News Brief: KSA makes last minute changes to AGM agenda, KPU student raises concerns
The next KSA council and executive meetings will take place on March 28 at 11:00 am and 4:15 pm. (File photo)
The Kwantlen Student Association held a council meeting on March 22 in a hybrid format where they agreed to add the internal committee’s strategic plan to the annual general meeting (AGM) agenda.
Council members Akashdeep Sidhu, Akashdeep Singh, Amandeep Brar, Destiny Lang, Gurnoor Kaur, Jashandeep Singh, Jashanpreet Maan, Jasmine Kaur Kochhar, Jaspreet Shokar, Mehakdeep Singh, Nitin Aggarwal, Yugveer Gill, and Manraj Grewal were in attendance. Usha Gunatilake, Amitoj Singh, and Taranpreet Singh were absent.
Executive committee members Abdullah Randhawa, Jashan Sekhon, and Gurtejpreet Kaur Kaliyan were also absent and therefore unable to present a report.
Shokar presented the internal committee’s report where he announced the development of a strategy plan, one of the responsibilities the committee is supposed to carry out throughout their term. The plan outlines objectives, strategies, and actions for the KSA in terms of “Foundation and Engagement,” “Growth and Development,” and “Sustainability and Legacy” over the next three years.
Shokar, on behalf of the committee, recommended the plan be presented at the KSA’s AGM on March 27, which council approved.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University student and newly elected Students of Colour Representative for the 2024-25 term Ishant Goyal raised concerns about the strategy plan. Shokar sent the draft strategic plan in an email to council the night before the meeting.
Goyal said this was a violation of the KSA’s bylaws, which read “the Internal Committee shall … recommend the draft strategic plan to Council by no later than four (4) weeks before the Annual General Meeting for its endorsement.”
“I checked all the meeting minutes of the year, there is no mention of the strategy plan in any of the meetings. This is one of the key things of the internal committee,” Goyal said.
“I think this shows a lack of performance … and I would also like to take up this comment, after looking at the strategic plan, I think all of us as students can straight up see this is a copy of ChatGPT.”
Goyal said the plan didn’t reflect or build on what is currently being done at KPU and some of its points fall out of the KSA’s limits.
Shokar said he did not use ChatGPT and everything was the committee’s own ideas.
“I am not a fan of ChatGPT myself and never use it, even in assignments,” he said.
“In the last meeting, there was a mention about not having a strategic plan out, and you would have reached out to me by my personal email about guiding me on it, instead of filing a violation. … As for the violation of the bylaws … so at the last meeting which happened it was mentioned, and I gave them an answer accordingly.”
Goyal said during the 2022-23 council term, he used to stand as a student on the internal committee, but after the 2023-24 council took their seats, he was no longer informed or included in the committee’s meetings.
Shokar said this wasn’t intentional and the committee wasn’t informed of Goyal’s involvement.
Shokar also said in his report that on March 6, Aggarwal overspent his $12 allowance at Grassroots Cafe by purchasing lunch for himself and a few other students. Aggarwal said he wasn’t informed about the $12 allowance, that it isn’t written in the KSA’s bylaws or Regulations, and that he repaid the balance of his allowance.
Shokar presented a motion on behalf of the internal committee that Aggarwal’s honorarium for the month of March be withheld, which council approved.
The KSA also held an executive meeting on March 22 where they approved the creation of three new clubs, the Kwantlen Sikh Student Association, the Kwantlen Malayali Club, and the African and Caribbean Students Association.
Events and Marketing Specialist Dinsan Valavi said the KSA should increase club funding.
“We have a lot of clubs coming in and they require a lot of funding for organizing events,” he said. “Our current budget … is not enough to support each and every club, and we have seen a rise in the number of people applying to form clubs.”
He also suggested the KSA increase its events budget to have “efficient planning and execution of events” with external vendors and services. Randhawa said he will recommend that council look into increasing the budgets.
The next KSA council and executive meetings are scheduled for March 28 at 11:00 am and 4:15 pm respectively. Interested students can email info@kusa.ca to join.
