‘A bigger issue of corruption’: Kwantlen Gaming Guild equipment discarded from club lounge by KSA, cites pest issue

Since late 2023, the Kwantlen Gaming Guild (KGG) says it has been facing issues with the Kwantlen Student Association in accessing its meeting space and gaming equipment.

The club used to meet and hold gaming events for members in Birch 266 on the Surrey campus student lounge.

While Gaming Guild members have been in contact with the KSA to access the lounge, they haven’t received a response. The lounge has been serving as a storage area for the past few months, KGG community organizer Jessica McRae wrote in an email to the KSA in early October.

“As the room is fairly large and previously had TV hookups, we believed it would serve as an ideal venue for our events, and several of our members have expressed interest in using it as a meeting space,” they wrote. 

McRae also wrote that the guild hasn’t had issues accessing the lounge in the past but were denied access to the room on Sept. 10 by Kwantlen Polytechnic University security — who said they won’t allow access without the KSA’s permission.

After making an inquiry at the KSA Surrey member services, the KGG was informed the lounge is no longer available for student use. When the club requested temporary access to the lounge to retrieve its gaming equipment, it received no response. 

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McRae wrote that the guild was told the KSA would return the items if the KGG could make a list of the items and send them over. She added that members later noticed that TVs and a Rock Band controller that belonged to the Gaming Guild had been removed from the lounge. 

“This is concerning, since no one notified us that an item of ours had been relocated, and we are unsure of its current location and the status of our remaining inventory,” they wrote. “As what we were told by the KSA office is at odds with what was previously discussed, we would like to request clarification on the status of Birch 266.”

KSA Clubs and Outreach Coordinator Vanshika Jain responded and wrote that the lounge was “cleaned out after a long period of inactivity,” and, during this process, items in the space were removed. 

“We do not have records of any KGG inventory in the room,” Jain wrote.

The guild have been using the lounge to store equipment for the past six years, McRae wrote in a followup email, adding that they were provided with use of the space and lockers.

In an interview with The Runner, KGG president Howard Chen says Gaming Guild members have access to one locker and four cupboards in the Surrey lounge through keys given to them by the KSA. 

“Our lockers having been seemingly broken into was enough for us to move most of our equipment out … for safety purposes,” Chen says. “We had figured that eventually we would be able to get back to the lounge and be able to resume our scheduled activities.”

Jain further wrote that the lounge was being revamped for club use and will be unavailable for use during the renovation. 

The KGG had no knowledge about the revamping process, McRae wrote. 

An inventory of the Gaming Guild’s items in the Birch 266 lounge included an adapter, clipboards, Halloween buckets, posters, PlayStation 2 controllers and memory cards, AA batteries, HDMI cables, Rock Band guitars and a drum set, board games, stationary, and more.  

Jain wrote that if the items were brought through KSA funding, then they are the KSA’s property under the student association’s funding terms. 

“You’re welcome to request replacement equipment through the Planning Tool for upcoming events [and] activities once you’re ready to proceed. At the moment, we’re unable to store new equipment for clubs until the room (or another storage solution) is ready.”

Most of the KGG’s equipment was donated by club members, McRae wrote. The guild has used KSA funding in the past, which was limited to catering use and gift cards for students participating in Gaming Guild events. 

“None of the club games or other gaming equipment have been purchased using KSA funds. Therefore, if we find that our items have been destroyed by the KSA we will cite that as a violation of Student Rights,” McRae wrote.

“Now this reply indicates that our items were taken out on purpose and possibly destroyed without our knowledge.”

Jain added that she would help the guild book alternate spaces in the meantime for club use. However, McRae wrote that another member and community organizer, Maki Singh Kaur, had previously emailed the KSA about booking a space and did not receive a reply. 

In a follow up email on Oct. 3, Jain wrote the lounge was cleared out for pest control and deep cleaning during which a pest issue involving “cockroaches or rodents” were identified. She added that following health and safety protocols, the KGG’s equipment was discarded from the lounge. 

“Pests can nest in cardboard, fabric, and electronic equipment, making thorough sanitation difficult.”

In an email statement to The Runner, Jain wrote, “With respect to the equipment affected during pest control, KSA acknowledges the inconvenience caused and apologizes for the disruption.”

In another email, KGG secretary Tim Pavlushik wrote the club’s equipment was discarded without permission, confirming ownership, nor communication about the items posing potential health and safety risks. 

“The KSA proposes that we ask it to replace our missing property using KSA funds, thus making the replacement items property of the KSA and not the KGG,” Pavlushik wrote. 

Jain wrote that while the items will remain property of the KSA if purchased through the student associations funds, the club would have full operational use and ownership of the equipment.

“However, if the club dissolves in the future, the equipment would remain club property under KSA and would need to be returned to KSA.”

“We don’t want them to own our equipment,” Chen says. “I think that goes down into the deeper issue of the KSA mishandling a lot of their procedures and not knowing their own rules and regulations.”

He says there have been issues with the lounge during previous KSA administrations, including under former presidents Armaan Dhillon and Abdullah Randhawa in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 terms respectively. 

“A lot of our planning tools would be left delayed for a long time,” Chen says. “It was very hard.”

Chen added between both administrations, there was public conflict in the lounge area, which included people not respecting the space and equipment. He says the guild’s communication with the KSA had been sparse for the past year. 

“Overall, I see just lack of accountability and them just trying to sweep messes under the rug and act like it’s nothing, even though, to students like us, it’s such a huge deal when it comes to reaching a target audience,” KGG vice-president Aidan Rao says.

McRae added there has been frustration from Gaming Guild members about the lack of space for their club activities, which they say is important for the gaming community since not all games and events can be held online. 

“This underlies a bigger issue of corruption, laziness, and lack of professionalism. Nobody wants to do their job, and for the people who do want to make a difference, it’s a losing battle,” Chen says. 

“I would like to see some major change and see people realize … that it is possible to try and make a more positive difference.” 

“KSA remains committed to supporting clubs in a fair and consistent manner and looks forward to working collaboratively to resolve any matter,” Jain wrote.