Dear UVSS Members,
At the November 14th board meeting, the UVSS Board of Directors voted to dissolve UVIC Pride and hold their funding in trust, after requesting the resignation of the Pride Representative. This decision was made for the following reasons:
- A General Meeting had not been held in over a year and six months; General Meetings must be held at least annually. No plans to hold an AGM had been given by Pride staff despite repeated requests from Board members and Excluded Management, and their Representative reported to the Executive Committee that there were no immediate plans to hold one.
- There was no democratically elected executive nor an open collective consensus making process;
- Open and advertised collective meetings were not being held regularly;
Upon receiving the letter announcing the motion, Pride staff announced an AGM shortly afterwards, which was abruptly postponed. We understand the student disappointment and confusion from this sudden change, and apologize for this miscommunication. UVIC Pride has since made a statement, which is available for student viewing here.
As your Board of Directors, we have a responsibility to ensure your student fees are directed in ways that are conducive with student values and that support all demographics of UVIC students. This is a moral and legal obligation that we carry as your Board of Directors. UVIC Pride and the UVSS are committed to making the changes necessary to continue building queer community, leadership, and advocacy on campus. We are excited for the future student-led advocacy group that provides safe spaces for all queer and 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
The UVSS has been queer-led for a number of years and is committed to ensuring there is an advocacy group that represents 2SLGBTQIA+ students. During the last week of January, we will be holding a Pride Annual General Meeting (hybrid) to establish a new Constitution and collective for UVIC Pride, elect student leaders, and get our gay agendas organized and put into action. In order to ensure we best accommodate student schedules, please indicate your availability for a Pride AGM here, along with feedback for the draft Constitution. If you are a queer, 2SLGBTQIA+, or ally student who wants to learn more about getting involved, please reach out to the Directors of Campaigns and Community Relations, Finance and Operations, and Student Affairs in the UVSS Board offices or through our e-mails which can be found at uvss.ca.
We look forward to continuing to serve, and support you.