RMS Platform

8/3/2019 RMS Platform

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Dont Let University Pass YouBy.

" " RMS: A Student Government For You, Made By You.

Plat-format: We have structured our platform around Three Guiding Questions we believe wemust always keep in mind when running the AMS. Our platform points arise as answers to these guidingquestions, which we feel are reasonable, achievable goals worthy of being pursued. Where the issues beingdiscussed are too large to easily separate into individual platform initiatives, we frame our discussion incollected Thoughts on Critical Issues Facing Students. For the sake of completeness, and a well-rounded view of your AMS Society and AMS Inc., we have included a Commentary on Current Initiatives,separated into The Society Side, and The Corporate Side.

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Table of Contents:

Critical Questions About Team RMS: " " " (3-5) Who Are We? Why Are We Running? What Is Our Opinion On The Current State Of The AMS?

How Do We Approach Building Working Relationships? What Is Their Vision For The Future Of The AMS?

Three Guiding Questions:" " " " " ! (6-14)Question 1: How Do We Increase Sense of Citizenship in the AMS?1. Creating User-Friendly Manuals Designed To Make Using AMS Services Easier2. AMS Newsletters Designed Around Current Initiatives, and How We Need Your Help.3. Increasing Constitutional Review: Creating A Constitutional Review Committee:4. Improving Two-Way Communication: Hosting Executive Live-Chat Sessions

Question 2: How can AMS better serve students day-to-day, on society side?5. Increasing Clubs Grants Support and Streamlining Procedures6. Space Is At A Premium: Streamlining Space Allocation Procedures7. Exploring Integration of AMS Food Centre Services With AMS Grocer Forthcoming8. Increasing Our Investment In Services Provided by the Peer Support Centre.9.Upgrading the AMS AV Rental, IT Office: Exploring New Space Options and EquipmentAcquisitions10.Intramurals: Continuing Work With Athletics, Make Mac-Brown Intramurals Space, Earlier Times

Question 3: How Can We Better Reflect The By Students, For Students philosophy

in our AMS services, on the corporate side?11.The Importance Of Mental Health First Responder Training In Our Services12.Restructuring AMS Office Space13.Revamping Queens Pub menu to Reflect Its Growth and Image as a Restaurant14.Putting A Plan In Place For An Overhaul of Alfies Image, Including Its Name

Thoughts On Critical Issues Facing Students:(15-18) Non-Academic Discipline: Maintaining Student Control Relationship With Kingston, Homecoming Tradition, And Future Refinancing Queens Centre Agreement: Upgrading The JDUC

Thoughts On Rural Students In Post-Secondary Education Thoughts On Orientation Week, Fall Reading Week: Make Your Choice

Commentary on Current Initiatives: " " " (18-21) Section 1: AMS, Society Side" (19) Section 2: AMS, Inc., Service Side (20-21)

VOTE JANUARY 31st AND FEBRUARY 1st!

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Critical Questions About Team RMS:It is important every AMS member see Executive as approachable, accountable, receptiveand relatable.Our communitys strength is founded in volunteerismand activism- in raising your hand and rolling up yoursleeves. Queens brands it the spirit of initiative.The AMS Executive must reflect what is best about ourcommunity. Thats why we believe the two most important qualities for student leaders are honestyandintegrity. Having those qualities ensures we work both with you, and on your behalf. You pay our salaries;you are the consumer for AMS-Services; you are the AMS citizens we advocate for, support and offeropportunities to in our AMS Society. No student should feel intimidated to try new initiatives, offer ideas orcriticisms of our work; your voice must be heard.

The vision of student government we are working towards is that of a ParticipatoryDemocracy. In aparticipatory democracy, the idea is not to create just a democratic government, but a democratic culture, inother words, a democracy where discussion, free flow of information and inclusivity are of utmostimportance, and must take place between all levels of the community. This level of discussion keeps youinformed and helps protect you as a student. We believe the AMS should inviteparticipation as opposed to

just allowingparticipation. We believe that more ideas being shared leads to better decision-making. We willactively seek out your ideas and input. The small, day-to-day actions students take to improve the Queen'sCommunity starting clubs, helping peers, working in AMS services and commissions, are the basis of ourcommunity. A participatory student government helps keep this unique student culture healthy. This isincontrast to RepresentativeDemocracy, where once you choose who to elect, your input effectively ends.The AMS currently incorporates some elements of participatory democracy; we want to maximize itspotential. We believe in shared decision making to the greatest extent possible. We believe that everyonecan participate in the democratic processes of the student government. Your role should involve more thancasting a vote once a year. Your input to democracy does not end when you choose who to elect.

We come from an external, end user based perspective; RMS pledges to never lose sight of the importanceof that perspective. We believe that we will make better decisions by drawing from a wider pool of ideas, anda diversity of perspectives. Our platform is designed around reasonable goals that will benefit the AMSCommunity, that are achievable in our term or can be set in motion for future years. Our term only lasts ayear; part of our definition of integrity is laying down a solid foundation for the future. That mandate mustbuild on the strength of the current Executive. CES delivered on the promises they made, and took positivesteps to improve the visibility of the AMS to students at large. Three teams running is a testament. Weasked ourselves, what does the AMS need?RMS believes the following fivequestions are critical tomaking an informed voting decision. We asked ourselves these same questions before making thedecision to run; we hope you will find our answers both candid and informative:

1. Who Are We?:We believe an importantstep towards RMS being relatable, is to know each member ofRMS as individuals. Its not that we like to talk about ourselves; simply put, we don t want to becomesynonymous with our positions. Here is a brief background of each member of RMS:

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President: Jeffrey McCarthy (Con-Ed 12, Chem/Bio):My name is Jeffrey McCarthy, and I am seeking the nomination to be your President for 2012-201grew up in Kingston Ontario, and chose Queens for its Concurrent Education program. For financreasons I chose to not have a residence experience; its a decision I would make over and over ag

have been fortunate to inherit a position of leadership as Chair to stand up for FYNIRS (First YearIn Residence), a group of students whose participation is far more optional and somewhat logisticchallenging. I also created the Queens Board Game Club this year. These experiences made meacutely aware of the challenges and frustrations of engaging with the AMS, and how easy it is to lthat frustration make you feel disconnected with, and intimidated by your student leaders.

I tend to be type-cast into fifth business roles; I was told at the outset of this campaign the learningcurve was too great, that I should stick to my usual role. I have spent 3 months reading every AMSdocument I can, meeting with a number of individuals to have a conversation of ideas and get a sof what this position is about. I am not entering this position as a stepping stone for future careersPolitics or Corporate Management - I will be a Chemistry teacher. I am raising my hand, I am offermy voice, for the change I think needs to happen. I am running in this election, I am seeking to hothis office because I want to show that you can do the same. The President is fundamentally anadvocate to the administration, a person in a position of confidential trust and authority. Should I eyour vote, I promise to work tirelessly with you, and on your behalf. CES, the current AMS Execut

leaves behind an AMS better than they found it. I want to build on their successes, and I hope theRoom For Improvement we propose in our platform sparks a discussion in our AMS Community.


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2. Why Are We Running?Our decision to run both comes from our love for brainstorming ideas, ourstrength as a team, and our commitment to changing the AMS to be more user-friendly. We do not aspireto this position of power to use it as a stepping stone for greater careers in politics or corporatemanagement. We want you to make our jobs as difficult as possible. We believe that reputation is builtthrough hard work, tangible improvements and constructive working relationships with others. We areboth idealistic and realistic; what we outline here are achievable, reasonable and desirable goals we willwork towards when elected.

