The York Federation of Students’ executive team has been on the job for seven months. Coming into this year, each member started out with a list of items they wanted to accomplish. With the first semester coming to an end, we invited our student representatives to speak about pressing issues, successes, and their plans come January.
Jessica Thyriar, president
One of your goals going into this year was getting York to implement a sexual assault policy, which the university has agreed to develop. What can we expect on that front?
The university has agreed to the sexual assault policy, […] so they’re going to have a committee, including various student groups and staff to draft the policy. I am going sit on the board and contribute input I get from students to ensure that it’s not only a policy, but a great policy. There are not many sexual assault policies in Canada, so the fact York agreed to one is a huge victory and [shows they are committed] to raising awareness and continuing the work of the “No means No” campaign.
Gayle McFadden, vp campaigns and advocacy
When you took over as vp campaigns and advocacy, your goals were to protect students under the Landlord-Tenant Act, to fight to lower tuition fees, and to continue the work of the Task Force on Campus Food Options. What have some of your successes for this year been?
The university is starting to create a YU food strategy, which they never had before. We’ve been interviewed by outside consulting firms, and we’ve have been asked what [students] want in terms of food options on campus. […] In terms of the Landlord-Tenant Act, we actually had a really successful town and gown recently. It was interesting to see folks from the administration nearly in tears about fires in the Village. […]
As it stands in North York, rooming houses are illegal, so by making them legal, we can institute regulations, and that was going to be pushed through by City Council in October. However, the issue hasn’t been addressed by City Councilors and it seems that they’re pushing it until the next elections so it’s one of those situations where we need to make known that they are playing with people’s safety. We are finding that we are getting tied up by the bureaucracy of City Hall. […] In relation to tuition fees, there has been a huge shift from looking at it provincially and big rallies to focusing inwardly, and that’s what we see across the province, because once you focus inwards you realize how messed up things are in an institutional level
Hamoudi Hneiou, vp operations
What do you think about your work performance this year? What have you accomplished so far?
I think I have done a really good job with student clubs this year, [especially since] clubs were a big part of my life at York. What I’m proud of this year is reaching a record-high number of student clubs. We have about 325 student clubs, which is the highest we’ve ever had. You will always see a student club whenever you walk into Vari Hall.
Julian Jasniewski, vp campus life
One of your goals in September was increasing participation in York’s Varsity athletics events. What kind of headway have you made on that front?
Every since May, I’ve been in communication with Kim Mathoney, the promotions coordinator for the York Lions. We’ve been working together to promote events; we post all of the sports games and promote them, and I think the awareness is out there from the YFS. When I spoke to Kim, she said the attendance for York sports games has been the highest it has been in years, and I think that YFS is helping out a bit in terms of raising awareness.
Safiyah Husein, vp equity
One of your promises this year was getting York to conduct an accessibility audit. What progress have you made on that?
We are in negotiations with the university about our concerns around the idea that we don’t need to just audit physical space at York, but also to do a comprehensive audit. We need to audit older buildings that don’t have accessible washrooms for students who use wheelchairs. These issues are very disturbing, and there should be some communication in place [about this.]
Hamid Adem
News Editor
