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Tucked away in a corner of Mills Library lies one of McMaster’s hidden treasures. The Lloyd George Reeds Map Collection is home to 130,000 maps, 18,000 aerial photos and 3,000 atlases.
The late Prof. Reeds, who passed away in 2002, was born on a farm near Lindsay, Ontario. He is considered one of the founders of Canadian geography, the subject area he taught in at McMaster for over 30 years. He began gathering maps to supplement his lectures, but his hobby did not become a collection until 1965, when the library system took ownership of the project. Since then, the collection has expanded to serve the needs of many faculties at McMaster.
Gordon Beck, the current Maps Specialist at Mills, is excited to see the range of ways the collection can supplement courses.
“We started off supporting mostly geography, but now with GIS, we're supporting more and more departments not only because of GIS but also because we now have a large format scanner,” Beck explained. The addition of this scanner has helped revive the paper map collection.
Thanks to the digitization project, the collection is more widely accessible than ever before. “We have a lot of environmental assessments that take place here so we also service the community around,” Beck said. “Engineers, lawyers and people from banks, all those types of people will come in to view things we have in the collection.”
The collection is open to students during the week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but Beck added, “we're also open to the general public because we do have maps in the collection like topographic maps and other maps that we get from the government, free of charge, on the condition that we make them available to the public.”
Despite being a fairly mid-sized institution, McMaster boasts what Beck estimates is the third largest map collection in the province, just behind the University of Toronto and Western University. Due to the limited availability of space on campus, the digitization process means some physical maps can be discarded. “[For] the historical collection, we would never get rid of the paper original,” Beck said. Some of the collection’s older specimens are stored in the archives in the basement of Mills so their preservation can be properly regulated.
While Beck feels as though more could be done to promote the physical maps on campus, its online presence has kept the collection relevant. “I think what's happening is that … people are doing searches and they’re finding us through our digital collections,” he said. “As we get more of this stuff in digital format, there are more and more classes that are able to use our material.”
“Pretty much anybody at some point in their life is going to be interested in a piece of land and how it has changed over time,” Beck added. “That interest in temporal studies has helped [the collection] to cut across all faculties.”
Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor
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Delusional optimists might purport that you can do anything in Hamilton, but one thing guys can’t do is build a solid wardrobe. While there are a smattering of menswear stores scattered throughout the area, they all either cater to stuffy businessmen with taste as boring as their jobs, or white people who wear bow-ties with casual buttondowns and who #use #hashtags #to #show #how #classy #and #stylish #they #are.
Luckily, Toronto is not far away and boasts a huge array of independent stores and boutiques for those looking to follow the formula of “buy less, buy better” and accrue a few solid investment pieces rather than a lot of corny fast fashion.
Use the map below to browse and locate the stores below.
Brands to look for: APC x Kanye West, Barena Venezia, SNS Hearning, Reigning Champ, Robert Geller, Common Projects
Ex-hypebeasts will know about Nomad, who used to carry revered skate brand Supreme. While there are no more box logos to be found on their shelves, there is still ample reason to pop by the shop’s new digs. Since moving from their old Richmond Street location, which was known to be one of Abel Tesfaye’s favourite haunts, owner Zeb Munir has further established his store’s prestige. They have something for just about everyone, and with rumours going around that they might bring in Comme’s Ganyru line, A$AP Rocky’s prediction that “clothes getting weirder” will prove true.
Brands to look for: Band of Outsiders, Commes Des Garcons PLAY, Maison Kitsune, Rag & Bone
Gravity Pope has expanded quite a bit since its inception in Vancouver and their Toronto location reflects their nouveau riche status with its vastness. Cast as more of a traditional boutique with opulent chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, the space is a tad sterile, but the nice selection of playful brands that they have to offer like Band of Outsiders and Commes Des Garcons PLAY warm the ambiance up. You might as well cop your girl a gift from the amply stocked women’s section while you’re there.
Brands to look for: Alden, Arpenteur, Gitman Vintage, Dana Lee, New Balance, Unis
It’s hard not to love Lost & Found, a menswear shop borne out of the idea that coffee and clothes literally go hand in hand, with most shoppers seen nursing caffeinated beverages while looking for new jawnz. For that reason, owners Jonathan Elias and Justin Veiga will both brew you a cup of coffee and nerd out with you over the brands that they carry. Stocked with primarily North American-made goods, the shop is full of classics like Unis chinos or Gitman Vintage oxfords. They’re also one of the few Canadian retailers to carry Alden, a Massachusetts shoe company worshipped by the menswear set for their handmade oxfords, loafers, boots, and bluchers.
