A breakdown of the KSA’s annual general meeting

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The Kwantlen Student Association will be hosting their annual general meeting (AGM) in-person on March 27 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the Conference Center at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus. 

AGMs are when the general membership of an organization meets. The KSA’s AGM is a democratic event where the association’s members, KPU students, are invited to vote on matters regarding the KSA’s business, according to their Regulations. The AGM must take place on or before March 31 at the end of each year. Only students have the right to vote on ordinary resolutions at the AGM, which are routine matters that need a majority vote to rule, and special resolutions, which are significant matters in need of at least a 75 per cent vote. 

For the AGM to begin, a quorum of at least 60 KPU students must be present. A quorum is the minimum number of members that must be present at a meeting in order to conduct valid business. If less than 60 KPU students attend the KSA’s AGM, they will not be able to proceed with the meeting. 

At this year’s AGM, students will have the opportunity to vote on three special resolutions to amend the KSA’s bylaws. In order to approve the special resolutions, a quorum of 150 students is needed. 

The first resolution, which is about councillor attendance and removal policy, calls to change the KSA’s bylaws to add that a councillor be removed if they miss three consecutive council meetings. The second special resolution is about regulation of electoral slates. The KSA’s bylaws currently prohibit slating, which is when two or more candidates run in an election in a coordinated effort to achieve mutual advantage. The resolution calls to change these bylaws to allow regulated slating to occur. 

Changing the eligibility requirements for council candidates is the third special resolution. There is currently no grade point average (GPA) requirement students need to meet in order to run in the KSA’s annual general elections. This resolution calls to require students to have a term GPA of 2.67 for the KPU term completed right before the nomination period in order to be eligible to campaign. The chief returning officer (CRO) “in their sole discretion” can deem a student who fails to meet the requirements eligible to campaign, and new KPU students who don’t have a term GPA will not be subject to this requirement. 

Students will also have the opportunity to vote on one ordinary resolution at the AGM, an Indigenous fee waiver. The resolution proposes the KSA waive their fees for students who are members of the seven First Nations KPU’s campuses reside on — Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Musqueam, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt, and Kwikwetlem. As an ordinary resolution, a quorum of 60 students is required for a vote. 

Aside from voting on the resolutions, students will be asked to approve the KSA’s audited financial statements of the 2023 calendar year, which will be presented at the AGM. A vote to re-appoint the auditors, who will review the 2024 financial statements next spring, will also take place. Students will be introduced to the newly elected 2024-25 KSA council representatives. The election results can be found on the KSA’s website. 

Students interested in attending the AGM must show a valid KPU ID upon entry. The KSA will be giving out several prizes including two $500 and two $200 KPU tuition credit vouchers, two $100 bookstore gift cards, two $50 and 12 $25 Amazon gift cards, and eight $25 Grassroots Cafe gift cards. 

The KSA is not allowing students to join the AGM virtually because they are unable to restrict meeting access to current KPU students online, KSA Executive Director Timothii Ragavan wrote in an email statement to The Runner. Alumni can access their KPU emails up to four years post-graduation, which would make it hard for the KSA to ensure they’ve met proper quorum. 

For more information about the upcoming AGM, visit kusa.ca/agm/.