News brief: KSA hires CRO after interviewing only one candidate
The next council meeting will be held on Oct. 30. (File photo)
Editor’s note: Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society’s Operations Manager Devaki Mathivanan presented the society’s interests and The Runner’s Editor in Chief Sukhmani Sandhu answered questions regarding the newspaper’s operations. The Runner acknowledges and has taken steps to prevent conflicts of interest or potential bias from influencing the article.
The Kwantlen Student Association approved hiring Jograj Kahlon as its new chief returning officer (CRO) at the Oct. 14 meeting.
The KSA only interviewed one candidate and received two applications, a KSA staff member, who wants to remain anonymous, told The Runner.
Civic Plaza Rep. Gurnoor Singh moved for council to go in-camera for the appointment of the CRO as it “may involve confidential candidate qualifications and personal information.”
Council meetings can move in-camera by a two-thirds vote in favour — only to discuss legal matters, human resources, and the purchase or sale of property.
“It is not normal for us to leave for a discussion like this [where it is] discussing the qualifications of the CRO,” said John O’Brian, the KSA’s records coordinator and archivist. “What you’re doing is suspicious and looks dishonest, and is not in line with traditional governance practices of the KSA.”
Non-councillor attendees only leave in-camera meetings if there is a conflict of interest, such as a staff member’s employment contract, O’Brain said, and that he has previously participated in meetings for the appointment of various roles.
“Whatever conversation council does have in camera, the decision will inevitably have to be made ex-camera, in which [another] discussion will still have to be had,” said Executive Director Timothii Ragavan, who interviewed the candidate.
The motion to move in-camera passed unanimously. The motion to appoint Jograj Kahlon as CRO also passed.
Committee changes
KSA council approved committee appointments after also making changes at its last meeting on Oct. 1.
Business Rep. Gurustat Singh was removed from the external committee and added to governance. Gurnoor and Women’s Rep. Rukmandeep Kaur were removed from the university affairs committee.
Arts Rep. Harkomalpreet Singh was removed from the student life committee, Students of Colour Rep. Sukhpalpreet Singh from finance and operations, and Science and Horticulture Rep. Simranpreet Kaur from the environmental sustainability committee.
Gurnoor said committee changes were made since a certain number of members can be in each committee.
Both special committees — environmental sustainability and social justice and equity — can have nine council members, including the committee chair.
All six standing committees, except governance, can have up to five non-executive council members. The governance committee has a limit of seven non-executive councillors.
“To maintain that [limit] that was missed during the last [meeting], we corrected that in the internal committee, and we had the accurate number of members,” he said.
PIPS petition
Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society’s (PIPS) Operations Manager Devaki Mathivanan presented three items to council: approval of a digital petition for a fee increase referendum, an update on the society’s lease, and amendments to the PIPS-KSA autonomy agreement. PIPS operates both The Runner and pulp MAG.
“I’ve been trying to [contact] council and the executive director for a couple of months regarding the request,” Mathivanan said.
The autonomy agreement includes a review committee, but it has not been updated since 2019. The agreement stipulates that The Runner must publish at least 18 issues each year with print copies available at all campuses.
“We are in a place where we are facing severe financial distress because of the reduction in student enrollment [which resulted in a] decline in revenue,” Mathivanan said.
PIPS proposed 12 digital issues per year, instead of 18 print issues, with Mathivanan adding that this would be a temporary measure until PIPS can increase its fees through a petition and referendum vote.
The proposal also included removing the requirement of at least one issue of The Runner per month.
“I think [council] needs some time to review and look through the document,” Rukmandeep said. “Making a decision by just looking through it once — I think that would be kind of hasty.”
The next council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 30 at 1:00 pm in Birch 250 on the Surrey campus. Students can email info@kusa.ca for more information.
