The Blueprint

THE BLUEPRINT

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THE BLUEPRINT CONTENTS Team CYZ

3 Michael Ceci President

4 Leslie Yun VP Operations

5 Adam Zabrodski VP University Affairs 6 Our Promise Our Vision

11 Winter Committee Hiring

11 Multi–Faith Prayer Space

12 New Food Options

12 New Space for Earth Centre 12 Organic Waste Education 12 IT Outsourcing Commissions

7 AMS—Faculty Society Relationships

13 Academic Affairs Commission (AAC)

8 Homecoming

14 Municipal Affairs Commission (MAC)

7 Queen’s Centre 8 Openness

8 Not At My Queen’s Campaign 8 Robert Sutherland

9 Administration Relations

13 Social Issues Commission (SIC)

14 Campus Activities Commission (CAC) 14 Commission of Internal Affairs (CIA) Services

9 Tuition Relief

15 Environment First at QP & Common Ground

9 Town-Gown Relations and Kingston Jobs

15 TAMS (The AMS Merchandise Service)

9 Queen’s Centre Sustainability 10 Mandatory Office Hours

15 Common Ground 15 Destinations

10 Online voting

16 Printing & Copy Centre

10 Real World Transition

16 Student Constables

10 Financial Assistance

16 TAPS (The AMS Pub Services)

10 Public Transit to and from Train and Bus Terminals 16 Walkhome 11 University Credits for Service Management

16 CFRC

11 Queen’s as a Leader in Sustainability

17 QTV (Queen’s TV)

11 EnviroGrants Program

17 Journal

17 YCS (Yearbook & Convocation Services)

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Team CYZ Michael Ceci President Michael Ceci is a Drama and Geography student in his fourth year study. Since his arrival at Queen’s, Michael has been involved in many aspects of student life. Currently, Michael is in the second year of his term as the Undergraduate Student Trustee, representing student interests to the University’s Board. In his role, Michael sits on a variety of faculty society and student government assemblies as well as various University committees to ensure that the student voice is heard in the administration. Outside of student government, Michael is actively involved in both the acting and production side of theatre, being apart of such shows in the Queen’s community as Urinetown, Blood Brothers, Into the Woods, Floyd Collins, Famine, and most recently as an actor, singer, and dancer in the Queen’s Musical Theatre production of Jekyll and Hyde the Musical as Sir Danvers Carew. Michael has been a Gael, participated as a delegate in Queen’s Model Parliament, and been a member of a faculty society marketing team. Michael also helped to plan the first Queen’s Canadian Leadership Conference as a committee member. This past summer Michael participated in the Queen’s Drama program at the Shaw Festival and worked in film production on the set of a reality show and a rap video. Michael has been involved in Queen’s Intramurals through ultimate Frisbee and inner tube water polo! Running, skiing, and biking are sports Michael likes. Michael has volunteered in a variety of learning programs for children with special needs, having been inspired by his brother Marc who has Down syndrome. Other teaching opportunities include having taught English to children in a small village of Frabosa Sottana in northern Italy. Other interests for Michael include clarinet, piano, singing in the shower, Star Wars, Seinfeld, and Entourage. His favourite food is pasta.

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Leslie Yun VP Operations Leslie Yun is a third-year Arts student pursuing a medial degree in Economics and Religious Studies. She’s been involved with the AMS since her first year at Queen’s, during which she worked as a designer at the P&CC. She immediately fell in love with the store’s vibrant energy and quirky staff (and she’s always had a strange appreciation for office machines) and went on to become an assistant manager in her second year. Currently, Leslie serves as the AMS Communications Officer, working to ensure that students are aware of what goes on in the AMS and opportunities to get involved. Leslie’s tenure with the AMS has led her to working closely with various commissioners, officers, and service managers. It has also given her the chance to expand fall recruitment and develop the popular testimonial campaign seen around campus and in the Society’s publications. Leslie has also gotten involved at Queen’s outside of the AMS. Last year, she was a cast member of the Vagina Monologues, her dramatic debut at Queen’s. This year, she is involved with the Religious Issues Committee and Newman House. In her spare time, Leslie is a passionate volleyball player and quickly becoming an avid fan of golf. She’s been playing the piano since she was eight years old and has recently taken up self-taught guitar.

