Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Mar 13-27, 2017

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Almost the end of the year, and the Senators are still advocating for some things, as seen here in their latest biweekly report! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here, or in the Senators’ blog.

A few highlights:

  • Discussed the potential plans for the Fall Reading Break Policy.
  • Discussed the shortcomings of mental health service provisions on campus, which will culminate in an open letter directed to the Deputy Provost for Student Life and Learning (Ollivier Dyens).
  • Discussed how we plan to keep the Administration accountable in following through with the upcoming recommendations from the Provost’s Taskforce on Indigenous Education (coming out in June 2017).

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Feb 20-Mar 13, 2017

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School seems to be on full speed these weeks, and the Senators seem to be seeing a slow week as well, as seen here in their latest biweekly report! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here, or in the Senators’ blog.

A few highlights:

  • The McGill Non-Smoking Policy is ready to be presented to the highest admins, before it is brought to the McGill Senate. The plan is to implement it by September 2017.
  • Discussed the implications of the report from Scholarship and Student Aid Office (SSAO) that there is a huge surge in bursary applications this year, especially from international students.
  • Most of the new Student Senators for 2017-2018 has been elected!

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Feb 6-20, 2017

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Reading week is only a week away, and with this we’re halfway through the Winter term! The Senators have a lot going on as you can see here in their latest biweekly report! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here, or in the Senators’ blog.

A few highlights:

  • In the February 15 Senate Meeting, a Senate Motion submitted by a SSMU Senator, to recognize and promote Black History Month at McGill, was passed.
  • The Senators discussed the University’s Strategic Academic Plan (2017-2022), which was up for open discussion at the February 15 Senate Meeting.
  • The implementation of preferred names at McGill has seen progress in recent weeks, allowing students to use their preferred names in McGill-related contexts if they choose. Find out more about it here.

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Jan 23-Feb 6, 2017

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Can’t believe we’re just now hitting February! The Senators have been busy at work and here is their second biweekly report of the term! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here.

A few highlights:

  • Dean of Students Christopher Buddle came over to Senate Caucus and discussed many things. Some highlights include the definition of the “McGill Context” as it applies to the Code of Student Conduct at off-campus events, as well as mental health training for faculty members.
  • Laura Winer, the Director of Teaching and Learning Services, also came by for a chat. Among other things, we discussed course evaluations and solutions to noise disturbances in Leacock due to the construction.
  • The Wellness Hub Student Stakeholder Group is now looking for student representatives. Apply here.

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Jan 4-23, 2016

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The Winter term has started and the Senators have also begun with Round 2! Here is the first biweekly report of the term! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here.

A few highlights:

  • We discussed progress the Senators have made in advocating for a Fall Reading Break. The Faculty of Engineering, however, has raised a valid concern regarding their accreditation mandating a specific number of teaching days that might be compromised with the implementation of a Reading Break in the Fall term.
  • We again discussed governance reform at McGill, in relation to the Senate Question on University Governance Best Practices that was submitted to the January 2017 Senate meeting.
  • We discussed final exam deferrals. It seems that the pilot project for exam deferrals did not create a spike in deferrals compared to previous semesters.

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

What did McGill Committees do in Fall 2016? Read the report!

There are as many as 47 University-level committees, to which there are 118 undergraduate student representatives. McGill University is huge, and most of the groundwork for new initiatives on campus begins in such committees.

Starting in Fall 2015, SSMU University Affairs started mandating student reps in these committees to submit reports for dissemination. In Fall 2016, the committees worked on many issues that are pertinent to the campus community, and their report can be seen here

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Nov 21-Dec 5, 2016

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Now that we’ve reached the end of the term, the Senators are wrapping up their work as well. Here is the last biweekly report of the term! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here.

A few highlights:

  • At the November 21 Senate, the McGill Policy Against Sexual Violence was passed!
  • We discussed governance reform at McGill, in light of the analysis done by SSMU that was recently released about McGill University’s Board of Governors. Read the full report here
  • We discussed the construction around campus and how it was hindering accessibility for some students. After asking a Senate Question on this topic, we discussed some improvements that were immediately acted upon or promised in the future (e.g. fixing gaps between the street level and the sidewalk in crossings on McTavish).

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Nov 7-21, 2016

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Presenting the SSMU Senators’ fifth biweekly report! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here.

A few highlights:

  • The Senators attended the annual Joint Board-Senate Meeting, with the topic of “McGill’s Sustainability Plans and Initiatives” on Thursday, November 10. The discussions have been compiled into a report presented to the November Senate here.
  • We discussed the recent changes to access for urgent care at McGill’s Counselling and Mental Health Service (CAMH). The recent changes left a gap in which students who do not fall into the category of “Safety Appointments” are left without any options for urgent mental health service at McGill. We are working together with CAMH to address this issue.
  • We discussed the policy for preferred first names. From now on, all issues related to preferred first names can be addressed to Heidi Emami (the Associate Registrar in charge of the preferred first name policy).

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Oct 24-Nov 7, 2016

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It’s already November, and the SSMU Senators’ fourth biweekly report is here! You can also find our previous biweekly reports here.

A few highlights:

  • Welcoming the recently-elected VP University Affairs of MacDonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS), Jade Corriveau, to SSMU Senate Caucus. Here’s to a stronger connection between Mac and the Downtown Campuses in important student issues! Her reports are included in the PDF.
  • Angela Campbell (Associate Provost, Policies, Procedures, and Equity) and Christopher Manfredi (Provost) came in to Caucus for a Q&A about the Policy Against Sexual Violence. We asked questions loosely based on the consultation report recently published by SSMU and PGSS. The Provost also claimed that the Office of Sexual Violence Response, Support, and Education will most likely start operating by the Winter term, if the policy were to pass in Senate this November as planned.
  • We discussed the Non-Smoking Policy at McGill, and responses from different parties on campus.

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.

Senate Caucus Biweekly Report for Oct 10-24, 2016

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Mid-terms are definitely picking up, but the Senators are not slowing down. Here is the third biweekly report of the SSMU Senate Caucus. You can also find our previous biweekly reports here.

A few highlights:

  • The Senators attended the October Senate meeting, where the Policy Against Sexual Violence draft was discussed for the first time at the Senate level.
  • We had Chris Buddle, the new Dean of Students, come in to Caucus to chat with us about his vision and goals of the Office of the Dean of Students, how he sees his role, as well as the Policy against Sexual Violence.
  • We discussed the ongoing Cyclical Unit Review McGill Enrolment Services. The review committee is looking for student input, so if you have thoughts about Service Point, exam scheduling, or student records, please fill out the short survey here.
  • We discussed the deferred exam policy pilot and the communication of this pilot project to the students.

Minutes of each Senate Caucus meeting is available upon request via email.

If you’re interested in attending a Senate Caucus meeting to learn more about what the Senators do, feel free to email me (the UA Secretary) to get more information. Senate Caucus meetings are held every Monday at 6:30 PM in the SSMU Office.