Dress Code Motion Passes Council Without Votes From Community Reps – Council Update (1/17/18)

Though brief, this past week’s Council meeting certainly did not lack drama. After a 45 minute fire evacuation(which can be read about here), Council members congregated to have a short meeting in the final ten minutes of activity period. However, no community representatives were present due to the fire evacuation.

Council started the meeting by discussing a $300 money allocation to the Youth in Action Service Team, whose leader, Beth Kopp, stated that the money would be used for cooking utensils that would be used this year and in the future as well as food for upcoming dinners hosted by the team. After some brief discussion surrounding the utensils in which Ms. Kopp clarified that they would be stored in the staff lounge, Council quickly allocated the money.

Following the allocation, one could sense a feeling of haste developing among the members as the Dress Code Motion was the next thing on the agenda, with only five minutes left in the period. After Co-Treasurer Colm Seigne opened by saying that he felt everyone had been saying similar things for the past few meetings and that everyone knew the way they were going to vote, PR Representative Henry Kahl called to close debate and Council followed, closing debate quickly.

In the voting there were only four abstentions and no dissenting votes, which in turn led to the passing of the Dress Code (which can be accessed here). Teacher Representative Amy Good voiced her frustrations with Council after the vote, saying it was wrong of Council to vote on a day when Community Member Representatives could not attend and that it was irresponsible of Council to rush the motion through. Despite her objections, the motion passed as stated above and will now be sent to Principal Justin Campbell for his approval.