The Alma Mater Society of Queen's University, otherwise known as the AMS, is the central undergraduate student association at Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest student government in Canada. Its roots lie in the old Dialectic Society (now known as the Queen's Debating Union), which created the AMS in 1858.
The AMS operates as both a student government and a non-profit corporation, with an annual operations budget of roughly $20 million. It employs over 500 students and engages more than 1,500 volunteers each year, and works with member faculty societies to provide services, advocacy, and programming to undergraduates. The organization operates a diverse portfolio of student-run businesses, including cafes, a campus pub, a student newspaper and support services, making it one of the largest and most complex student-run organizations in North America.
Structure and organization
The AMS is structured as two entities operating under a single umbrella: a student society (which handles governance, advocacy, and policy) and a non-profit corporation (which manages finances, services, and employment). The AMS Assembly governs the society, while the board of directors oversees the corporation. This dual structure separates political decision-making from business operations.
Assembly and board of directors
AMS Assembly (the aociety) Assembly is the ultimate decision-making body for the Society, acting in the best interest of the student body by debating policy and political affairs. It is composed of elected representatives from each member faculty society: Arts and Science, Engineering and Applied Science (now the Stephen J.R. Smith Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science), Concurrent Education, Commerce (Smith School of Business), Nursing, Medicine, Physical and Health Education, Computing, and the Health Sciences Society, as well as non-voting representatives of the Residence Society. Ex-officio members include the AMS Commissioners, the University Rector, Undergraduate Trustee, Board of Directors Chair, and the AMS Secretariat.
Board of directors (the corporation) The board plays a strategic, fiduciary, and human resources role in the corporate side of the AMS. Assembly representatives serve as voting members of the corporation and annually elect a board of directors that oversees services and financial affairs, including an operations budget of approximately $20 million. The Board is composed of six student directors, three community directors (external professionals and alumni), and three members of the AMS Executive. In addition to these twelve voting members, the AMS General Manager, Secretariat, and any delegated Board Scribe attend meetings in a non-voting capacity. The Board holds internal yearly elections for the chair and Vice-Chair, and has six standing committees, each chaired by a student director.
Executive The three-person AMS Executive oversees the student society's general operations and representation. Elected annually in January, the executive consists of the AMS president, the vice-president (operations), and the vice-president (university affairs). Responsibilities are divided along the corporate and government sides of the AMS. The executive serves a one-year term from May 1 to April 30, meaning the organization receives entirely new senior leadership every twelve months. This annual turnover is offset by permanent staff.
The day-to-day operations are overseen by the AMS Executive Team (formerly known as the "AMS Council"). In the organization's structure, commissions and directors under the Vice-President (University Affairs) and president operate the Society, while officers and senior management under the Vice-President (Operations) and President run the Corporation (AMS Inc.).
Presidential portfolio The president is responsible for representing the society, liaising with the university administration, and managing internal and communications functions. Offices reporting to the president include: Communications Human Resources Information Technology Internal Affairs Marketing
The president also oversees the Orientation Roundtable (which plans Orientation Week) and the Student Life Centre (which manages AMS spaces including the JDUC and Queen's Centre).
Vice-president (university affairs) portfolio Overseeing the "government side" of the AMS Society, the vice-president (university affairs) manages the commissioners. The Commissions are responsible for the organization and oversight of student programs, advocacy, external representation, and social causes. The active commissions include: Campus Affairs Clubs Supports over 275 ratified clubs, providing grants, marketing, and budgeting advice. Environmental Sustainability External Affairs Lobbies at the municipal and provincial levels, providing housing resources and advocating on behalf of students in the University District. Social Issues Divided into the Internal Commissioner and the External Commissioner.
Vice-president (operations) portfolio The vice-president (operations) is responsible for all day-to-day operational and financial matters of the society, acting functionally as its chief executive officer (CEO). They directly supervise all head managers on the corporate side, managing a multimillion-dollar portfolio of student-run businesses, retail venues, and campus welfare services that jointly employ hundreds of undergraduates. The vice-president (operations) also chairs the Student Activity Fee Review Committee, administers the AMS Health and Dental Plan and the Bus-It program, and presents the consolidated operating budget annually to the board of directors and Assembly.
