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Minutes of the 12/13 Council 4th Meeting October 24, 2012 Fearnall advised that the goal of this presentation was to provide Council with an update on developments on the turf fields issue since the last discussion (see Meeting #3, September 26, 2012). He advised that the University has decided that a referendum seeking a fee of $12.00 would probably not be successful and a new proposal has been received which would see the University coming to the table with fifty percent of the cost of the turf fields where they had previously offered no contribution to the funding of the $4.5 million project. The balance would be raised through a fee increase through the Student Services Committee (SSC) of approximately $5.00 which would be split between the Campus Recreation fee and the Intercollegiate Athletics fee. He noted that, if Council agreed, the USC could consider going to referendum for this fee instead of going through the SSC. 10.7 President’s Speech Follow-up (Appendix 4 – Next Steps) Fearnall presented a summary of the issues raised in his “Untold Story of Western” speech and advised that he would work with the constituent council presidents in a summit to look at the Principles of Collaboration and Commitment document to examine the relationships between the USC and the University to be more specific on how and where students’ voices should be heard. This group will look at holding a large open meeting to discuss and determine the service levels required by students and will consult with students-at-large and councillors through other means. Fearnall advised that he hoped to have an outline for the consultation process available at exam time and hold consultation session in January. He noted that they should have information available for the USC budget in the spring and to bring into the Western strategic planning process in September. 10.8 Executive Strategic Alignment Fearnall provided Council with an overview of the structural changes that he would be proposing to Council for approval at the next meeting and invited Council members to provide their input and feedback over the upcoming month. He presented his ideas for restructuring the governance of the USC or operationalizing the Long Term Plan which was put in place during the 2011/12 year. Fearnall reviewed the job description of the USC President and the directives in the Long Term Plan to frame the issues he was bringing forward. He pointed out that the goal of the President was to implement the mandate he was elected on in his platform and to meet the needs of his constituents and advised that the check on the power of the President was in Council’s role of evaluating whether or not the President was fulfilling that mandate. Fearnall advised that there are currently two distinct parts to the role of the Executive Council and those are the responsibility for the political or government side of the organization; and the role of Directors of the corporation. He noted that these are very different and potentially conflicting roles and, to address this conflict, he would propose the creation of a separate Board of Directors comprised of a combination of students and community members. 4
Minutes of the 12/13 Council 4th Meeting October 24, 2012 Fearnall also discussed his proposal to have the USC President and an Executive Vice- President run as a slate for election by the entire undergraduate student body to solidify and further legitimize the way in which the USC advocates for students. He noted that, as part of this proposal, there would be a change in the way the other Vice-Presidents are chosen from an election to a hiring process. He added that this would make these positions more accessible to highly qualified students who have never been previously involved in the USC and give the President the ability to appropriately manage the Vice- Presidents as well as give Council the ability to hold the President accountable for the performance of the Vice-Presidents. He further stated that he would like to see these changes put in place for the next election cycle. Fearnall also proposed that; as the annual budget is the primary planning document for the organization, the current Council and Executive should be the ones negotiating how the budget will be structured to set the priorities for their year. He noted that this change would not be possible to implement until the next budget cycle. Motion to recess for ten (10) minutes. Whelan/Jim/Carried. 11. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (http://westernusc.ca/councillors-corner/) Fearnall presented a summary of the work being done in the each of the Executive portfolios (Campus Issues, Communications, Finance, University Affairs and Student Events) as well as an update on the progress of his platform initiatives. Fearnall advised Council that the USC was in receipt of a petition of protest to stop Steven Woodworth from coming to Western to speak in November. He noted that this speaker was being brought in by the Lifeline Western Club to speak on pro-life issues. He further advised that it is USC policy to present both sides of the argument on controversial issues. He noted that this event would be a closed event so participants must make the choice to attend and those presenting the other side of the issue would be encouraged to host a similar event. 12. STUDENT CAUCUS ON GOVERNANCE REPORT (Appendix 5) Harvey presented the questions asked by student Senators at the last meeting of Senate and the responses provided by the University. She also provided an update on the issue of a Fall Reading Break and information from other Ontario universities that have instituted a Fall Break. Harvey advised that a survey from student Senators would be coming out soon. 13. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS (All Standing Committee reports can be viewed on the USC website at http://westernusc.ca/standing-committees/) 13.1 Campus Issues Standing Committee 5
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Minutes - USC: University Students' Council of UWO : Page not found

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