HML
By Janet Shulist
Assistant News Editor
Mark MacGregor, Sci ’07, wants to ensure forgotten student cards are a thing of the past. He said Team HML wants to reinstate the All-Ages Access (AAA) program on campus, with an added twist.
“One of the problems with the AAA program was that people were forgetting their student cards … and they were getting a Tri-Pub ban for a year after their 19th birthday,” MacGregor said. “What we want to do is bring it back using a door-guard system with a reminder card.”
Underage students would be given a reminder card in place of their student card, and if they left a bar without reclaiming their student card, a light would flash at the StuCon table, MacGregor said.
MacGregor said HML have budgeted the AAA initiative to cost around $2,000.
“It’s a very financially viable system, [it’s] very straight forward and solves the problem with the current AAA program,” he said.
MacGregor, who is from Cobourg, Ont., said his current role as VP (Services) within EngSoc will help him if he is elected. As VP (Services), he oversees such services as Clark Hall Pub, the soon-to-be Tea Room in the ILC and Science Quest.
“VP (Services) is kind of along the same lines [as VP (Operations), but on a smaller scale,” he said.
MacGregor said his role as a member on this year’s AMS Board of Directors will also be an asset.
“One thing that’s been great is that I have been able to see the whole operations and corporate side of the AMS, and get an in-depth look at the AMS, but also have experience outside the AMS with the Engineering Society,” he said.
MacGregor said he and his teammates also plan to increase the financial sustainability and security of CFRC, the campus radio station.
“They have a great initiative with the funding drive, but I think as much as this is a great initiative, they still need to do more,” he said. “They need to start ing alumni and things like that, to make sure that this loss of funding through the University isn’t going to hinder their ability to provide quality programming and a good service to students.”
Team HML also wants to increase the amount of training for both employees and managers of AMS services, he said.
“If someone had a positive experience at our services, then it will come back to us in of revenue that we will gain from increased product quality and increased service and speed of service,” he said.
HPR
By Anna Mehler Paperny
Assistant News Editor
Diane Phatsaphaphone, ArtSci ’07, swears she is not a personification of the “Canadian dream.”
“Somebody like Adrienne Clarkson, that’s the Canadian dream personified,” she said. “I have so far to go.”
Phatsaphaphone’s family came to Canada in 1979 as refugees from Laos . She now calls the Jane and Finch area of Toronto home.
Phatsaphaphone is currently involved in the Student Safety Council, which operates under the Municipal Affairs Commission. She said the group works on several safety issues, from a student safety fair to handing out flyers advising students how to keep their Ghetto houses from being broken into over the holidays.
“We’re interested in the idea of lobbying the city to reduce the speed limit on University between Union and Stuart [streets],” she said.
Phatsaphaphone is also the vice-president of Tri-Aid, a group organized to fundraise for victims of the earthquake in Pakistan, the tsunami in South Asia and the hurricane in the U.S. that all occurred last year.
She said she thinks the fact that she is not heavily involved in the AMS is an asset.
“I think that by not being involved [I’m] able to have a different viewpoint,” she said. “I’d really call myself the average Queen’s student. [I] get involved in a couple of things, spend way more time in Stauffer than I should, and, regretfully, shop at A&P.”
Phatsaphaphone said her experience applicable to the position of VP (Operations) includes work as assistant manager at home décor store Bowring, and in the finance department of Goodmans, a corporate law firm.
Phatsaphaphone talked about team HPR’s initiative for a 20 per cent pay cut to salaried employees, emphasizing that it would not apply to service employees who are currently paid minimum wage.
She said the pay cut, which would be reversed contingent on performance, is meant as an incentive to salaried employees.
Phatsaphaphone said her team has budgeted approximately $10,000 for a 5 per cent pay increase that would go towards salaried employees who did an exceptional job.
She said her team’s goal of communicating with students doesn’t have a price tag, however.
“Talking to students means reaching out to students, and it doesn’t necessarily have to cost us anything,” she said. “[It means] making sure the AMS office is actually welcome to everybody.”
