Controversy arose in Friday's Capilano Students' Union executive meeting over a recent Cuba event promoting the Ernesto Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade.
The event in question, which was organized by Educational Issues Coordinator Noah Fine, displayed a banner promoting Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba. According to CSU policy, outside organizations may not display banners unless they have been pre-approved by the executive board in a planning tool.
Noah has had a history of presenting such banners. During a Black History Month event on February 19th of 2009, he hung a Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) banner, which prompted the original policy change.
Due to the most recent violation, Students of Colour Liaison Gurpreet Kambo moved to “officially reprimand” Noah for “flagrantly violating policy.” He added that he feels that if an executive breaks policy multiple times, it should be equivalent to a letter of resignation.
Noah defended himself vehemently, calling the violation an “oversight,” and dismissed the motion as “antagonistic, harsh and unnecessary.”
The motion failed on an initial vote but was retaken due to a conflict of interest in the first vote, after determining by a show of hands that allowing Noah to vote on the motion was a conflict of interest. Following a heated debate, the vote was retaken and the motion carried.
The formal reprimand does not have any direct consequences for Noah, other than being noted in the CSU's executive committee minutes.
// Natalie Corbo
news editor
CSU ENDORSES SFPIRG AFTER CONTROVERSY
In the face of a “coup d'etat,” SFPIRG (Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group) sent an open letter to various outside organizations, including the Capilano Students Union (CSU) requesting endorsements.
SFPIRG is an organization out of SFU that serves to provide resources relating to social and environmental change.
Their resources are available to anyone, and the group is funded by students of SFU, through a student levy. SFPIRG's recent AGM on February 10th, 2010 was disrupted by a group of students “as part of a larger agenda to take down the organization”, according to an SFPIRG's letter.
The letter went on to say that they found it “hypocritical for a small group of students plotting in secrecy and abusing the platform of democracy to try and remove a critical space of leadership development.”
At the CSU's March 12th executive committee meeting, the Board passed a motion to endorse SFPIRG. Discussion at the CSU's meeting included questioning the democratic process of SFPIRG.
Sam Reynolds, one of the students involved in the AGM uprisal, said on his blog that he supported SFPIRG's right to exist, however he said that what he and the students wanted was for SFPIRG to “conduct a forensic audit, fire [their] overpaid staff members, and replace them with students paid by a modest stipend.”
SFPIRG requested that third parties show their support for their organization by visiting their website, iheartsfpirg.ca.
// Samantha Thompson
assistant news editor
CSU LOST AND FOUND
Students of Colour Liaison Gurpreet Kambo and CSU Executive Committee Chair Trevor Page suffered damaging losses this past week. Gurpreet discovered one morning that in a fit of boredom, he had shaved off his beard. He had also previously been accused of stealing Trevor's coffee mug, which Trevor had been missing. Rumours have been circulating that Gurpreet may have even used the mug to hold his razor while shaving.
The beard is black in colour, and made of hair. The mug is metal with blue enamel, bearing a tree motif and the words “Riding Mountain National Park.” If either of these items are found, please report immediately to the CSU front office.
// Natalie Corbo
news editor
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