The services and businesses operating under this portfolio include: Common Ground Coffeehouse (CoGro) The Brew (sister cafe located in the JDUC) Queen's Pub Restaurant and Bar Queen's Student Constables (StuCons) Walkhome Society 58 Peer Support Centre AMS Foodbank AMS Media Centre PEACH Market
Permanent Staff Due to the yearly turnover of the executive and senior management, permanent staff members are employed to ensure the longevity, compliance, and institutional memory of the corporation and society. The permanent staff positions include (but are not limited to): General Manager Financial Controller Payroll Administration Facilities Officer Human Resources Officer Information Officer Operations Officer
Student services and facilities The AMS runs a number of student operated services and businesses that employ hundreds of undergraduates and bring in millions in revenue each year. These services are a central part of daily student life at Queen's and are run almost entirely by students, which is uncommon at Canadian universities.
Common Ground Coffeehouse Common Ground Coffeehouse (CoGro) is a student-run cafe owned and operated by the AMS. It opened in 2000, the vision of President Paul Heisler, VP Operations Bart Bonakowski, and VP University Affairs Janine Cocker, who pushed the project forward despite skepticism from university administration that student politicians could successfully establish and maintain such a service. Originally located in the JDUC (taking over the former university-run "Skylight Dining Room"), CoGro relocated to the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) in 2010. In September 2025, the AMS opened a sister cafe named The Brew in the newly revitalized JDUC. CoGro employs over 100 students annually and, beyond serving coffee, functions as a campus hub for live music, open mic nights, debates, and talent shows.
Queen's Pub Restaurant and Bar Queen's Pub Restaurant and Bar traces its origins to October 1969, when the AMS opened its first campus pub on the second floor of the then-Students' Union Building (now the JDUC), in two rooms known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords (later renamed the McLaughlin Room and the Robert Sutherland Room). During the mid-1970s expansion of the building, a new, larger pub was created in the basement and opened in 1976 following a campus-wide naming contest as The Underground, becoming the largest gathering space on campus and known for live entertainment, low prices, and long lineups.
In 1979, the AMS voted to rename The Underground Alfie's Pub, in honour of Alfie Pierce (1874–1951), a long-time supporter and fixture of Queen's athletics widely seen as embodying the "Queen's spirit." Alfie's remained a central hub for student life for decades, undergoing major renovations in 2001 and 2004. In 2004–05, the separate pub locations were amalgamated under a single management structure known as The AMS Pub Services (TAPS).
In 2013, following campus discussions about the complex and problematic history of Alfie Pierce's treatment as a "mascot" during his lifetime, the AMS voted to revert the name of the basement bar back to The Underground. Both the Queen's Pub and The Underground were closed in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained so throughout the multi-year JDUC revitalization. Following the building's reopening, the service returned in June 2025 as the Queen's Pub Restaurant and Bar, now located on the ground floor with a patio overlooking University Avenue. The new venue has shifted away from the nightclub model of its predecessor, focusing instead on a full restaurant and bar experience competitive with downtown Kingston establishments while remaining entirely student-run.
Queen's Student Constables The Queen's Student Constables (commonly known as StuCons) are a peer-to-peer student security service embodying the principle of "students responsible for students." Records show students policing Queen's football games as early as 1895, and by 1940 it was standard practice for the AMS to provide constables for all student dances, at which point the service was formally established. From their inception, StuCons evolved from ornamental proctors enforcing "gentlemanly deportment" into a real student security force responsible for maintaining order and preventing damage at student events. In 1988, the StuCons played a foundational role in establishing Canada's first student walk-home service (see Walkhome below), and in 1991 hired their first female Chief Constable.
Walkhome Walkhome was launched during Orientation Week of 1988 as an initiative of the AMS in response to student concerns about walking home alone after dark. The service was originally staffed by Queen's Student Constable volunteers, always including one male and one female to ensure the student felt comfortable. It provides discreet, anonymous, and confidential accompaniment walks across campus and the surrounding Kingston area, and is considered one of the first services of its kind in Canada.
The Queen's Journal
The Queen's Journal is the editorially autonomous student-run newspaper at Queen's University, founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest student newspapers in Canada and is as old as The Harvard Crimson, the oldest continuously published student newspaper in the United States. The paper's editorial independence is guaranteed by the AMS constitution and by-laws.
The Journal has been a starting point for many of Canada's most prominent journalists and public figures. Charlotte Whitton became its first female Editor-in-Chief in 1917 and later became the first woman elected mayor of a major Canadian city (Ottawa). Novelist Robertson Davies wrote a literary column and served as its literary editor in the 1930s; his experiences in Kingston influenced his Salterton trilogy. Other notable alumni include Ali Velshi (MSNBC), who credits the Journal with his development as a journalist; Jeffrey Simpson, former political columnist for The Globe and Mail; Jeffrey Kofman, former ABC News correspondent; former Toronto Star editor-in-chief Giles Gherson; and former Globe and Mail editor-in-chief John Stackhouse.