CUSID General Meeting Minutes (10/15/05)
UBC British Parliamentary Championships
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call and Voting Rights
17 members of CUSID, with representatives from all 3 regions – quorum achieved.
–      University of Toronto – Hart House (Jo)
–      University of Guelph (partially directed proxy/Padraic)
–      Carleton University (Padraic)
–      Simon Fraser University (Ross)
–      University of British Columbia (Teddy)
–      University of Alberta (Crossman)
–      Queen’s University (Laura)
–      University of Ottawa – EDS (Padraic)
–      Athabasca University (Chris)
–      Memorial University of Newfoundland (directed proxy)
–      McMaster University (directed proxy)
–      University of New Brunswick (directed proxy)
–      University of Western Ontario (Kevin)
–      Bishop’s University (Jason)
–      McGill University (Jason)
–      University of Calgary (Brent)
–      Waterloo (directed proxy)
3. Oral Executive Reports
a. President’s Report – delivered by Jess.
–      CUSID open letters:
–      completed by the Executive this summer and now available on the website
–      meant as a tool to gain institutional support and fundraising
–      Brittany (the DoFLD) is currently translating them into French
–      Central Debate Guide:
–      helped Dash (the VP Central) compile and edit his guide, now available on the website
–      not just for Central, meant to be used by all of CUSID
–      National Debate Guide:
–      approx. 10 articles, designed to address issues not dealt with in the Central Guide (e.g. regional variations in style, BP debating, NorthAms style, and French debating)
–      will be available as soon as editing/compilation is complete; perhaps will be subsumed within the other Guide? Waiting for more articles.
–      CUSID Bank Account:
–      signing authority has been transferred from the past President and Treasurer to myself, now we are just finalizing the transfer by getting Jo (the current Treasurer) onto the account as well
–      Wayne Chu was owed $132, due to his credit card being down for the website server costs – he wasn’t paid for 2 years, so we paid him back
b. Interim ED’s Report – delivered by Jess on behalf of Julieta.
–      Funky bug that caused sudden changes to CUSIDnet header was fixed when Nick Tam updated the CUSIDnet software just before the transfer.
–      The lost password for the ftp files have been recovered and everything on the website can now be updated. Things have since been continuously updated.
–       CUSID letterhead designed for open letters and any future documents.
–       Implemented high school tournament schedule to promote CUSID high school tournaments.
–      South African National Debating Council approached to see if we can help with their new website and also to provide some relevant CUSID news for their news section. We said yes.
–      OSDU approached to see if they can set up a private forum on CUSIDnet for them to use since they have no “technical ability” to create their own forum. We said no, because of bandwidth, cultural difference, and moderation/censorship problems.
–      It was summer, so not much went on in CUSIDnet.
c. Treasurer’s Report – delivered by Jess on behalf of Jo.
–      Signing authority of the CUSID account: Jess, Alex, Erik and I are in the process of changing the signing authority of the account. This process is somewhat complicated by the fact that we are in three (now four!) different cities. There is only one more action to be taken to complete this transaction; Jess simply must confirm my authorization to have signing authority on the account when some paperwork arrives in Montreal. To future Executives, Jess and I would recommend that you begin the process of account change-over as soon as the new executive is elected.
–      Proposed Budget: After examining the budgets of Gaurav and Alex (the past two Treasurers) I have created a budget which is balanced and which is in line with past CUSID costs.
–      Gavin McGrath: After receiving information from Alex about the CUSID account, I realized that CUSID still has one debt outstanding. Gavin McGrath, former CUSID VP East, still owes the CUSID Exec $70. I have contacted him about this matter, and he has promised to send me the cheque immediately.
–      Club Fees: As per last year, the amount needed per club to have a balanced CUSID budget was $10. I have requested this money of the CUSID clubs, and many clubs have already sent their funds via cash or cheque.
–      Bylaw Amendment: As there are no CUSID protections in place against fraud by Treasurers, I have proposed that there be a change made to the CUSID by-laws that requires Treasurers to keep receipts and an updated cash flow sheet.
d. Director of French Language Debate – delivered by Jess on behalf of Brittany.
To begin, interest in french language debate in Canada, or specifically central Canada, is gaining energy and more and more participants. The novice tournament at l’Université de Sherbrooke didn’t have too many francophone novice participants, but the explanation from many who were there was that it was felt that this tournament was a little early and that they hadn’t had sufficient time to prepare. They are waiting instead for the opportunity to debate at the next tournament offered in French, the Coupe Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
When it comes to new members who would like to join CUSID, l’ETS was not able to submit their application on time (due to a change in person responsable for the club), thus it will be necessary to approve them at a later date, hopefully at the beginning of the next semester. The Championnat National can be awarded at that time. The Polytechnique de Montr éal has also showed interest in joining CUSID. It may also be possible to consider their application at the same time as l’ETS.
Contact with the Jeux du Commerce 2006 has been made. The person responsible for the event, Sophie Bergeron will pass on the information regarding french tournaments in CUSID to the participants of the Jeux du Commerce in the hopes that they can pratice their debating skills before the event. After this, I will go to Quebec City to judge at the event and promote CUSID.
Concerning debate in western Canada, I have nominated Guillaume Laroche once again as assistant to the directrice in western Canada. This idea of the last director seemed brilliant, so I have decided to adopt it as well.
