In a nearly unanimous decision, the Students’ Legislative Council decided to re-implement the discontinued Thought Swap Forum Tue., Oct. 1. Established in the fall of 2001, the forums were an on-line meeting place for university students to share thoughts, concerns, criticisms and questions regarding the activities of the Students’ Union.
The forum was often criticized for inappropriate comments which drowned out the serious thoughts, leading to a temporary unavailability this summer, SU Commissioner Gavin Preston was vocal in his attempt to get the forum up and running again.
“We want to re-establish the idea that students can participate,” he argued. “[The forum] encourages a dialogue between executives and students.”
This ability to open up an easily accessible way to contact the executives was the focal point of his argument to the council. Opposition to his argument was minimal at the SLC meeting. Debates regarding technically feasible dates and the content of the site itself dominated most of the talks. In the end, however, a November launch seemed to please the majority of the council. The final details regarding content were never explicitly outlined, but moderating the site was widely agreed upon.
The final vote came to 17 members for the resolution and one against. Robbie White, SU Vice-President Operations and Finance, voted against this resolution because it lacked the specific technical details that he wanted.
“I’m not opposed to the forum,” he said. “It just seemed too general and vague. We need to decide how we want it done, and implement it.”