Brands to look for: Acne, Alexander Wang, AMI, Norse Projects, Hood By Air
Located right across from Lost & Found, popping into J+O is a no brainer. Their designer selection is extremely tasteful, but J+O is not a great place to look for colour as they stock almost exclusively black pieces. That said, there’s no better place to get your fashion goth on.
Brands to look for: Cypress, White Mountaineering, Nanamica, Needles Junya Watanabe MAN, nonative
When Jian Deleon of Complex magazine visited the store this past summer, he joked in an Instagram caption that he was witnessing “the internet IRL.” His assessment is perfect. Amidst the crazy KAWS statues that litter the loft-like space, the clothing racks are full of Japanese streetwear brands that you’d normally dream of being able to afford while browsing Tumblr. That said, you’ll probably still have to wait for end of season sales until you get a decent job. Those in the business of looking for deals or abiding by a strict formulaic uniform won’t be pleased by the eccentric offerings, but those in the know who have a passion for craftsmanship and inventive designs have a new home, or haven, in Corktown.
Brands to look for: A.P.C., Engineered Garments, Gosha Rubchinskiy, MHL by Margaret Howell, Our Legacy, Patrik Ervell
Located a short walk up from the bougie hell that is Bloor Street, Working Title is a welcome respite from the logo-embossed wares hawked by the likes of Holt Renfrew to status obsessed Torontonians. Filled with natural light and not much else besides carefully placed clothing racks, the store is a minimalist’s dream. It makes sense that the brands curated by owners, Paul Shkordoff and Michael Fong, are cohesive in tone as the space’s basement serves as an art gallery. The quiet elegance of brands like Engineered Garments, MHL, Our Legacy, and Patrik Ervell all compliment the store brilliantly, as they would your wardrobe. Stop by for the clothes and good conversation, stay for the brilliant Instagram opportunities at sunset.
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Despite last term’s vote by the SRA that MSU members would no longer pay part-time fees during summer sessions, the McMaster Association of Part-time Students has plans to continue collecting these fees anyway. The two organizations are now at odds with each other in terms of what will happen with student fees this upcoming summer.
A December media release from MAPS opposed the MSU’s stance and outlined preliminary plans for a “summer advocacy program” based on survey results as a suitable way to spend summer student funds.
MAPS president Andrew Smith said the program “will be designed to identify aspects of the summer academic term that may be changed to improve the student experience of our members.” Smith suggested this will specifically entail comparing the summer session with the fall/winter term, course availability and comparisons to other universities.
Some aspects of the media release, however, don’t hold water under further scrutiny.
MAPS claimed, “Between the date of this agreement (1986) and last year, the MSU decided that their membership lasts for twelve months of the year (they decided this unilaterally). They say because of this, full-time students should not have to pay student fees if they take courses during the summer, and they want this change to happen for this May.”
In actuality, the MSU amended their bylaws at an SRA meeting in 1988, clarifying their 12-month membership. Kyle Johansen, MAPS' executive director from July to December 2013 was at that 1988 meeting as an SRA Social Sciences representative and spoke in favour of the amendment, suggesting that “full” be added regarding MSU membership holders in order to be clearer.
Another claim by MAPS that the University might not be able to “identify MSU versus MAPS students during summer session registration” was also refuted in recent conversations the Silhouette had with the Office of the Registrar.
Additionally, after reiterating that the original MSU-MAPS agreement always intended for MSU members to be reimbursed for summer fees, the release goes on to say that in May 2014, “To temporarily deal with the MSU's demands, at least for this year, MAPS would refund summer student fees to MSU members, upon request.”
Jeffrey Doucet, VP (Finance) of the MSU, disagrees with MAPS’ ability to collect such fees.
“Collecting the fee would be effectively ignoring the MSU’s governance mechanism,” he said. “It was the SRA that empowered MAPS to first collect the fee and now the SRA no longer views the fee as legitimate," Doucet said.
It is unclear as to why, historically, MSU members have not sought – or, perhaps, known that they could seek – reimbursement of summer session fees.
“MAPS has no record of the MSU ever exercising that option,” Smith said.