The things that will require attention and work over the next couple of months are translation of CUSID documents (if you can help, let me know), recrutement from within the Jeux du Commerce and maybe the Jeux-ridiques (the French Law Games), encouragement of l’ETS and the Polytechnique, as well as support of french debate in western Canada.
e. VP West’s – delivered by Monica.
CUSID West is going through a bit of a transition period. We’re seeing waning growth in some clubs, and the reemergance of others (Brandon, for instance). We’re really happy for UBC as they are hosting Worlds next year. We hope to continue the growth we’ve been seeing recently, especially in French debate, which is often easier to get funding for than English debate. We’re also looking forward to our Fall Open novice tournament, as well as our Hugill Worlds Prep tournament.
f. VP East’s Report – delivered by Jess on behalf of Alexa.
My primary focus as VP Atlantic has been the establishment of new debate clubs in the region. I am very pleased to announce that Saint Mary’s University has formed a debating club this fall. I believe they were ratified last Sunday by their council, and will be seeking provisional membership from CUSID shortly. Personally, I have been working closely with the club’s executive and attending their weekly meetings. Sodales has also reached out to help the new club by inviting SMU debaters to attend Dal meetings. I am encouraged by the enthusiastic response we have gotten from SMU and am excited to see their participation at Acadia’s upcoming invitational tournament.
In addition to the establishment of a club at SMU, we have seen the rejuvenation of the ABU debate society. Their participation at novices was encouraging, and I have been in contact with the club president to get them out to future tournaments in our region. It is a challenge to help ABU grow as they are not located near an established club, but I will be relying on UNB to help them; at least in transportation to upcoming tournaments.
The Atlantic Region is looking forward to Atlantic Championships which are going to be held at St. FX in November. The X club was only (re)established a couple years ago, and it is great to see the enthusiasm and large member participation they are enjoying. My primary concern for Atlantics will be to ensure that we have enough experienced judges to help with the relatively young club. The tournament CA and I will be turning to past debaters in the Atlantic region for their help with judging.
Atlantic Novices were held two weeks ago and the attendance was great. We had approximately twice as many teams in attendance this year compared to last year. I anticipate that this is a good indication of the enthusiasm and participation we can expect in the eastern region this year!
As always, fundraising is a major concern for all of our clubs. I have encouraged the clubs to access the letter drafted by the executive over the summer, and I hope to talk about some fundraising ideas with each club at Atlantic Championships.
g. National Ombudsperson’s Report – delivered by Mike.
– Equity officers should be people from CUSID instead of someone from outside (i.e. someone who may attend the host school and debate interally, but does not actively participate in CUSID)
– They need the confidence to do something about equity issues and take action if need be
– It is key to let equity officers know what they can and cannot do
– inform them of their jurisdiction & powers
Kevin: Be sure to inform Equity Officers that they should always check with their school and/or student government, because typically they have their own Equity Policies and Guidelines that you will be required to follow and will be constrained by. Then, of course, check the Code of Conduct for CUSID as well.
Constitutional amendments
Full new memberships
Alaska
Informal Platform (presented by Steve Johnson)
o     History of Alaska
o     Seeing more good debate here than in other forums
o     Expanding their BP style, hopefully culminating at worlds
o     Bid based on similar goals, not nefarious to take over organization
o     Motion, seconded
For: 15
Against: 2 (UNB, Hart House)
Brandon University
For: 17
Against: 0
John Molson School of Business
For: 17
Against 0
By-law proposals and Amendments
Amendment to the “Balanced Budget and Account Rule By-lawâ€:
Addition of:
5. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the preparation of a Statement of Cashflows reconciling the opening CUSID bank (cash) balance with the year-end CUSID bank balance. All line items of the Statement of Cashflows must be accompanied by appropriate receipts.
Presented by: Treasurer 2005-2006
Motion to approve, seconded
Passed unanimously, no abstentions or opposition
áOther amendments/proposals were contingent upon Alaska not being granted membership and thus, were dropped from the agenda)
New Business
Approval of the 2005-2006 CUSID Budget:
Revenues
CUSID Dues (35 Members * $10) $350.00
Expenses
Photocopying $(70.00)
Trophy Engraving $(100.00)
Bank Charges
Bank Charges $(60.00)
Website
Server Charges $(120.00)
Profit/Loss $0.00
o Passed unanimously, no abstentions or opposition
Election of the permanent 2005-2006 CUSID Executive Director:
o Joyce Thomas of University of Western Ontario
Platform (presented on her behalf by Kevin Massie)
Move the role towards a news anchor-type position, in order to move information into the regions and provide constant updates.
Technical abilities and lots of spare time.
o Julieta Chan of the University of Toronto
Platform (presented on her behalf by Jo Nairn)
Interim ED for 4-5 months
Updates CUSIDnet regularly
Implemented high school tournaments schedule
Past and current results page being updated
Laissez faire approach to moderation
Kevin: motion to move vote to a “closed eyes, raised hands†ballot
Passed unanimously, no abstentions or opposition
o Julieta: 16 votes
o Joyce: 1 vote
Julieta elected as official permanent 2005-2006 CUSID Executive Director
Final Discussion and Concerns:
Posting things that are wrong on CUSIDnet that don’t get caught
Teddy: Canadian-wide Worlds preparation/information compilation? (Not officially endorsed)
Joanna Nairn: There should be a motion at next CUSID GM to amend constitution to reflect desire of CUSID that non-Canadian members of CUSID be restricted to holding membership only in CUSID (i.e. not NDPA or APDA simultaneously)
Adjournment