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Adam Zabrodski VP University Affairs Adam Zabrodski is a fourth year student in the environmental option of geological engineering. For the past two years he has served as the Vice President Academic of the Engineering Society of Queen’s University. During his tenure he worked towards improving recruitment practices of the faculty, and worked with new senior administrators in planning for undergraduate program changes. Adam has also taken an interest in broader educational initiatives including serving as a director for The Campus Bookstore, and serving on the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance subcommittee of AMS assembly. External to student government involvement, Adam has served for two years as a laboratory-teaching assistant in the department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering. An avid athlete, Adam plays intramural sports and is always up for the challenge of a casual squash game or some pickup hockey in the park. During the summer he can be found on the golf course or kiteboarding on windy days. Adam also has musical inclinations, playing the tenor saxophone throughout high school and is always looking for a jazz band to play with. Just over a year ago he has begun to “rock out” by playing the guitar, although he maintains it is more of a state of mind. In the evenings Adam enjoys simply hanging out, preferably with the hockey game on. An easygoing guy with a great sense of humour, Adam is well suited to the role of Vice President University Affairs. He has a strong reputation for representing students and is always ready for a challenge.

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Your Queen’s. Our Promise. Team CYZ will fulfill each commitment listed below. If we miss on any commitment, we will give back $3,000 of our combined salaries to student initiatives for each left unfulfilled.

1. Your homecoming.

Ensure student representation to restore the Fall Homecoming tradition.

2. Your way home.

Ensure Kingston Transit runs a free bus service between campus and the train station and bus terminal every weekend.

3. Your green facts.

Have the Principal sign the the University Presidents Climate Commitment, ensuring that Queen’s will reduce its carbon footprint.

4. Your food options.

Increase Halal and Kosher food options on campus.

5. Your clubs.

Create a Clubs Manager position and increase club grants by 500%.

6. Your Kingston.

Develop myHousingGuide, a one-stop-shop to renting and living in Kingston.

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Our Vision AMS—Faculty Society Relationships

A New Deal: Formalizing and Nurturing the AMS Relationship with Faculty Societies Queen’s is unique as a University in the amount of influence and input students have with the administration and into the governance of our school. Many student led initiatives are proposed and stances are taken on a wide variety of issues every year. Often, due to a disjointed relationship between the AMS, faculty societies, student groups, and student senators to name a few, many of these initiatives and stances are not presented as a unified student position and therefore fall to the wayside. To fix this problem, team CYZ proposes that in order to recognize the diverse needs of different faculties, the President will formalize and facilitate regular meetings of all faculty society presidents, in-conjunction with the Student Senate Caucus chair, the Rector, and the Undergraduate Trustee in an official President’s Caucus, so that issues may be discussed and information shared in a frank, open, and equal forum. In order to adequately form this partnership of student leaders, the AMS Executive will seek Faculty Society input into drafting an AMS/Faculty Society Contract that outlines how the working relationship should function.

Queen’s Centre

Protecting Student Services Throughout Our Transition to the Queen’s Centre The Queen’s Centre’s 1st phase will be opening to students as early as September 2009. The budget of the Queen’s Centre has been plagued by cost overruns and as a result the University has set on a course to scale back on the timing as well as the design of the plan for the upcoming two phases. Team CYZ will work with the administration to ensure that Queen’s Undergraduate Students’ commitment of $25.5 million to the project will be recognized as the driving force behind the project and will ensure that the potential for programming loss in the shift of certain AMS services from the JDUC to the Queen’s Centre is minimized and that services are seamlessly transitioned between the spaces starting with the Common Ground in September 2009.

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Homecoming Team CYZ will ensure the restoration of the fall homecoming tradition and student involvement in its planning after the expiration of the two-year probationary period. This will include a licenced event on the Friday evening of the event. In their attempt to discourage the Aberdeen Street party, the administration acted in a knee-jerk fashion and needlessly deprived students of a cherished part of the Queen’s experience. We will work to bring back homecoming and ensure the safety of all participants while doing our part to discourage a Street Party which has no involvement in our traditions and is damaging to the reputation of the University and its Students.