At the time of the Sept. 29, 2013 meeting in which the SRA voted unanimously to break from the 1986 agreement, MSU President David said repeated attempts had been made for eight months to meet with MAPS and renegotiate the agreement.
“We’ve done everything we could to negotiate in good faith,” Campbell said. He described unilaterally breaking from the agreement as “our only option.”
The University's administration is unclear in terms of how the two organizations will resolve the conflict. Associate VP (Students and Learning) Sean Van Koughnett said, “There is no specific process to determine the final outcome of this situation, but rather, the outcome will be determined over the next two months in large part through any further discussions between the two student organizations and based on the wishes of our students.”
The McMaster Association of Part-Time Students passed a set of revised bylaws at a special general meeting held on Oct. 22. The meeting was the first to be called by the new board of directors, elected in February after former MAPS director Sam Minniti was fired and board members resigned.
Just 28 people, including two guests and MAPS board members, attended Tuesday’s meeting. During the one-hour meeting, extensive changes to MAPS' bylaws were passed by a vote of 22-0 including nine proxy votes.
MAPS president Andrew Smith said the bylaws were completely overhauled and rewritten.
According to the new bylaws, an online referendum system will be put in place to reach a larger number of part-time students in MAPS' corporate decision-making process. Acting MAPS director Kyle Johansen said the referendum system is a response to low attendance at MAPS general meetings. Before an e-referendum is held, MAPS will hold an information meeting in person, through broadcast or on the Internet.
Should a referendum not be possible, a general meeting would be held. A quorum of three per cent has been set for all general meetings.
MAPS' previous bylaws stated a motion could pass with at least five MAPS members in the room and at least five proxy members.
“That’s a lot of power for five people,” said Johansen.
“The bylaws kept being changed. Setting quorum at three per cent is a significant goal to achieve. Referendum will allow members to address issues on their own terms and their own time,” Johansen said.
Another new bylaw provision says that only MAPS members can approve new fees or an increase in fees and the board must provide a rationale for any request.
A two-year term of office is being enforced for directors and directors cannot serve more than eight years in a row. A review committee will be set up by both MAPS and McMaster University to evaluate MAPS’ progress and make a public report available every three years.
In addition, MAPS president Andrew Smith said he anticipates MAPS fees held in trust by the University since May 2012 will be returned to MAPS. McMaster is holding more than $362,000 in MAPS fees until the new board meets the University’s requirements for fiscal transparency.
“Hopefully, the fees will be returned by the end of the calendar year, but I can’t give a definite timeline,” Smith said.
MAPS’ most recent financial audit for 2012, released in September, was also included in Tuesday’s meeting agenda materials.
MAPS spent $206,117 in salaries and benefits, down from $352,023 in 2011. Staff travel expenditures amounted to $14,663 in 2012, up from $4,577 in 2011.
MAPS posted $209,600 in net assets for the 2012 calendar year.
In July 2013, MAPS was released from its $1M commitment to the L.R. Wilson Hall.
Aurora Coltman
Silhouette Intern
If I say the word “orienteering” what do you think of first? Adventurous exploration? Courageous expeditions? Getting lost? The sport? If you thought of the sport, congrats – pass go and collect $200. Because that is what orienteering is – a sport.
It’s a sport that requires participants to cross checkpoints scattered across rough countryside with nothing but an old-fashioned paper landmark map, a compass, a whistle, a finger chip (that keeps track of time) and a sheet of paper with archaic symbols mostly comparable to Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Useful… if you know what they read as.
It’s one of the toughest sports out there. It’s physical prowess, a whole lot of tactics and a starting strategy — Plus a whole lot of knowing what you’re doing. On Oct. 11-13, this year’s National Orienteering Championships were held here in Hamilton. It was one race a day – the first race, the sprint, was here at McMaster; the other two (the middle- and long-distance race) were out in Ancaster. Races were anywhere from one kilometre for the younger people to ten and up for elites.
Now, why is orienteering such a formidable sport? Because it takes brains. Not that other sports don’t. It’s only that, you can often have someone else do the strategic thinking for you, if not the last-minute, on-the-fly tactics. In the words of a fellow orienteer, “You can’t run faster than your brain.”
The first thing that happens when you flip your map over is you orient yourself. North equals north, the black lines equal north, check your compass – you’re oriented. You’re at the start triangle. Checkpoint 1 is at one towards the east. GO.
