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THE BLUEPRINT
CONTENTS
Michael Ceci
President
Michael Ceci is a Drama and Geography student in his fourth year study. Since his arrival at
Queen’s, Michael has been involved in many aspects of student life. Currently, Michael is in
the second year of his term as the Undergraduate Student Trustee, representing student interests
to the University’s Board. In his role, Michael sits on a variety of faculty society and student
government assemblies as well as various University committees to ensure that the student voice
is heard in the administration.
Outside of student government, Michael is actively involved in both the acting and production
side of theatre, being apart of such shows in the Queen’s community as Urinetown, Blood
Brothers, Into the Woods, Floyd Collins, Famine, and most recently as an actor, singer, and
dancer in the Queen’s Musical Theatre production of Jekyll and Hyde the Musical as Sir Danvers
Carew. Michael has been a Gael, participated as a delegate in Queen’s Model Parliament,
and been a member of a faculty society marketing team. Michael also helped to plan the first
Queen’s Canadian Leadership Conference as a committee member.
This past summer Michael participated in the Queen’s Drama program at the Shaw Festival
and worked in film production on the set of a reality show and a rap video. Michael has been
involved in Queen’s Intramurals through ultimate Frisbee and inner tube water polo! Running,
skiing, and biking are sports Michael likes.
Michael has volunteered in a variety of learning programs for children with special needs, having
been inspired by his brother Marc who has Down syndrome. Other teaching opportunities
include having taught English to children in a small village of Frabosa Sottana in northern Italy.
Other interests for Michael include clarinet, piano, singing in the shower, Star Wars, Seinfeld,
and Entourage. His favourite food is pasta.
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Leslie Yun
VP Operations
Leslie Yun is a third-year Arts student pursuing a medial degree in Economics and Religious
Studies. She’s been involved with the AMS since her first year at Queen’s, during which she
worked as a designer at the P&CC. She immediately fell in love with the store’s vibrant energy
and quirky staff (and she’s always had a strange appreciation for office machines) and went
on to become an assistant manager in her second year. Currently, Leslie serves as the AMS
Communications Officer, working to ensure that students are aware of what goes on in the AMS
and opportunities to get involved.
Leslie’s tenure with the AMS has led her to working closely with various commissioners,
officers, and service managers. It has also given her the chance to expand fall recruitment and
develop the popular testimonial campaign seen around campus and in the Society’s publications.
Leslie has also gotten involved at Queen’s outside of the AMS. Last year, she was a cast member
of the Vagina Monologues, her dramatic debut at Queen’s. This year, she is involved with the
Religious Issues Committee and Newman House. In her spare time, Leslie is a passionate
volleyball player and quickly becoming an avid fan of golf. She’s been playing the piano since
she was eight years old and has recently taken up self-taught guitar.
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Adam Zabrodski
VP University Affairs
Adam Zabrodski is a fourth year student in the environmental option of geological engineering.
For the past two years he has served as the Vice President Academic of the Engineering Society
of Queen’s University. During his tenure he worked towards improving recruitment practices of
the faculty, and worked with new senior administrators in planning for undergraduate program
changes.
Adam has also taken an interest in broader educational initiatives including serving as a director
for The Campus Bookstore, and serving on the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance sub-
committee of AMS assembly. External to student government involvement, Adam has served
for two years as a laboratory-teaching assistant in the department of Geological Sciences and
Geological Engineering.
An avid athlete, Adam plays intramural sports and is always up for the challenge of a casual
squash game or some pickup hockey in the park. During the summer he can be found on the golf
course or kiteboarding on windy days. Adam also has musical inclinations, playing the tenor
saxophone throughout high school and is always looking for a jazz band to play with. Just over
a year ago he has begun to “rock out” by playing the guitar, although he maintains it is more of a
state of mind. In the evenings Adam enjoys simply hanging out, preferably with the hockey game
on.
An easygoing guy with a great sense of humour, Adam is well suited to the role of Vice President
University Affairs. He has a strong reputation for representing students and is always ready for a
challenge.
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Your Queen’s. Our Promise.
1. Your homecoming.
Ensure student representation to restore the Fall Homecoming tradition.
5. Your clubs.
Create a Clubs Manager position and increase club grants by 500%.
6. Your Kingston.
Develop myHousingGuide, a one-stop-shop to renting and living in Kingston.
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Our Vision
AMS—Faculty Society Relationships
A New Deal: Formalizing and Nurturing the AMS Relationship with Faculty Societies
Queen’s is unique as a University in the amount of influence and input students have with
the administration and into the governance of our school. Many student led initiatives are
proposed and stances are taken on a wide variety of issues every year. Often, due to a disjointed
relationship between the AMS, faculty societies, student groups, and student senators to name
a few, many of these initiatives and stances are not presented as a unified student position and
therefore fall to the wayside. To fix this problem, team CYZ proposes that in order to recognize
the diverse needs of different faculties, the President will formalize and facilitate regular meetings
of all faculty society presidents, in-conjunction with the Student Senate Caucus chair, the Rector,
and the Undergraduate Trustee in an official President’s Caucus, so that issues may be discussed
and information shared in a frank, open, and equal forum. In order to adequately form this
partnership of student leaders, the AMS Executive will seek Faculty Society input into drafting an
AMS/Faculty Society Contract that outlines how the working relationship should function.
