neill-wycik owner's manual from 1995-1996.pdf

7/29/2019 Neill-Wycik Owner's Manual from 1995-1996.pdf

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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

DearMember,Neill-Wycik Co-operative College opened its doors twenty-five years ago this fall to the first ofthousands of students who have lived here. It was not the only Co-op of its time, but it is oneof the very few to survive, due in large part to a dedicated membership.Living here in the "Vertical Village " is a unique experience. This is not a residence hall ordormitory but a community which we all share. As a Member you have an equal say in all thingsthat go on in your home. Like home, you also have equal responsibilities.This fall will see the beginning of the next twenty-five years of Neill-Wycik'sexistence. We have spent over a million dollars in renovations in the last year to improve ourfacility. We have introduced new programs into the Co-op and we have reaffirmed our purpose.But true success will not come without you. Your participation is the key to that success.I encourage you to join a club or a committee, seek a position on the Board of Directors, becomea core group leader, or simply organize an event. You will find that volunteer work here can bevery rewarding. The networks you will establish and friends you make will last your lifetime.Our goal is to make Neill-Wycik the first place students want to live, and their greatestdisappointment if hey do not get in. With your help it will be .Yours Co-operatively,

Brian M. WoodrowPresident, Chair of the Board of Directors

96 Gerrard Street East. Toronto. Ontario. Canada. M5B 1G7 Tel: (416) 977-2320. Fax: (416) 977-28091

VO LUME 141995 - 9 6

25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

editor neil b. Hermesassociate editor lynn Nagasuye

features editor correna Craigcontributors joe Serge

brian m. Woodrowdon Sworabruce Agarstaff of Neill-Wycik

photography selwyn Leeted Hanmerkiersten Stewart

illustrations dalton Sharpbrian Mullin

copy proofing debbie a. Hermessean Vokey

publication design mercury communications

A SPECIAL THANKS to all those who heped to create thismana . Most of the copy, and some photographs are thecreatons of those whose names escape the edtors of thispublication. Our sincere apologies for anyone whosename was overooked.

Neill-Wycik Owners Manual1995 Neill-Wycik Co-operative Colege Inc.

96 Gerrard Street EastToronto, Ontario, Canada

M5B lG7Voice: (416) 977-2320Fax: (416) 977-2809

printed in Canada by Carlton Printers Ltd.

Neill-Wycik's Co-operative CMission Statement

The first place students want to live

... their greatest disappointment if t

...where Members take pride and ow

.. f ill " , ! y ~ ik pP I ~ c i p .. r a t I .. .~ ~ y ~ r n ~ n . ~ ~ .. at .. I ~ " , ! y ~ i . k ........ . ...... ....... . .. .. .. .. ..The Board of DirectorsN. ~ w . . y c i ~ .. S.y.. ...Committees & Clubs .. ......... ......... ..

! ~ . e .. id .. A . ~ . s i p ' r ~ ~ r ~ r T 1.. ~ ~ . q p ~ r ~ t i y ~ ...w.. ~ r ~ ~ rMember Facilities

Member ServicesS a f Pro fi Ies.N. 1 1 ~ w . . y c ...C, .. ..

... ... ... . ... ....... . ... ... . .....u . p ~ . n . ~ y .. ~ f T 1 ~ n t ...... ........... . ...... .... .. .

Neill-Wy


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k. . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,1 the former Ryerson

ByJoeSerge(abridged with apologies)Neill-WYcik (pronouncedNeil Why-zik) began asa young woman'sdream. This dream began totake shape in April 1969,during the Neill-Wycik Collegesod-turning party on Mutualand Gerrard Streets. Present atthe ceremonies were Aurilee"Mama" and "Papa" Wycik,former Toronto Mayor and federal Member of parliament,David Crombie, (who was then02 Nf iII-Wvdk Co-ooerativeOWNER'S /06

student servicesdirector) and KathyWhalen theRyerson studentwith a dream .

Sudents hadbeen trying foryears to get someform of residence,but never had anyluck bargaining withHoward Kerr,Ryerson's principalfrom 1948-66. Whenhe left, Ryerson students decided toforce the issue withthe new president, FredJorgenson. One of thosestudents was Kathy Whalen.