Are you still following the thought process? If so, congrats again. You now know where you’re going. But not how you’re going to get there.
Check out the terrain between the start triangle and the first checkpoint. If you know you’ll get lost going in a straight line – like me – it’s simple: don’t go straight. Look at the terrain – can you follow trails, or streams, or that convenient ledge of earth? Follow your trail to where it turns sharply and meets up with a bridge. Before crossing the bridge, you turn right and go straight. Checkpoint seen. Now, you book it to that checkpoint. And guess what? It’s not yours! Don’t pass go, and don’t collect your gold [medal].
Now you’ve got some perspective on the sport. It can be mentally taxing – the stress of getting lost, wandering off the map, arriving late, being last, the frustration of being totally unable to find a checkpoint. When running these races, you don’t see other people, as they happen mostly around large objects – trees, or buildings.
If you deal with that, you’ve still got the physical tax: running in circles, climbing hills, cliffs, losing shoes to boggy mud, fighting burrs and thistles and blackberry bushes. Plunging through icy water. There are all sorts of trials. Some races can be five kilometers and take two hours.
Orienteering is most definitely among the toughest sports out there, so if you’re up to the challenge… GO. Win yourself some medals, and enjoy the races.
Come next fall, full-time students may not have to pay an extra fee if they switch to part-time status in the summer.
On Sept. 29, the Student Representative Assembly voted to nullify a 27-year agreement between the McMaster Students Union (MSU) and the McMaster Association of Part-Time Students (MAPS).
The end of the agreement suggests summer MAPS fees will no longer be collected from students who have already paid fees to the MSU. The decision would be imposed in 2014/15, barring any disagreement from the University’s board of governors.
MAPS would have its budget of roughly $500,000, funded entirely by student fees, slashed by about 50 per cent.
Prior to the SRA vote, full-time students who took a part-time course load during the summer had to pay $7 per unit to MAPS despite paying an MSU fee covering a full 12 months. MSU president David Campbell told the SRA at the Sept. 29 meeting that they had a “moral obligation to act” to end the duplication of fees.
At the end of the discussion period, the SRA voted to end the agreement 26-0 with three abstentions.
“The MSU did not like one provision in an agreement so it threw the baby out with the bathwater. Frankly we don’t know what they want now,” said interim MAPS director Kyle Johansen.
Johansen was hired in July to pick up the pieces of the MAPS spending scandal that had former director Sam Minniti fired.
Regardless of the outcome, Johansen said, "MAPS has no intention of abandoning part-time students. We will continue to advocate for all part-time students."
At the SRA meeting, the atmosphere was tense as Johansen hurriedly read off a statement on why the agreement should not be dissolved. Johansen wanted the matter to be discussed in November rather than be decided last night.
“A year ago, a unilateral decision to end this agreement might have been acceptable to the university community. I don’t think that’s the case today,” Johansen said. He said the new MAPS board was more willing and capable to discuss the issue but needed more time.
In response, MSU president David Campbell said the MSU board was frustrated with MAPS’ unwillingness to negotiate or meet until Aug. 8 despite repeated attempts over eight months.
“When we met with [Johansen] on Aug. 8, he told us in no uncertain terms that he did not consider what we were discussing a priority. He had bigger things that he was hired to address,”Campbell said, after the SRA meeting.
“Our only option was to unilaterally decide that the agreement was null and void,”Campbell said. He added that he did not see how putting off a decision would change the situation.
Campbell said the motion to end the duplication of student fees was in the works in June 2012, before the MAPS spending scandal was exposed in January. Ending the agreement was also part of Campbell’s presidential platform earlier this year.
After the vote, MAPS issued a statement condemning the MSU’s decision to walk away from the contract.
“Unlike the MSU Board who are full-time paid employees, all members of the MAPS Board are volunteers. They have been working practically non-stop to save this organization for seven months,” the statement reads.
MAPS questioned whether or not students could still transfer between the two student associations under a 2007 agreement amending the initial contract.
Campbell dismissed the claims made in MAPS’ statement.
Campbell said the MSU “fully intends to uphold the transferability mechanism.”
“We have an agreement here that is extremely unusual – there is no exit clause except if both parties come together,”Campbell said, of the 1986 agreement. “We’ve done everything we could to negotiate in good faith. This was our only option.”
“In our bylaws, if you’re a member in September, you’re covered for 12 months,” Campbell said.