Queen’s Centre
Protecting Student Services Throughout Our Transition to the Queen’s Centre
The Queen’s Centre’s 1st phase will be opening to students as early as September 2009. The
budget of the Queen’s Centre has been plagued by cost overruns and as a result the University
has set on a course to scale back on the timing as well as the design of the plan for the upcoming
two phases. Team CYZ will work with the administration to ensure that Queen’s Undergraduate
Students’ commitment of $25.5 million to the project will be recognized as the driving force
behind the project and will ensure that the potential for programming loss in the shift of
certain AMS services from the JDUC to the Queen’s Centre is minimized and that services are
seamlessly transitioned between the spaces starting with the Common Ground in September 2009.
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Homecoming
Team CYZ will ensure the restoration of the fall homecoming tradition and student involvement in
its planning after the expiration of the two-year probationary period. This will include a licenced
event on the Friday evening of the event. In their attempt to discourage the Aberdeen Street party,
the administration acted in a knee-jerk fashion and needlessly deprived students of a cherished
part of the Queen’s experience. We will work to bring back homecoming and ensure the safety of
all participants while doing our part to discourage a Street Party which has no involvement in our
traditions and is damaging to the reputation of the University and its Students.
Openness
Delivering Accountability Through Transparency
The AMS is an organization that handles over $12 million dollars of student money on an annual
basis. An organization of this size should be open to all students. Team CYZ will mandate that
included in a prominent location on the AMS website as well as the monthly email news letter that
is sent to students that a no nonsense, easy to understand update on AMS finances and initiative
be included in order to allow everyone regular access to information regarding the financial health
of the organization.
Team CYZ want to be “advocates of information” who will be proactive in letting students know
how we are coming along with our initiatives.
Robert Sutherland
Recognizing and Celebrating Queen’s History
Team CYZ recognizes the importance of remembering aspects of Queen’s history. Robert
Sutherland was the first graduate of colour from Queen’s and British North America. Upon his
death after years as a successful lawyer, he donated his entire estate to the university, which saved
Queen’s at that time from financial ruin. Team CYZ pledges to make the next yearly installment
of the AMS’s donation to the Queen’s Centre of $1 million to the memory of Robert Sutherland on
behalf of the students of Queen’s University and will work to ensure this institution does not forget
his legacy.
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Administration Relations
Working Together with Administration to Serve You Better
Next year the university will be welcoming a new Principal and two new Vice-Principals. Team
CYZ will pledge to ensure that they are made fully aware of the role that students have in the
governance of the institution and will facilitate a working relationship to facilitate student
initiatives.
Tuition Relief
Paying More, Getting Less: A Dedicated Voice Against This Raw Deal
Tuition is a major issue that affects all students. With budget cuts and tuition increases, students
are paying more for less. Team CYZ stands firmly against locally set tuition and will work with
their partners at OUSA to lobby the government to increase the amount of funding available to
universities in the province. Team CYZ will also lobby the administration to ensure that the
amount of financial aid that is available to students increases (at the same rate or higher) if any
tuition hikes are to occur. Further, Team CYZ will take steps to ensure that students are fully
aware of what financial aid services and opportunities are available to them, and will make this
information easily accessible and understandable through the AAC website.
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Mandatory Office Hours
Here for You …and Hearing You, Too
Team CYZ believes that if students want to speak with the AMS Executive, Commissioners,
or Officers, there should be guaranteed times of availability to do this during the day when
permanent and regularly scheduled office hours will occur that will not be interrupted by
meetings or other commitments. By being available on a regular basis to listen to the needs of
students, the AMS will be more accessible.
Online voting
Cost-Effective, Environmentally-Friendly, and Easily-Accessible Elections
In order to improve sustainability in the AMS elections, Team CYZ will work to integrate online
voting with the new overhaul of the University’s IT systems that will be occurring to replace
QCARD and other services. It won’t just be a cheaper, greener, more accessible system; it’ll be
easier for you to vote, which will strengthen the democratic nature of our elections.
Financial Assistance
A Library Without Your Textbooks? No More.
The cost of an education is expensive enough. As many students study in the library, Team CYZ
believes that the library should have copies of course textbooks on three-hour reserve for the use
of students who want to have access to the materials for their classes without having to pay for
ever increasing textbook prices.
EnviroGrants Program
Focused Grants for What Matters Most to You
While the AMS has made significant strides towards achieving sustainability in the past few
years, we believe much more can be done. To encourage broader student involvement, Team
CYZ will create a Special Projects Grant exclusively for environmental or sustainability-focused
initiatives.
