KSA increases honorariums, adds more funding to budgets for events and clubs
Council agreed to increase the club’s budget to $100,000, add another $25 to honorariums, and allocate $20,000 for the Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan parade
The KSA council for the 2023-2024 term held their last meeting on March 28. (File photo)
The Kwantlen Student Association held the last meeting for the 2023-24 council on March 28 at 11:00 am in Birch 250 on the Surrey campus and online via Microsoft Teams.
Council members Akashdeep Sidhu, Amandeep Brar, Destiny Lang, Gurnoor Kaur, Jashandeep Singh, Jashanpreet Maan, Jasmine Kaur Kochhar, Jaspreet Shokar, Mehakdeep Singh, Usha Gunatilake, Gurtejpreet Kaur Kaliyan, Nitin Aggarwal, Yugveer Gill, Manraj Grewal, Abdullah Randhawa, and Taranpreet Singh were in attendance. Amitoj Singh, Jashanpreet Singh Sekhon, Akashdeep Singh were absent.
The council approved to increase the club support funding from $35,000 to $100,000 to keep up with the increasing number of student clubs at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The KSA recently approved three new student clubs at the March 22 executive meeting.
“We were planning on conducting more events but due to a limited budget, we had to plan accordingly. So, we’re just trying to increase it to its maximum limit, but we’re not planning to use it all but at least we have room to use it,” VP Finance and Operations Gurtejpreet Kaur Kaliyan said.
When asked which budget the amount is being moved from, Kaliyan said, “accounting can give an answer.” However, the accounting department was not present to explain the movement of funds. Council decided the funds would be allocated from KSA reserves. The motion was carried.
The executive retreat budget was also increased to $7,500 to provide orientation to the new council and executive committee who started their term April 1.
“Last time when the new council came in, we really didn’t have an orientation for the council or for the execs,” VP External Affairs Jasmine Kaur Kochhar said.
The finance and operations committee also recommended allocating $20,000 to the KSA events budget to set up KSA participation stalls at the annual Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan Parade in Surrey, which will take place on April 20. The parade celebrates the Punjabi New Year every April and attracts over 300,000 people from across Metro Vancouver. The motion was carried.
The governance committee, upon recommendation from the finance committee, proposed to increase the honorariums for committee members by $25. The committee meeting limits per semester were also increased from five to eight.
“An honorarium of $125 per meeting of each Standing, or Special, Committee of which Representatives are the Chairperson, for attending a maximum of five (5) meetings per semester, per Committee [is given],” reads the KSA’s Regulations.
The new honorariums went into effect April 1. This means $150 for the chairperson, $100 for council members, and $75 for members at large.
“With the number of amendments being made with the budget … [which was] drafted in January, where is all this money coming from?” Ishant Goyal, the new students of colour representative for the 2024-2025 council, said.
Kaliyan said the budget is adjusted according to where the funds are required, and the amendments are being made to make it easier for the upcoming council.
“We always have a backup budget, like the reserves … if the [amount] could not be [allocated] from other [budgets].”
Grewal from the governance committee also proposed a motion for the chair to remove a member upon majority voting if they are being disrespectful, using a louder tone, and intentionally interrupting.
“The chair already has the authority to remove someone with a disruptive, effectively, this would reduce the ability of the chair to do that,” said KSA Advocacy Coordinator John O’Brian.
The regulation is also already a part of the Roberts Rules of Order, a framework of codes and ethics that allows for orderly meetings. According to the KSA’s bylaws, “The rules of order prescribed in the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall apply at all meetings of the Society.”
“I’m just trying to have equality among all rather than the chair having all the power,” Shokar said.
Kaur said she was removed from the internal committee by the chair during the March 22 council meeting, breaking Robert’s Rules of Order.
“That was not fair to me, and no further action was taken in the council,” Gurnoor said. “I was totally harassed, I never went to the police, but it was harassment.”