She said the Tricolour Market and the Green Room, as two of the newest AMS services, are the ones that she would focus on if elected VP (Operations).
“Getting your hands dirty is something that I’m a big believer in.”
MBT
By Janet Shulist
Assistant News Editor
Ian Black, ArtSci ’07, hopes Team MBT’s “bottom up” philosophy will help them succeed if elected as next year’s AMS executive.
“Our philosophy is that in order to run [AMS] services properly, you need to know how they work from the bottom up,” he said. “Being an employee at Walkhome and knowing many other people who work at most of the services, I have a very good perspective of how they work.” Black, originally from Calgary, Alta., is also on the AMS Municipal Affairs Commission’s public relations committee.
He said one of MBT’s top priorities is to purchase TV screens and mount them in buildings across campus.
“The main purpose is to allow an exchange of information between AMS clubs, services and non-AMS student groups, so that these groups can better promote their events,” Black said.
He said placing 10 screens across campus—in locations like the JDUC and Leonard Cafeteria—would cost approximately $30,000 including initial purchasing costs and installation.
The initiative would also include the participation of Destinations and StudioQ, who would provide event listings and programming, he said.
Team MBT will also work to reinstate the All Ages Access (AAA) program this coming summer, Black said.
“We have spoken with Bruce Griffiths about the possibility of this,” he said.
Black said MBT wants to work with the retail initiatives that “have blossomed” under this year’s AMS.
“We would certainly like to continue that and push for retail to be an important part of the AMS services as the Queen’s Centre becomes a reality, and ensure that the services play a strong part in the centre,” he said.
Black added he sees room for improvement in the Tricolour Market and the Green Room.
“When any service is in its first year, there are always issues that come up with what direction it will take in the long term,” he said. “I think both of these services are still struggling with where they will be in five years.”
As well, Black and his teammates hope to make Stauffer Library open 24 hours a day during December and April exam periods.
“This is something that we hope that will not come out of the AMS budget. We believe it is Queen’s responsibility to provide the money for this,” he said.
Black said his major in economics has made him familiar with the corporate side of the AMS.
“I have become very comfortable with numbers and very proficient with them, and have a good understanding of how numbers play into the working of a business,” he said.
“I have also been interested in running for the position for some months now, and have done a lot of research to know how [the AMS] works from the top down.”
SHT
By Christina Bossart
Assistant News Editor
Third-year commerce student Nancy Huynh said she thinks engineering may actually have been the right program for her.
“I like architecture,” she said. “I wish I had gone into Structural Engineering but, alas, I didn’t.” This love of architecture is something Huynh said fuels her interest in the Campus Planning and Development Committee, which current VP (Operations) Jenn Hirano sits on.
“Putting up new buildings or taking down old buildings is an essential part of what a student government should be part of,” she said.
Huynh said she would bring experience with numbers and strong leadership skills with groups including the Japanese Relations Club, the Investment Club and web design for the Commerce Society Newspaper to the position of VP (Operations).
“A lot of the time, in academics or in clubs, I often tend to be the one, not necessarily running the show, but keeping people in check,” she said. “If I scale it up a bit it would be perfect for the VP (Operations) position.”
Huynh added that, while she has little experience in student government, she feels everyone should have the opportunity to make his or her voice heard.
“I think everyone here at Queen’s should be able to step up to the plate and run for [a position] or give their opinions on something they believe in, and that’s sort of the reason I’m [running],” she said.
Huynh said she feels the current AMS government had made many positive changes, including the creation of the Green Room and Destinations this year. She said she would these new services rather than creating more.
She added over the past two years, the AMS has been running more efficiently, something her government would continue.
“I don’t want to make monetary guarantees as to how much we’re going to be spending,” she said. “But we’ll be spending in line with has been spent in the past, obviously looking at where we need to focus, on where we need to cut down.” She added that the AMS is not required to make a large profit, and students should see the benefits of their money.
“If we do make money, it’s great and it should be going back to the students,” she said. “What we should be focusing on is taking the money we have and allocating it so that it’s best for the needs of the students and for the community here at large.”
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