3. What Is Our Opinion On The Current State of The AMS? We have enjoyed the overall directionthe AMS has taken this past year. In the Platform section Commentary on Current Initiatives, weelaborate further. That said, there is always room for improvement.

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Vice President, Operations: Bryor Snefjella (Artsci 12, Linguistics):Honesty and courage are two of my personal principles, and I try to act in accordance withthese principles. Honesty is paid a lot of lip-service, but I think it is fundamentally lackingfrom our political systems, where honest discussion is confined to offices and conferencerooms and closed-door committees, and the political process revolves around posturing anelectioneering. If you want a democracy in which citizens can participate meaningfully, they

need accurate, truthful information about their government. Courage enables honesty;honesty is often met with resistance because concealing information is in someone else'sself-interest. Although, like anyone, I have a political ideology, I try to be objective andintrospective, viewing and evaluating each issue separately with my intuition, reason, and tavailable data, instead of letting adherence to a political identity determine my views for meIn short, I value my independence. In my personal time, I am the regional director of theCanadian Improv Games, Kingston Region, a high school level competitive improvisationatheatre tournament. Participation in CIG improv, which revolves around teamwork andcreative expression, made a massive difference in my teenage years. Of all my dutiesrunning the tournament, I enjoy teaching improv to new students the most. I also attendQueen's Secularists and Inquirers, a current-events discussion club, and Queen's boardgame club, and sometimes I even attempt to write science fiction.

Vice President, University Affairs: Sean Renaud (Artsci 15, Psych.):My name is Sean Renaud, and I am running for the position of Vice President UniversityAffairs. I am currently in first year, and plan to focus my studies on Psychology andPhilosophy. As a mature student, coming to university after being out of high school for neaten years, I have had the opportunity to accumulate a broad range of experience. AKingstonian born and raised, I have fostered close ties to the Kingston community throughvolunteer work as well as various different jobs.

The main concentration of my volunteer experience has been centered around mental healawareness. I have worked as a peer support at Hotel Dieu Hospital, a volunteer patient at tQueens Clinical Education Centre, and a facilitator for a Mood Disorders Support Group. I

well versed in the issues and challenges surrounding mental health, and would love to sharmy knowledge with the Queens community.

As for work experience, I have held many different positions over the past ten years. Of thothe one that stands out the most for me is the two years I spent in China teaching English. Ihave also worked as the head of sales in a software company, and I helped to open and rupawnshop here in Kingston. Having done just about everything I can without a degree, Idecided to come to university so that I can further broaden my experiences, and because Ilove the community here at Queens. I believe strongly in reciprocity and hard work, and feeam well prepared to represent the interests of my fellow students.


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Having a unified AMS voice for the student body is critical to have any pull when communicating withadministration and the Kingston community. The AMS financial sustainability has been fruitfully addressedthis year as well; we would like to commend the AMS for taking over management of the SLC, and the IToffice; together, these acquisitions are important properties for further expanding the service we provide toour fellow students. Throughout the platform, we have commended current AMS progress whereappropriate, and highlighted where there is Room For Improvement.

4. How Do We Approach Building Working Relationships? The three of us each have strengthscomplimentary to each other. Rather than listing off each of our strengths independently, we decided todescribe one another, notourselves. What Do Each Of Us Bring To The Table?:

President: Jeffrey McCarthyBryor Describes Jeff: Jeff doesnt mince words. He has the remarkable ability to sit back, listen carefully,and then say something insightful and balanced. At FYNIRs, Jeffs leadership was just the right mix ofmanagement and delegation of tasks. Jeff has been a tireless advocate for FYNIRS. The organization hasflourished under his leadership.Sean Describes Jeff: If people arent pulling their weight, Jeff is not afraid to pick up the slack. Jeffs reallyorganized, and also really likes challenging himself. Because hes so organized, usually he succeeds. Forexample, Jeff was both an Exec (for FYNIRS) and a Teach (for Con-Ed), at the same time. Thats eight

straight days of sleepless frosh leadership. He chose to start Board Game Club, because wanted to provethat he could do it.

Vice-President (Operations): Bryor SnefjellaSean Describes Bryor: Bryor has strong opinions, and is not afraid to voice them. Bryors come up with alot of creative ideas during this campaign; he has great creative talent. When he has an idea, he ll share it,but wont be upset when other people take his idea and make it better. Bryors a bit of a jack of all trades -hes a linguist, AV Nerd, D&D Dungeon Master, Slam Poet and Improvisor. Jeff Describes Bryor: Bryor has the ability to take an argument which is going nowhere and upsetting itsparticipants, and find a resolution for it. Essentially the voice of reason in a group discussing a difficult issue.Ive also been involved with volunteering at the Kingston Improv Games, which Bryor has run for the pasttwo years. Events always run smoothly, and volunteers and audience members have a great time.

Vice-President (University Affairs): Sean RenaudJeff Describes Sean: Even when things dont go according to plan, and Sean has an additional out-of-the-blue responsibility come up, he doesnt let that additional responsibility come in the way of his initialcommitment. Seans always willing to lend a hand. Hes also tremendously motivated. He could be out in theworking world, but he chose to come to university because he loves the community. Bryor Describes Sean: Sean has immense experience and maturity. Like Jeff, he has really excellentlistening skills. Hes been to college - twice. Hes done everything he can without a degree - and so nowhes getting one so he can do more things. He s taught in China, hes managed a software company, andhes been in the army. He volunteers for mental health support groups in the Kingston Community. He wantsto study psychology because he wants more professional skills in that area."

One of the most important sets of decisions we make during our term is the hiring of commissioners. Eachof these six individuals, with their teams of dedicated volunteers to carry out their unique mandates, mustestablish strong working relationships with their constituents, and with the exec for the AMS to be aneffective student government. Each commissioner will be tasked with learning about their commissionsmandates and initiatives, beforetaking over. RMS will become fluent in each commissions mandates andprogress, by reading through transition manuals, etc. before hiring. RMS believes there are three importantquestions to consider when building these relationships - do they have skills and passion for their portfolio,can they readily understand the ideas of others and communicate their own, and will they contribute to thecohesiveness of the AMS Council?They must be committed to the principles of mutual respect, especiallywith those whose ideas are different from their own.

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5. What Is Our Vision For The Future Of The AMS?As the current Commissioner of Internal Affairs,Mark Preston, stated in his goal plans, he will make a personal effort to curb the elitist and clique imagethe AMS has. Understandably, this cultural change is impossible in one year through my actions but, I canaffect change. RMS will take up this torch at the executive level. We believe the AMS must be a societywhereno student feelstheir presence is unwanted, unwelcome or unhelpful. The AMS should not be anorganization where its leadership shuffles around positions year to year.We believe the life-blood of the

AMS is its volunteers; these volunteers have the right to feel appreciated for their hard work - and thatthere are whole sections of the student population who shy away from getting involved in the AMS

because they dont feel the AMS does them any service, or they dont feel like they would fit the elitistclique image. We must work to change this, in all we do. The AMS must be a strong lobby for the studentvoice; it must establish strong working relationships with the administration and the Kingston communityto make sure that student voice is listened to; and it must change its culture so more individuals feel theirvoices are worth offering.

