stakeholder in the city. As of now, the project in the beginning stages appears promising and we will continue to work with Mr Williamson throughout the rest of my term and my successor’s. Finally, Ryan and I are sitting on the Steering Committee of the Hamilton Transit Rider Union. This is an exciting opportunity to connect with other members of the city who are passionate about transit advocacy. This Union will likely help us to improve our transit advocacy in the future. UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES Over the next couple of weeks, we will continue to meet with councillors to advocate for our pre-budget submission priorities. Currently, we have three more meetings scheduled and are continuing to contact councillors to arrange meetings in the future. As well, we will also be delegated to the whole council on February 27th, which is Public Delegation day before council begins budget deliberations. In the next month, ForWard One voting will begin. We will be running a small campaign to promote voting, which we hope the SRA will participate in. CURRENT CHALLENGES My committee meetings have not been well attended so far this semester. This is mainly due to the fact that I have lost two SRA voting members. Additionally, many of my members were involved in presidential elections and thus were unable to attend. This made it difficult to work with my committee to reflect on last semester and determine our priorities for this one. Additionally, I was unable to receive their feedback on the budget final draft of the budget submission. This term I am unable to attend AWCA meetings due to night class, though I will be looking for a committee member to attend instead. These issues will be resolved with the election of two SRA members to my committee this meeting and with presidential elections finished, this should no longer be an issue. VOLUNTEERS (Commissioners only) My committee members did a fantastic job on the Municipal Pre-Budget Submission! Since this is the first time we developed this submission, it required a lot of innovation and research. I appreciate my committee's openness and leadership while developing this. As well, Ryan and I provided the committee with lobbying training to prepare them for the meetings with councillors. One or two committee members accompany us to the meetings, where they are able to advocate on the priorities we developed.

SUCCESSES A number of our successes have been mentioned throughout this report! As mentioned, the Cupcakes and Community Change event was a success and was highly praised by the PBAC committee. We developed our first Municipal Pre-budget Submission. Councillors have praised us for our methods of advocacy in our meetings with them and are happy that we have been reaching out. Finally, when we have posted about our meetings on Twitter we have received great engagement, demonstrating a form of approval from the student body and others. OTHER Be sure to like and retweet our tweets about our advocacy meetings with councillors. As well, look out for ForWard One voting! Best, Stephanie Bertolo Associate Vice President Municipal Affairs McMaster Students Union [email protected]


Hello Members of the Assembly,

Thank you for taking the time to read this report. The past little bit has been extremely busy for myself and my team. We’ve pushed back some of our platform points due to this but fret not, we are still on track for completion in time for our final report by March 20. As SRA generals are about a week away, I’ll be starting my transition report soon to make sure my successor is well prepared to take over in April.

I’d like to take some brief space to thank Kirstin and Aarij for replacing me as Caucus Leader over the past month. You are awesome and I thank you for all that you have done during my absence.

If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback for myself or caucus, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at your earliest convenience.

Best,

Uwais PatelSRA Social SciencesMcMaster Students [email protected]

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REPORT From the office of…

SRA Social SciencesTO: Members of the Student Representative Assembly

FROM: Uwais Patel, Caucus Leader


DATE: January 30, 2017

!.


PAST EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES Joint Office Hours with the MSSSStarting January 16, 2018, we began conducting joint office hours with the our society partner, the MSSS. Though they don’t normally do office hours, they appreciate engaging with students and have joined us in doing our outreach with constituents.

UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES L.R. Wilson Lounge OpeningWith L.R. Wilson Lounge now open, we hope to collaborate with our faculty and society partners to host an opening event to publicize the lounge space. In the month of February is when the opening will be held. The exact date will be confirmed by Feb 4th.

SRA Platform Point VideoLauren has received feedback from multiple SRA members and communicated with Sarah Mae Conrad regarding a SRA promotion video. Instead of serving as a meeting recap, this video would be a collaboration between the SRA caucuses, featuring one member per caucus highlighting progress/completion of a platform point. Once Lauren has received confirmation on timing, she will reach out to caucus leaders for input and to inquire about participation.

CURRENT CHALLENGES Kirstin, as you all know, recently ran in the MSU Presidential Election. This has interfered with her ability to attend classes and progress on her SRA year plan. That being said, she is looking forward to getting back on track.