MAPS stated that their board will meet this week “to review the options are available to us, but our primary focus is to finish the task at hand and present revised by-laws and policies to the Provost for his comments.”
The McMaster Association of Part-time Students (MAPS) Executive Director's seat is occupied once again – but not by Sam Minniti. His replacement, Kyle Johansen, is a corporate crisis professional who has been brought in to pick up the pieces and get the organization back on its feet. His mandate is simple: to expedite the implementation of solid governance, operational transparency and financial accountability. It's the execution that's going to be complex.
“The current board – who are exceptionally dedicated individuals – were put in the difficult position of learning about a problem while simultaneously trying to solve it,” Johansen explained. “My objective is to look at what was missing that allowed the problems to occur, and using my experience and current best practice evidence, create a new approach that attends to the original issues, and proactively protects the organization going forward.”
In light of the allegations of financial mismanagement of MAPS, the mandate of financial accountability is perhaps the most pressing. Johansen addressed two major goals in terms of addressing this issue. He emphasized how important it is “that the reporting of quarterly and annual financial statements should be intuitive to a non-finance person and show how money was spent in relation to the organization’s mandate.”
He also identified the second element of financial accountability as “placing reasonable limits on any one person’s authority to spend money, as well as implementing changes that would require increasing support by the board – and in some cases the membership – for significant spending decisions.” This comes as no surprise following the allegations regarding personal spending of Association funds that MAPS came under fire for earlier this year.
One project that will directly affect student experience is Johansen's aim to connect the organization with the part-time students that feel alienated from it. “The Board and I are looking at ways to increase the level of engagement with part-time students. My work with local health integration networks showed me how necessary it is to understand the issues and concerns of those you serve,” Johansen said. “And as much as I will enjoy helping the Board make MAPS a leader in student government best practices, I will get the most satisfaction from knowing that MAPS will continue for another 35 years as a valuable, relevant, and responsive advocate.”
Johansen, a Mac alumnus, has been hired on to achieve these goals during a three-month temporary term. Any potential extension to Johansen's contract would be limited to getting the organization back on track, not leading it long-term.
It remains to be seen who the permanent face of MAPS will be. As Johansen explained, “My skills and experience are best suited to bringing organizations into alignment with members’ expectations, public policy requirements, and building the mechanisms that will ensure the organization maintains that alignment. Whoever assumes the permanent role of Executive Director will be responsible for using those mechanisms and being accountable based on them. To use an analogy… I am really good at building the ship, but not very interested in sailing it.”
After being fired as the executive director of MAPS in January, Sam Minniti is alleging that he’s the victim of wrongful dismissal. He’s suing MAPS, McMaster University and some of his former colleagues for more than $500,000 altogether in damages.
The University and MAPS are now each in the process of reviewing their legal options. This is the second major lawsuit McMaster University has been named in during the past year.
Court documents dated Monday, May 27 state that Minniti is seeking the following:
Against MAPS and McMaster University:
$225,000 for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract/unpaid wages
$88,116.75 for unjust enrichment
$100,000 for mental distress and punitive damages
Against former MAPS president and board members:
$88,116.75 for unpaid wages and vacation pay
In 2012, the University’s audit of MAPS spurred concerns about the organization’s business practices and spending. Of the organization's revenue of $507,035 in 2011, more than $300,000 went to salaries and benefits. Minniti himself received $101,117 in retroactive back pay and a $12,000 bonus in addition to a substantial raise the previous year. Minniti was fired in January amid allegations that he spent MAPS funds on personal engagements.
But the court papers Minniti has filed tell a different story. He claims he was approached by McMaster’s chief human resources officer with the prospect of an updated job description. Minniti claims his raise and back pay were endorsed by the MAPS board of directors, and that the board later notified him they were not in a position to deposit the second half of the back pay.
Citing a series of purported letters between himself, then-president Jeanette Hunter and the board of directors, Minniti maintains he was only fired because he chose the rest of his back pay over his job. Minniti claims he could not forgive the rest of the back pay because he had purchased a home and refrained from exploring other job opportunities.
Despite being criticized for receiving retroactive back pay, Minniti claims he’s still owed $88,116.75 in wages not paid to him under a contract that he says MAPS broke.
Although MAPS and McMaster University are independent organizations, Minniti has named both as corporate defendants.
