Notes from Council: VP (EDI) Carrie Smith presents U of A’s micro-grants

“Notes from Council” is The Gateway’s ongoing series of recaps of noteworthy items from Students’ Council meetings.

At the July 30 meeting of the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) Students’ Council, Vice-provost (equity, diversity, and inclusion) Carrie Smith gave a presentation on the university’s Mutual Aid Project Micro-Grants. The executives also presented on their 2024-25 Executive Committee Goals and council approved Bill One.

Micro-grants to address “needs of those most affected by the university’s responses to the encampment and Palestine activists,” Smith says

The Mutual Aid Project Micro-Grants aim to support U of A “groups, units, and informal collectives” in their “experiences of trauma, harm, and grief,” according to the presentation abstract. The micro-grants are a part of an overarching plan called Moving Through Conflict, Smith said. Applications for this grant opened on July 18.

The plan includes six pathways: holding harm, grief, imagination, and stories; transparency and accountability; principles of responsible investment; safety and policing; freedom of expression; and communications in times of conflict. 

These six pathways are what the university is “imagining as we move forward from May 11, the forced removal of the encampment by the university.” Smith explained the goal is to examine systemic causes of harm and inequities. 

“And through that, embrace strategies of collective care, conflict resolution, increased transparency, and transformative action among many others.”

The intention of the micro-grants is to encourage and support collective practices, Smith said. The micro-grants are a piece of the holding harm, grief, imagination, and stories pathway.

“The purpose of this pathway is to address the needs of those most affected by the university’s responses to the encampment and Palestine activists,” Smith said. 

Smith gave examples for uses of the micro-grant. She mentioned zine-making, sharing circles, digital storytelling, yoga classes, imagination practices, and collective meals.

Angelina Raina, arts councillor, asked how much funding is allocated for the micro-grants.

Smith explained that there are different funding levels with different requirements. For example, to apply for a $1,000 grant the group would have to supply a very minimal outline of their planned spending. For grants between $2,500 and $5,000, applicants would need to supply a formal budget in advance.

Lisa Glock, UASU president, asked what total dollar amount the university is putting towards the micro-grants. Smith said she could not give a specific amount, but there’s enough to get a good amount of projects going. If there is interest in the micro-grants, Smith said she could ask for increased funding.

Executive Goals inspired by Student Experience Action Plan

The 2024-25 executive team presented the Executive Goals for the upcoming year. They split the goals into four major sections: affordability and accessibility; community building and inclusivity; holistic sustainability and efficiency; and student safety and wellbeing. In total the executives named 37 individual goals they plan to work on this year.

The executives also organized their goals in keeping with the Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP).

“We are showing everybody that student interests are aligned with that vision. This allows us to hold the university to account through their own promises, and shows how the students can move forward with them,” Glock said.

Vice-president (student life) Renson Alva highlighted his goal of improving connectivity between Augustana Campus and North Campus. He hopes to work on a pilot project for bus transportation between Camrose and Edmonton.

Glock said she intends to review if the UASU’s banking practices comply with the organization’s Ethical Business Partners Policy. In September 2023, Edmonton Youth for Climate (EYFC) protested the UASU for banking with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). In April 2023 it was found that in 2022 RBC was the biggest fossil fuel development financier in the world. 

“What we’re doing is initiating an internal review to make sure that our banking partners and our banking practices are compliant and aligned with our values.”

Vice-president (operations and finance) Levi Flaman spoke about maximizing value-for-money through data analysis for large, multi-year contracts. In 2025 two major agreements are set to expire — the Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) program and the Single Source Beverage Agreement. 

The UASU is also advocating for student roles on administrative university bodies. Specifically, Glock mentioned the Crisis Management Team (CMT), which she said made the decision to have Edmonton Police Service (EPS) clear the Palestine solidarity encampment on May 11. 

“We believe that these decisions can no longer be made without a student present,” Glock said.

In past years the Campus Food Bank (CFB) has struggled to keep up with steadily increasing demand. Alva said the UASU will support the CFB through a “multi-pronged approach.” This includes social media, financial, and advocacy efforts. Additionally, Alva said the UASU will push the university to “address the root cause of the issue” through the creation of a sustainable food strategy.

Nate Goetz, Augustana councillor, asked Glock how she would improve connectivity between Augustana and North Campus beyond the bus initiative. According to Glock, the executives “would like to create healthy habits of visiting our sister campuses more throughout the year.”

Student asks Glock about absence of pro-Palestine statement, council approves Bill One

During open forum, former 2023-24 science councillor Megan Garbutt spoke about a video Glock posted to Instagram during the 2024 SU Election campaign period. In this video, Glock criticized the 2023-24 executive team for not releasing a pro-Palestine statement, Garbutt said. Four months into the term, she said the 2024-25 executive team has also not released a pro-Palestine statement. Garbutt asked Glock “why [her] approach has changed.”

Glock said her personal stance on politics remains the same but said the UASU is a non-partisan organization. 

“I wouldn’t want my personal political opinions to affect how different members of the student body are seeing us and are feeling represented,” Glock said.

Flaman and business councillor Owen Pasay motioned to approve Bill One. Approving Bill One widens the pool of eligible candidates for the position of Chief Returning Officer (CRO). The CRO manages the UASU’s elections. Currently applications are only open to UASU members, as in undergraduate U of A students. In the case that few or no candidates apply, council could suspend or waive certain eligibility requirements. The motion passed unanimously.