TEAM AVILAPLATFORM

Who We AreEddy Avila and Jamie Cleary want to represent you as your University Students’ Council President and Vice President. Together, we form Team Avila. The platform below is divided into five main categories: Engagement and Collaboration, Academics, Wellness, Student Life, and Community.

• Engagement and Collaboration describes our efforts related to working specifically with other departments on campus. In addition, it includes points that speak to how students can help one another achieve our mutual goals. Reaching the heights of administration on campus can be challenging, and we want to help you get there.

• Academics speaks to the issues on campus that address the scholastic side of what it means to be a student.

• Wellness is a section that considers the many facets of what it means to be well, be it physical or psychological. We want to ensure you have access to the right resources, at the right time.

• Student Life is our broadest category, covering all those things that exist outside of the academic side of being a student at Western. From clubs to getting your caffeine fix, this category covers it all!

• Community covers how we want to interact with the London community. Too often we see Western as a bubble that operates independently of the city. We want to work toward breaking down those boundaries and improving community relationships.

We, Eddy and Jamie, have an understanding of what we can accomplish within our term as your principal representatives, and what we want to work toward. Therefore, we’ve identified what we hope to accomplish in the short-term, and what we’d like to lay the groundwork for—we have ideas for now and for later.

Our motto is students for students. As students, we have come to understand the issues faced by the student body on this campus. We are not administrators, we are not staff members, we are not faculty—we are students. And we hope to tackle some of the issues we have all dealt with. Students for students.

ACADEMICS

ForNowACADEMIC COUNSELLINGWe want to work with academic counselling offices across campus to develop a virtual appointment booking system. We envision a calendar with available dates and times, and a short submission form that would be evaluated by a counsellor or administrative staff member before you are confirmed for an appointment. If they decide your question is able to be answered via e-mail or to be better answered by someone else, they’d let you know. Look at that—time saved!

PASS/FAIL CREDITWestern has points on its strategic plan that discusses interdisciplinary education. We see this to be an integral part of the university experience—expanding the base of our knowledge in multiple fields. Sometimes though, this can come at the price of lowering the all-important GPA. We want to work alongside the Senate and senior administration at Western to implement a pass/fail credit. This tool would be applied to a course outside of your principal module, and would have to be applied to your record before the add/drop date for the specific course. No risk, all reward

30% TUITION GRANTDid you know the 30% tuition grant provided by the Government of Ontario is only available to students who have been out of high school for less than four years? There are many students on campus who require access to this kind of funding, but are excluded for having taken a different life path than other students. We want to lobby to the provincial government to explain this growing issue, and to ensure that these students have equal access to this incredibly helpful source of funding. University certainly isn’t one-size-fits-all, and neither is financing it.

EARLIER EXAM SCHEDULEThe University has goals to increase both international and out-of-province enrolment, meaning that there will be an increase in students who fly to and from campus. Booking your plane, train, or automobile late isn’t fun for anyone, so we will focus on this advocacy point at multiple levels of administration. Earlier exam schedules mean cheaper travel, what could be better than that?

FALL READING WEEKA long-standing issue students are very familiar with is the shorter break in October in lieu of a full week. We want to advocate hard to senior university administration and the Senate to align the existing two day break with the Thanksgiving weekend, so that you can be home for a longer stretch at the midpoint of the term. That way, only two days of class are missed over the three days required to extend the current break to a full week. In the business world, that’s a win-win.PAY AS YOU GONot all courses are made equal, in quite the same way that not all students are made equal! At least five universities of comparable size in Ontario alone have moved to a model where students pay per credit. A student with a 3.5 credit course load is not in the same amount of class as a student with 5.0—you should pay for what you’re getting. We plan to analyze data from universities who have already implemented this model, and make it a long-term advocacy priority.

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TEACHING ASSISTANT TRAININGWe’ve all had great TAs, but we’ve also likely had TAs who could use some polish. TAs can be a first point of contact for students who are struggling with the flow of the year, be the familiar voice of authority to provide insight into potential resources, and be able to help students beyond their academic needs. Over the course of the year, we will make it an advocacy priority to work with students, staff, and faculty to plant seeds that would grow into mandatory, paid training for TAs.

