ASFA Communications Coordinator May Become Hired Position

NewsJosh Fischlin — Published December 20, 2015 | Updated December 20, 2015 at 6:19pm

The motion was brought up at a regular council meeting on Nov. 10, but was tabled due to a lack of quorum.

The move comes in light of the resignation of Cleo de Fonseca, who ran for the VP Communications position on the Support Change slate during ASFA’s election in October. She is stepping down from the position due to her imminent graduation.

“I wasn’t expecting to graduate this early, because I went on exchange and I didn’t know if all my credits would be transferred. Then when I checked I realized that I could graduate,” she said.

If she were to take one more class in order to be a student next semester, it would solely be to finish her mandate at ASFA.

“I need to graduate, I need to start working. It’s really more that than anything.”

Jenna Cocullo, General Coordinator of ASFA, believes it doesn’t make sense for Communications Coordinator to be an elected position.

“Historically, I think that’s been the position that’s either been the most vacant or uncontested,” Cocullo said.

The creation of a hired—rather than elected—Communications Coordinator position at ASFA was always on the table, according to Cocullo. However, De Fonseca’s resignation acted as a catalyst for the move.

“We felt like it would be beneficial to just hire a student on a yearly basis instead of having to go through elections, because then when people resign—which has happened for many years in a row—the position is left empty, and it’s a really important position,” she explained.

According to Cocullo, the Concordia Student Union’s graphic designers and communications coordinator are also hired positions.

There was $2,500 set-aside in the budget in anticipation of the eventual switch. If the motion is passed, the money will be used to pay the employee for the upcoming semester of work.

Next year, the federation would try to pay a bit over minimum wage, Cocullo said.

An extra $3,000 would also be used for in order to hire a web and graphics designer to re-design ASFA’s website and logo. The position would be in place for one semester.

If the motion is passed, $5,500 will be used to pay for both Communications Coordinator and the web and graphics designer. The future employees would be chosen by a five-person hiring committee.

Due to her resignation, De Fonseca will not receive her honorarium.

“To be honest, I wish I could do more for ASFA,” De Fonseca said. “Because I was really excited about being a part of the team and being a part of the change.”