2012-2013

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Major Milestones for EngSoc in 2012-2013

UTSU Fee Diversion Referendum

Efforts to address long-standing concerns with the democratic legitimacy and efficiency of the University of Toronto Students' Union (UTSU, formerly SAC) culminated in the Engineering Society holding a referendum concurrent with its Board of Directors elections in April 2013 asking full-time engineering students whether they wished to continue paying fees to the UTSU. EngSoc Executive rushed to pass a motion to force the referendum due to lack of effective planning, requiring a written motion signed unanimously by every member of the Executive, as opposed to a regular vote at a regularly-scheduled Executive meeting. EngSoc proposed to take over delivery of UTSU services, including the Health & Dental Insurance Plan, at the same or lower costs. The result was an overwhelming endorsement for the so-called "fee diversion" proposal of 95% in favour with 28% turnout, however actual details of "fee diversion" were negotiated and settled by subsequent EngSoc administrations.

Change of VP External Role to Directorship

President Rishi Maharaj ran on a platform of completely disengaging from the Engineering Student Societies' Council of Ontario (ESSCO) and the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students (CFES) on the grounds that they are useless and wasteful organizations. This platform was in direct conflict with the mandate of the VP External newly-elect, who was elected with 74% of the student vote, and proved frustrating for the President. Previous EngSoc administrations, including those of Presidents Kevin P. Siu and David Cheung, respectively had concluded that neither ESSCO or CFES provided substantial benefit to EngSoc or its members in return for the funds spent on membership dues and conference delegations. Yet, previous EngSocs continued to engage with both ESCCO and CFES and maintained the role of the VP External to ensure effective collaboration across the country.

In the fall of 2012, the Board of Directors approved withdrawal from ESSCO and non-payment of membership dues to CFES. EngSoc was forced to reverse course on CFES membership after it became known that CFES would block U of T students from attending the Canadian Engineering Competition (CEC) if U of T was not a member in good standing. Thanks to the negotiation efforts of VP External, Anton Klunko, U of T students were allowed to participate in the Competition and the EngSoc paid its membership dues to CFES. The payment of CFES membership fees to facilitate CEC participation was an embarrassing moment for the President, and was widely viewed nationally by other EngSocs as recognition by U of T EngSoc that CFES provides some valuable services to its members.

Given EngSoc's continued intention to withdraw from ESSCO and CFES organizations, in February 2013 meeting of the Board of Directors a motion put forward by the President to eliminate the VP position and return it to a Directorship effective at the 2013 Joint Council Meeting. The motion was passed, over the noted objection of incumbent VP External (Anton Klunko), who felt it was important to maintain strong relationships with other organizations at the National and Provincial levels. Anton Klunko went on to be elected by student leaders across Canada to serve as a National Councillor on the CFES Executive Team and served another term as the Chair of the CFES Board of Directors.

Reduction of the Temporary Special Levy and Renewal of the Endowment Fund

Up for its 15th renewal in the 2013 Officer Elections, the Temporary Special Levy was reduced, from $150 to $125, for the first time since its inception. $125 2013 dollars represents $57.86 in 1983 dollars, meaning that the 2013 Special Levy is only slightly more than half of the original fee as instituted in 1983. The 2013 renewal referendum question also included a provision allowing the Board of Directors to redirect surplus funds from the Special Levy Fund to the permanent Endowment Fund.

The Endowment Fund was renewed for the first time in 2013, amid negotiations with the Faculty over a major capital contribution to the construction of a new engineering building on the site behind Simcoe Hall. Notable milestones for the Fund in 2012-2013 including signing an agreement to donate the funds collected in the first two years of its existence to the University to form a trust to be administered jointly by EngSoc and the Faculty and approval of the first Endowment Fund Constitution.

Renovation of Engineering Stores

Engineering Stores Managers Matko Brunski and Laura Burget spearheaded a plan to increase the sales capacity of the Store by adding a second window and point-of-sale system. Work to create a new opening in the wall separating Stores from the Sandford Fleming Atrium was completed over the summer of 2012 at a cost of approximately $25,000.

Resignations and Recalls

The 1T2-1T3 year was marked by several resignations, including VP Student Life Nikola Radovanovic, Hard Hat Cafe Operations Manager Kunal Taneja and Board of Directors At-Large Representative Donnie Yee who all resigned over the summer for personal reasons. Cannon Editor Vijay Unnithan was recalled late in the fall term after failing to produce anything during his seven months in office.

Electoral Reform

Major changes to the Elections Bylaw limited the authority of the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) to unilaterally set election campaigning rules and placed them under the oversight of a special committee of the Board of Directors. Officer Elections were reverted back to their historic timeline over concerns that moving them up by a month resulted in the outgoing Officers effectively quitting their jobs early and leaving the Society in disarray during the transition period.


Engineering Society Positions

Officers

Project Directors

*Resigned
**Recalled

Board of Directors

Speaker Mauricio Curbelo
Chemical Engineering Representative Bo Zhang
Civil Engineering Representative Guillaume Bence-Hebert
Computer Engineering Representative Kimberly Shen
Electrical Engineering Representative Judith Chan
Engineering Science Representative Patrick Zerr
Industrial Engineering Representative Gordon Tang
Materials Science Engineering Representative Vinson Quoc Truong
Mechanical Engineering Representative Shamail Rizwan
Mineral Engineering Representative vacant
At-Large Representative Praneet Bagga
At-Large Representative Aidan Muller
At-Large Representative Teresa Nguyen
At-Large Representative Donnie Yee*/Hollis Milroy
First Year Representative Stephanie Gaglione
First Year Representative Shubham Manchanda
First Year Representative Vuk Svilaric

Discipline Club Chairs

Class Representatives

Chemical Engineering 1T6 Krithika Sugavanam
1T5 Jerry Fung
1T4 vacant
1T3 vacant
Civil Engineering 1T6 Peter Lu
1T5 Elissar El-Hage
1T4 Bo Wen
1T3 vacant
Computer Engineering 1T6 Mark Ye
1T5 Laura Shen
1T4 vacant
1T3 vacant
Electrical Engineering 1T6 Nicholas Chin
1T5 Maged Ahmed
1T4 vacant
1T3 vacant
Engineering Science 1T6 John Yeung
1T5 Sharon Ravindran
1T4 vacant
1T3 vacant
Industrial Engineering 1T6 Anitha Jeremiah
1T5 Judy Zhu
1T4 vacant
1T3 vacant
Materials Science & Engineering 1T6 Anastasia Alksnis
1T5 Michael Sabatini
1T4 vacant
1T3 vacant
Mechanical Engineering 1T6 Brandon Chu
1T5 Steve Lu
1T4 Nancy Ho
1T3 Michael Stranges
Mineral Engineering 1T6 Humbert Sin
1T5 vacant
1T4 vacant
1T3 vacant
TrackOne 1T6 Tabish Gilani
First Year Chair 1T6 Kenny Kim
Fourth Year Chair 1T3 vacant

External Representatives

  • UTSU Director - Mo Delwar
  • UTSU Director - Sanchit Mathur
  • UTSU Director - Will Zhang
  • Governing Council Director - James Bateman

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Conferences Hosted

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