MINUTES
Political Science Student Union General Meeting • Wednesday 23 May 2007 • Highland Pub
Minutes taken by Kailei Hines
ROLL CALL OF ATTENDANCE
Members Present
Outgoing Executive
Outgoing Executive
Outgoing Executive
Departmental Committee Representative
Forum Representative
General Member
General Member
Jeff Geipel
Andrew Dear
Kailei Hines
Rizwana Lalani
Ravi Patel
Joe Palling
Sebastian Sajda
1. DISCUSSION OF THIGNS TO DO IN THE SUMMER
The PSSU executives were invited to training by SFSS for next week
Andrew will be looking into the PSSU off-campus account
It was stated that there is a new department chair, Andy Hira who has said that he would like to have more
communication with the student union
The PSSU discussed Jeff’s funding request (to be voted on at a later meeting)
The PSSU agreed in principle to make t-shirts in the summer to hopefully sell in the fall and Sebastian will
ensure that the PSSU buys products only from ethical companies
Rizwana stated that she will be trying to get the PSSU a bulletin board in the department
The PSSU agreed in principle that the website shall be fixed at a later date (pending communication with some
former members)
The PSSU agreed in principle for a new/reconfigured facebook group to be created
The PSSU agreed in principle to configure emailing into a system whereby emails go to each person once.
The PSSU agreed in principle to create a sign (for clubs days, etc)
Joe Paling reported that the SFSS plans to have general meetings in the fall and encourages the PSSU to attend.
First meeting-October 15th.
There was discussion concerning plans to purchase a button machine in the future. It was noted that the SFSS
has a button machine.
2. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
The constitutional amendment package was distributed (originally discussed at the previous meeting which was
the last meeting of last semester). Sebastian put forward each amendment and motivated. Approvals were
unanimous except where dissent were noted.
MOTION
1.
Amendment to require all executives to be declared in the department.
Whereas executive positions in the PSSU provide the ability to control the actions of the PSSU;
Whereas there is a possibility for individuals to take executive positions for reasons other
then the benefit of the society;
Resolved that section III.2 be amended to read “All executives shall be Majors, Minor,
Honours, or graduate students in the” Department rather then “The President shall be a Major,
Minor, Honours, or graduate student in the Department” and
Resolved that section VII.3 be amended to be removed from the constitution.
CARRIED
MOTION
2.
Amendment to replace written reports with forms.
Whereas written reports are not normally filed to the executive committee;
Whereas written reports are, in most cases, in excess of what is needed for the running of
the PSSU;
Whereas situations in which written reports may be necessary it would be easier to file reports
by filling out a blank form, be it
Resolved that section III.4.g be amended to read “All members of the Executive Committee
shall fill out a form, drawn up by the executive, upon leaving office” rather then “All
members of the Executive Committee shall submit a written exit report upon leaving
office.”
CARRIED
MOTION
3.
Amendment to remove rhetoric about honour and integrity.
Whereas section III.4.h consists of empty rhetoric, be it
Resolved that section III.4.h be amended to be removed from the constitution.
CARRIED
MOTION
4.
Amendment to eliminate the position of Vice-President of Academic Affairs.
Whereas there are too many executive positions already;
Whereas most executives do not perform the actual duties of their positions;
Whereas the operation of the PSSU would be streamlined if there were fewer and more defined
executive positions;
Whereas the Vice-President of Academic Affairs is superfluous as departmental representatives
can report directly to the executive committee, be it
Resolved that section IV.2 be amended to be removed from the constitution, and
Resolved that section III.1.d be amended to be removed from the constitution.
CARRIED
MOTION
5.
Amendment to eliminate the position of Vice-President of Special Events.
Whereas there are too many executive positions already;
Whereas most executives do not perform the actual duties of their positions;
Whereas the operation of the PSSU would be streamlined if there were fewer and more defined
executive positions;
Whereas the Vice-President of Special Events is superfluous as individual executives are
capable of taking on specific special events and projects by themselves, be it
Resolved that section IV.4 be amended to be removed from the constitution, and
Resolved that section III.1.e be amended to be removed from the constitution.
CARRIED
MOTION
6.
Amendment to eliminate the position of Vice-President of External Relations.
Whereas there are too many executive positions already;
Whereas most executives do not perform the actual duties of their positions;
Whereas the operation of the PSSU would be streamlined if there were fewer and more defined
executive positions;
Whereas the Vice-President of External Relations is superfluous as individual executives
are capable of being a liaison with external unions, corporations, individuals, etc, as is
appropriate to their position or any special events they have undertaken, be it
Resolved that section IV.7 be amended to be removed from the constitution, and
Resolved that section III.1.f be amended to be removed from the constitution.
CARRIED
MOTION
7.
Amendment to eliminate the position of Vice-President of Graduate Issues.
Whereas there are too many executive positions already;
Whereas most executives do not perform the actual duties of their positions;
Whereas the operation of the PSSU would be streamlined if there were fewer and more defined
executive positions;
Whereas the Vice-President of Graduate Issues has been historically vacant;
Whereas Political Science Graduate students have their own constituency group, be it
Resolved that section IV.8 be amended to be removed from the constitution, and
Resolved that section III.1.i be amended to be removed from the constitution.
CARRIED
MOTION
8.
Amendment to merges the positions of Vice-President of Finance and Vice-President
of Finance records into the positions of Treasurer.
