The AMS, in its current form, is out of touch with the demographic it exists to serve. Although it succeeds in providing services and opportunities to students, apathy towards our student society has never been more prominent.
From my experience as a student politician, I know how easy it is to collect titles, produce reports, cast votes and to continue telling yourself that your peers share the purpose you find in student government. However, through countless conversations over the past four years, I’ve come to understand that the average individual sees the AMS much differently than its “insiders” do. From within the AMS, I see an organization that supports hundreds of campus clubs, while others see bureaucratic communication and frustrating financial policies. When I look ahead to the possibilities of how a new Student Union Building can connect communities, what are really visible are continual delays and perceived mismanagement of funds. When I see hours of hard work being poured into AMS services, businesses and events, most people struggle to even identify who is behind it all.
For me, the question of engagement is a systemic one that revolves around a central tenet: as students, we actively seek memorable, positive and fun experiences during our time at university. For the AMS to be recognized as a source of that, we need a cultural paradigm shift away from self-serving pompousness to an organizational attitude that better reflects the awesome community we serve.
A president has three unique opportunities to be the catalyst for such a change in the AMS:
The president is responsible for setting the tone within the team. The attitude with which they approach developing the dynamic that guides the work of those around them directly correlates to how well the organization operates. Over the past few years, this tone has been overshadowed by a sense of inane seriousness. Each decision made is the most important ever, with no room for humour, positive discourse or fun. Therefore, the president needs to build a team dynamic that is outwardly focused and emphasizes the student within student politics.
Next, the president is the spokesperson for the entire student body, and is responsible for representing the views of many during stakeholder conversations. Because of this responsibility, it is imperative for a president to set aside their personal beliefs to most genuinely represent the opinion of the students. Although the AMS presidential office has made strides to be available when necessary, the fortitude and authenticity of these efforts has been lacklustre in recent months. With regards to the recent fee increase proposals from the University -- arguably the most visible and important issue that affected students this past year -- the AMS’ lobbying lacked passion when it was needed most. Even when provided with a clear democratic basis for strong advocacy from the historic Annual General Meeting, the response from the AMS Executive was slow and ineffective on the pretence that they feared risking diplomatic relations with UBC central. Unfortunately, the AMS failed to demonstrate any real desire to fight on behalf of students -- a responsibility that falls at the feet of the president. Therefore, the president’s office needs to show genuine passion regarding issues that affect the constituents of the AMS, both in public and behind closed doors.
Lastly, and most importantly, it is the president’s job to dream big. From their position, they have a view of the entire society’s operations, making them the ideal person to guide its future direction. The AMS is uniquely structured to create imaginative opportunities for our members. Initiatives like lobbying for free access to the UBC Aquatic Centre or building a new Student Union Building exemplify the AMS’ history of doing amazing things for this campus. Recently however, the focus has been on keeping the machine oiled in order to stay afloat, lacking any meaningful risk-taking. For the AMS to truly reignite engagement, the president needs to be willing to take chances, make mistakes and get messy.
With elections upcoming in March, I urge you to read into the issues, think deeply about what you look for in your student government and vote at ams.ubc.ca/elections.