I n 1966, Kathy enrolledin the Early ChildhoodEducation. program andb e c am einvolved instudentpolitics. Shewas hired bythe students'union to operate

the newly created HousingRegistry - which still existstoday. Immediately she saw theneed for an on-campusresidence. She liked the idea ofa Co-op as opposed to a normalschool residence because itoffered students control overtheir environment as well aslow-cost housing.A fter persistent lobbying on

fiKathy's part, it was finallyrealized, in September 1967,that Ryerson was to have ahigh-rise Co-op. In December,the Canadian Union ofStudents sent Stan Adelman,as field worker , to Ryerson tohelp the group find money anda plan for the long projectahead.They decided to nameNeill-Wycik after threepeople. Wycik isafter Aurileeand Raymond

Wyc i k ,two warmhea r t edindividualswho ran asmall cafeteria in

Kerr Hall. They used to providefree food and beverage to theMembers of the committeewho worked late hours on thehousing project. However,Wycik College sounded a lotlike Wycliffe College, a divinityschool at the University ofToronto. To solve the problem,Kathy suggested adding onA.S. Neill's name. Neill was thePrincipal of Summerhill, oneof the most successful Englishfree schools.The first thing the Co-opneeded was a buildingfrom which theycould operate to gain someexperience and raise capital.Ryerson offered it's property at325 Church Street, a buildingslated for demolition, to beused as a residence. The groupthen received a perfect presenton Christmas Eve, 1968, whenNeill-Wycik's $5.4 milliondollar mortgage was finallyapproved by the CentralMortgage and HousingCorporation. Problems didarise during construction - themortgage price rose by$100,000 because thecontractor discovered thefoundation wasn't hard enoughand there were strikes byconcrete and elevator workers

which stopped work for threeweeks. The building did finallyopen .and by August 15, 1970,all the spots were filled.

The Marten's Wing (alsoknown as McGill Wing)was created mainlybecause the City of Torontokept handing us variances thatour parking was not largeenough to satisfy our legalobligations. Mike Labbe, from aNon-Profit Consulting Agency,suggested that instead of justabsorbing the cost of a veryexpensive parking lot, we builda garage and an eight storywing for housing on top ofit, which made much morefinancial sense.

Wthein JaEdit

Mstoryyearsflux,seenyearsHere andundethe 2* bm* nc* n* ct* rWR* ca* mm* utThesbegiwilllive theyForbemain"ThebyGe

Nelll-W


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OUR PRINCIPLES OFCO-OPERATION

We all live in this communityi '/ called Neill-Wycik. You havechosen to live here and wewelcome you. You have also chosento live by the principles andguidelines that exist to keep ourworld sane. Please read them andstrive to be a good Member of thecommunity.

(ORE VALUESNeill-Wycik Co-operative Collegehas the following core values in itsapproach to doing business:"" A belief in the Co-operativeprinciples."" A belief in the worth of eachMember and respect for whateach Member can contribute."" A belief that each Memberhas certain, definable rightsas a Member and that theseterms of Membership shouldbe understood by all Members."" A belief that all staff ofthe Co-operative can expectthe Co-operative to be afair employer and to actaccordingly.n", "'111__ 1 r .... tAntthM nwtoII'R'< yaM.IA. tu/ttl.

OPEN AND VOLUNTARYMEMBERSHIP

YOU must be a full-time,( student to be accepted intoNeill-Wycik and we try to achievea 50-50 male to female ratio.Apart from these guidelines,anyone can become a Memberregardless of social, political,ethnic or religious affiliation.

DEMOCRATIC CONTROL

M {embers elect the Board ofDirectors at Neill- Wycik.Any rent increase or major policychange must be passed at ageneral meeting open to allMembers. Ifyou have a criticism,or suggestion, you can express itat a board meeting, to thestaff, or at ageneral meeting.

APOLITICAL

N, ,'eill-Wycik doesn't take sidesJ 'l on the political spectrum.We will not make donations toone political party nor will webecome involved in politicalmovements for change notdirectly related to housing. We do,however, respect any Member'sactivities in these areas.

It ~.4111;1&~ t 4 k t *ACO-OPERATIVE

EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

N.i. . l'eill-Wycik is not just a place.. / to hang your hat. Bybringing a group of peopletogether from around the world,and supplying them with privateand communal space, we hope toteach the art of Co-operation.By offering educational facilitiesand seminars in current issuesand by encouraging opportunitiesfor volunteering and for working,we hope to create an environmentwhere our Members can developpersonal skills while contributingto their community.

NON-PROFIT

W, 1ire take in a certain amount/ of money from rents andthe Hotel and spend it onmaintenance, salaries, mortgages,utilities and other expenses.Anything left goes into thereseroes for major repairs, capitalexpenditures etc. There is noperson or group of people whobenefit ifwe have asurplus; we allshare in our financial successesand failures.