THREE IN TWENTY-THREEHow many times have you spoken with someone who tells you they have three exams in a twenty-four hour period and can’t have any moved? Too many. As many generations of previous USC Executive have, we will place working with the Senate to modify this policy as a top advocacy priority.

TUITION FREEZEThe Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) has made it an advocacy priority to work with the provincial government to halt the increasing costs of being a student. We commit to fostering this ongoing project alongside our OUSA partners, to stop the ongoing tuition hike.

STUDENT LIFE

BEERFEST 2.0Beer Fest is one of the most beloved events of first semester—students have an appreciation for the craft! We want to work with local vendors and the USC Productions team to bring you a second installment of Beer Fest in the winter term. Warm up during Frost Week with a pint of local brew!

CAMPUS RECREATIONNew Year’s resolutions are hard to keep, especially those that relate to fitness and well-being—we know that being a student and staying fit is hard! Over the course of our term, we aim to ensure that students are more broadly aware of the programming that currently happens at the Rec Centre, we want to bring campus recreation to the affiliate university colleges, and we want to work with Mustang Athletics to bring the gym closer to you, in more manageable chunks of time. Do a quick Zumba class in the Community Room of the UCC! It’d probably be shorter than the wait in the Tim’s line.

CLUB ELECTIONS POLICYCurrently, members of USC clubs are forced to vote for all executive positions, even if they wish to abstain. In addition, any student regardless of their experience with a club can run to be its president. We want to amend the policy such that club members may abstain from voting for an executive position should they so choose, and that a student must have been a member of the club for at least a year before they may run for the presidential position. Team Avila wants to help clubs function better.

CLUBS EVENT PLANNINGStudents planning events for other students is an amazing thing, and we want to help make it easier than ever.  By creating a platform for seeing available rooms based on date and time, a calendar of all approved events, and a short-term approvals process for low-risk events, we envision the clubs system working more smoothly than ever before.  It’s truly never been better to be part of a club at Western!

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EVENT DIVERSITYYou’ve been to three DJ events in the last month, all in the Mustang Lounge. It’s great to have hype events on campus, but what about something more laid back? We want to diversify the events portfolio, by offering events like Paint Nite, a broader complement of musical performances, educational speakers, and more. The stage in the Mustang Lounge can host so much—let’s use it to its full capacity.

INDIGENOUS STUDENTSOne opportunity for growth within the USC ranks is the addition of a Coordinator tasked with working with indigenous students on campus, and specifically advocating for issues faced by these students. We want to celebrate the indigenous presence on campus, host conferences and awareness events, work alongside Indigenous Services to properly implement the results of the ongoing Indigenous Strategic Plan, and ensure that trained professionals at Indigenous Services are overseeing all training regarding indigenous culture.

LINE CAMYou’re studying on fifth-floor Weldon, and you’re trying to decide whether or not you should make the trek to the UCC to grab a coffee at the Spoke. Or maybe you’re sitting at home trying to decide whether or not you should run to campus to sing with Rick on Wednesday nights. Either way, we’ve got you covered. We want to install a foot-level camera, whose feed would be live on the USC website. That way, you can decide if the cold and the wait are worth your while.

MICROWAVESEveryone likes a hot meal, and everyone likes saving money. Bring your food from home and have access to multiple microwaves to heat your food! We aim to install more microwaves in central locations on campus, ensure there are appropriate waste and recycling bins nearby, and that the microwaves are more regularly maintained. Your food shouldn’t taste like something that was warmed up last week!

