York Federation of Students

York Federation of Students

Institution	York University
Location	Toronto, Ontario
Members	52,000
Affiliations	CFS
Colours	Red & White
Website	www.yfs.ca

York Federation of Students (YFS) represents approximately 50,000 students at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The York Federation of Students (YFS) is a member of the Canadian Federation of Students (Local 68).

History

The student government was founded in 1968 as the York Student Council. Around 1975, the student government had become the Council of York Student Federations. By the early 1990s the name changed to York Federation of Students by their president at the time, popular Canadian CBC Radio host, Jian Ghomeshi.

About

The YFS is a democratically organized, dues paying student union representing over 53,000 full and part-time undergrad students at the York University.

The purpose of the YFS is to bring together the elected representatives of all the college governments on campus. The YFS also has appointed members of campus organizations into a single body. The YFS provides services such as a health plan, the discounted TTC metropass, and the Student Advocacy Services. Unlike other Student Governments, it does not own or operate any campus pub, however, it does have a controlling stake on the Board of Directors for the Student Centre. All Campus Organizations and Clubs are recognized under the YFS, and together with the different club offices, occupy of the majority of the Student Centre.

Administration

The student government is administered by five full-time undergraduate executives, along with several full and part-time staff members. Other part-time staff are mostly made up of undergrad students.

On multiple levels, the YFS is controlled by student volunteers and paid employees. The Day-to-day operations are overseen by the elected Executive, who also run the various campaigns and provide advocacy for all undergrads and are assisted by the full-time long-term staff.

The elected and appointed Board of Directors holds open meetings almost every other week each school year. The general membership (all York Students) meets to ratify the decisions of the Board of Directors as well as provide ground level participation to the operation of the YFS.

For a list of employees, check the Staff Listing Page.

Elections

Elections are held every February to select the next years Executive and Board. Along with this, all the part-time positions are re-staffed annually. Volunteers also assist the YFS with campaigns and referendums on issues like the rising cost of tuition, the environment and globalization.

Board of Directors (Councillors)

YFS Board of Directors meet regularly. All the Board meetings are open to the public, and are traditionally begun with a motion to extend speaking rights to all present, so that visitors may contribute to the process. Only members of the Board of Directors hold voting rights.

All votes for the YFS Board of Directors are held by the Executive, and 17 college and faculty seats (College Councillors).

Information and Members of the YFS and its Constitution.

Services

The YFS offers a wide selection of services and advocacy programming.

• Cell Phone Deals
• Free ISIC
• Free Studentsaver
• Free Essay Printing Service
• Photocopy and Fax Service
• Home4Students
• TTC Discount Metropass
• Work Abroad Program
• Discount Auto Insurance
• Student Minutes
• U-File
• Student Advocacy Services
• Food Bank

Health Plan

All undergraduate students at York University (with the exception of Atkinson & Osgoode Hall students) participate in a health plan (YFS). 65.5% of voting Glendon College students voted to join the health plan during their 2006 Spring Elections (Elections York). Glendon College was a previous non-participant in the plan. Students with alternative extended health coverage are permitted to opt out of the plan.

Clubs

There are over 250 accredited clubs by the YFS. The wide variety of clubs range from cultural, religious, political, and social. For a list of clubs, check the Club List.

See also

• List of Ontario students' associations
• Jian Ghomeshi, former YFS president 1990-1991

External links

• York Federation of Students Website
• College Councils
• Faculty Councils
• York University