Uwais, as you may not know, has been unwell for the past little bit. Some of our work that was scheduled to be finished this month is being pushed back a little bit due to this. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

SUCCESSES Kirstin’s Presidential campaign was able to raise awareness around crucial conversations on campus, according to students who reached out to her. It also provided Kirstin with the opportunity to work and connect with many constituents and partners on campus, and has been a substantial learning experience all around.

Additionally, joint office hours with the MSSS have been going well. We are appreciative of them letting us use their space and willing to do outreach with us. Due to our relationship with the MSSS, we were asked to sit on their WW planner interviews and will possibly be sitting on future hiring boards when needed.

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PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN Communications and Engagement StrategyDeveloping this protocol for our communications and engagement strategy is on its way and a rough draft that was supposed to be available in January will become available for feedback in late February to be commented on.

MSU ‘How To’ GuideIn preparation for SRA Generals this February, we will have an FAQ, a class talk schedule, and a lot more resources available on the MSU website to ease some barriers students may face when they run in elections.

Student Representation at the University LevelKirstin has met with Patrick Deane, and spoken with him, along with other students, about Experiential Education, Open Educational Resources, and paid placement opportunities.

Accessibility for Courses/SAS CapabilitiesKirstin attended a conference on (dis)ability in Hamilton, and specifically in regards to students. She has been advocating for an improved course note taking system, and will continue to do so.

Improved Course EvaluationsThere is planning in process to incentivize students to complete course evaluations in collaboration with the MSSS and the Social Sciences Faculty.

L.R. Wilson: Hours & LoungeThis initiative has slowed over the past month, but plans are in place to continue this work and hopefully have the signs in place by the end of our term. We are still planning on doing a soft launch of this space to promote its use, but the details of that and timeline are still in the process of being finalized.

Experiential Opportunities Kirstin is a member of the Experiential Education Governing Council (for Social Science’s EE Office), and they will be meeting again soon. Other updates include progress on this advocacy.

Optimizing Various Rooms for Studying PurposesIn regards to optimizing rooms for studying purposes, Aarij will not be pursuing MUSC space for this as it adds a much more complicated system and since MUSC isn’t able to easily transfer to Aarij’s proposed plan. Aarij will now be contacting the appropriate Deans of Soc Sci, Humanities, and Arts. Additionally he will be reaching out to Conference and Event Services. The finalized version of the plan should essentially have a unified booking system (much like the Mills, Innis, and Thode online study room booking system) that adds on to the current one with room availability in KTH, TSH, and CNH.

Healthier and Cheaper Food Options on Campus In regards to this plan Aarij will be working with both VP of Finance and the AVP of Finance to bring students a Healthier and Cheaper food options on campus.

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Reconstructing the Application Process for Welcome WeekWelcome Week applications closed just 3 weeks ago and as of last week Monday the 2018 SocSci planners have been chosen! The MSSS reached out to us about sitting on the hiring committee for planner interviews to address concerns of transparency and bias. We had several amazing candidates this year making the decision process quite difficult! We are now currently discussing having one of our caucus members sit in on interviews for hiring reps, which will begin near the end of February to the beginning of March. We are looking forward to our continued collaboration with the MSSS on how to better Welcome Week.

Increasing Engagement with Mental Health Services In regard to increasing interaction with mental health services on campus, we have collaborated with Maccess on promoting events. Aside from this we have also reached out to diversity services about how to better help them with their events. They both appreciated the idea of collaborating and have instructed us to help with promoting events through social media. We hope to play a larger part in the overall planning of events, but for now are continuing to support them in any way they see fit. Additionally, in our last report we mentioned COPE McMaster and their plans to have an event in the winter term. Paul Hewitt, Vice-President of COPE, has kept us up to date and we will be attending their event this upcoming week. They are organizing an interdisciplinary roundtable discussion about how students experience mental health on campus. The event will be held on Thursday February 1st from 1:30-3:30 in Clubspace! All students are welcome to attend with no sign up required, we hope to see some of you there!

Increase Turnout to Events and Build Relationship with MSSSAs previously reported, we have been sitting in on the core exec meetings with the MSSS. Communication has increased, and we are currently running bi-weekly joint office hours with the MSSS. We have attended and helped to promote their recent tie-die and mug painting events. On January 31, they have their general assembly and we are very excited to get some feedback from students about how they feel about their faculty. We look forward to continuing our collaboration efforts with the MSSS.

