If you are a UBC student or alum, there’s something you won’t want to miss: the Alma Mater Society Image Collection. This two-part series will explore the historical photographs from the Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia Vancouver.

Included in this collection, developed and maintained by the Alma Mater Society (or AMS, the student society of UBC Vancouver), are digitized photographs from the earliest days of the University until the present day. They present a view of student life including images of the AMS Executive, Student Council, student protests, other student activities over the past century and images of the Student Union Building (SUB) and other buildings students helped pay for on campus.

When McGill University College of British Columbia (MUCBC), an institution providing post-secondary education in BC, opened in 1907, the AMS (MUCBC) was founded. The AMS (MUCBC) paved the way for the establishment of the Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia Vancouver (UBC AMS) in 1915.

The composition of UBC AMS Council has gradually changed throughout these decades. Let’s take the 1918-1919 AMS Council as an example. The 1918-1919 AMS Council was comprised of nine members, including (1) President, (2) Literary Department President, (3) Assistant Secretary & Arts Men’s Undergrad Society President, (4) Women’s Undergrad Society President, (5) Vice-President & Women’s Athletic Assoc. President, (6) Secretary, (7) Ubyssey Editor in Chief, (8) Science Men’s Undergrad Society President and (9) Treasurer & Men’s Athletic Assoc. President.

As the student enrollment and organizations increased, the number of Student Council members increased to twenty-five in 1966-1967 and forty-three in 2017-2018. The newly added members include Law Students’ Association Representative, Nursing Undergrad Society Representative, Graduate Students Representative, Student Senate Caucus Representative, etc.

1918-1919 Student Council Composite, 1919

1966-1967 Student Council Composite, 1967

2017-2018 Student Council Composite, 2018

If you wish to explore more student council composites of other academic years, please visit the AMS Image Collection to conduct keyword searches:

https://open.library.ubc.ca/search?q=title:”composite”&collection=ams

Apart from student council composites and professional portraits, the AMS Image Collection consists of interesting photographs of AMS Presidents and executives.

AMS President and executives were so creative that they took mugshots of themselves.

[2000-2001 AMS President], 2000

[2000-2001 AMS executive], 2000

AMS VP External Affairs was in a diving pose and AMS President was shrugging over a parking ticket at a parking lot.

[AMS executive], 2009

[AMS President], 2009

Here is a series of AMS VP Administration with three different facial expressions.

[2001-2002 AMS executive], 2001

[2001-2002 AMS executive], 2001

[2001-2002 AMS executive], 2001

Another series of AMS executives playing four different sports – baseball, hockey, volleyball, and tennis.

[1997-1998 AMS executive], 1997	[1997-1998 AMS executive], 1997
[1997-1998 AMS executive], 1997	[1997-1998 AMS executive], 1997

AMS President, VP Finance, VP Admin, VP External Affairs and VP Academic dressed in old-fashioned clothing.

[2002-2003 AMS President and executives], 2002

If you wish to explore more photographs of AMS Presidents and executives, please visit the AMS Image Collection to conduct keyword searches:

https://open.library.ubc.ca/search?q=title:”AMS%20President”OR title:”AMS%20Executive”&collection=ams

[1997-1998 AMS President], 1997

References

UBC AMS. (2020). List of Council Members. https://www.ams.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Council-members-etc-as-of-Dec-2020-Website-Copy.pdf