Three Guiding Questions:

Question 1: How Do We Increase Sense of Citizenship in the AMS?Making clear the breadth of services the AMS provides to its members is one of the critical steps we need totake to increase students sense of citizenship in the AMS. We have identified three initiatives the AMSshould undertake to increase involvement. We believe these initiatives help build a solid foundation forbecoming well-informed about the AMS, and facilitate starting your own initiatives within the AMS.

Our Thinking Process: The Big Picture:We believe that in a small, tight-knit community likeQueens, a student government that functions on the basis of participatorydemocracy is the best system toserve the needs of a community as diverse, motivated and intelligent as Queens. We think that the studentgovernment at Queens should inviteparticipation, as opposed to allowingparticipation. Although weunderstand that the student government needs hierarchy to function efficiently, we believe that everymember of that hierarchy, from top to bottom, should be approachable, accountable, and be proactive ingiving information to students. The four initiatives we outline here are intended to be tangible steps towardsthis ideal of participatory student government.

I. Creating User-Friendly Manuals Designed To Make Using AMS Services Easier:Why Does It Matter?: Did you know that, as a club, you are entitled under Section 9, subsection 8.5 ofPolicy Manual 1, to a 50 MB allocation of space on the AMS server to set up your website? Not manypeople do. Furthermore, under subsection 4.3 of that same policy, an IT request made by a club isautomatically assigned the lowest priority as a standard procedure, barring extenuating circumstances?RMS strongly believes that we should help our members help themselves, to use our services. Did youknow that the AMS has corporate credit cards, which committees under one of our Commissions are eligibleto use provided approval of line-by-line forthcoming expenditures? Do you know how to book the Common

Ground for a club event? Do you know that the AMS now manages its own IT equipment office with rentableequipment? We believe in making this information available in the form of User-Friendly Manuals, which arewritten from an end-user perspective(e.g. a manual for someone looking to create a club, looking tostructure a budget, looking to raise an issue at AMS assembly, etc.). Each manual would be available on theAMS website, in a user-friendly library format.

How Is It Handled Now?: While all AMS policy and reports centered around AMS services are allavailable on the AMS website, the information that youwould be specifically looking for is often buried in themiddle of lengthy documents written in the language of policy. If you wanted to find the information you needto build part the AMS community, as it stands you will often be better served asking different commissionersabout the problem, since they have spent time at length coming to terms with different facets of AMS policy.

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The Merits Of The Current AMS Team: This past year, the AMS has completely redesigned its websiteto be far more user-friendly and informative. It has enabled students to begin answering their own questionsthey have about the AMS;it has also taken strides towards being a living, engaging website with such

innovations as the Campus Calendar, the Housing Map, an attractive, informative main page, etc.

Room For Improvement: We want these manuals created from an end-user perspective. Their titles

would be along the lines of Thinking of Starting a Club? etc. We believe these are one-time investments(with subsequent updates where necessary) by a few dedicated individuals in the AMS, which will positivelyaffect a large number of students looking to engage with the AMS.

II. AMS Newsletters Designed Around Current Initiatives, and How We Need Your Help:Why Does It Matter?: Any AMS member who has interest in becoming an active AMS citizen, be it withtheir voice in assembly or by rolling up their sleeves with current initiatives, should feel encouraged fortaking an interest in the AMS community. It should be clearly visible to all AMS members what these currentissues and initiatives within the AMS are. Did you know the notion of an co-curricular transcript is on-the-table at AMS assembly? Do you know about the S.M.A.R.T team project, and the Campus Housing Map runout of the MAC? The way we look at it, becoming a well-informed AMS citizen is not nearly as easy aprocess as it should be. We will make strides to change that.

How Is It Currently Handled? AMS Assembly typically runs 3-4 hours every 2 weeks; reading materialfor assembly members is prepared by each executive, commission, faculty society etc. and typically sits inexcess of 100 pages. In other words, in order to be a fully informed AMS citizen, a person needs to have areasonably large amount of free time to get acquainted with all the initiatives and issues up for discussion.When we decided to run, one of the main criticisms laid against us was this team doesnt understand thegravity of the position they will be taking over, nor the breadth and importance of issues facing the studentbody. This process has been a steep learning curve for us; we would like to change howinformation ispresented, such that it would be a lot easier for someone to become reasonably competent about the criticalissues and inner workings of any AMS position. Our goal is to present information so that any AMS membercould reasonably acquire enough knowledge to be able to assume anyposition they take an interest in.

Room For Improvement: We think it is reasonable for each commissioner to compile a short 3-4 pointlist each monthof exciting initiatives taking place in their commission - and how the average reader couldget involved. We provide a template via our Commentary on Current Initiativessection. Once-a-month Execemails are insufficient, and easily ignored. A possible avenue to explore would be to work a deal with TheJournal to advertise these updates each month in a short column. Such informative pieces make it easier tobe an informed AMS citizen, and easierto get involved.

III. Increasing Constitutional Review: Creating A Constitutional Review Committee:Why Does It Matter?: It is important the AMS Constitution be clear, up-to-date and followed. The currentAMS constitution contains mandates for committees which do not actually convene.

The constitution should be both enforced and updated regularly. When a member of our community isinterested in learning about the AMS on a deeper level, the constitution should be there for them in a waythat does not do them disservice for their interest by giving them misinformation.

The Merits of Our Current AMS Team: The current AMS team has taken it upon themselves to review andupdate the current constitution and policy manuals. We would like to make this a yearly priority for the AMSmoving forward.

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Room For Improvement: The AMS Executive this year has had a very heavy workload, and undertook thisconstitutional review whole-heartedly. We will make it a mandate to revisit our foundational documents everysingle year. By keeping track of important changes as we go, we not only create a document that is morerepresentative of reality; we also create, from a management point of view, a situation where ascertainingwhat portions of the constitution need revision is far less a hassle than it currently is. We believe by strikinga committee, involving the AMS Executive, the CIA and a presence of 1-2 members at large, we would beable to yearly say; what has changed? what needs revision? what language can be revised to be more user-

friendly, where possible?

IV. Improving Two-Way Communication; Hosting Executive Live Chat Sessions:Why Does It Matter?: All AMS members are invited to attend as gallery members to Assembly. It is atthese meetings that important decisions are made about what stances the student body takes on importantUniversity issues; these decisions directly impact what sort of University climate we pass on to futurestudents. These meetings tend to also be poorly attended by gallery members. While there are a number ofpotential reasons why the majority of students appear to not take an active interest in AMS governance - wesuspect it is mostly a matter of being low on the priority list of most students - we believe the onus for thislack of interest cannot be solely attributed to the AMS community. Most communication the AMS releases tostudents is one-wayin nature. We will put in the extra effort to ensure that you feel there are a number ofways you can get in touch with the Executive, and there are a number of ways we will get in touch with you.

The Merits Of Our Current AMS Team: We would like to applaud the current AMS team for making useof video blogs and broadcasts (for example, the video blog of Clubs Night; The Municipal AffairsCommissions suite of videos on housing information; see AlmaMaterSociety youtube account). Thecurrent Commissioner of Internal Affairs, Mark Preston, has identified making the AMS Assembly moreaccessible as part of his goal plans for this year. He has introduced QTV Live Broadcasting with commentssections, built the document How To Assemble, etc. The Commission of Internal Affairs is also working hardto ensure their online voting system, VoteNet, is up and running risk-free to ensure fidelity of voting. Twitteris also beginning to be used to facilitate real-time two-way communication. These are important first stepsfor making engaging with the AMS far-more interesting.

