In light of recent concerns raised by SSMU members and discussions regarding the scope of the Equity Policy and recent equity complaints, the Executive Committee is issuing the following statement to clarify the SSMU’s relationship with the entity known as “Mob Squad”:
The Mob Squad was originally an initiative undertaken by VP External 2010-11 Myriam Zaidi as a part of her portfolio, as well as SSMU’s mandate to work for accessible education. The group was conceived as an informal mobilization committee designated to undertake political activity around matters of education, and was never formalized as a SSMU Committee or other official body. However, as the group grew throughout the summer and into September, many of its members took it upon themselves to call meetings and organize entirely independently of the SSMU.
Over the past year, this evolution has continued, with the result that the Mob Squad has grown in such a way that it cannot be conceived of as an organization per se; there is a fluid membership of students and other interested persons who operate without a permanent governing body. In essence, the Mob Squad and its affiliated communications platforms (Facebook and a listserv) form an informal network which acts as a resource for any person interested in participating in student activism.
As such, SSMU cannot censure, dictate, endorse, or otherwise govern the actions of “Mob Squad.” In response to questions about the use of SSMU’s resources – printing, materials, transport funding, and so on – the Executive wishes to make clear that the SSMU has a Campaigns budget, part of which can be made available to students or student groups engaged in projects that fulfill the Society’s political mandates. For example, the Law Student Mobilization Committee was provided with SSMU funds to support their collective anti-tuition hikes campaigning and students from various faculties have printed flyers on the subject of tuition hikes in the SSMU office. Similarly, SSMU has supported faculty associations (including the Social Work Student Association and Science Undergraduate Society) by lending them SSMU’s placards for their General Assemblies this year.
The SSMU Executive does not require students to declare all associations and involvements before undertaking work on SSMU campaigns and mandates. The Executive Committee is, however, responsible for ensuring that all use of SSMU resources is in line with the governing policies of the Society.
SSMU Executive Committee