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Objective Status

Communications and Engagement Strategy On Going

MSU ‘How-To’ Election Guidebook In Progress

MSSS Partnership Completed

Faculty Connection Completed

Student Representation at the University Level In Progress

Accessibility for Courses/SAS Capabilities In Progress

Improved Course Evaluations In Progress

L.R. Wilson: Hours In Progress

L.R. Wilson: Lounge In Progress

Experiential Opportunities On Going

Rooms for Studying Purposes In Progress

MSSS Welcome Week Application Completed

Engagement with Mental Health Services On Going

Increase Turnout to Events On Going

Before September Goals Status

WW Communication Plan Completed

Calendar of Events Completed

Open Seat Recruitment Plan Completed

End of Fall Goals Status

MSSS Fall GA Completed

SRA By-Election Transition Completed

SRA By-Election Outreach Completed

End of Winter Goals Status

MSSS Winter GA Completed

Continuous Caucus Outreach On Going

Caucus Transition Plan In Progress

Engagement Report In Progress

600 Facebook Likes Completed

Overview of Progress on Year Plan

PROGRESS ON YEAR PLAN

Platform Point #1: Demystify the workings of the SRA/MSU to the nursing student

body.

On Monday January 22nd, 2018, SRA Nursing and SRA Health Sci held an MSU Presidential

Meet and Greet in the Health Science lounge. Turn out was unfortunately poor, likely due to

the timing of the day but we brought the candidates upstairs to the Health Science library to

get more engagement – which I think was beneficial.

Platform Point #2: Improving collaboration with the McMaster University Nursing

Student Society (MUNSS).

Collaboration with MUNS is going well. In February we will jointly hold a Nursing Career

Panel in CIBC Hall, the first of it’s kind. This is a panel targeted rather to nursing specialities

instead of recruitment. So far, we have 50 confirmed guests on our google form with an

excess 144 interested guests on our Facebook event. I hope to share this through

avenuetolearn to get even more traction. I currently have 10 specialities coming, though I

initially invited 20. However, I haven’t heard back from the rest so I will be doing another

push of emails. This event will also include resume critiquing along with job-seeking tips as I

have enlisted the help of the Student Success Centre.

Platform Point #3 - Building on the foundation of the 2016-2017 SRA Nursing

Caucus.

The Nurses of McMaster Initiative is up and running and has a faculty component which runs

bi-weekly. Student posts are updated weekly on Thursdays pending submission, and Faculty

posts are similarly posted biweekly on Fridays. Another project I will be undertaking after

reading week is creating a formal “how to” video on how to access the nursing lounge and

health science lounge.

Platform Point #4 - Working to improve the Constituent Outreach Operating Policy to

the benefit of nurses.

My office hours are up and running, though my online communication tends to get more

traction.

.


SRA Nursing

TO: Members of the Student Representative Assembly and Constituents

FROM: Sharon Nwamadi, SRA Nursing


DATE: Sunday, January 28th, 2018

Platform Point #5 - Advocating for transparency and change within the School of

Nursing.

I have discussed advocating for changes in course evaluations with the MUNSS president to

Faculty, but this project will likely have to be pushed to something long-term as advocacy

was targeted to strike action this year.

PAST EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

- Elections seminar: SRA Nursing and SRA Health Sci Presidential Meet & Greet

(completed) - Nurses of McMaster (continuous)

- Northern nursing event (cancelled due to the strike)

- Welcome week presentation (completed)

- Increasing Facebook likes by 10% (completed)

UPCOMING EVENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

- Nursing Career Panel

- Mental wellness programming with health science

- How to access the Nursing Student and Health Science lounge videos

SUCCESSES

- Last semester I was fortunate enough to be featured in the School of Nursing’s

news, profiling what my role as an SRA representative entails, along with my

upcoming projects. This was a huge success as I was approached by the

Administrative & Editorial Assistant without taking individual action – meaning

that outreach is working. You can find the article here:

http://nursing.mcmaster.ca/news-events/news/news-item/2017/12/04/introducing-

sra-representative-sharon-nwamadi.

That’s all for now.

Warm regards,

Sharon Nwamadi

SRA Nursing

McMaster Students Union

[email protected]

http://nursing.mcmaster.ca/news-events/news/news-item/2017/12/04/introducing-sra-representative-sharon-nwamadi

http://nursing.mcmaster.ca/news-events/news/news-item/2017/12/04/introducing-sra-representative-sharon-nwamadi


Health Services Review Report INTRODUCTION

The McMaster Students Union (MSU) recognizes health as an important aspect of student life,

contributing to overall academic success. When conducting advocacy efforts regarding student

health, the MSU strongly believes in having voices of the student body heard, and reflected in

relevant policy recommendations. To inform the MSU Health and Wellness Policy Paper

completed in 2017, the Health Services Review was developed to gain student feedback on

common health-related issues facing students as well as to gauge student satisfaction with

services provided by McMaster University and the broader community. By asking questions

pertaining to wait times, services offered (and not offered), referrals, and staff competence, the

survey was able to provide valuable information regarding areas of strength as well as areas to

consider for healthcare at McMaster.