Room For Improvement: We will work to make sure students know their leadership is working withintegrity and honesty. Where possible, we will reach out to you, the AMS member, by coming to your clubevents, socials, fundraisers, without announcing our attendance. We will increase the AMS social mediapresence, via live tweeting of events, and live executive chat sessions.We want your candid feedback. Ourvision of the live chat is an open, anonymous forum held at least once a month, where students can askquestions about what we are doing for them. You will be able to submit your questions online, live, or submitquestions to us beforehand. The language we will use will be accessible. We want you, and every memberof the AMS community to understand what we are doing; and for your feedback to be heard.

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Question 2: How Can The AMS Better Serve Students Day-to-day?The role of the AMS is encapsulated in its mission statement: To Serve And Represent The Diversity ofStudents At Queens. We believe the AMS owes it to our members to fulfill this mandate by providing asmany opportunities and learning experiences as we can. We asked ourselves, how do most studentsengage with the AMS society?We believe clubs and other AMS organizations are the bread-and-butter ofour community spirit.

Our Thinking Process: The Big Picture:In order to approach our goal, we need to reachstudents in as many ways as possible. Therefore, we have identified where the AMS has maximum contactwith the student body, often in areas where that is students only active engagement with the AMS.

V. Increasing Clubs Grants Support and Streamlining Procedures:Why Does It Matter?: AMS Clubs Grant is a fund established to give the financial support AMS-ratifiedclubs need to offer meaningful programming to you. It is used to grow a clubs membership base withoutincurring unnecessary out-of-pocket expenses to the volunteers who help ensure their club is sustainable.As it stands, each year roughly $105,000 in grants funding is applied for; only $30,000 is available in theClubs Grant Pool. In this competitive environment, if a student wants to start a club which needs any sort ofinventory, they need to have disposable income that they may or may not ever see returns on. We believe it

is time to explore ways and means to increase the size of the AMS Clubs Grant over the long term, whilealso taking away the guessing game of what a successful application looks like.

How Is It Handled Now?: The AMS likes to boast that it has the second highest number of clubs perstudent capita, behind only Harvard; we have over 200 Clubs. Of those 200 clubs, in Fall 2011 only 65applied for grants; of those 65, 21 received no funding. The recurring explanations for this denial of fundinginclude a very poorly presented budget; a projected surplus budget; or the group is already receiving asizable student fee. Criteria for distributing this fund comes down to an itemized list of expenses to justifythe grant application, and whether or not the funding could reasonably benefit any member of the AMScommunity (for example, club events are more deserving of funding than executive clothing). The groupmustalso send a delegate to the AMS Clubs Conference to learn about budgeting, handling donations, etc.

Room For Improvement: We believe that if an individual would like to perform an act of community-building by founding a new club, or by taking a club in new directions to attract new members, the AMSshould be there for them financially. The money for supporting a club cannot always come from chargingmembers or from collecting student fees; in either case, you reasonably need to already have a sizablemembership base to either vote with their wallets, or with their signatures to get your club on thereferendum. We are committed to increasing the size of the clubs grants pool, as well as building a budgettemplate, with examples of what is worthwhile to apply for, and what is not. We would work towards creatingone-on-one club workshop sessions, with bookable appointments. Understandably, this would createsignificantly more work for the clubs manager. We would create volunteer club liaisonpositions, workingunder the clubs manager. These positions would be there to assist clubs in event planning and design. Partof this position would be attending different club meetings throughout the year; assisting in creation of new

clubs; and could also help the clubs manager do more research into how clubs use spaces, budgeting, etc.

VI. Space Is At A Premium: Streamlining Space Allocation Procedures:Why Does It Matter?:From the perspective of a club operating programming year-round, space allocationcan become the crux of their community. We believe it is the right of every club to easily know the sum ofspaces available in the Student Life Centre; how to go about applying for acquiring a space; how thatdecision is made by their AMS peers in the Space Allocation Committee; under what conditions that spacecan be taken away from them; and what targets need to be met to stand a chance of earning a larger space.

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How Is It Handled Now?:The AMS Policy Manual Part 1 (Section 8 Part C) contains a one-and-a-halfpage policy governing space allocation in the Student Life Centre. Each year, how these spaces areallocated is put up for review. The policy manual lists the requirements to submit an application, the timelinefor the review process, and the basic criteria upon which space is allocated.

The Merits Of Our Current AMS Team:Craig Draeger, clubs manager, has identified this issue in hisgoal plans: Space Allocation - Establishing and engraining a permanent methodology for club space will

allow for more effective implementation.This issue is on the AMS radar; we would like to see it through. Inaddition, as part of the settlement for the Queen s Centre Agreement, the University will transfer 1.3 MillionDollars to the AMS, explicitly for JDUC renovations. This will allow not only for a review of clubs spaceallocations, but also making significant changes to the spaces themselves.

Room For Improvement: We want to create a more comprehensive assessment scheme for howdifferent clubs are given priority when assigning space allocations, and making this scheme available to allstudents. Clubs who use their space primarily for storage, should not be allocated high-traffic areas in theSLC. We believe these groups should be allocated large storage spaces in the basement rooms ofMcGillivary-Brown Hall because it is not wheelchair-accessible, and therefore should not be used for high-traffic needs. Space is fundamentally at a premium in the SLC; all spaces available should be measured forroom size, maximum occupancy under fire code, electrical outlets and accessibility levels, etc. This should

be compiled in a public file, so club leadership can look at what options are available.

The AMS controls four primary spaces open for applications to receive space allocation - the Grey House;the JDUC; Mac-Brown Hall; and the Queens Centre. Mac-Brown frequently floods. The basement level isalso not wheelchair accessible. The Grey-Houses second level is having substantial roof problems, and isnot wheelchair accessible. While the JDUC is an AMS-Managed space, due to decisions made in 2010, alarge portion of these spaces have come under the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS)control. We believe these spaces are underutilized. We want to enter into negotiations with the SGPS onhow to better use these spaces. This demonstrates the severity of the need to set aside funding to addressand fix these space issues. Given the 1.3 Million dollar allocation coming into the AMS possession forspecifically this purpose, there will be great opportunity for improvement. Apart from certain critical projectswe outline in this platform (such as renovating the Peer Support Centre), we would like to make this anexercise in Participatory Democracy, by getting a feel for what the AMS Community wants, and taking asmany ideas from the student body as possible.

We believe it is vital, along with making space allocation procedures far more transparent, that we put fundsin trust to make our spaces more attractive for clubs down the road. These funds could come from bothinternal and external fundraisers.

VII.Exploring Integration of AMS Food Centre Services With Forthcoming AMS Grocer:Why Does It Matter?:The AMS Food Centre is currently based out of Mac-Brown Hall, and is aconfidential, non-judgmental food service designed to service students in need while they pursueacademics. It is a donation-based enterprise (with the aid of supplemental opt-out student fees). Being

located in Mac-Brown, it is essentially the only tenant in Mac-Brown (minus the forthcoming Bike Shop). Webelieve that this service is very important in a world of rising food costs, especially since the forthcominggrocer is not particularly cost-effective to students on a tight budget.

The Merits Of The Current AMS Team: Last years winning AMS Executive team, CES, promised toput a pharmacy and grocery store in the Queens Centre. They delivered on their promise to students. Oneof the food centres mandates is to establish ties with local grocers; the food bank donation bins in the localMetrogo towards the AMS Food Centre, demonstrating the activism of the Food Centre as is.