Openness

Delivering Accountability Through Transparency The AMS is an organization that handles over $12 million dollars of student money on an annual basis. An organization of this size should be open to all students. Team CYZ will mandate that included in a prominent location on the AMS website as well as the monthly email news letter that is sent to students that a no nonsense, easy to understand update on AMS finances and initiative be included in order to allow everyone regular access to information regarding the financial health of the organization. Team CYZ want to be “advocates of information” who will be proactive in letting students know how we are coming along with our initiatives.

Not At My Queen’s Campaign

Working Towards a Discrimination and Hate-Free Campus Team CYZ will seek to implement an initiative that has been received warmly at other institutions to empower students to tackle situations of discrimination, violence, and hate on campus. Through collaboration between the AMS, Faculty societies, the Queen’s Human Rights office, student groups, and faculty, a concerted effort to take a widespread leadership role on campus to foster a community free of all forms of discrimination can occur. This initiative will consist of a series of stimulating educational events aimed at facilitating a healthy dialogue about these issues.

Robert Sutherland

Recognizing and Celebrating Queen’s History Team CYZ recognizes the importance of remembering aspects of Queen’s history. Robert Sutherland was the first graduate of colour from Queen’s and British North America. Upon his death after years as a successful lawyer, he donated his entire estate to the university, which saved Queen’s at that time from financial ruin. Team CYZ pledges to make the next yearly installment of the AMS’s donation to the Queen’s Centre of $1 million to the memory of Robert Sutherland on behalf of the students of Queen’s University and will work to ensure this institution does not forget his legacy.

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Administration Relations

Working Together with Administration to Serve You Better Next year the university will be welcoming a new Principal and two new Vice-Principals. Team CYZ will pledge to ensure that they are made fully aware of the role that students have in the governance of the institution and will facilitate a working relationship to facilitate student initiatives.

Tuition Relief

Paying More, Getting Less: A Dedicated Voice Against This Raw Deal Tuition is a major issue that affects all students. With budget cuts and tuition increases, students are paying more for less. Team CYZ stands firmly against locally set tuition and will work with their partners at OUSA to lobby the government to increase the amount of funding available to universities in the province. Team CYZ will also lobby the administration to ensure that the amount of financial aid that is available to students increases (at the same rate or higher) if any tuition hikes are to occur. Further, Team CYZ will take steps to ensure that students are fully aware of what financial aid services and opportunities are available to them, and will make this information easily accessible and understandable through the AAC website.

Queen’s Centre Sustainability

A Leader in Education, A Leader in Sustainability Team CYZ wants to ensure that the remainder of the Queen’s Centre are maintained at the Silver Level of LEED certifications so that Queen’s can be a leader in setting an example for sustainable building.

Town-Gown Relations and Kingston Jobs

Your Campus, Our Kingston: Contributing to the Town We Know and Love Team CYZ has taken it upon themselves to meet with the Mayor of Kingston, Councilor Glover, and officials from the Police Department in order to discuss ways the AMS can better work with the City of Kingston to both respond to the needs of students and to contribute in a positive way to the greater Kingston community. CYZ is committed to fostering good working relations with the city and to serve as an active voice of influence in the Kingston community. Further, we will work with the city to facilitate job placements and opportunities for students to remain in Kingston during the summer.

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Mandatory Office Hours

Here for You …and Hearing You, Too Team CYZ believes that if students want to speak with the AMS Executive, Commissioners, or Officers, there should be guaranteed times of availability to do this during the day when permanent and regularly scheduled office hours will occur that will not be interrupted by meetings or other commitments. By being available on a regular basis to listen to the needs of students, the AMS will be more accessible.

Online voting

Cost-Effective, Environmentally-Friendly, and Easily-Accessible Elections In order to improve sustainability in the AMS elections, Team CYZ will work to integrate online voting with the new overhaul of the University’s IT systems that will be occurring to replace QCARD and other services. It won’t just be a cheaper, greener, more accessible system; it’ll be easier for you to vote, which will strengthen the democratic nature of our elections.