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Demographic information is important for any survey in order to understand the study sample

and draw conclusions regarding certain demographics. Notably, in Figure 1 it can be seen that

83% of survey respondents identified themselves as female, perhaps indicating trends in health

habits and help-seeking attitudes and behaviour in which men are historically socialized to be

independent and manage health concerns without external assistance.1 In contrast, it is more

accepting for women to seek out services/providers to improve their health.2 This data

highlights a need for strategies to be implemented which encourage men to be more involved

with health services at McMaster, taking a pro-active stance on illness prevention. Additionally,

2% of respondents identified themselves as non-binary, and another 2% of respondents

associated themselves with being transgender according to Figure 2.

Figure 1: Gender Breakdown of Survey Respondents

1 World Health Organization. "Gender and mental health." (2002). 2 Ibid.

83%

13%

2% 2%

Gender Breakdown of Survey Respondents

Female Male Non-binary Prefer not to say

The next two questions sought to identify faculty and year of study. Regarding faculty, most

respondents were from Science, Health Science, and Social Science disciplines. According to

Figure 4, 33% of respondents were in fourth year followed by 30% in second year. Only 4% of

respondents were in first year, which could perhaps reflect limited access to the survey in which

first years have not yet been exposed to or become acquainted with the social media platforms

from which the survey was distributed. Alternatively, lack of responses from first years could be

due to the fact that many have yet to visit the Student Wellness Centre (SWC) as the survey

would have been administered in early November, just half-way through their first term.

Figure 3: Faculty Breakdown of Survey Respondents

4%

26%

6%

2%16%

35%

7%2%2%

Faculty Breakdown of Survey Respondents

Arts & Science Health Science Engineering

Business Social Science Science

Humanities Kinesiology Prefer not to say

Figure 2: Survey Respondents That Associated Themselves with Being Transgender

Figure 4: Year of Study Breakdown of Survey Respondents

SWC APPOINTMENTS

Timely access to health services is an important indicator of quality care. Since the SWC is the

primary point of access for student-related health concerns, questions regarding wait times are

important to judge efficiency. Generally, students only waited 3 days – 1 week to see a doctor

(40%), and 35% of students were able to have an appointment within 2 days.

Appointment Wait Time Number Percentage

Same day 17 16%

1-2 days 20 19%

3 days – 1 week 42 40%

1-2 weeks 9 9%

More than 2 weeks 3 3%

I have never been to the SWC

13 13%

Table 1: Wait Time to Get an Appointment to See a Doctor at the SWC

Once an appointment had been made, Table 2 demonstrates that 52% of students who had

been to the SWC waited less than 10 minutes for an appointment, and 41% waited between 10-

30 minutes. Only 7% of students waited more than 30 minutes, indicating that the SWC

efficiently transitions between patients.

Check-In Wait Time Number Percentage

10 minutes or less 47 45%

Between 10-30 minutes 37 36%



More than 60 minutes 1 1%


14 13%

4%

20%

30%

33%

9%4%

Year of Study Breakdown of Survey Respondents

One Two Three Four Five Prefer not to say

Table 2: Wait Time to See a Doctor Upon Check-In at the SWC

The following question was asked out of an interest in knowing whether current opening hours

for the SWC are adequate. Currently, the SWC operates Monday to Thursday from 8:45am –

7:45pm, and Friday from 8:45am – 4:30pm. 36% of students responded that they had attempted

to access the SWC during a time when it was closed, which may indicate the need for weekend

hours and extended evening hours.

Attempted Access Number Percentage

Yes 37 36%

No 57 55%


10 10%

Table 3: Respondents Who Attempted to Physically Access the SWC at Times When It Was Closed

BLOOD TESTING

The SWC currently does not offer blood testing, though the responses to the following questions

demonstrate that it is a common service for students. 52% of respondents who had been to the

SWC had been advised by SWC practitioners to have blood testing; though, troublingly, 48% of

those who received a recommendation did not complete the blood test. This section contained

the option to elaborate, and most students specified checking iron levels, sexual health testing,

and thyroid testing as their reason for needing blood work. Given these concerns, it is

problematic that nearly half of respondents opted not to visit an off-campus provider, despite

the potential health benefits that could be derived from receiving valuable information through

blood testing.