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Room For Improvement: We will work towards Donation bins, both cash and food in the new studentgrocery store located in the SLC. We believe the grocer would be open to these ideas. You deserve a well-funded, cost-effective, close-by option for food that doesnt break your budget. Furthermore, we would alsolike to foster partnerships between clubs that engage in culinary activities, and the grocer.

VIII. Increasing Our Investment In Services Provided by the Peer Support Centre.Why Does It Matter?: The Queens community has woken up to the importance of mental health. Our

community has spearheaded initiatives aimed at fighting the stigmasurrounding mental health issues.These initiatives have involved striking committees to systematically assess what needs to change andaround awareness campaigns(such as the Queens Wears Green campaign). These efforts help break thestigma of mental health, and also point out resources available to students in distress.Due to the difficult financial situation the University finds itself in, Health Counseling and Disability Services(HCDS) cannot single-handedly meet the needs of every member of the Queen s community. The resourcessimply arent there. RMS believes we must maximize the potential of what we have -we must increase ourcommitment to making the Peer Support Centre as meaningful a service it can be.

Merits Of The Current AMS Team: The Peer Support Centre is located in Room 34 of the JDUC.Advertisement is critical to any service being as useful as it can be. The current AMS team has promotedthe Peer Support Centre well on the AMS Website, and in the President s Newsletters. The Peer Support

Centre team this year, themselves, have engaged in sidewalk awareness campaigns for the PSC outsidethe JDUC several times this year; we would like to commend this initiative.

Room For Improvement: The Peer-Support Centre is mandated to provide short-term counseling in asafe and non-judgmental space on campus, to actively listen and where pertinent make recommendationsshould longer-term, professional counseling be necessary. We must bolster the space to be as safe, and asinviting as it can. Installing Soundproof insulation is a one-time investment that would make it a very safespace; under the guide of the Head Manager, funds should be provided to refurnish the space should thatbe deemed necessary. Furthermore, given the 1.3 Million dollars available to improve the JDUC, we wouldlike to see the Peer Support Centre be given a larger space. One possible solution is moving it across thehall, to the old AMS boardroom. The AMS has installed a third boardroom near Wallace Hall in the JDUC,

making the old AMS boardroom essentially a redundant space. By installing a sound-proof partition wall, thePeer Support Centre could have both a reception area, and a confidential meeting area.

IX: Upgrading the AMS AV Rental, IT Office: Exploring New Space Options and EquipmentAcquisitions:

Why Does It Matter?: The AMS AV Rental Service is a new AMS service that allows members of theAMS Community to rent AV equipment for events, clubs etc. This service could become a very viable,revenue-generating service in the future, requiring little overhead investment and being highly useful to ourcommunity.

Room For Improvement: This service could be incredibly useful for our community. By acquiring moreequipment for the service (such as sound mixers), and moving the service into a better space, we could

make this service so much more useful. The old JDUC Post Office space, under the Universitys Operationsand Management Agreement, is classified under University management, as a revenue-generating space.Given that there is no longer a university-run service in the space, RMS will lobby the administration forcontrol of this space. We would like to see this space become the new location of the AV Rental Service.

X: Intramurals: Continuing Work With Athletics, Make Mac-Brown Intramurals Space, Earlier Games.

Why Does It Matter?: Intramurals, in conjunction with BEWIC Sports Days are an important componentof student participation in athletics during their time at Queens. There is a wonderful variety of sportsavailable to play, for people of all skill levels. For a number of student groups on campus, these games offriendly competition can become a centre-piece of their community-building efforts.

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Jeff, as a Concurrent Education student, has been exposed to how incredible these programs can be forboth transitioning to university life (playing on the Con-Ed non-competitive basketball team in first year), tobuilding positive relationships with new students in your program (playing on the Con-Ed Tier 3 volleyballteam in third year, and BEWIC sports days that year as well), to keeping a group together throughout theyear with a common interest (being on the ORT 2011 Tier 2 volleyball team this year). The critical issue ishow late these games are; it is one of the most pressing issues facing intramurals to fully realizing itspotential. Jeffs volleyball games this semester alone, are Tuesday nights at 11:30PM. Making these

programs more accessible for students who can

t necessarily get to campus this late at night, by havinggames earlier where possible is one goal RMS will pursue.

The Merits Of The Current AMS Team: Mac-Brown Hall, at the corner of campus, was originally signedover for AMS management in 2006, when plans were in place to tear down sections of the JDUC, so thatMac-Brown could house important AMS services during that transition period. Queens Centre phases 2 and3 are no longer happening, and so this space has undergone significant changes and investments toimprove its usability this year. The old student affairs cubicle offices have been torn out, and there is ausable gym space, with a stage and improved lighting. The partnership with athletics to begin using thisspace for intramurals has been slow going; RMS will work diligently to ensure this work gets completed, sostudents have a tangible way of seeing intramurals games scheduled earlier.

Room For Improvement: RMS will work diligently with Athletics to get equipment and necessary facilitiesinstalled to allow the space to begin to house intramurals games. This is an important project the AMSalready has on-the-go, which RMS will make a priority to see through.

Question 3: How Can We Reflect The For Students, By Studentsphilosophy in our AMS services?Services are another way the AMS has direct contact with students. To create a wide supportnetwork of students with specific knowledge of what to do to help someone in crisis requiresmaximum participation of members in the community. Everyone deserves a comfortable place tostage special events to help offset the stresses of university life. By improving QP and Alfies services, we can help ensure that every member of the community wants to take advantage ofthese services.

Our Thinking Process: The Big Picture:Our ideal of participatory democracy is to includethe maximum number of students in the whole AMS community. AMS Inc. is unique for being a not-for-profit organization, whose goal is to give the best service possible at the best price, with themost positive effect on the community as a whole.

XI. The Importance of Mental Health First Responder Training In Our Services:Why Does It Matter?:This is an extension of Platform Point VIII. Our commitment to changing the cultureof Mental Health Issues on campus must not stop with work handled on the Society side. In addition to

these cultural changes, we want to increase the number of students capable of being mental health firstresponders. There are existing support services on campus and in the Kingston community; mental healthfirst responders have the tools to recognize when you may be in distress, and help direct you to theseservices. Mental health first responders help cast a wider net to make sure no one in distress is missed.Having more informed members of our community will also work towards reducing the stigma that surroundsmental health.

How Is It Handled Now: As it stands, there are a number of tiers of training available to the Queen scommunity, offered through Student Affairs (we encourage you to check out www.queensu.ca/studentaffairs/events/mentalhealthfirstaid.html). The certification in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a 12-hour course which costs $50 for students at present. The AMS has worked to give this training to itsleadership; faculty societies such as Nursing have also taken strides to provide training opportunities.

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Merits Of The Current AMS Team: The AMS is coming to realize the importance of giving these trainingtools to the leaders of our student bodies, especially those in positions of trust towards other students. Inthis years ORT training program, the workshop Responding to Students in Distress, was given by Dr.Condra from HCDS, to every single leader. We commend ORT for taking up this initiative.

Room For Improvement: We are aware that training paid staff members in being mental health first

responders will incur costs. We think it is a justifiable cost.The one area where student leadershipencounters a wide portion of the student body, that has not received due attention is AMS-ratified clubs. Thecurrent clubs conference, where the AMS has the most direct contact with club leadership, is underutilized.We will make mental health first responder training a component of the clubs conference.

