Ikram Hamoud garners more complaints about lack of communication
Photo by Sofia Hashi
Members of various federated bodies are fuming after Ikram Hamoud, vice-president social of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO), skipped out on the latest social roundtable.
Volunteer coordinator Sunny Bui said Hamoud asked him to chair the meeting two hours before the roundtable was set to start, without providing an agenda or an explanation.
“I have no problem chairing the meeting, but I was frustrated that she did not supply me with an agenda,” he said.
It wasn’t the first time, either. Bui has chaired the previous two meetings, the last of which he also wasn’t given an agenda. According to the SFUO constitution, the vice-president social is supposed to chair the monthly roundtables.
Hamoud said in an email to the Fulcrum that she couldn’t attend the meeting because she was “double booked for another event.” She said she intended to communicate to the rest of the members—other vice-president socials of student groups—that she couldn’t attend through a Facebook message.
“I left a message on our Facebook group but when I came back to my office the next morning I realized that it didn’t post on the group,” said Hamoud.
Christine Backs of the Engineering Students’ Society said she isn’t buying it.
“I wasn’t surprised she didn’t show up,” Backs wrote in an email. “We always get a date, then it’s cancelled within 24 hours (not giving us enough time to make arrangements) and then rescheduled to another date. A date that she never shows up to.”
Read more: Students petition for impeachment of Ikram Hamoud
Read more: Student fed sitting on $10,000 pile of fireworks
She said Hamoud hasn’t tried to communicate with the other socials about what was discussed during the roundtable.
“She has refused to talk to us via social media since about September, essentially making group discussions impossible,” Backs said.
“I’m just really frustrated. It’s been a long year because of her.”
Regarding the agenda, Hamoud said the other vice-president socials are supposed to send her their agenda points.
Hanna Fazal of the Students’ Association of the Faculty of Arts said Hamoud hasn’t given out clear instructions about the agenda points.
Fazal, who has been a vocal critic of Hamoud, is leading a petition calling for her impeachment. Fazal said she’s collected between 600 and 700 signatures since mid-December.
“We as volunteers are expected to go to these monthly meetings, and she gets a salary to attend them,” said Fazal. “I work hard in my position and to be able to do what I need to do to give the best experience to students, and it’s sad that it’s not happening on a much larger scale like it should be.”