Students make up the majorityof the population of thisbuilding sqtit should come asd \ t M ~ . ividuals as

actively

yearelect1 hllExll udl l Il ich isconl;.'ll . l l l ' I I ' theVice-President, the Treasurer, theSecretary and the AssistantTreasurer.Te Board hires the Managerswho in turn hire the staffneeded to efficiently run theoperations of the Co-operative. TheBoard sets the policies and the longterm and short term objectives andthe staff create and execute thenecessary plans to ensure theseobjectives are met. The Board isthe final authority on all Co-opissues.Nw to Neill-Wycik this year,is an Advisory Committeeconsisting of volunteers outside the building who can offeradvice and assistance on a variety ofissues. The Advisory Committeedoes not have any official power atWycik, but they will help to guidethe Board on difficult issues andbusiness decisions.

___ -::=--___. ,HOUSINGSERVICES

Housing Co-ordinatorAIR BookkeeperAlP ClerkOffice Support StaffMember Services Staff

MAINTENANCEDEPARTMENTMaintenance ManagerCleaning Co-ordinatorFT Maintenance StaffPT Maintenance Staff

Ware fortunate to have fivedynamic, knowledgeableand diverse individuals onour Advisory Committee this year:BRIAN ILER, of Her, Campbell is alawyer well known in the Co-opsector and has been Neill-Wycik'slawyer for a number of yearsCOAK SNELL, is an Entrepreneurand former Executive with theRoyal BankGAYLE CHRISTIE, is former Mayorof York and independent consultantBOB LUKER, is an instructor ofCommunity Development atGeorge Brown College and formerRegistrar at Neill-WycikROSS BLAINE, is an independentConsultant and CEO to Neill-WycikCo-operative College Inc.

RESIResideSResid

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O building couldur ot exist without a Board ofDirectors. Being a Board Memberis not easy. They must attendregular meetings to discussevictions, policies, end points,budgets, visioning and governancejust to name a few. It ischallenging and frustrating andthere is no reward but the workitself and the people you get toknow.S why do they do it?Besides the occasionaloree meatball sandwichand chocolate milkshake, there isno monetary gain or perk. Askone of the Board, you'll get asurprising variety of answers.Some of them do it to gainexperience or to add to theirresumes or to learn aboutgovernance. Some of them do itfor fun. All of them doit because they believe inNeill-Wycik.

BRIAN WOODROWPRESIDENT

foCu r r e n t l y

employed withGlucksteinPlanning andDesign, Briangraduatedfrom Ryerson'sInterior Design

program and is in his second termas President. He is considered bymany to be the architect ofNeill-Wycik's rejuvenation.

MICHELLE WALKERVICE-PRESIDENT

yearBusinessstudent atRyerson,Michelle hasbeen on thef i n anc i a lcommittee, SAC andthe Board. She has been theTreasurer and is now the VP.

Michelle has also worked at theCo-op's Hotel as Night Auditor andFront Desk Manager.

dKIRK HICKLINGTREASURER

A recent graduateof the CulinaryManagement

Program atGeo r g eB r ow nCollege. He alsohas a background inaccounting. Kirk hopes to openhis own restaurant in the future.Kirk has been employed asAssistant Manager of the Kafe forthe Hotel this past summer.

ERIN REA MURRAYASSISTANT TREASURERErin is serving hersecond term onthe Board.Erin hasgraduatedfrom Ryersonin AppliedGeography, and isworking in her field She has beena very active Member of SAC andhas worked in the Hotel asAssistant to S a ~ e s , and as OfficeSupport Staff.

NOELLA CORNELISSECRETARY

A fourth yearFashion RetailMerchandisingstudent atRyerson, Noellais also an electedMember of the BoardofNASCO, North American Studentsof Co-operation.JOEL SMITHDIRECTOR

Joel will soon beobtaining aH um a nSe rv i c e sCounselordiploma from

George BrownCollege. Joel has beenboth the Morning Muffin Man andaSecurity staffer here at Wycik.KIERSTEN STEWARTDIRECTOR

A Film andPhotographystudent at- Ryerson,Kiersten isoriginally fromthe West Coast. Sheis involved in social andenvironmental groups in Toronto.

KATHRYN MITCHELLDIRECTOR

Kathryn comes fromthe Ottawa areaand her interestslie in thehospitality field.She has graduated from theHospi ta l i typrogram at Ryerson and has beenon the Board for over four yearsand has held the position ofSecretary.AVERILL MCPHERSONDIRECTOR

Having lived atWycik for overseven years,Averill hasserved onva r I ou scommittees inthe building. Averill has graduatedfrom the Fashion Merchandisingprogram at Ryerson and iscurrently working at the Head

Office for the Hudson's Bay Company.MARK OVERENDDIRECTORMark calls Torontoand Neill-Wycikhis home. He iscurrently workingfor Hertz Car Rental.

FRADIREFranBoardyet).RyersShe experand a

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