Thank you for your interest in attending our Semi-Annual General Meeting (SAGM)!
We really appreciate you taking the time to attend our AGM! The UVSS is your students’ society – it is run by students, for students, so your voice really matters in making its big decisions. But we know that getting involved in these sort of more formal meetings (like a general meeting) might be strange and confusing to those who haven’t attended before, so we hope this primer can help make it easier for you to participate!
Please check out UVSS SAGM website for all of the meeting info!
What is a General Meeting?
A general meeting is a meeting of the general membership of an organization. All UVic undergraduate students (more than 17,000 students) are automatically members of the UVSS and can attend and vote at general meetings. The UVSS typically has two general meetings: the Annual General Meeting in October, and the Semi-Annual General Meeting in February.
At general meetings, the UVSS membership has an opportunity to vote on important decisions relating to the governance, operations, and finances of your student society. A general meeting is the only place where changes can be made to the Constitution and Bylaws. Find all UVSS policies and bylaws on our website.
Our general meetings, along with our Board Meetings, are run using the Democratic Rules of Order. We’ll try to explain the basics here.
What is an Agenda?
An agenda lays out what will be discussed and decided on at the meeting. The agenda has been set in advance in order to give our membership notice of what will be on the table during the meeting, in accordance with the BC Societies Act.
What is quorum?
Quorum is the number of people needed for a vote to occur. The UVSS General Meetings have a quorum of 0.6% of all undergraduate students as outlined in our bylaws. For this 2024 SAGM, quorum is 106 students (there are currently 17,593 undergraduate students at UVic).
Who runs the meeting? (What is a chair?)
The chair is the person appointed to conduct the meeting of members’ and all of its processes and must be impartial. The chair’s duty is to preserve order and fairness in meetings by following the bylaws and rules of order. Members must abide by the rulings of the chair without debate except when a point of order is called.
The chair of our 2024 SAGM is James Coccola. He brings extensive experience in chairing meetings, and was a UVSS Director more than a decade ago.
Why is it taking so long for the meeting to start?
Thanks for attending our SAGM and for your eagerness to get into the official business of the meeting! We want to get there, too, we assure you — and we know that’s why you’re joining us.
In order to ensure that all those who are present in the Zoom session are current UVSS voting members, we need to verify on our list of members. When we have 300-400 people (or more!) in attendance, this can take some time, and we appreciate your patience.
If this were an in person meeting, this might look like standing in line at the door waiting to get in as members get checked off the list. Online, it looks a little different. But please know we are working hard to get the meeting started as quickly as possible!
How does the prize draw work?
When you sign into the meeting, you are automatically entered into the prize draw for one of the many prizes we have available, and your name appears on a spreadsheet. Our UVSS Communications Manager then uses a random number generator for each prize drawn. The name that appears on the line with that number is then called out in the meeting. If the person is in attendance, they win the prize. If they are not currently in the meeting, we redraw.
What is a Motion?
A motion is a proposal on a course of action. It is a decision posed to the membership present. If a motion is approved, the actions outlined in the motion are then completed.
What does “WHEREAS” mean?
“WHEREAS” statements explain the reasoning for a motion, proposed decision, or necessary background. WHEREAS statements are not necessary for all motions, as sometimes the person who brought forward the motion would rather introduce the rationale themselves.
What does “BIRT/BIFRT” mean?
“BIRT” and “BIFRT” means “Be it resolved that” and “Be it further resolved that”, respectively. These are the action items which, if the motion is passed by the membership, will be completed.
What is a special resolution?
Any motion that is proposing changes to the Constitution & Bylaws of the UVSS (or any Society in BC) is considered a “special resolution.” These motions require advance notice to the membership (21 days) and require a higher voting threshold to pass — 2/3 of the votes cast need to be in support (compared to simple majority for an ordinary resolution).
How can I ask questions about or speak to motions?
All members are welcome to speak or ask questions at the meeting. If you wish to speak, please send an ‘x’ in the chat to James Coccola (or Kari Michaels), the chair, and he will add you to the speakers list and call upon you when it is your turn to speak. Once motions are open for discussion, you may speak or ask questions about that motion; any questions or comments must be specifically about that motion. Each speaker (aside from the mover of the motion) has one opportunity to speak to each motion.
What is a point of order?
If a member feels that a law or proper order is not being upheld at any point during the meeting, they may raise their concern by calling a point of order. The chair must acknowledge this member and then rule on the point, either correcting the situation or explaining why it is in order.