The Good
- Sarah-Dawn Schenk, MAC Commissioner—The municipal affairs commissioner, Sarah-Dawn Schenk, worked her tail off to get students’ attention on all things civic.
- Elections Team—During the biggest AMS elections fiasco of the last—well, five or six years, the team of Rickin Thakrar and Andrew Mould kept their cool and impressed all with their level-headed approach to the mud-slinging and accusations.
- Beth Wightman—This Gaels long-distance runner has broken numerous records and stayed at the top of her sport for most of her varsity career.
- John Mould—Mould’s comments in assembly kept the AMS executive on their toes, and while his conduct was investigative, it was also diplomatic—a rare forte.
- Alfie’s—Closing Alfie’s down was a difficult choice, a hot potato ed from one AMS istration to the next. Making a fiscally responsible choice—if late—was a wise one.
- Grad Club—The Grad Club has become the premier venue on campus for amazing live music and various literary launch parties. The Grad Club is grand, and provides a relaxed atmosphere for everyone.
- Principal William Leggett—As his term as principal comes to an end, we tip our hats to the outgoing principal. Everyone who crossed Leggett’s path found him accessible and friendly, no matter the criticism, and for that he deserves commendation.
- Accessibility policy— a large project with a long way to go, but the fact the University has highlighted building all-access spaces as a priority shows that “equality” is not always just a catch phrase.
- Campus literary publications—Magazines like His ‘n’ Hers, Lighthouse Wire, Culture Shock and Queen’s Feminist Review have showcased the amazing diversity of talent that call Queen’s home.
- Friendly EngSoc elections—Jim Morrison and Tom Woodhall showed that a vigourous yet congenial campaign was not only possible, but easy.
- Queen’s Libraries staff—The extended library hours this year are due to the flexibility of the library workers, whose under-appreciated participation in the process has made students’ lives easier.
- Mayor Harvey Rosen—Case in point: Rosen has focused on student needs in the Ghetto, which is a refreshing change.
The Bad
- AMS executive candidates and campaign teams—Every AMS team in the running was accused of some sort of improper elections behaviour. Although Team MNL was the worst offender, everyone involved in the process should question an election more about scandal than student issues.
- James McIntosh and Sally Harris, president and vice-president of MCRC—Certain great leaders provide a model of commitment and integrity as they carry out their jobs, under scrutiny or not. Other leaders fritter away student funds on silk flowers, miss more meetings than they should and vote at their own impeachment proceedings.
- Adam Perry, AMS services director—When the majority of your services, including powerhouses like the QP, are projected to lose an anticipated $274,000, something seems off. Perry started off the year with a strong Alfie’s fundraising drive for charity, but perhaps should have been focusing more on how the services under him could pull in more income.
- Make Some Noise—This idea, hyped by the AMS executive, fell short of expectations, wasting a chunk of student funds in the process. Using bands like Not by Choice to promote the responsibility of voting was an utter failure.
- Liberal Provincial Government— When you campaign on promises to freeze tuition, but also come up with no suggestions to replace lost income, you are selling Canadian university education short.
- Queen’s Entertainment Agency Poor evaluation of the student market meant that QEA lost approximately $60,000 this year, the highest amount on record.
- AMS Access Sticker—When you design a program so that it can include underage students, and then abandon it, it’s a good idea to explain why the program is being eliminated instead of declaring it is reduced to “zero nights a week.” Geoffrey Dudgeon—Dudgeon’s editing on the AMS website of critical phrases, the barring of anonymous website participants and his communications terminology meant that getting the straight goods was always a battle.
- The Queen’s Physical Education Centre—The equipment is outdated, the environment is grim, and the change rooms are crowded. The PEC gets a dart for continuing to suck at such an outstanding level.
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