Blood Testing Recommendation

Number Percentage

Yes 49 47%

No 45 43%

I have never been to the SWC 10 10% Table 4: Breakdown of Respondents Who Had Been Advised by the SWC to Have a Blood Test Conducted

Blood Testing Completion Number Percentage

Yes 47 52%

No 43 48% Table 5: Percentage of Respondents Who Received Recommended Blood Test

REFERRALS

Integration with off-campus health and wellness services is important when the SWC is

overwhelmed with patients and to supplement services that are not provided by the SWC. To

gain a sense of students’ experiences with the referral process and inform recommendations for

better collaboration with off-campus providers, the following question was asked to know the

prevalence of referrals and ease of access. Findings demonstrated that 49% of students who had

been to the SWC have been referred to an off-campus service/provider, though 13% had

difficulty navigating the system. To better understand concerns, this question included space for

students to provide further details. Most notably, students not familiar with the area expressed

difficulty finding the location of the referral, or felt as though it was too far away to get to

without a car, thereby reducing access. Other students felt confusion as to who the main point

of contact would be in the future once a referral had been made (either the SWC or the off-

campus service/provider). Such data demonstrates the need for SWC staff to provide students

with the necessary information regarding transportation to reduce barriers to accessing care,

which could perhaps also help students who choose to forgo bloodwork despite receiving a

recommendation from their doctor at the SWC.

Referrals Number Percentage

Yes, and I easily understood the process

32 31%

Yes, found the process was difficult

12 12%

I have been to the SWC, but have never been referred to an off-campus health service/provider

46 44%

I have never been to the SWC 14 13% Table 6: Referrals to an Off-Campus Health Service/Provider by the SWC

COUNSELLING

Counselling is a point of contention that the MSU has been concerned with since the rise of

mental health issues has become apparent on campus in recent years. Questions regarding wait

times and satisfaction with campus counselors are an important starting point for assessing

issues regarding McMaster mental health services. While 54% of survey respondents had sought

counseling services, 54% of those individuals expressed dissatisfaction. This section contained

the option to elaborate, and several students voiced their concerns in detail. A common trend

found wait times to be a major health care barrier making the process of seeking help a

discouraging one, which can be reflected in Table 8, which shows that 63% of students seeking

counselling experienced a wait time. Another common complaint involved lack of sensitivity

among staff when expressing personal struggles.

Counselling Satisfaction Number Percentage

Yes; satisfied 21 20%

Yes; unsatisfied 30 29%

No; waiting to see a counselor

5 5%

No; have not sought counseling

48 46%

Table 7: Breakdown of Respondents Who Had Sought/Received Counselling and Their Overall Satisfaction

The second question regarding counseling was asked to evaluate wait times for counselling

compared to other SWC services. While students had timely access to a doctor as noted above

in Table 1, 63% experienced a wait time to see a counsellor. The process of seeking counselling –

particularly for the first time – can be a daunting experience, and having to wait for an

appointment may further discourage students from reaching out, especially if they require

immediate consultation. One student summed up their grievances, stating:

“I could get in about once a month, and it was often cancelled, once twice in a row so

that I couldn't see them between November and February (i.e. during the stressful end of

term, stressful exams, middle of winter, beginning of the next term, etc.). Also, I couldn't see

anyone often enough there to do actual therapy other than talk therapy, which was only so

helpful. I rarely have an appointment when I actually need it so I stopped going since I

don't find it very helpful anymore.”

Such information indicates the need for a greater number of counsellors to be hired at the SWC

to reflect student demand. Peak times as mentioned by the student above, including winter

months in which Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) tends to evoke higher rates of depression,3

exam season, and transitioning into a new term call for greater support for students at the SWC.

Counseling Wait Time Number Percentage

Yes 66 63%

No 38 37% Table 8: Wait Time Experienced by Students Seeking Counseling at the SWC

EQUITY

Further demographic information was asked to know the proportion of equity-seeking

individuals utilizing health-care services at McMaster. It is important to note that for this

question, students had the ability to check all that apply. 44% of respondents identified

themselves as living with a mental illness, demonstrating the need for attention towards mental

health services at McMaster. Given complaints mentioned above regarding counselling

dissatisfaction, there is room for improvement here as a highly requested service. Diverse

demographics and a high volume of students identifying with various equity-seeking groups

indicates the need for diverse care models and sensitive practitioners.