“McMaster is reviewing its options but is surprised to be included in a statement of claim by someone who was not a University employee,” wrote McMaster spokesperson Gord Arbeau. “Now that the matter is before the courts, we cannot provide further comment.”
MAPS’ legal counsel has not provided any comment.
Since the MAPS spending scandal was brought to light, Minniti has remained largely silent about his position. He has not commented thus far on the lawsuit.
Reports of Minniti’s lawsuit sprung up a day after the McMaster board of governors voted to stop collecting fees temporarily from part-time students. MAPS president Andrew Smith said MAPS is consulting with the University on by-law revisions and anticipates the suspension will be lifted by early fall.
MAPS's budget is funded entirely by student fees. Without other sources of revenue, any legal fees would need to be paid with monies collected from part-time students.
Minniti’s full statement can be found here.
For all of the Silhouette's MAPS coverage since the spending scandal broke, click here.
This article was updated on June 17 at 20:33 ET.
The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, OUSA, is concerned that McMaster's administration didn't seek student input before suspending MAPS from collecting fees last week.
A motion to stop the part-time students association from collecting students' money was announced last Monday on the Daily News. The motion was brought to the Board of Governors meeting last Thursday and passed without student input. The administration reasoned that the new MAPS board had not met expectations of transparency and accountability, and therefore should not collect any fees from students this fall.
Three days after the Board of Governor's decision, OUSA blogged about their concern over the way the situation was handled, with the understanding that the new MAPS board was working to address the administration's concerns.
OUSA, which represents 8 student organizations including the MSU, says McMaster's decision to impose the suspension goes against the autonomy of a student organization:
"Most concerning is the fact that the decision [...] was motioned and passed by members of the University Administration, rather than by the actual student membership of MAPS. This sets a dangerous precedent in which an institution has chosen to withhold fees independently of student input or support."
Ken Seville, a part-time student at McMaster and a Hamilton resident, commented on the post and expressed disappointment in the way the decision unfolded.
"I was shocked at how quickly this motion was brought forth and passed without any discussion or even questions from the BOG," he wrote. "I also find it disingenuous that the admin. claims to be protecting pt students but made no effort to consult them on the decision."
"The university has an email address for every MAPS member. Even something as simple as poll daddy would have sufficed," he wrote in an e-mail. He says he doesn't know what other part-timers think of the suspension.
"That's the problem about being a pt student, you are disconnected from campus life but decisions are made on your behalf without any consultation. For my part, I don't mind paying MAPS fees because I have confidence in the new BOD and them making the organization accountable," said Seville.
MAPS President Andrew Smith said the new board "has always been in agreement with strengthened accountability and transparency measures. He continued, "The MAPS board will not, however, agree to unrelated issues being attached to the resumption of fee collection."
A McMaster representative could not be reached for comment before this article was published.
MSU President David Campbell said he agrees with OUSA that an effort should have been made to reach out to students before the decision, even if that meant a non-binding question to part-time students over e-mail.
"We understand the reasoning behind it but [getting student input] would have set a different tone," he said.
However, Campbell also expressed some skepticism that the University would have received a large or unfavourable response to suspending MAPS, given the spending scandal that has severely impacted student confidence in the organization.
"Getting input would have been more of a symbolic decision," said Campbell, who noted that context plays a role.
The MAPS annual meeting in February was poorly attended by members. Several confusions came up because by-laws were not present at the meeting. In 2012, MAPS was denied a fee increase and audited by the University. In the weeks and months following, the organization's executive director was fired and its former board of directors replaced.
This article was last updated June 17 at 17:15 ET.
McMaster University will stop collecting MAPS fees from part-time students following a vote by the Board of Governors Thursday morning.
The McMaster Association of Part-Time Students came under public scrutiny earlier this year over its spending practices and lack of fiscal transparency. After firing its executive director, Sam Minniti, MAPS elected a new board in February.
At the June 6 BoG meeting, the University administration recommended that fee-collection for MAPS be suspended, citing that the new board has not yet met the expectations laid out for them at the beginning of their term.
"We don’t believe we can continue to collect the fees when MAPS has not ensured transparency, accountability and clarity on the services it provides in return for student fees," said Provost David Wilkinson, in a release.
As of now, part-time students (registered in less than 18 units) will not be required to pay $7 per unit to MAPS come fall.
The University has held fees collected from MAPS members since last summer and will continue to do so. Some of the fees will go toward sustaining MAPS operations.