XII. Restructuring AMS Office Space:Why Does It Matter?: As it stands, there are a number of ways a restructuring of AMS Officespace could both improve and expand the quality and breadth of services the AMS is able toprovide. The Marketing Offices biggest requirement is a larger space, where their deputies areable to work without the Marketing Officer needing to give up their computer. The Communicationsoffice also deals with sensitive information, and could benefit from being in its own space. The

service directors currently share an office in the AMS offices, and would greatly benefit from havingtheir own private offices, to deal with their meetings, etc., since they are quite separate from theCommissions. The CES (Commission on Environmental Sustainability) could also benefit frombeing separated from its current shared space in the Municipal Affairs Commission office.

Room For Improvement: RMS will work closely with student affairs to lobby for the Town GownRelations space (across from QP), as it would be an ideal location for the directors offices, withboth a common meeting area and two private offices. That opens up the current directors officesfor marketing and communications to move into the current service directors space, freeing uptheir own office for the CES to move into. This plan hinges on getting the Town Gown RelationsOffice relocated; given the million dollar investment in improving the JDUC, there is likely a space

we could offer the Town Gown Relations Office to move to.

XIII.Revamping Queens Pub Menu to Reflect Its Growth and Image as a Restaurant.Why Does It Matter?: QP has seen its food sales, and alcohol sales increase greatly, as the pub comesto be recognized as a restaurant on campus. The financial loss this year, according to an April JournalArticle, was projected to be $1913.14, versus $45714.94 the previous year. In other words, business isgood; since QP is beginning to gain ground as a dinner hotspot, it is time we examined how to improve thequalityof our service to match this Restaurant image.

Merits Of Our Current AMS Team: RMS would like to commend QP for its Holiday Drink menu. Theincrease in seating has allowed for more patrons; the introduction of a POS system to improve efficiency;and capital purchases of new TVs improve the pub atmosphere.

Room For Improvement: RMS would like to explore the possibility of improving the selection of beers ontap, to include more Ontario-based breweries such as Mill St., Sleeman, etc. We will do a customer surveyto ask, what is your favourite brew?and take away the guessing game. Furthermore, ensuring thatingredient lists are available for patrons with dietary restrictions, or who wish to have a vegetarian option,can easily do so. We would also like to introduce additional vegetarian and gluten-free options in thesummertime when the menu is reviewed. Any restaurant should have this information readily available. Wewould also examine possible ways to improve the kitchen, including replacing or updating equipment,utilizing the current kitchen size more efficiently, etc.

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XIV.Putting A Plan In Place For An Overhaul of Alfies Image, Including Its Name:Why Does It Matter?: Alfies and QP together form the AMS bar service TAPS. Both are typically afinancial loss; since they appear as a single line in the consolidated budget, it is not easy to separate howmuch of a loss each service typically experiences. The gap has been closed by the surging business of QP.Alfies progress is nowhere near as positive. Furthermore, its name is grounded in historical racism, andmust be changed. The name itself is too similar to Ale;there is no clear signage outside the bars stairs, toindicate there is a bar there at all. A new name would allow for clear signage and an opportunity to do a

relaunch. Given that Queens Centre Phases 2 and 3 are no longer being built as part of the Queen

s Centresettlement, we must maximize the potential of the current space.

Merits Of Our Current AMS Team: The AMS has begun to make better use of the space. Classic Rockand Jazz Lounge nights have been well-received by patrons, and have made good business sense.Halloween this year was used as a Con-Ed fundraiser for the Conference on Education. When using thespace for the Last Lecture on Earth series, the space filled to capacity. While hosting such events 19+carries the downside of the exclusion of most first years, having events such as these makes positive andcreative use of the space.

Room For Improvement: Taking the lead from the Classic Rock and Jazz Lounge successes, we believethat the root of the problem is when Alfies tries to replicate the experience of bars in the Hub, is when it

sees its business suffer. Live music is no longer the mainstay of the bar-scene; it is the exception. Instead oftrying to play the game of the Hub Bars, let us carve our own niche. It is time to refocus Alfies as a scenefor live music. In so doing, we are providing an avenue for local bands to gain exposure. Other creativeprogramming such as a Battle of The Bands could be put in place. Another possible type of event we wantto gauge the feasibility of is broadcasting major sporting events (including the Stanley Cup playoffs, GreyCup, World Cup, 2012 Olympics, etc.), atAlfies. We will rename Alfies; we will do so with the help of theQueens Community, through a contest. RMS is aware that, in order to secure visible signage outside ofAlfies, will require lobbying the administration, and working with PPS to ensure this change doesn t violatevisual identity standards.

In changing the name, it is important that the AMS finds another, appropriate way to honour Alfred Pierce(see this article for more information on Alfred Pierce). We either want to place an honorary plaque in Alfies,explaining the history of the name and his historical mistreatment; or, name a new room or space oncampus with his full name.

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Thoughts On Critical Issues Facing Students:RMS feels it is very important every AMS citizen be aware of the kinds of positions RMS takes withregards to critical issues facing students. While these issues are too big to tackle with concretethis-will-happen-in-our-term platform points, our full platform would be incomplete without ourstances on each issue. We have identified five large, key issues we feel the average student caresabout:

Non-Academic Discipline: Maintaining Student Control:Why Does It Matter?: Over the past couple of years, the Queens community has suffered tragiclosses. These events led to an investigation by Regional Supervising Coroner Roger Skinner onhealth and safety issues on campus. The Coroners Report was released May 31st, 2011; thisreport shed light on the need to closely and critically examine our current campus policies, payingparticular attention to campus mental health cultureand drinking culture. Of particular concern isthe reports recommendation that health and safety issues be removed from the jurisdiction ofQueens peer/student judiciary systems in place (read the Journal Article here for background).These recommendations have led to a committee being struck between Student Affairs and the

AMS. To our knowledge, the committees recommendations are expected before our term; theirinvestigation leaves our long-standing Non-Academic Discipline system hanging in the balance. In

order to fully appreciate the consequences this would have on our community, we believe it isimportant students first understand how the system works now.

How Does It Work Now?: The Non-Academic Discipline system is envisioned as an exercise inrestorative justice, seeking to repair damages done rather than policing and punishing students fortheir behavior. Stu-Cons or Campus Security investigate and bring forth cases of complaints to theCommissioner of Internal Affairs (CIA). The CIA works with the Judicial Affairs Officer very closely,in both bringing these cases forward, and in providing oversight of how cases are handled. TheJudicial Affairs Officer has 5 deputies, who are assigned cases to investigate. A Respondent

(traditionally called the defendant), is made aware of the case, and has three courses of action:they can sign a sanction (settle), they can request for minor alterations (a closed hearing), or theycan outright argue the case (an open hearing), whose outcomes can raise or lower the sanctions,or leave them unchanged. In the case of property damage, the settlement is set by how much isneeded to repair the damage, not a fine intended to punish. In behavioral cases (e.g. incidentsinvolving alcohol), settlements vary by case from an electronic workshop, to an alcohol workshoprun out of HCDS. Complainants tend to be satisfied with outcomes.

The Judicial Affairs Office has seen a rise in numbers of cases investigated. 80 cases werereviewed all of last year; this year, 73 were seen so far. It is clear this service is not irrelevant forstudents, and in fact is becoming more important as time goes on. Students value this system of

restorative justice, and it is our duty to make sure this system is not taken away from us.