Equity-Seeking Groups Number Percentage

Mental illness 46 44%

LGBTQ+ 24 23%

Religious minority 17 16%

Racialized 24 23%

Physical disability 5 5%

Other 1 1%

Prefer not to say 7 7%

Not applicable 28 27% Table 9: Breakdown of Respondents Who Identified with One of the Following Equity-Seeking Groups

STAFF

The following questions were asked to attain student feedback on the quality of care given by

SWC staff. Such information is important to improve students’ experiences and reduce potential

3 Lurie, Stephen J., Barbara Gawinski, Deborah Pierce, and Sally J. Rousseau. "Seasonal affective disorder." American family physician 74, no. 9 (2006).

additional stress associated with seeking help for mental health concerns. Of those who had

visited the SWC for mental health purposes, 56% felt staff were well trained or very well trained,

24% felt staff were adequately trained, and 21% rated staff as below or well below their

expectations. While it is positive that over half of students are satisfied with the mental health

care they have received, as an institution recognized for prestigious health programs, McMaster

should hold high standards for SWC staff who provide care to students, and consider

implementing more rigorous mental health training as mental illness is a common concern for

students.

SWC Staff Rating: Mental Health

Number Percentage

Very well trained 15 14%

Well trained 23 22%

Adequately trained 16 15%

Below expectations 10 10%

Well below expectations 4 4%

Not applicable 36 35% Table 10: SWC Staff Rating in Regard to Mental Health Services

Regarding provision of prescription medication, of those for whom the question applied, 64% of

respondents felt staff were well trained or very well trained, and 22% felt that staff were

adequately trained. 15% felt staff were not adequately trained, though further research would

need to be conducted to determine reasoning for this.

SWC Staff Rating: Provision of Prescription Medication

Number Percentage

Very well trained 32 31%

Well trained 15 14%

Adequately trained 16 15%

Below expectations 7 7%

Well below expectations 4 4%

Not applicable 30 29% Table 11: SWC Staff Rating in Regard to Provision of Prescription Medication

CONCLUSION

Health and wellness is an important student issue greatly impacting academic success. The MSU

is concerned with bettering student health services in accordance with the Health and Wellness

Policy Paper which incorporates updated recommendations for improved health promotion,

services, on-and-off campus integration, academic accommodations, and government

legislation. Feedback from this survey has been paramount in having the diverse needs of the

student body reflected in the MSU’s advocacy efforts.

For health care to be of high quality, it must be safe, effective, efficient, equitable, and person-

centred, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.4 Notably, the Health Services Review yielded

positive results regarding wait times for students seeking medical attention from a doctor,

demonstrating efficiency. Though, more than 1/3 of respondents had attempted to access the

SWC when it was not open. More concerning, nearly half of students who had been advised to

get a blood test neglected to do so, which could perhaps be attributed to lack of access given

that when asked about referrals, students mentioned difficulty navigating off-campus services

as some locations are confusing to find or inaccessible without a car. The most pressing concern

for students identified in the survey pertains to mental health care and satisfaction with

counselling services. Wait times act as the greatest barrier for students receiving adequate care,

followed by insufficient training for staff resulting in reduced satisfaction for patients seeking

help during trying times. Conversely, students appeared satisfied with doctor’s provision of

prescription medication.

Given these results, there are several areas of improvement to be addressed. As mental health

concerns are prevalent, greater attention should be paid to the type of care the SWC offers

students. The value of individual counselling is diminished when students must wait weeks for

an appointment during times of heightened stress. Increased staff with greater levels of training

including the benefits of cultural sensitivity and person-centred care in addition to specialised

support for students facing unique and complex issues could better support student needs in

this regard. Further, greater financial support for peer support services and enhanced

integration with off-campus services could help to alleviate barriers caused by inability to access

care.

Overall, data from the Health Services Review provides valuable insight into McMaster health

care and the health of the university’s students, providing benchmarks for where we currently

are and guidelines for where we need to go to better the health and wellness of McMaster

students. The MSU recognizes the many social determinants of health that result in varying

health outcomes, and intends to reduce health inequities based on the information received

from this survey through implementation of the Health and Wellness Policy Paper.

4 World Health Organization. “What is quality of care and why is it important?” (n.d.).

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