Whereas there are too many executive positions already;
Whereas most executives do not perform the actual duties of their positions;
Whereas the operation of the PSSU would be streamlined if there were fewer and more defined
executive positions;
Whereas the Vice-President of Records' duty of minute taking is traditionally and more
effectively done by volunteers at each meeting;
Whereas the storage and filing of electronic communications is a relatively simple task through
the use of a password protected FTP site or similar means;
Whereas the duties of record keeping for the PSSU are simple enough that they can be
performed by a single individual;
Resolved that section IV.6 be amended to be removed from the constitution, and
Resolved that section III.1.h be amended to be removed from the constitution, and
Resolved that section III.3 be amended to read “The Treasurer shall maintain all financial
records, maintain an archive of all electronic and paper records of the society, report on the
financial state of the Union to the Executive and General Meetings, report regrets and
absence of executives according to section VII.9, and present a budget at the General
Meeting each semester. The Treasurer shall also be the second of two signing officers.”,
and
Resolved that section III.1.c be amended to be read “Treasurer”.
Kailei wanted her dissent, based around the fact that it may be too much work for a single individual, noted in
the minutes. There was discussion that this may need to be split back into two positions if her fears turned out to
be true.
CARRIED
MOTION
9.
Amendment to transform the position of Vice-President of Internal Communications
into Webmaster.
Whereas the duties of the Vice-President of Internal Communications are more effectively
performed when distributed amongst the entire executive;
Whereas the PSSU website and the Internet are important tools for building interest in the
PSSU, be it
Resolved that section IV.5 be amended to “The Communications Officer shall be
responsible for the maintenance and utilization of the Union e-mail lists, the maintenance and
utilization of the PSSU website, and the maintenance and utilization of any other forms of
Internet based projects the PSSU undertakes.”
Resolved that section III.1.g be amended to read “Communications Officer.”
Sebastian wanted his dissent noted in the minutes.
CARRIED
MOTION
10.
Amendment to relocate the position of Departmental Representative into the list of
executive positions.
Whereas the Departmental representatives are valued members of the executive;
Whereas clarity and organization in the constitution of the PSSU is valued, be it
Resolved that section V.1 be amended to be placed at the end of section IV, and
Resolved that section V be amended to be removed from the constitution and all following
sections be renumbered as appropriate.
CARRIED
MOTION
11.
Amendment to eliminate the need to put notices in the Peak and instead require use of
the more effective and easier to use Email list.
Whereas publishing of notice of General Meetings in the Peak is impractical;
Whereas communication with the PSSU membership is better done through the utilization
of the email lists, be it
Resolved that section VI.4 be amended to “At least seven days notice must be given to
members of the Union in the form of a notice outside the Departmental General Office before
a General Meeting may be called, and during that time there shall be a notice sent to
the
email list.”
CARRIED
MOTION
12.
Amendment to transform “consensus decision making” into “informal” organization
of meetings.
Whereas consensual decision making is meaningless without definition;
Whereas the SFSS's use of Robert's Rules of Order technically requires the PSSU to use
them as well;
Whereas meetings are better run when run informally, be it
Resolved that section VI.9 be amended to read “All meetings of the Union shall be run as
informally as is appropriate. ”
CARRIED
MOTION
13.
Amendment to encourage teleconferencing of PSSU meetings.
Whereas the inactivity of the PSSU is due to a lack of participation by both the general PSSU
membership as well as the executive;
Whereas absentee executives are a major problem for the PSSU;
Whereas absentee executives would be a larger problem in a smaller executive;
Whereas the SFSS constitution and regulations provide for teleconferencing, be it
Resolved that section VII.9 be amended to read “Absence from two consecutive Executive
and/or General Meetings of the Union without sending regrets, or absence from four of the
previous five Executive and/or General Meetings of the Union regardless of sending regrets
will result in the position being considered to have been abandoned. When possible,
meetings should be teleconferenced to provide maximum accessibility.” and
Resolved that section IV.5 be amended to include “The Webmaster shall also be in charge
of the technical aspects of teleconferencing meetings when appropriate.”
CARRIED
MOTION
14.
Amendment to travel and conference funding so it reflects the reality of PSSU
practice.
Whereas Travel and Conference funding are an important part of what the PSSU does;
Whereas it is important to have as much information as possible when determining who should
be given Travel and Conference funding, be it
Resolved that section XI.2 be amended to read “All potential recipients of funding must either
make an oral presentation to the executive committee or submit a one page request for funding
prior to attending the conference. After returning from a given conference all receipts must be
submitted to the executive who will then reimburse the agreed upon funds. All petitioners for
funding are encouraged to make oral presentations instead of written reports as this increases
the probability of the executive granting funding.”
CARRIED
A possible dissolution clause for the constitution which was discussed at the last meeting is to be reexamined/amended at a later date because of its inter-related role with the SFSS.
3. EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS
Elections were also held for positions that became vacant during the summer. The positions will be
held for the summer and then all officers will resign and general elections will be held in the fall
semester for all positions.
Andrew was elected President.
Sebastian was elected Treasurer.
Kailei was elected Communications Officer.
Rizwana and Ravi are staying on for the summer, so they will continue to fulfill their positions for the
summer semester and as such, no elections were necessary for these positions.
-Meeting Adjourned.
The meeting was adjourned.