February’s AMS Assembly tackled brand trademarks, potential Society restructuring, and celebrated Black leadership on campus.
Assembly gathered at Robert Sutherland Hall on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. With 12 motions on the table, Assembly deliberated for nearly three hours. This month’s theme was “Black History and Futures Month,” and the Assembly opened with Queen’s Black Club Caucus (QBCC) Co-Lead Rabeca Mengesha, ArtSci ’25, speaking about the challenges Black students face at Queen’s. QBCC bridges Black student clubs and University resources through monthly meetings for collaboration, event planning, and .
Mengesha reaffirmed QBCC’s commitment to inclusivity, anti-Black racism advocacy, and the Scarborough Charter, which Queen’s signed in 2021 to promote ability in higher education. She also discussed QBCC’s future goals, including collaborating with the AMS to provide Black students with spaces on campus and funding without having to be part of ratified clubs.
Shortly after, a surprise ceremonial motion was brought to recognize Vice-President (University Affairs) Ruth Osunde as the first-ever Black woman to serve in an AMS Executive role. Incoming President and current Social Issues Commissioner (Internal) Jana Amer spoke in of the motion, highlighting Osunde as a pivotal mentor during her time in the AMS.
Osunde was moved to tears as the motion ed unanimously.
“I really appreciate that, and I needed this,” Osunde said. “Monday’s been so long, I feel like I’ve been doing it for a week now, but thank you so much.”
Trademarks
President Owen Rocchi and Vice-President (Operations) Ayan Chowdhury informed Assembly about a conflict with the University over trademarks. Queen’s Trademarks and Licensing Office, which manages the University’s intellectual property, had denied approval for merchandise from Tricolour Outlet, the AMS’s student run service. Any organization creating merchandise d with Queen’s must obtain approval from this office.
Motion four proposed Assembly formally express concerns in a letter regarding the Licensing Office’s restrictive policies, particularly their impact on student-made merchandise and the overall student experience. Rocchi and Chowdhury argued the strict enforcement of existing guidelines is delaying production, limiting sales, and stifling student creativity.
Earlier that day, the two Execs met with the Licensing Office but found the discussion unproductive. They believe the office’s increasingly rigid approach to approving merchandise negatively impacts students. Even non-Queen’s branded items sold on campus or d with the University, including those from student clubs, must go through the licensing process.
One example raised was the prohibition of the colour green in merchandise due to concerns over associations with heavy drinking and St. Patrick’s Day. Tricolour Outlet and Oil Thigh Designs have both faced trademark denials for such items.
Engineering Society President Jack Walker and Commerce Society President Sagaana Sivathason shared that they’re not allowed to produce merchandise using the “Smith” name or colour palette. Instead, they must choose from options provided by the Licensing Office. While they can create merchandise unrelated to the Smith brand, it still requires approval.
“Students at Queens are lucky to exist in a student government that has a lot of autonomy, more than other schools, and the AMS is always looking to protect that,” Rocchi said in an interview with The Journal, post Assembly.
“Hearing of the [new limitations on the creation of merchandise] was something that we felt strongly that Assembly should take a position on. We hope that this continued advocacy can be a win for all students on campus,” Rocchi added.
The motion ed unanimously after widespread frustration was expressed in discussions. Student leaders agreed to take a collective stance against the trademark restrictions by drafting a formal letter on behalf of all of Assembly.
Society structural changes
Assembly moved on to discuss motions five, six, and seven, which propose structural changes to the AMS Social Issues and Campus Affairs commissions under the Vice-President (University Affairs) portfolio.
Amer introduced motion five, encouraging Assembly to the restructuring of roles within the Social Issues Commission (SIC). While the motion didn’t directly approve the changes, it signaled official for them to be presented to the AMS Board of Directors. Amer proposed eliminating one of the two honorarium-based Editor in Chief positions for Collective Reflections, replacing it with a single waged position.
She also suggested removing one of the two Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Inclusion Lead roles, citing a decline in responsibilities, and transitioning the Black Leadership Lead from a volunteer role to a paid hourly position. She emphasized these changes would improve staff compensation, leadership cohesion, and overall efficiency. The motion ed unanimously.
Campus Affairs Commissioner Roan Haggerty-Goede introduced motion six, proposing a restructuring of his commission due to the removal of NEWTS, an orientation program for upper-year, interfaculty, and exchange students. As a result, positions such as Head Gecko, Logistics Coordinator, Events Coordinator, and Outreach and Promotion Coordinator would be eliminated.
In their place, the commission would introduce waged roles for an International Affairs Manager and a Special Projects Coordinator, along with three volunteer positions: a Marketing Coordinator and two International Affairs Deputies.
The motion was presented to be reviewed by the AMS Board of Directors and ed unanimously.
Vice-President (University Affairs) Osunde introduced motion seven, proposing the AMS Executive work with the Secretariat to draft a constitutional amendment shifting the Orientation RoundTable (ORT) commission under the President’s portfolio by April 2025.
ORT currently falls under the VPUA, but Osunde argued that since the AMS President meets biweekly with faculty societies in the Presidents’ Caucus, they would be better positioned to facilitate orientation-related communications. Additionally, she noted that ORT’s mandate comes from the Senate, where the AMS President holds a seat rather than the VPUA. The motion also ed unanimously.
The next AMS Assembly will be held on March 3 in Goodes Hall.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].