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While many students have packed up for the summer, the executive of the Alma Mater Society (AMS) has been hard at work on campus, embracing their role as representatives of the more than 16,000 undergraduate students at Queen’s University.

Jennifer Li (President), Brian MacKay (Vice President - Operations), and Palmer Lockridge (Vice President – University Affairs) are not short on objectives as they prepare for the return of students to campus.

“We want to make the AMS and the services we offer more relevant and accessible to students,” says Mr. MacKay. Part of this goal, he continues, is to make mental health services more accessible to students. To this end, the executive has already implemented additional off-campus mental health coverage through the AMS Health and Dental Insurance Plan. Coverage will increase to include 80 per cent of the cost of eligible off-campus counselling, effective Sept. 1, 2017, in order to aid students seeking complementary support to their existing on-campus counselling.

Additionally, the AMS is seeking to work in conjunction with Student Wellness Services to create an accessible online booking system for counselling, as well as dedicated wellness spaces for students on campus.

“We hope these changes will lower the barriers to mental health care for students,” Mr. McKay says.

The executive team is also ready to continue work on projects they have inherited, such as the revitalization of the John Deutsch University Centre (JDUC), for which they believe student and community input will be integral.

“We value the heritage components of campus, but our vision is a modern and accessible student life centre that can compete with other student life centres across Canada,” says Ms. Li, “We want it to be a 21st century building for 21st century students.”

Tackling another long-term project, the executive is poised to continue work with the new AMS Committee on Inclusion and looks forward to working in conjunction with the Principal’s Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI).

“It’s not just an isolated incident or an isolated response. We need a multi-year approach of offering accessible cultural programming,” says Ms. Li.

“Internally, we are looking at ways to make the AMS more accessible and inclusive, whether that be through the training that leaders get for orientation or looking at creating more intersectional events to talk about these issues,” says Mr. Lockridge.

“We can’t do anything in isolation. We need to reach out to students and to the university so that it’s a collaborative effort,” adds Ms. Li.

Aiming to live up to their campaign slogan, “Let’s do this together!” the executive is clear on their enthusiasm to work with Queen’s staff and faculty to enhance the student experience.

“We welcome any ideas from faculty and staff, even if they haven’t been involved in the AMS before,” says Ms. Li, “That’s how new ideas and new ways of addressing problems arise.”

“The way we benefit the student experience doesn’t always have to come through the Principal or the Dean of Student Affairs, it can come through any faculty or staff who want to implement a new initiative that they believe has the capacity to benefit students,” adds Mr. MacKay.

More information on the AMS and their projects is available at .