ONLINE CLUBS TRAININGThe training sessions for being a club executive are released online and relatively late in the summer. We want to ensure this training is made available earlier, with the option to have in-person training for specific roles or policies. Not everyone learns in the same way—by providing multiple opportunities for engagement, we hope the club executives can be better than ever.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETYIn light of the loss of a community member this past year, no longer can the walkways on campus be unsafe. We will make installing guard rails at key locations on campus that experience both heavy auto as well as foot traffic to ensure your safety. The stretch of road around the tennis courts and along Western Road are two main areas of focus. We also want to work with Facilities Management to install more prevalent signage, increase pedestrian and motorist awareness, and increase maintenance of crosswalks across campus.

STUDENT-SELECTED FEATURESWho doesn’t have a discontinued Spoke or Wave favourite? We want to work with the management at these student-run establishments to make sure that you can order what you want to eat. Bring back an old favourite, or suggest something totally new! Your food, your choice.

STUDY SPACEFinding study space is challenging, and finding eating space can be even harder. We want to give you the space you need by freeing up Mustang Lounge West, ensuring there is adequate furniture in the space. If the Lounge is unavailable, we want to be transparent by clearly posting why it is being used for another purpose. What’s more, we want to work with the Rec Centre during the exam period to replace the current chairs with long tables for your use. Study space is a limited resource on campus—we want to help.

SUSTAINABILITYImagine a world where you go into a coffee shop and stay to study for hours at a time. In this coffee shop, you get a real mug to hold your drink, instead of a paper cup. You might be imagining your neighbourhood Starbucks—we want to bring the same experience to the student owned and operated Spoke. In addition, we want to bring better visibility to the reusable cups currently sold by the Spoke to increase sales and decrease waste. We envision a greener caffeine experience at your favourite coffee shop: the Spoke!

USC HIRINGAn appreciation for and a celebration of diversity is a crucial element of what it means to work for a body of students the size of which is found on our campus. We want to work with the USC Human Resources team to implement questions into all interview procedures that inquire about diversity. Your hired representatives should have a broad understanding of who exactly is on this campus.

VARSITY SPORTSYou’re in the last semester of your last year, and you’ve only been to one varsity event: Homecoming. Western has so many varsity teams with rosters filled with top athletes. We want to make sure that you are exposed to the full gamut of varsity sports Mustang Athletics has to offer—by working with Athletics to increase awareness and promotion, we see a campus that comes alive for more than one sports event per year. Support your fellow Mustangs—students for students!

ForLaterCLUB SPACEIt’s frustrating for student clubs to be forced into using space that is also dedicated for USC staff. We envision merging the four rooms in Mustang Lounge West into two rooms: one will be a dance studio, while the other will be a boardroom exclusive for club use. No longer will clubs be made to share space—clubs HQ!

LEARN TO LIFTAre you a total gym beginner? Does going to the Rec Centre intimidate you? Were you caught using a leg press machine to work your arms? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. We want to work alongside the Recreation Centre staff to develop a brief orientation program for those of us who need help getting started and don’t know where to turn.

PEDESTRIAN SCRAMBLEThere is a joint responsibility of pedestrians and motorists to ensure crosswalks are safe. The traffic lights at Talbot College and Delaware Hall create a road crossing nightmare for both parties. Pedestrian scrambles are popular in many major cities, and we want to make sure your journey across campus is quick, but also prioritizes safety. By advocating for a pedestrian scramble at this intersection, we hope to get you there safe and on time.

ENGAGEMENT &COLLABORATION

ADVOCACY TEAMDuring our term, we want to recruit a team of students who will at once provide information to other students regarding the advocacy goals of the executive team, and collect feedback from the student body regarding these efforts. Direct student engagement beyond a table in the atrium of the UCC is our top priority for this particular team.

MEET WITH USAs your student executive, we want to know how we can best serve you. We commit to setting aside two hours every week where students at large can book time slots to meet with members of the executive team. We will meet regularly with students in various other capacities, but we also know how inaccessible the executive can appear. We hope to break down that barrier, and ensure we are as accessible as possible.

STUDENT RESEARCH As a research-focused institution, we know that Western students have an interest in conducting their own research. We also know that Western students are among the best and brightest in the country—we see this as a massive source of untapped potential. We envision implementing a system where student research, especially if it has a student life focus, can go on to guide the movements of the USC. Students for students.

