On Wednesday night, AMS Council met to announce the resignation of the VP Finance Gavin Fung-Quon and VP External Ayesha Irfan, adjust the AMS election timeline and discuss referenda items for the upcoming AMS elections.
Council amended the agenda to include an in-camera session at the beginning of the meeting, followed by an announcement regarding the resignations of Fung-Quon and Irfan. Fung-Quon had been on a leave of absence since November 2024, while Irfan had briefly returned to Council after taking a previous leave of absence. Council provided no explanation for the VPs' departures.
Council announced that the voting period for the AMS elections will now run from March 7 to March 14, with the all-candidates meeting rescheduled to February 14 to accommodate for an extended nomination period.
Council hears updates on Studentcare’s Health & Dental Plan
Council received updates on Studentcare’s Health & Dental Plan, which highlighted key coverage details. The presentation outlined that dental expenses are covered up to $750, while travel care abroad extends to $5 million. A five-year trend analysis revealed that while dental costs have remained stable, mental health claims have been a significant driver of increased plan utilization.
In discussing dental coverage, representative for Studentcare Sophia Haque said students can go to any dentist and be covered up to 70 per cent of the BC fee guide for a preventative service. Preventative services include most services in the cleanings category.
“However, if you choose to go to a dental network member, that'll save you an additional 30 per cent … that means that for students who choose to go to a dental network member, they can have up to 100 per cent coverage for a cleaning or checkup,” Haque said.
Council consults on referendum questions ahead of AMS elections
AMS President Christian ‘CK’ Kyle presented three proposed referenda to be put on the ballot for the upcoming AMS elections.
The first referendum proposes shifting the AMS budget finalization deadline from June to August.
CK explained that under current bylaws, the AMS is technically required to include the budgets of all clubs on campus, which is impractical.
“We did not find that having every single club’s budget in the AMS budget would be productive,” he said.
The amendment would ensure the AMS budget reflects only fee-receiving groups and subsidiaries while also allowing the AMS to base financial decisions on audited actuals rather than preliminary figures. The amendment would also introduce a formalized deferral process for constituencies and clubs needing extensions for budget submissions.
The second referendum would establish a new executive position, vice president student life, which would be tasked with overseeing student engagement, event coordination and mental health programming. The position would also be responsible for AMS staple events, supporting subsidiary organizations with programming and liaising with external campus groups such as UBC Athletics and the Residence Hall Association.
“This shouldn’t just be a party VP. It should not be a VP that’s only catering events or engaging with events that target a specific audience on campus,” CK said.
CK clarified the VP student life would not take over event execution from AMS staff but rather provide strategic oversight. If passed, an interim VP student life would be hired for the summer, with a by-election to elect a VP student life slotted for September.
The final referendum proposes changing the process by which new constituencies are formed.
Under current AMS bylaws, schools reaching a certain enrollment threshold automatically become constituencies. The proposed amendment would introduce a referendum process, allowing students in those schools to vote on whether they want to form a new constituency or remain part of their parent faculty’s constituency.
CK said some schools nearing the threshold, such as the School of Biomedical Engineering, do not necessarily want to become independent constituencies.
“Allowing for a democratic process in the creation of constituencies would let students in schools without a meaningful distinction from their overall faculty choose between the creation of a new constituency or continuing to be with their faculty-level constituency,” he said.
Final voting on the wording of these referenda will take place at the next AMS Council meeting on February 12. If passed, AMS will begin securing endorsements and conducting outreach to inform students about the referenda ahead of the general election in March.
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