The Merits Of Our Current AMS Team: The Administration side has tended to take up a positionof wanting to remove peer-administered Non-Academic Discipline from student control. The currentAMS Executive has worked diligently in the coroners review committee to ensure student interestsare protected when it comes to non-academic discipline.

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Room For Improvement: The Judicial Affairs Office has expressed interest in reform to theirsystem, based on clear, specific criticism from the administration. The notion that non-academicdiscipline need be removed from student hands entirely, however, is not a position RMS accepts.We agree with the Judicial Affairs Office, and believe there is some room for improvement.Campus security wants to be kept in the loop for outcomes of the cases they bring forward; whilethis years team has made this a priority, this priority needs to be kept consistent from year to year.Assembly should be more involved, to facilitate this consistency, by requiring a Judicial Affairs

section be included in the CIA weekly report (as it stands, it is optional). Non-Academic Discipline isan important heritage for the AMS community, and we will make it a priority to keep this heritagealive.

Relationship With Kingston, Homecoming Tradition, and Future:The AMS Community is a part of the Kingston Community. Mutual respect, and a give-and-takerelationship between both communities is paramount. Since the ban on homecoming came intoeffect in 2009, the Aberdeen street party has been curbed substantially. The Avoid Aberdeeneffortsof CES last year were a step in the right direction - and structuring the scheduling of home footballgames such that no football games occur in the traditional Homecoming period this year has made

a big difference. Things are going in the right direction. RMS is aware that the University isplanning to schedule a football game around the traditional homecoming weekend for the fall of2012. RMS believes this is a step backwards in the efforts to bring back homecoming. We wouldlike to work with the administration to show them the benefits of not having a football game duringthis time. Queens University has made a concerted effort, in partnership with the AMS, towardschanging the culture of alcohol on campus, through Orientation leader training via givingworkshops on how to talk about this difficult topic. RMS promises to continue these efforts; it is ashow of good faith to our Kingston community, that an AMS citizen is cognizant of their place inKingston, and the privileges and responsibilities that entails.

Refinancing The Queens Centre Agreement: Upgrading the JDUCShort History Lesson: In a 2005 spring Annual General Meeting, students were approached bythe AMS and the University with floor plans of the forthcoming Queens Centre, seeking funds toturn those floor plans into a reality. As the AMS is the primary user of the space, students voted infavor of contributing a total of 25.5 Million student dollars towards the completion of the project.This created a fee structure where for the first few years, students would be charged $71 perstudent per year; this year, it was increased, as planned, to $144 per student per year registeredfull-time. In 2010, 5.5 Million had been transferred. In 2009, the AMS learned Queens Centreconstruction of Phases 2 and 3 had been put on hold. At that time the fees collected were held intrust, until construction resumed. By March 2011, this trust had reached $3 Million. The Universitythreatened rescinding their agreement to transfer control of the Student Life Centre to the AMS, ifthe flow of money did not resume. The AMS promptly handed over the $3 Million held in trust. The

critical question of this year has been how to proceed moving forward.

Merits Of Our Current AMS Team: This has been a year of difficult negotiation on the part ofTeam CES. They have delivered for students, in a big way. At the AMS Assembly on January 20th,our AMS announced they have reached a settlement with the University, two important componentsof which are a) construction of Phases II and III will not be happening; and b) the University willtransfer 1.3 Million Dollars to the AMS, for the express purpose of making important renovations tothe JDUC. It is important to note this does not come into conflict with the OperationsManagement Agreement with the Student Life Centre signed in 2010.

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Under that original agreement, the comprehensive review of the Student Life Centreagreement would take place this coming academic year, entering into negotiations with theAMS on whether or not to renew the agreement for an additional five years. The Universityhas already promised us the continued management of this space; be critical of the rumorthat we are at risk of handing management control of the SLC back to the administrationnext April.

Room For Improvement: One of the most important committees struck by the AMS is the QueensCentre Student Working Group (QCSWG), whose primary function is checks and balances, andgiving guidance and recommendations concerning the development of the Queens Centre project.This group is composed of the AMS Executive, Student Trustee, Board Of Directors Chair, StudentCentre Officer, General Manager, Information Officer, and 2 students at large. CES, rightly so, hasincreased the number of students at large selected to four, to increase the weight given to thestudent voice. We also believe the Rector should be invited to be on the committee, in a non-votingrole to give an additional perspective. This committees mandate must transition towardsstewardship of Queens Centre projects, and the Queens Centre fee moving forward. With respectto the $1.3 Million awarded, RMS pledges to make the use of these funds an exercise inparticipatory democracy. Apart from certain critical changes we believe need to be made (including

improvements to the Peer Support Centre, and the IT Office), we would like to take the pulse ofthestudent body, before proceeding to spend student dollars on the Student Life Centre. The spirit ofthe SLC is contained in its constitution: a place students can call their own - a place where theycan relax and have fun, discover self and others, and build the student governments and clubs thatare the vehicles of civic engagement. We pledge to let the student voice direct how we spend thegift of $1.3 Million left to us by our predecessors.

Thoughts on Rural Students In Post-Secondary Education:Written by Bryor Snefjella, VP (Ops) Candidate" As a student from a rural community, Ive seen some of the special problems that affect ruralgraduates of post-secondary education. I grew up in Bancroft Ontario, a community of 3500people, where tourism is the backbone of the local economy. My family lived well below the federalpoverty line for most of my life. I was able to come to Queens because of a scholarship specificallyintended for prospective Queens students from my area of rural Ontario. Had I not received thisscholarship, I would not have been able to attend Queens without incurring a very large studentdebt." There are big divides in my rural community between children of middle-class parents withpost-secondary educations (children of teachers, doctors, etc) and children whose parents neverattended university or college. Ive heard a fair bit of rhetoric about the importance of getting first-generation students into post-secondary education. Although I generally agree with this statement,there are several caveats to my agreement." First, student debt can be an especially large concern for students from rural communities.Often, these students will not be able to fall back on their families in the same way as urbanstudents. Many urban students can live with their parents after their degree while working in theirfield, and quickly pay off their debts - this is much harder for rural students, as their community maynot have employment opportunities in their field. This isolation from family members can haveemotional and financial consequences - family members can provide advice, child-care, and a lotmore. Thus, even after getting a university degree, rural students can often still be held back bytheir rural roots.

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" By following my intellectual interests in university, instead of trying to streamline myself intoa specific, in demand career path, I am effectively barred from both returning home and working inmy field. I did this knowingly, but I still feel some regret about how difficult it is to return to my roots.Because of these sorts of difficulties finding employment in rural communities, I think that careerplanning can be especially helpful for rural students, if they want to return to a rural life." Second, because not all people who receive post-secondary education find work in theirfields and success in rural communities, students whose parents have received post secondary

education need help too. Plenty of educated families struggled in my community as well.

