Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes for weekly board meetings are available upon request. 

Biology Undergraduate and Graduate Society - Annual General Meeting

March 27, 2026, 17:00 hrs, RIC 209

Present: 

• Gracie Farago

• Josephine Tunison

• Michela Sisti

• Vanna Hung

• Kat Most

• Vanna Hung

• Mohammed Quraishi

• Laura Schnell

• Shivangi Sharma 

• Adria Bateman

• Jocelyne Taylor

• Vamshi Vakulabharanam

• Anneka McLaren

• Ashlyn Kirk 

• Rafa Grajales

• Jack Piasta

• Alexis Molano

1. Establish quorum

   1. We have 10 people present – thank you Zohra! 

2. Approval of the agenda

   1. Gracie motions to accept 

   2. Laura seconds 

   3. No oppositions

3. Reports

   1. President Appendix I

      1. Succeeded in getting more grad engagement 

         1. Members by payment status 

            1. 1) Paid Members: 135 2) Unsure: 10 3) Unpaid: 8

         2. Members by program

            1. 1) Unknown, 2) Biology, 3) Science

         3. Members by Year

            1. 1) Unknown, 2) First Years (18.8%)

         4. Recommendation: Dive into 2012 files to determine events that supported increased BUGS involvement

      2. Revamped the BUGS lounge successfully. People are using it more lately 

         1. Some things still to be tackled: posters constantly falling down, maybe some fairy lights, paint the cabinets or contact paper, etc 

         2. Quoted $1500 from facilities to paint space 

            1. Mural? Accent wall?

      3. Successfully got some pens, buttons, and a banner for events 

         1. Banner and pens purchased at the start of the year from Vistaprint

      4. Hosted at least one major social event each month. Only did one fundraiser though. 

         1. Events by Month

September- Back to School Mixer 

1. About 50 people

2. Lots of faculty

October- Halloween Trivia 

3. Great turnout 

4. Low cost

5. Good profit for fundraising event 

November- Museum Collections Tour 

6. Private tour of museum collections 

7. Wasn’t well attended 

December- Research Expo 

8. Second Annual 

9. Great turnout

10. Almost every lab in biology set up a booth 

January- Back to School Mixer 

11. Networking activity 

12. Less well attended 

13. Upper mezzanine-- lower part or patio ideal 

February - Science Gala/ Mask Decorating, Candy Grams, Games night

14. Broke even, made $10

March- Conservation in Saskatchewan 

• Good turnout 

2. Room for growth: second fundraiser, passive income from Sarcan perhaps 

5. Fundraising

   1. Held 1 major fundraising event this year- Halloween trivia night 

      1. Net profit: $589.47

      2. Ended year with $182.89 surplus

      3. Still capacity for growth next year

         1. Host another major fundraiser in winter semester

         2. 50/50? Would need a license

         3. Opportunities for passive income - ex. Sarcan 

6. Social media

   1. Instagram: 337 Followers 

      1. 13.8% Growth in followers since December 2023 

      2. Overall, got 41 net new followers but 73 total new follows 

   2. Room for growth – expand the discord. 

      1. Currently 5 members

      2. Adding link to instagram story/ instagram bio link

7. Recommendations for next year: 

   1. Increase social media 

   2. Build tutor registry 

   3. Move to digital set up 

   4. Engage grad students

   5. Get sponsorships from local businesses 

   6. Use website to full potential – add a job posting section, add a news section, etc 

   7. Continue lounge revamp

   8. Raise funds 

   9. More BUGS merch – totes, t-shirts, stickers 

   10. Use PEC funding to full potential 

       1. BUGS is a ratified student club of URSU, so we get some funding from them every year. 

       2. Each club can get up to $6,000?? But it is hard to find that information which makes it tricky to get it 

       3. Can get funding from URGSA as well? – we are apparently on their website? 

2. Financial Appendix II

   1. In the green this year! 

   2. Got funding from RPIRG, Biology Department, Faculty of Science 

   3. Look into changing bank account next year so we are no longer charged for e-transfers 

      1. $26.25 in Etransfer fees 

   4. Continue major fundraising events 

   5. Charging for social events: anything with some food etc continue to charge but educational events keep free 

4. New Business

   1. Constitution Amendments Appendix III 

      1. Motion for Amendments 4a.1-8

         1. Adria motions

         2. Stephanie seconds 

         3. Passed unanimously 

      2. Motion for Amendments 4a.9/10

         1. Notes from the discussion: Dev would like to attend weekly meetings and wants use to make it aware that all members can come to these meetings 

