Issue #3: Role of BSC Alumni Association

The first set of changes deals with the role of the BSC Alumni Association.

Background: Why do we have Alumni Board Reps?

Why alumni are not just any non-students

Most cooperatives are not student cooperatives - members stay members  as  long as they contribute the labor and dues associated with  membership,  and if they leave the cooperative, they get to pull the economic resources they contributed back out.

Our security deposit is really a membership fee. As a student cooperative, we are unusual in that we have alumni, who leave in good standing but are not refunded the capital they originally contributed. This is why alumni, or at least those who forfeit their security deposit as a donation, are considered stakeholders.

BSC Alumni have already contributed substantial amounts of their own time, labor, AND capital to the BSC, as members. BSC Alumni know what it's like to live We believe this amendment should be presented as its own voting item to Board, prior to any other Amendments.in the coops, been full members at some point, and have paid their membership dues. They've voted for policies or for board reps who made policies. They've done workshift and HI.

Anyone who's lived in the BSC, whether current students or alumni, knows how hard it is to explain the experience to people on the outside. To understand what the BSC is and even begin to grasp its interests as an organization, you really have to have lived in it. It is therefore misleading conflate BSC alumni with "external stakeholders" broadly.

Why BSCAA members are not just any alumni

Every legal, social, and political definition of a co-operative references the Rochdale Principles. The word "democratic" appears five times in these seven principles. The second begins with "Co-operatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members".

The Third and Fourth Rochdale principles deal with economic structure. The Third begins with "Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co-operative." At first blush, this should sound like there should be no "external stakeholders" at all - but the Fourth and Sixth Principles provide the basis for our connection to the BSCAA:

4th Principle: Autonomy and Independence

Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter to agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy.

6th Principle: Co-operation among Co-operatives
Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the  co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

Like the BSC, the BSCAA is structured as an economic co-operative. This is also why it's only BSCAA members and not all alumni who are eligible to serve as Board Directors - They have not only lived in the BSC, but they continue to be active members of another co-operative. That is why the BSCAA has a spot on Board: Cooperation among Cooperatives.

Questions Considered

Specifically, there are two questions Board is being asked to take up:

1. Should the President of the BSC Alumni Association be able to appoint one member of the Alumni Association as a Director, for as long as the BSCAA President wants?
2. Should members of the BSC Alumni Association be specifically eligible to serve as Directors, if recommended and approved by Board, for as long as the BSC Board wants?

These are addressed in provisions 1 and 3 of the current Bylaw, which the current proposal would remove.

Option A: No change

1. The President of the BSC Alumni Association may appoint one member of the Alumni Association as a Director. The term of office of the Alumni Association member shall be at the pleasure of the President of the BSC Alumni Association.

Option B: Remove the BSCAA-appointed Director

This much clearer and simpler amendment would simply remove the clause about the BSCAA member appointed by the BSCAA president, and have all three be nominated and selected by the President.

1. The President of the BSC Alumni Association may appoint one member of the Alumni Association as a Director. The term of office of the Alumni Association member shall be at the pleasure of the President of the BSC Alumni Association.

1. 2. The BSC Employee Association contract may include a provision for the designation of a Director from among members of the Employee Association. If applicable, this Director will serve at the pleasure of the Employee Association.
2. 3. The President Cabinet may recommend to the Board for approval two additional up to three non-student directors...

We believe this amendment should be presented as its own voting item to Board, prior to any other Amendments.