Thoughts On Orientation Week, Fall Reading Week: Make Your ChoiceWritten by Jeffrey McCarthy, AMS Presidential CandidateWhy Does It Matter?: Which would you prefer, an introduction to the University focused oncommunity, tradition, and student leadership - or another week of unstructured vacation time? Aschool semester is 12 weeks; the fall term is anchored around Christmas; students who have asummer job dont want to come back to school early, and lose that week of savings for school. Theonly week left to make room with is Orientation Week. Orientation Week is one of the mostmemorable undergraduate experiences you have at Queens. It is run by students, for students,

and is one of few examples where surplus of students want to get involved, as Orientation Leaders." Orientation week, like Non-Academic Discipline, is at risk of losing its student-run traditions.Our orientation week is very unique, in that it spans an entire week and is run entirely by students.It is a tradition that has made major leaps in making the effort to be more inclusive (throughalternative frosh weeks, through more rigorous and useful leader training, through making it anexplicit part of ORT event forms, etc.), more environmentally conscious (metal water bottles for allfirst years this year), and more financially sensible (bringing the concert back to campus, anamazing accomplishment from ORT and the CAC this year). Having sat on ORT, I know that itscore leadership group is made up of students who care a great deal about making their respectiveorientation weeks the best they can possibly be. They are in a trusted position of leadership, and totake that sense of trusted leadership away would only hurt your student undergraduate experience.

Room For Improvement: Having been on FYNIRS, I have worked closely with residence life andstudent affairs this year, to overhaul our programming to be more integrated with residencestudents. The members of Student Affairs I dealt with welcomed the dialogue and cooperationbetween us, and together we implemented important changes I knew needed to happen. Forinstance, for the first time FYNIRS has a mailing list from the Registrars office; Student Affairssends emails every two months to all FYNIRS, but I have the final say on what FYNIRS-specificmaterial is included. The administration shouldnt be excluded from the process (committees suchas SOARB, the senate body that annually reviews all orientation weeks and makesrecommendations for improvement ensure theyre not excluded); ideally, the administration entersinto a dialogue with students in the planning phase, and is a resource for the core leadership

group. Much like the Non-Academic Discipline situation, RMS is willing to work with ORT andStudent Affairs to make improvements to Orientation Week, in response to specific criticisms. Wewill advocate on your behalf, to be a strong voice in ensuring your interests are protected.

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Commentary on Current Initiatives:Section 1: AMS, Society SideWe stand to inherit a vibrant AMS community with numerous projects already on the go. Ratherthan only stating how we plan to decisively change course, we offer here a commentary on projectsand issues currently in motion. We have broken these issues down by commission, to simplify the

process. As mentioned in our platform, we would like to see a brief newsletter with bullet pointsabout current initiativesfrom each commission. It would be hypocritical of us to not demonstratewhat we mean - consider the following as a template:

Commission Initiative & Commentary

Campus ActivitiesCommission (CAC)

A Resource, Advisor and Advocate for events on campus, the CAChas done a lot of work above and beyond his mandate to helpclubs. The CAC was instrumental, with ORT, in moving the concertback to campus; the new budgeting templates with line-by-lineaccounting were a vital improvement made this year.

Academic AffairsCommission (AAC)

The AAC staged a very successful Provincial election awarenesscampaign (Its A Big F@#$in Deal), and secured the advancepolling stations. Offering Study Space In Wallace Hall during fallexams was commendable, a real solutions students needacademically.

Commission ofEnvironment and

Sustainability (CES)

Supportand advocacyfor a sustainable campus. New commission,

with important new initiatives, and partnerships with Kingston -member of Sustainability Kingston. Bike Shop - Setting up in MacBrown, already allocated start-up costs allocation. Keep an eye out!Youth Mentoring Youth - Wonderful partnership with local schools tooffer sustainability education; teaching opps for AMS members.

Social IssuesCommission (SIC)

Gender Neutral Washrooms Audit:Keeping in line with the GenderNeutral Bathroom Scansmotioned by the current SIC, and the AMSmission statement, we agree it is the right course of action toimplement gender neutral washrooms. We want to proactivelyensure gender neutral washrooms are available in every future

building project, and to retroactively correct current buildings wherefinancially feasible.

Commission of InternalAffairs (CIA)

The commission has worked hard to work on making assemblymore accessible to the average student, via Multimedia use,moving to a different location (policy studies building), streaminglive with QTV.

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Commission Initiative & Commentary

Municipal AffairsCommission (MAC)

Very Impressed With Current Initiatives, including SMART Team(cleaning up University District, undercutting local contractors),Campus Housing Map (an informative tool that will help students tofind info they need quickly when looking for housing), andUniversity District Marketing (with the University District HockeyLeague, both a great competition and a way to rebrand how thecommunity thinks of Aberdeen).

Section 2: AMS, Inc., Service Side

Service Initiative & Commentary

P&CC

The P&CC provides printing, copying, and publishing services tothe Queen's Community. It has had recent success with wide-format printing, and has also benefited from increased sales incourse packs because of it's copyright licenses. The P&CC hasexpressed an interest in having their space repainted, to betterreflect their brand.

Common Ground

Common Ground Coffeehouse is a vendor of high quality coffeeand food at low prices. It operates in two locations, one in secondfloor of the Queen's Centre, and the other, Common GroundExpress, provides a more limited selection for students on the go.Common Ground Express is a great service for students who go to

coffee shops specifically for coffee and baked goods; havinginstalled some new tables and chairs has improved its atmosphere.The Common Ground Express, specifically, could benefit fromdoing a simple student survey of when theyd like to see it open;weve noticed it tends to be closed just when you need it most.Common Grounds composting program, facilitated through theCommission of Environment and Sustainability, is a great additionto this service.

The AMS Pub Services(TAPS)

This service operates two venues on campus, Queen's Pub andAlfie's, both in the JDUC. Queen's Pub provides quick and low-

priced pub food and drinks, and a provides a great atmosphere forstudents to unwind in. This year, Alfie's has seen success at hostingspecial events, like Last Lecture on Earth Series. QP and Alfies arePoints 13 and 14 of our platform, respectively.

Queens StudentConstables

Queen's Student Constables provide peer-supervision and supportat various events and venues on campus. They help keep studentssafe, and make sure that everyone is able to have the best time atstudent events.

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Service Initiative & Commentary

Walkhome

Walkhome provides night-time accompaniment to students on theirway to destinations South of Concession street, and west of SirJohn A MacDonald boulevard. The Charity Walkathons are afantastic extension of this service into fundraising efforts forimportant causes.

CFRC

CFRC broadcasts online and at 101.9FM, providing programmingrelated to Queen's and Kingston events, music, debate on issuesfacing Queen's students and much more. We are impressed withits programming occurring, with Black History Month, InternationalWomens Day and Aboriginal Week.

Queen

s Journal

The Queen's Journal provides news and editorials on studentsissues and issues of general interest. It also provides valuable

journalistic experience to staff and volunteers, making up for thelack of a full-blown journalism program at Queen's. It is valued for

its editorial autonomy from the AMS. RMS would like to explorehow archived issues could be better catalogued, so that olderarticles are easier to find.

Queen's TV

A student run television service on campus, that airs atwww.queenstv.ca and on TvCogeco 13. It also provides valuablevideo-journalism experience, making up for the lack of a full-blown

journalism program at Queen's. RMS would like to continue thepartnership between the AMS and QTV for broadcasting assembly;also, we would advertise the costs of producing a video for student

clubs in our User Manuals (see Platform Point 1).

Yearbook DesignServices (YDS)

YDS provides high-quality photography and design for the Queen'scommunity, producing the Tricolour Yearbook, the Tricolour Agenda,and the organization of graduate photography.

Tricolour Outlet

Tricolour Outlets bus service has seen declining sales in years pastdue to Megabus services running stops through Kingston. It is aservice which is a convenient, one-stop location to pick up Queens

Gear, Used Books or Tickets Home. RMS would love to see moretrips to NHL games.

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Documents

RMS Platform