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New Food Options
CoGro & The QP: There’s Something for Everyone
As part of our commitment to make AMS services more inclusive for students of all religious and
cultural backgrounds, we will introduce multiple Kosher and Halal food options onto the Common
Ground and QP menus. Currently, students who observe special diets for religious reasons have
too few food options on campus.
IT Outsourcing
Bringing AMS IT Service Levels Back to Where They Should Be
Team CYZ will partner with an external company to ensure consistency of IT resources for
students on a year-to-year basis. The current AMS IT Office is overstretched in its capacity to
provide the technical support and systems administration that the AMS needs. If you’ve tried
to opt-out of AMS fees, re-ratify a club, log-in to your AMS email account, or access the AMS
Marketplace, you’ve likely been affected by this.
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Commisions
Academic Affairs Commission (AAC)
Team CYZ will ensure student input on budget cuts so that quality of education is
maintained.
Team CYZ will ensure student input on budget cuts so that quality of education is maintained.
Lobbying will be at the forefront of AAC activities. With university budget cuts, there is no other
option than to start cutting programs if education quality is to be maintained. The AAC will
communicate with students and the administration to determine the best way to implement the
funding cuts. Strong collaboration with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) will
be required as the reaching higher plan from the provincial government is expiring next year, and
a new funding scheme will be unveiled. The AAC along with the VPUA will ensure that OUSA
incorporates educational quality into their lobbying efforts. The fall 2008 plebiscite indicated
that students want the AMS to pursue external alignment with a federal lobbying body. Such
alignment may require internal restructuring to ensure that lobbying goals are achieved.
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Municipal Affairs Commission (MAC)
Team CYZ will:
• lobby the city for snow removal of sidewalks in the student ghetto;
• consolidate the website as a “one stop shop” for all housing information including
tenant rights, rental listings, and upper year sub-letting opportunities; and
• create a database of rental properties, “myHousingGuide.”
The MAC will work with the city to inform students about the community; educating students
on the city’s recycling program and new green bin initiative. Lobbying the city for regular snow
removal of sidewalks in student housing areas will be a priority. The housing committees under
the MAC will be consolidated, as volunteer recruitment has been an issue in the past. Housing
information will all be put on a single website for easy access, as part of the IT infrastructure.
Common Ground
Although the Common Ground is slated to move to the Queen’s Centre in the fall of 2009, we
want to ensure that it will remain open throughout the year and that students will not lose the
benefits of the service. The transition will occur during a student break period, such as the winter
break, to ensure minimal service interruption.
Destinations
Destinations has seen a lot of success this year with their sports and cultural events, including
the Girl Talk concert and Cirque-du-Soleil performance last semester. Although the loss of the
QEA student fee has made it difficult to predict the profitability of the service this year, the extra
emphasis placed on these charter events have made the service even more valuable to students
and demonstrates the potential to draw in profits in the future. By continuing to support these
endeavors, Destinations will continue subsidizing the other services and remain financially
sustainable.
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Publishing & Copy Centre
P&CC saw its share of obstacles this year, including copyright issues, which have yet to be
fully resolved. As a result, students have lost access to reserve readings, which were a highly
affordable alternative to purchasing full-price course packages and textbooks. However, we will
replace this by having access to all textbooks through reserve readings at Stauffer. Furthermore,
outsourcing IT services will ensure printers are always in service, and no revenue opportunity is
lost.
Student Constables
QSC this year has been met with several challenges that threaten the financial sustainability
of the service. Bill 159, which requires all security services to adhere to specific licensing and
training regulations, once fully implemented, will significantly increase the service’s costs,
especially alongside the concurrent increase in minimum wage. We will actively pursue cost
cutting and revenue generating initiatives to ensure StuCons remain a viable service.
Walkhome
Over the past year, Walkhome has continued to help ensure night-time student safety. Although
the rise in minimum wage has increased costs for the service, the recently-passed increase in the
Walkhome student fee has helped address this. Team CYZ will continue to ensure the vibrancy
and exposure of this service on campus.
CFRC
A long standing tradition on campus, CFRC has recently been met with financial instability and
poor listenership. As a result, the relevancy of its programming to current students is in question.
In recognition of these shortcomings, CFRC is undertaking a listenership survey this semester to
gauge student opinion. Upon seeing the results of this survey, we will address how best to make
this service relevant to common students.
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Journal
As the most widely-circulated student publication on campus, the Journal’s tradition and history
extends almost as far back as the AMS itself. Although owned and operated by the AMS, the
Journal maintains full editorial autonomy and is mandated to give accurate accounts of news that
occurs on campus and offer journalism opportunities for students. This past year, the Journal has
seen increased interaction with students through its online edition. We will continue to promote
this edition in hopes that it will allow us to cut back on hardcopy circulation, in order to reduce
waste and printing costs. We have no plans to interfere with Journal autonomy, as they provide
important checks and balances on the AMS’ decisions, and give a venue for all students to have
their opinions heard.
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