Financial Assistance

A Library Without Your Textbooks? No More. The cost of an education is expensive enough. As many students study in the library, Team CYZ believes that the library should have copies of course textbooks on three-hour reserve for the use of students who want to have access to the materials for their classes without having to pay for ever increasing textbook prices.

Real World Transition

Preparing You for Life Beyond Queen’s For many students, the transition between student life and “the real world” can seem scary. We want to help. Team CYZ plans to schedule Financial Fitness workshops for students to help upperyears transition into a fully independent adult life with seminars on financial planning, tax filing, etc.

Public Transit to and from Train and Bus Terminals Getting You Where You Want to Be… In School and in Life

Team CYZ is committed to providing students with accessible, convenient, and affordable options for students to get home from the VIA and Coach Canada terminals. Using our significant lobbying power with Kingston Transit, Team CYZ will create a bus route that travels directly from campus to the Coach Canada and Via Rail stations on Fridays, and back to campus and key student locations on Sundays. Increased service would be available at peak times (i.e. after school breaks).

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University Credits for Service Management Work for Us – It Works for You

The time pressures on AMS Service managers and assistant managers are significant. Thus, Team CYZ is committed to creating a service-learning based program that will award student managers and leaders, from all faculties and years, with 200-level academic credits for their work term. All students would benefit from increased services, while the University would reduce teaching costs. In conversations with key members of the Administration, this program has been viewed as both highly feasible and very welcomed.

EnviroGrants Program

Focused Grants for What Matters Most to You While the AMS has made significant strides towards achieving sustainability in the past few years, we believe much more can be done. To encourage broader student involvement, Team CYZ will create a Special Projects Grant exclusively for environmental or sustainability-focused initiatives.

Queen’s as a Leader in Sustainability Team CYZ will work with the administration to have the new Principal sign the University Presidents Climate Commitment. As a signatory, Queen’s will become a Canadian leader on issues of sustainability and the University will reduce its carbon footprint in a meaningful way.

Winter Committee Hiring For many first year students, the transition from high school to Queen’s can be daunting. Those that want to get involved in committees after fall hiring has occurred are often hard pressed to be apart of such groups. Team CYZ will ensure that committee hiring be reopened in the winter term to enable more students, including first year and students on exchange to have an opportunity to get involved.

Multi–Faith Prayer Space Many students who identify with religious traditions have faced hostility and discrimination, particularly this past year. Team CYZ is committed to ensuring that all students, no matter their creed or religious belief, feel safe and welcome on campus. That is why we will introduce a more prominent multi-faith prayer space in the JDUC, which would then be carried over into the Queen’s Centre. By highlighting such a space, students of all religious backgrounds can safely and openly practice their faith.

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New Food Options

CoGro & The QP: There’s Something for Everyone As part of our commitment to make AMS services more inclusive for students of all religious and cultural backgrounds, we will introduce multiple Kosher and Halal food options onto the Common Ground and QP menus. Currently, students who observe special diets for religious reasons have too few food options on campus.

New Space for Earth Centre

Prioritizing Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives In the midst of space negotiation with the Queen’s Centre, we will ensure that underexposed campus groups who work towards sustainability and environmental initiatives, including the Earth Centre, will be allocated a prominent location in the new building.

Organic Waste Education With the new Organic Waste Program being implemented by the City of Kingston, Team CYZ will run an awareness and education campaign about the program to ensure that all students are informed on how to participate in the program and collectively contribute to a more sustainable community.

IT Outsourcing

Bringing AMS IT Service Levels Back to Where They Should Be Team CYZ will partner with an external company to ensure consistency of IT resources for students on a year-to-year basis. The current AMS IT Office is overstretched in its capacity to provide the technical support and systems administration that the AMS needs. If you’ve tried to opt-out of AMS fees, re-ratify a club, log-in to your AMS email account, or access the AMS Marketplace, you’ve likely been affected by this.

