No vote was taken, disgruntled students erred grievances, and nothing was decided on
The saga drags on as the much-maligned UofR Students’ Union (URSU) held a special general meeting on September 24 to decide on its dissolution. Instead of voting on the motion to dissolve the union, disgruntled students erred grievances, and nothing was decided on.
The meeting
The meeting was finally held remotely after the location for the SGM was changed twice. Students who attended the special general meeting had the choice to vote for the dissolution of the student union, to abstain from voting, or vote no and keep the union intact.
Many pre-registered students did not receive the link to join the meeting until the very last minute and many more did not receive any link at all. Those who somehow got their hands on the link to join the meeting, had to wait in the “digital lobby” for long before they were let into the meeting. Many even reported being kicked out of the lobby.
When the meeting finally began with over 500 students in attendance, names were blacked out, leaving many upset with the processes. Many students erred their grievances with URSU with respect to keeping the name of the attendees anonymous. The meeting ended up being adjourned before it could get to what it was intended for, which was to vote on the potential dissolution of URSU. Many attendees reported recording everything that went down at the meeting.
U of R education student Maria De Leeuw was one of the student attendees at the SGM. They felt the meeting went well even though it did not result in a decision. “I think the recordings and screenshots that I and other attendees [have] will be useful in demonstrating just how little good faith URSU has towards their engagement towards the student body,” De Leeuw said.
They added that it was a success. They said that the “issue can be revisited in an ethical and transparent manner, was a huge win.”
Discontent for URSU felt amongst students
“I’ve known for a while that their tactics are incredibly sketchy […] I had many direct dealings with URSU that suggest they often fail to engage in good faith,” said De Leeuw.
De Leeuw added that they want accountability from URSU, when it comes to the spending of students’ money. They said they read the court documents, where URSU denied the university’s attempt to cover the cost of a forensic audit. “It makes me believe they’re deliberately avoiding it because they have something to hide. I want the truth,” said De Leeuw.
Students also raised concerns about how URSU set up the meeting. Including calling attention to the chat not being open. Assertions about how students received zero notice of the meeting, making the meeting “unlawfully called” were made. Others referred to the meetings format as being “illegal.” Students accused URSU of intentionally dodging attendees with their hands raised.
After calls from students to open the chat, the chair, Anurag Saini, said “Unfortunately, I can’t, so I’m going to take the assistance of and I’m going to speak to the management. And I’m going to make sure we address this.”
Attendees called for a physical ballot and that the meeting be adjourned. Others erred grievances directly with URSU general manager, Aoun Muhammad. Another attendee said they would not accept voting results in the format that was put in place.
De Leeuw was happy to see they shared similar views with many other attendees.“I’m so glad to hear so many other students objecting to URSU’s blatant contempt for the student body. We deserve decent representation,” said De Leeuw.
I felt genuine happiness at the adjournment of the meeting. -Harpreet Singh, student, UofR
Harpreet Singh, a third year human justice student who was also in attendance said that his opinion of URSU “did not change at all; rather it became more rigid.”
Singh added that URSU has been a sore spot for him since he started being a student at the university. “We have all seen unethical practices of nepotism in the workplace. During meetings, I saw a lack of transparency on proceedings, policies, and the ignorance and avoidant nature of staff members,” he said. He also called out the lack of diversity in the URSU executive and employees
He further elaborated that he “had multiple reasons to participate [in the meeting],” and stated that his educational background encourages him to participate in politics and raise his voice against injustice. He added, “I feel that it is my responsibility to use my rights as I am a stakeholder [and] have been whining about these issues for months now.” Singh was happy to see students address what he calls “illegal conduct” during the meeting.
“Every step taken by the URSU official was very suspicious. First of all, why wasn’t the meeting held in the University? How come two hotels reject their books after verifying all the event details?” he highlighted.
Singh expressed other concerns around the meeting stating that it was unclear if it was just a simple failure of the meeting’s coordinator or if it was an attempt to confuse students and limit participation.
He echoed similar complaints of other attendees about the students’ names remaining anonymous, the disabling of the chat, having a lawyer as chair, and lack of physical ballots. “I felt genuine happiness at the adjournment of the meeting,” he concluded.
The SGM caps off a tumultuous year for the student union
Another student in attendance told the Carillon that the SGM was eventually adjourned for at least a month, leaving the decision of URSU’s dissolution hanging.
Recently, some student groups on campus also came together to run an education campaign for the larger student body so that the students can make an informed decision about whether or not they want to dissolve URSU.
Be it accusations of financial misconduct, allegations of voter manipulation, storming the women’s center AGM, URSU has been a point of contention for many, including the University of Regina’s management themself this year.
The saga between the university and URSU first gained momentum in February when the university first withheld the fees from URSU and keeps getting more and more interesting as it develops. More is certainly to come.
