In their last board meetings before the February student election, BUSU’s BoD discussed various budget updates, student levy adjustments and club funding.
Since the last Press update in January, the BUSU Board of Directors (BoD) has met twice. The first was a January special meeting and the second was their regular February meeting. Both contained relatively minor BUSU news, but as Brock students, it’s still important to stay informed about what our elected governing body is deliberating on, whether minor or major.
Here’s a rundown of what the Board discussed.
January Meeting
Only seven voting directors were initially present at the BoD special meeting on Jan. 20, but more trickled in as it continued. Unlike most other special meetings, this one is available to the public in its near entirety.
The majority of the meeting entailed discussing club funding appeals from the Sudanese Student Association (SSA) and the Gujurati Students Association (GSA), both of which came to the Board to request more funding after being unsatisfied with prior funding decisions by the BUSU Clubs Policy Committee (CPC).
The story was much the same for both clubs: despite having well-organized presentations and extensive explanations for the funds they requested — the SSA had numerous large events planned that would benefit students and raise money for humanitarian aid in Sudan through Sadagaat Canada, while the GSA planned a large cultural event for Chaitra Navratri, a festival celebrating Goddess Durga — their requests were deemed too much for BUSU to shoulder.
The SSA requested a total of $13,871.04 and the GSA requested a total of $4,934. These are not huge numbers when compared to some of the funds granted to other clubs, which the CPC would soon elaborate on, but Clubs Administrator Jamie Wong explained that if both associations sacrificed elements of their events, like using Brock venues or raising their ticket prices from $10 or $15 to $30, they could reduce the necessary funds from BUSU or even fully fund the events themselves.
Ultimately, the BoD decided to uphold the CPC’s decision for both clubs, approving only $1,350 for the SSA and $464 for the GSA.
Wong and Clubs Manager Chloe Villers then launched into a club funding update that revealed there wasn’t even enough money in the budget left to accommodate both clubs. Even after an additional $50,000 of surplus funds and the $27,282.76 obtained from closed club banking accounts supplemented the base $146,000 after the money ran out last year, only $15,000 was left for the year. This, however, is a significant improvement over the situation clubs were forced to navigate in 2023-24.
The Board saw exactly how club funding has been allotted throughout the academic year, asking questions about some of the larger amounts — like the $24,767.32 for the Muslim Students’ Association or the $20,701 for the Model United Nations club — and what the CPC’s priorities are when allocating funding.
Wong explained that even those clubs with large requests work to generate revenue to offset costs, and at the end of the day, the CPC gives funding based on how many undergraduate students benefit — since this money comes from undergraduate students in the first place — and how well the request suits each club’s mandate, even over charitable circumstances.
Hence, while the SSA’s events would benefit several hundreds of students and fit their specific mandate as a cultural club, BUSU couldn’t justify giving so much money when the SSA’s revenue could be used to fund the event over a charitable donation, no matter how worthy the cause.
Similarly, while the GSA’s large, formal event fit much of the same requirements, BUSU couldn’t give that much money when an increased ticket cost for an event that included planned social engagements, a full meal and entertainment could give the club more than enough money to cover the cost.
With the club funding matter settled, the board moved in-camera at 8:31 p.m., where they remained until 9:24 p.m.
BUSU General Manager Robert Hilson then gave an eight-month Division 1 budget update. There were various shifts in the numbers, including an additional $7,882 in revenue, almost $24,000 in reduced staffing costs and a reduced $26,955.88 in office expenses thanks to a lower consulting fee than expected for the upcoming EDI audit through BUSU’s law firm and BUSU’s new LED lighting helping to save them $10,000 in property fees.
If the numbers progress as they are, Hilson said, BUSU could be looking at a surplus of almost $64,000 by the end of the academic year. This is up from their previously estimated $724, to which Hilson said:
“We’re doing slightly better, but we’re still not going to finish with tons and tons of money left over, which is what we don’t want to do, we want to actually use the resources we have in a given year.”
What this extra money might be used for, Hilson didn’t mention, nor did the board discuss, but that will likely be a topic of discussion later on in the academic year.
Hilson then gave his regular General Manager’s report, which included updates on the new student building, BUSU events in January, and an upcoming EDI audit. Perhaps the most noteworthy update was that applications for BUSU executive positions are currently open, and will be until Friday, Feb. 28.
With all of the agenda items finished, the board adjourned their special meeting around the 9:40 p.m. mark. The specific meeting minutes are not available on their website as of writing.
February Meeting
The BUSU BoD’s regularly scheduled February meeting began with an in-camera session which lasted little over two hours, from 7:10 p.m. to 9:31 p.m.
Following this, the board jumped into a review of the student ancillary fee increases for the 2025-26 academic year, led by Hilson. While the specifics are fairly complicated, the board can essentially vote to increase fees by a certain percentage — 2.39 per cent for per credit fees and 5 per cent for sessional fees based on inflation — following a previous Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that Brock students voted on in years past. This MOU does not extend to all fees, but most of what could be increased, save funding for BrockTV and The Brock Press, was proposed to do so.
This is a mostly minuscule increase, representing only an additional $0.79 for each undergraduate credit, and an additional $40.06 in sessional fees — which support students’ health and dental insurance, the universal bus pass, the business student levy and the engagement levy.
After some questions, the board voted in favour of the updated student ancillary fees for the following year.
Due to time constraints, Hilson’s General Manager report was not read aloud nor shown on-screen, meaning public eyes cannot readily see what was on it.
BUSU President Anusha Pahuja, seemingly back from her non-paid leave, provided a verbal report to conclude the meeting, which touched on several topics, including a potential increase in spring/summer public transit service rates for students and the Brock Senate’s recent approval of the new Student Self-Declared Absence Form, which accommodates mental health reasons for missing class or class assignments. Previously, explained Pahuja, professors weren’t always accommodating towards mental health situations, which this form aims to rectify.
After some further clarification on Pahuja’s report, the board motioned to adjourn, closing the meeting at 9:49 p.m.