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Commisions Academic Affairs Commission (AAC) Team CYZ will ensure student input on budget cuts so that quality of education is maintained. Team CYZ will ensure student input on budget cuts so that quality of education is maintained. Lobbying will be at the forefront of AAC activities. With university budget cuts, there is no other option than to start cutting programs if education quality is to be maintained. The AAC will communicate with students and the administration to determine the best way to implement the funding cuts. Strong collaboration with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) will be required as the reaching higher plan from the provincial government is expiring next year, and a new funding scheme will be unveiled. The AAC along with the VPUA will ensure that OUSA incorporates educational quality into their lobbying efforts. The fall 2008 plebiscite indicated that students want the AMS to pursue external alignment with a federal lobbying body. Such alignment may require internal restructuring to ensure that lobbying goals are achieved.

Social Issues Commission (SIC) Team CYZ will: • consolidate committees; and • work with the Human Rights Office to tailor educational sessions to each campus group. Social have issues have been designated a priority from the university administration. This will provide exceptional opportunities to facilitate positive social change on campus. The SIC will work with the Human Rights Office to develop educational sessions which will be tailored to the needs of individual groups. Orientation week leaders benefit from a different knowledge base than service staff, by making them audience specific will render them more successful. The SIC currently runs 8 committees, 4 publications, and 2 services which puts excessive demand on the commissioner, and spreads out volunteer time. The SIC will analyze its current structure and consolidate appropriately so that large-scale collaboration can take place between volunteers. This will result in a stronger voice and dialogue on campus for Social Issues.

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Municipal Affairs Commission (MAC) Team CYZ will: • lobby the city for snow removal of sidewalks in the student ghetto; • consolidate the website as a “one stop shop” for all housing information including tenant rights, rental listings, and upper year sub-letting opportunities; and • create a database of rental properties, “myHousingGuide.” The MAC will work with the city to inform students about the community; educating students on the city’s recycling program and new green bin initiative. Lobbying the city for regular snow removal of sidewalks in student housing areas will be a priority. The housing committees under the MAC will be consolidated, as volunteer recruitment has been an issue in the past. Housing information will all be put on a single website for easy access, as part of the IT infrastructure.

Campus Activities Commission (CAC) Team CYZ will ensure financial accountability.

The CAC has matured to consistently provide organized events for students that are well attended. One aspect that requires improvement is the financial accountability for the commission. It currently lacks appropriate financial controls considering it is the commission with the largest budget. Financial controls including proper accounting practices will be implemented so that all money is directed to the appropriate event. The Orientation Round Table (ORT) currently operates where it bills faculty society after orientation week for incurred expenses. The ORT invoice is can be responsible for faculty societies losing money during orientation week, and this practice must be changed so that faculty societies are more involved in planning and aware of expenses in advance. An improved structure will also be implemented to improve information available to students who are planning events and utilizing CAC resources. One additional project will be the planning of an extra event during the fall term.

Commission of Internal Affairs (CIA) Team CYZ will: • create a clubs manager position; • increase grants to $30,000; and • consolidate and simplify grants application process. The CIA oversees all AMS clubs, which are where the majority of students will be involved. Clubs are not only underfunded, but lack the support structure necessary for them to realize their full potential. By developing club resources, clubs will be able to do more on an annual basis. Providing training in accounting, marketing, management, will provide incentives for clubs to become ratified and communicate with the AMS. A full time clubs manager will be hired to ensure that clubs have a reliable pathway for communication. The Student Affairs Office has already agreed to collaborate with the AMS to provide support for clubs. Team CYZ will also increase clubs grants to $30,000 from $5,000. This will include a greater emphasis on seed funding for new clubs.

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Services Environment First at QP & Common Ground

In an effort to reduce waste at our services and to promote a culture of sustainability, we will invest in washable plates and cutlery at Common Ground and QP for customers who wish to eat in the lounge or the pub. The move to the Queen’s Centre will allow investment in appropriate dish-washing facilities. Furthermore, we will increase the discount given to students that choose to bring travel mugs to the Common Ground by 100% to $0.50. This reduces both waste and material costs.

Common Ground

Although the Common Ground is slated to move to the Queen’s Centre in the fall of 2009, we want to ensure that it will remain open throughout the year and that students will not lose the benefits of the service. The transition will occur during a student break period, such as the winter break, to ensure minimal service interruption.

