Botched coup at UBC
AMS exec powers neutered over unauthorized UN tuition complaint
After 12 days of campus controversy and student politics machinations, the UBC Alma Mater Society President (AMS) executives who issued an unauthorized human rights complaint to the United Nations will keep their jobs. A recall motion, to have President Blake Frederick and Vice President Eexternal Tim Chu impeached, was pulled back only after it was discovered at the 11th hour that doing so through a vote of student council would have been illegal.
The complaint to the UN alleged the B.C. and federal governments were responsible for “gross human rights violations” due to the cost of tuition.
Following a unanimous motion by student council a week ago to ask Frederick and Chu to resign following the complaint they filed on behalf of the AMS—without approval or knowledge from AMS Council—the stage was set for a special meeting to recall the two. However, following veiled threats by Frederick and Chu that they would be considering legal action if they were removed by council, a legal opinion was sought on how the two of them could be removed as Directors of the AMS.
Most councilors were fairly certain the legal opinion would allow them to proceed. The meeting was set for 4pm on Monday. At 3:30, the opinion came in—and it clearly stated that to recall/impeach the two of them would be a contravention of BC’s Society Act, which the AMS is legally bound by. The Act requires a petition signed by at least two per cent of UBC students and a meeting with the same number of students, with 75 per cent voting for recall.
Oops.
So, though the complaint to the UN had been retracted and Frederick had apologized for his actions, council decided to gut, strip, and neuter Frederick and Chu of their powers, with a variety of measures designed to completely paralyze the largest student union in Canada for the next two months. These include:
a) No press releases can be sent without the permission of student council.
b) Frederick and Chu cannot have meetings or communications that could adversely affect the reputation of the AMS with important stakeholders (UBC Administration, provincial/federal government) without approval of student council.
c) An official censure of Frederick of Chu.
d) Frederick, Chu, and the rest of the AMS executive (whom, hilariously, all signed off on cheques that allowed the AMS to go forward with the legal complaint without knowing what they were signing) are forced to write weekly reports detailing their hour-by-hour activities.
e) Frederick will no longer chair the Executive Committee.
f) Next year’s executive will take power on February 12th, two weeks earlier than usual, in order to prevent Frederick and Chu from saying, doing, or thinking anything that might cause controversy during the Winter Olympics (this wasn’t stated in the actual motion, but it’s widely acknowledged as the subtext for the decision).
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Great article, really good analysis. Just one thing – I believe the motion that you relate in point b was amended to the executive committee, as opposed to student council. So Blake and Tim can act on issues that don’t need council approval, with the approval of the exec com, which is kind of how it should have been all along; that’s why the chair of the exec com was taken away from Blake, because council felt that he just might avoid meetings in order to do whatever he wants.
Not being a UBC student, there is a piece of information I don’t know that was left out of the report: what is the difference between the Alma Mater Society and the student council? These seem to be treated as two different entities in the report.
Not that it matters, but what’s the deal with the picture attached to this?
1) The reference to “thievery” isn’t completely direct – it’s not like anyone actually stole money and kept it for themselves. I suppose one could make the case that because it wasn’t approved by Council, then it was a form of thievery, but still…..
2) I’ve been waiting for someone to blame this escapade on the CFS, just so I could casually note that the AMS is not part of the CFS. This picture, with all the CFS signs in the background, is as close as I can find.
The AMS is a student government body, but its legally a society under the Society Act. The Student Council is effectively the Board of Directors. So the term AMS refers to the entire student union at UBC (45,000), while Student Council refers to the 30-some-odd elected faculty representatives on the Board of Directors.
The CFS hadn’t been brought up in the debate until the University of Victoria Student Society’s (UVSS) Director of Finance brought a motion to their Council supporting the UN complaint. UVic is a CFS school, and it has brought about a huge debate at UVic about where this idea came from. I’m not going to meddle, though, its a sticky situation, which also happens to be none of their business.
Oh man, these are the same type of people the CFS is full of… goodbye common sense…
Again, diplomacy and negotiation is how to have your view accepted not harassment, media stunts, or making people/organizations look foolish.