         2. Changing 9.4 to two-thirds of the executive vote for impeachments 

         3. Laura motions 

         4. Gracie seconds 

         5. Unanimous 

   2. New Exec Introductions

5. Regards from the incoming president

6. Other business

   1. Owl issue: Gracie recaps the Owl accusations and how they never replied, the URSU president said he would look into it and then never replied.

      1. There were other events. We did not get emailed until 5 days after. There was no evidence provided. 

      2. Dev will contact the URSU president and look into it/prompt people to give us more information regarding that 

7.  Adjournment

   1. Laura motions 

   2. Gracie seconds

Appendix IV

2026 Constitutional Amendments 

Proposed changes are shown in red. Strikethroughs in red indicate deletions. 

Amendment 1:

Article 1 – Name and Affiliation 

1.1 The official name of the club shall be “Biology Undergraduate and Graduate Society”, or “B.U.G.S.” or “BUGS” if abbreviated. No other name shall be used in the advertisement or representation of the club. 

1.2 B.U.G.S. is a ratified campus group of the University of Regina Students’ Association (URSA) and agrees to operate in accordance with the URSA Constitution, Bylaws, and Policies, as well as applicable University of Regina policies.

1.3 URSA General Council

As a ratified campus group, B.U.G.S. may be represented on the URSA General Council in accordance with URSA policies. Participation in the General Council provides opportunities for information-sharing, consultation, and representation within URSA governance. 

Reasoning:

• Alignment with URSA policies

Amendment 2:

Article 4 – Duties of the Executive Committee 

4.1 President 

a) Oversee the other members of the Executive Committee in their duties; 

b) Create an agenda for and chair all meetings; 

c) Maintain order in the B.U.G.S. student lounge and ensure it is a friendly and inviting environment.

d) Maintain, in coordination with the Treasurer, supplies within the B.U.G.S. student lounge; 

e) Have signing authority for the group.

f) Appoint a graduate and undergraduate student representative to the Biology Department and Faculty of Science boards. 

g) Apply for ratification with URSA for the academic year.

Reasoning:

• Alignment with URSA policies

Amendment 3:

4.2 Vice-President 

a) Create and update a membership list and email list for the school academic year, ensuring member payment is verified through collaboration with the Treasurer

b) Assume all powers of the President in his/their/her absence. 

c) Provide the Executive Committee contact list to the Biology Department office, the Head of the Biology Department, and to the Faculty of Science; 

d) Have signing authority for the group. 

e) Maintain order in the B.U.G.S. student lounge and ensure it is a friendly and inviting environment. 

Reasoning:

• Clarity 

Amendment 4:

4.3 Treasurer 

a) Responsible for all financial dealings of the group. 

b) Keep a complete record of all financial transactions on the B.U.G.S. Google Drive.

 c) Regularly Report the financial standing of the group at meetings, each month. 

d) Create budget proposals and spending reports. 

e) Have signing authority for the group. 

f) Maintain subscriptions when applicable, including the Square, domain name, etc. 

Reasoning:

• Clarity 

• Explicitly mentioning subscriptions, as they were new to us this year. 

Amendment 5:

4.4 Secretary 

a) Responsible for recording the minutes of all meetings; 

b) Type up meeting minutes and upload them to the B.U.G.S. Google Drive. 

b) Check the B.U.G.S. mailbox in the Biology office. 

d) Chooses the urbugs@gmail.com account password for the year and regularly checks the email account every business day.

