The Toronto Metropolitan Students' Union (TMSU) formerly known as the Ryerson Students' Union (RSU) is the current

students' union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...

that represents full-time

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

students at

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

, (known until 2022 as Ryerson University). All full-time students are required to be members and pay a levy. The money is used to fund student groups, events for students and campaigning.

Board

The

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

set the direction and the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

manage the day-to-day operations of the

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

. Students elect 2 to 5 members from each faculty, depending on the size of the faculty, to the board, in addition to having ex-officio student representatives from the university's senate, student groups, course unions and residence.

Equity Service Centres

The TMSU has eight Equity Service Centres: The Centre for Women & Trans People, The Good Food Centre, BIPOC Students' Collective, Access TMU, The Queer Space, Centre for Safer Sex & Sexual Violence Support, SHIFT Centre and the Trans Collective. These centres serve as a space for students from different marginalized backgrounds to come together and organize equity and social justice initiatives, events, and campaigns. In 2010, the board of directors voted to change the name from "Community Service Groups" to "Equity Service Centres".

Controversy

The RSU has been extensively criticized for its equity centre policies and for banning a men's issues student group on campus. In 2015, former RSU vice-president education Jesse Root was accused of deleting emails in violation of Ontario's privacy laws.

Ram Ganesh misuse of funds controversy

On January 24, 2019, photos of credit card statements belonging to RSU President Ramganesh Ragupathy (Ram Ganesh) were obtained and published on Facebook by university political group Rhinoceros Party. The statements alleged frivolous spending by Ganesh of over $250,000, including transactions for alcohol, a casino, various bars and nightclubs, hotel rooms, and at a sporting goods store. In response to ongoing turmoil at the union involving both the above scandal and an inability to renegotiate a new operating agreement, Toronto Metropolitan University terminated its 1986 operating agreement with the union and declared that it would no longer recognize the union as the official student government for full-time undergraduate and graduate students on campus. The courts ordered an injunction preventing the university from severing the agreement.

References

External links