The UNA Board of Director’s meeting on March 18 included the introduction of a new policy; the board chair Eagle Glassheim asked directors to declare anything that had a potential for perceived conflict of interest.
No conflicts were declared during the meeting.
When reached for comment regarding the reasoning behind the new policy and whether any allegations of conflict of interest have been made against members of the board, UNA Corporate Services Specialist Chris Hakim said, “This is a standard practice amongst other boards of directors, serving as a useful reminder to directors at the start of each meeting to ensure they do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose.”
“Implementing this is part of the UNA’s continuing efforts to incorporate best governance practices into its procedures,” he added.
Campus Crime Update
In a quarterly crime presentation to the UNA Board, RCMP Staff Sgt. Chuck Lan noted that there had been 1150 calls for service to date for 2025. Directors were told calls for service is a category that includes instances of officers responding to crime and other issues. While presenting data for the years 2022-2024, Lan expressed concern that the number of calls for service increased from 3787 in 2023, to 5955 in 2024.
He attributed the increase to population growth on campus.
While members of the Board expressed alarm over the data and inquired about increasing the number of officers in the RCMP’s university detachment, analysis conducted by The Campus Resident found that many categories of crime which fall under the category of calls to service have seen a decline from 2023 to 2024.
Total violent crime has declined 12 per cent from 274 incidents in 2023 to 244 in 2024, with a 9 per cent decrease in total assaults. Domestic violence saw a 29 per cent decrease over the same time period.
While total property crime is up 10 per cent from 855 incidences in 2023 to 946 in 2024, incidents of break and enter and stolen property have also declined.
Staff Sgt. Lan later told The Campus Resident that the data presented to directors was not a complete list of calls for service, and that the category is a broad one.
The category refers to instances where the RCMP responds to crime-related matters, but also includes instances that do not concern crime, such as individuals visiting the detachment to discuss job opportunities with RCMP staff, Lan said. A complete list wasn’t included in the presentation to UNA directors.
A more detailed breakdown of the RCMP’s call to service data was also not immediately available.
Update on Campus Development
Following the end of the second round of community engagement for the planned Wesbrook Place South expansion, the first major step in Campus Vision 2050, members of UBC Campus + Community Planning updated the Board about their findings and next steps.
In their report, it was noted that community members strongly supported the creation of new parks, a new sports centre aimed for teens and another grocery store.
Concerns were noted about whether amenities and services would be able to keep pace with the expanded population, with a focus on education and childcare.
The draft plan will be available for viewing and commenting from March 24 to April 6 on the UBC Campus + Community Planning website before it goes before the UBC Board of Governors property committee in June.
Off-leash Dog Park
After a six-week public engagement period on the proposed off-leash dog park, UNA Staff presented a revised dog park design and project budget that included the addition of shading structures, planted trees and seating elements. The revised design and budget were unanimously approved by the Board.
DANIEL LI IS A GRADE 11 STUDENT PASSIONATE ABOUT POLITICS AND JOURNALISM.