A policy requiring equity-deserving students to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) was suspended by the AMS.
The Recognition Policy, implemented in September 2023, was designed to compensate students who volunteer their time consulting the AMS and requires participants to sign NDAs.
In June, the initiative was put on hold to improve the training provided to AMS employees who consult with students, many of whom are equity-deserving, AMS Secretariat Sylvie Garabedian and Ruth Osunde, vice-president (university affairs), explained in an interview with The Journal.
“We’re hoping that with training, it puts everyone on the same field. It [makes] everyone aware of what needs to go into this, and it puts everyone on the same page about how they need to carry out the process of the recognition quality and the consultations,” Osunde said.
During AMS Assembly in September 2023, Faculty Society (FacSoc) leaders claimed the policy put stress on equity-deserving students by making them sign a legally binding document.
READ MORE: Proposed AMS policy requires consulting students to sign NDA
Osunde didn’t confirm whether NDAs would be part of the reviewed Recognition Policy. The NDAs are intended to protect the private information of equity-deserving students, Osunde explained.
“We understand that sometimes intent does not equal impact,” said Osunde. “This is a policy that we created because we wanted to see a better relationship and we wanted to connect with students in a more rewarding way.”
The AMS now works with external partners, such as the Yellow House, to provide equitable training to those dealing with the policy, Osunde explained. They’re also looking to work with the University’s Human Rights and Equity Office (HREO) to provide anti-racism and anti-hate modules as part of training, she added.
The AMS doesn’t have a concrete training strategy yet, but they want the final plan to be “sustainable,” Osunde said. Once the review is done internally by the AMS, student groups can provide on the policy, she explained.
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].