TAMS (The AMS Merchandise Service)

Despite recent marketing successes, Tricolour Outfitters and The Used Book Store have failed to turn a profit. To continue on this path, we will consolidate the two services into one location. This will eliminate the extra costs of running two different stores and allow TAMS to run a smaller staff and management team.

Destinations

Destinations has seen a lot of success this year with their sports and cultural events, including the Girl Talk concert and Cirque-du-Soleil performance last semester. Although the loss of the QEA student fee has made it difficult to predict the profitability of the service this year, the extra emphasis placed on these charter events have made the service even more valuable to students and demonstrates the potential to draw in profits in the future. By continuing to support these endeavors, Destinations will continue subsidizing the other services and remain financially sustainable.

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Publishing & Copy Centre

P&CC saw its share of obstacles this year, including copyright issues, which have yet to be fully resolved. As a result, students have lost access to reserve readings, which were a highly affordable alternative to purchasing full-price course packages and textbooks. However, we will replace this by having access to all textbooks through reserve readings at Stauffer. Furthermore, outsourcing IT services will ensure printers are always in service, and no revenue opportunity is lost.

TAPS (The AMS Pub Services)

TAPS has faced serious problems around the uncertainty of the future of QP and Alfie’s Nightclub. The planning laid out for the two services have largely been put on hold as a result. However, the largest front-line concern for students at the QP is the long wait times for food, especially during peak hours. To address this, we will implement more effective and frequent training, so that the staff will be able to better keep up with the demands of the Pub’s traffic.

Student Constables

QSC this year has been met with several challenges that threaten the financial sustainability of the service. Bill 159, which requires all security services to adhere to specific licensing and training regulations, once fully implemented, will significantly increase the service’s costs, especially alongside the concurrent increase in minimum wage. We will actively pursue cost cutting and revenue generating initiatives to ensure StuCons remain a viable service.

Walkhome

Over the past year, Walkhome has continued to help ensure night-time student safety. Although the rise in minimum wage has increased costs for the service, the recently-passed increase in the Walkhome student fee has helped address this. Team CYZ will continue to ensure the vibrancy and exposure of this service on campus.

CFRC

A long standing tradition on campus, CFRC has recently been met with financial instability and poor listenership. As a result, the relevancy of its programming to current students is in question. In recognition of these shortcomings, CFRC is undertaking a listenership survey this semester to gauge student opinion. Upon seeing the results of this survey, we will address how best to make this service relevant to common students.

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Journal

As the most widely-circulated student publication on campus, the Journal’s tradition and history extends almost as far back as the AMS itself. Although owned and operated by the AMS, the Journal maintains full editorial autonomy and is mandated to give accurate accounts of news that occurs on campus and offer journalism opportunities for students. This past year, the Journal has seen increased interaction with students through its online edition. We will continue to promote this edition in hopes that it will allow us to cut back on hardcopy circulation, in order to reduce waste and printing costs. We have no plans to interfere with Journal autonomy, as they provide important checks and balances on the AMS’ decisions, and give a venue for all students to have their opinions heard.

QTV (Queen’s TV)

Queen’s TV is currently in its 20th season and on a strong upward trend. This is the first year that the Executive Producer has been a full-time salaried position and has allowed for a more professional show and increased aesthetic appeal. Video Factory, the division of QTV that offers filming, editing, and production services for campus groups, has seen tremendous success this year. QTV is currently looking into introducing advertising options for AMS services, local businesses, and national sponsors, which will further contribute to the service’s bottom line. We will ensure the continued development of QTV by providing more incentive for its volunteer staff by increasing the honoraria paid out to all QTV managers and highlighting the role of the newly formed Advisory Board, which has proven to be valuable for the service.

YCS (Yearbook & Convocation Services)

As one of the subsidizing services of the AMS, YCS has been financially stable for the past several years. However, many students fail to pick up their pre-paid yearbook. We will continue to aggressively promote how students can pick up their yearbooks and provide more satellite pick-up locations. Furthermore, we will make the YCS photo archives available online, so that members of the community will be able to purchase them for personal use.

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