Reasoning:

• Clarity 

Amendment 6:

4.5 Events Coordinators (2 positions) 

a) Organize social events (such as socials, bowling, etc) and educational events (such as the IMAX/Science Centre, lab tours, museum, etc), including telephoning for information and prices, making reservations and bookings, and arranging volunteers and event promotion.

b) Purchase any supplies needed for events (e.g. paper plates, cups, cutlery, napkins, etc.); 

c) Organize a minimum of one social and one educational event for each of the fall and winter semesters; 

d) Organize at least one fundraising event in the academic year. 

e) Responsible for booking a table outside the Lab Café for membership drives, clothing sales, and event sign-ups; spaces for events? 

Reasoning:

• Clarity on role requirements

Amendment 7:

4.6 Information Technologies/Communications Director (1 - 2 positions) 

a) Responsible for promoting events, membership drives and clothing sales through bulletin boards, and emails, and social media. 

b) Updates the B.U.G.S. information *on the URSU handbook and website. 

c) Responsible for informing members (both general and executive) about scheduled and impromptu meeting times. 

d) Regularly update the B.U.G.S. website and social media accounts with upcoming events, pictures, etc. 

e) Post the AGM meeting minutes to the website. 

f) Maintain and update the B.U.G.S. social media accounts, including Instagram and Tiktok accounts. 

Reasoning:

• Outdated

Amendment 8:

4.8 Student Club Liaison 

a) Network with other student clubs and centres, manage collaborations for events/social media posts, contests, etc. 

b) Assist with event planning in collaboration with event coordinators. 

c) Attend URSA General Council meetings regularly, represent the values of B.U.G.S. in voting on motions proposed in the General Council Meetings, and write independent minutes for these meetings that will be published on the B.U.G.S. website. The purpose of this is to increase B.U.G.S. knowledge of URSA operations to be better able to understand and advocate for members; additionally, the goal is to help URSU create and maintain transparent lines of communication with the student body at large.  

Reasoning:

• Clarity of role requirement given URSA governance structure 

Amendment 9:

Article 5 – Finances 

5.1 The Executive Committee will set a membership fee annually. 

5.2 The finances of the organization must be handled exclusively by the organization and kept separate from any other group. 

5.3 Any surplus resulting from the yearly operation of the group should be transferred to reserve for future use and no part of the surplus shall be payable to any member.

5.4 In the event of the dissolution of the group, all surplus and assets will be transferred to the Department of Biology to be held in trust for a minimum of two years for a future Biology-based student group, in accordance with URSA policies. 

Reasoning:

• Alignment with URSA policies

Amendment 10:

Article 6 – Meetings 

6.1 Members of the Executive Committee shall meet a minimum of every two (2) weeks at a date and time organized by the Executive Committee during the fall and winter semesters. Summer meetings will be at the discretion of the Executive Committee. A minimum of two (2) meetings during the summer will be held to ensure continuity of the board. 

Reasoning:

• Clarity 

Amendment 11:

Article 7 – Elections 

7.1 The Executive Committee of the club must be elected from and by the membership by a majority vote. 

f) To be eligible for election as President and/or Vice-President, a candidate must have served on the B.U.G.S. Executive Committee for a minimum of one (1) academic years prior to the election. Service in any elected or appointed executive role, including Student Representative, shall count toward this requirement. In exceptional circumstances where no eligible candidates are available, the Executive Committee may waive this requirement by a two-thirds (2/3) vote, subject to ratification by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. 

Reasoning:

• Smoother transition between years and understanding of BUGS values and operations

Amendment 12:

Article 7 – Elections 

7.1 The Executive Committee of the club must be elected from and by the membership by a majority vote. 

g) Executive members must:

• Maintain active voting membership

• Be enrolled as students in the Faculty of Science or Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research

• Be in good academic standing

• Attend meetings regularly

Reasoning:

• Reflects BUGS values and standards for excellence in the executive 

Amendment 13:

Article 10 – Agency 

10.1 The club is not an agent of URSA  and the club’s views and actions do not represent those of URSA.

Reasoning:

• Updating to acknowledge change in student governance