Frats, political allegiances and investments in an old hydro project will all be up for debate at the UVic Students’ Society’s (UVSS) Semi-Annual General Meeting (SAGM) on Feb. 11.

Among other business on the SAGM agenda will be four motions addressing sections of the UVSS’ 21-part issues policy.

“The idea was to let students vote on the issues we represent them on,” said UVSS Director-at-Large Kelsey Hannan, who put forth the motions.

One motion deals with whether or not the UVSS should recognize fraternities and sororities. According to the current issues policy, the UVSS is “committed to the principle of non-recognition of fraternities and sororities” because they “exclude portions of the membership for elitist ends” and many have been associated with “racism, sexism, homophobia and degradation of pledges,” both historically and currently.

“I think frats will make for a good discussion,” said Hannan. “People have a lot of views both ways.”

The issue of whether or not UVic should have investments in the Hydro Quebec’s James Bay II hydroelectric dam project will also be discussed. The James Bay project was first announced in 1971 and caused huge controversy due to its effects on the Indigenous peoples in the area and the environment. The current UVSS issues policy calls for the divestment of the university’s $150,000 bond in the project.

Whether or not the UVSS should be a non-partisan organization will also be discussed at the SAGM. Hannan says he thinks that the issue will be “healthy to discuss.”

According to the current issues policy, the society should “not endorse any political party.”

Originally, Hannan had put forward many other parts of the issues policy for debate at the SAGM, submitting approximately half of the issues that have not been discussed at an AGM for consideration. However, at the Jan. 25 board meeting, the board decided that there were too many motions to be discussed at once and decided to instead focus on these three.

Other business that will be addressed at the SAGM includes the changes to the UVSS electoral policy that were put forward by an ad hoc committee last fall.

The committee’s proposals were presented as special resolutions to be discussed and voted on at the UVSS AGM on Oct. 15, but because quorum was not maintained at the meeting, none of the special resolutions could be addressed at that time.

The UVSS SAGM will take place on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. in Cinecenta.

Other issues

Here’s a sample of some of the UVSS issues policies that aren’t being covered at the Feb. 11 SAGM.

• Under the Animal Rights portion of the policy, no taxidermy may be displayed in the Student Union Building (SUB), as the UVSS is opposed to hunting for sport.

• Under the Accessibility portion of the policy, the UVSS is opposed to the “levying of telephone registration fees.”

• One policy states that the UVSS “supports the decriminalization of cannabis hemp.”

• According to one policy, “The SUB is a nuclear weapons free zone.”

• The UVSS supports recomendations by the Canadian Gun Control Coalition.

• One policy says that the UVSS is opposed to the World Trade Organization and “similar advocates of trade liberalization.”