USC SUMMITJust as the student executive can seem inaccessible, so can senior administration on campus, and even community partners outside of Western. We want to host a structured summit, whose unrestricted invitation would allow for students to interact directly with multiple levels of Western’s administrative team and beyond. In addition, we aim to take the feedback garnered from this summit to draft a guiding report for our organizational and advocative priorities. Allowing these individuals to hear issues directly from students is a central point of our advocacy vision—let your voice be heard!

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USER-FRIENDLY WEBSITEThe USC website looks great, but it can be difficult to navigate. We want to create a permanent place on the front page where you can submit issues or feedback regarding any aspect of student life, which would be forwarded directly to a full-time staff member. In addition, restructuring the website with an improved directory such that you can instantly find the resources you need. Finally, we envision a homepage that boasts a complete list of events, current involvement opportunities, and so much more. The breadth of the USC will once again be at your fingertips.

WESTERN’S BUDGETAs has been successful at McMaster University, we want to work toward laying the groundwork for a student taskforce that will research Western’s current operational budget, develop suggestions for changes to the budget, and present reports to senior operating administration. Our voice is too small—we want to help bring the student voice to the table.

YOUR USCDo you know to which executive member each Coordinator reports? Have you ever read through minutes from a USC meeting and been completely confused by the jargon? We will strive to publish organizational charts and condensed, accessible minutes that seek to avoid excessive jargon. Our goal is to ensure that all students have a better understanding of their USC!

WELLNESS

MENTAL HEALTH TRAININGWe can’t promise that any training session can turn you into a professional counsellor, but basic training can help you identify the signs and symptoms exhibited by someone who is struggling. We want to advocate for the foundation of a mental health training opportunity, designed to be informative and introductory. Recognition is a crucial step to helping a friend getting the professional services they require.

WELLNESS COLLABORATIONThere are several services on campus that are well over capacity, while others are vastly underused. Not only that, but wait times to see a medical or psychological professional can be on the scale of weeks at a time. We want to foster closer working relationships between the USC and other departments (Student Development Centre and Student Health Services, to name a few) to help redistribute the balance of students toward underutilised services like the Peer Support Centre. These other services can be a crucial resource during a wait period—there is no need to be alone.

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SUPPORTS AT PEAK TIMESDuring the month of September and during the exam period, we want to bring in increased psychological support. We envision there being decreased anxiety during these high-stress times, with the knowledge that more supports are available to students.

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COMMUNITY

BUS PASS OVERLAPCurrently, the bus pass provided by the USC expires on August 31st and is renewed on September 1st. Many students cannot be on campus before the end of August, resulting in a transportation snag. We want to advocate to the permanent USC staff who oversee this pass, as well as the LTC, to extend the expiry by one week into September, allowing adequate time for students to pick up their new pass. You won’t have to take an Uber to pick up your bus pass anymore!

BUS SHELTERSWhat’s worse than a class at 8:30 in the morning? Showing up to class soaked. We want to advocate for the installation of more bus shelters at critical points around campus to avoid those soppy, uncomfortable mornings.

HOMECOMINGWestern students love sharing what we do best: HOCO! We want to create a partnership with Downtown London to found a weekend festival that will coincide with Western’s HOCO. We think Richmond Row would look even better decked out in purple.

MUSTANG EXPRESSDid you know that you pay $12.50 for this service? Follow-up question—did you know that this service even exists? We want to develop a student-facing awareness campaign to advertise this useful service. Get home late, get home safe!

RESTORATIVE JUSTICEThe USC Executive are your voice to the community, but the community may not understand what it is that we do. In the same way, we may not know everything the local authorities do on a day to day basis! We want to continue an existing ride-along program to create a venue for bilateral communication between the USC and London Police. By continuing to improve our relationship with the police, we aim to implement a restorative justice ticketing model. This model can increase the likelihood of community service or being required to write an apology letter over receiving a hefty ticket. In doing so, we hope to build on existing positive relationships with the broader London community.

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