The Strand: Could you describe the position of VUSAC President and what your responsibilities would be?
The president is essentially the leader and spokesperson of VUSAC. They help support the admissions and executives [and] they liaise with the Dean’s Office and with the president. Overall, they help with the tone of VUSAC for the year ahead.
Could you summarize the main aspects of your platform?
There’s a few. The main one would be the response to the post-secondary changes that the Ford government has proposed. We don’t know what the policy would look like yet, but I hope to support our clubs, levies, and VUSAC through it all. By consulting [clubs and levies] we can best respond to their concerns. Also, consulting members of the VCU to understand the reasons why they may opt out of certain clubs. I would also work with the clubs and levies throughout the budgeting process and connect them to the Performing Arts Endowment, which is a source of funding that won’t be touched by the cuts. I also plan to help promote and advertise exactly where our student fees go because a lot of students don’t know, and I want to make that clearer.
What specific measures would you say that you’re looking to implement that would help make things clear for the Vic student body?
Apart from advertising where our student fees go, I want to highlight our meetings as a space where Vic members can come to speak to issues. Our meeting packages are released one or two days before the actual meeting, which doesn’t give a lot of time to promote what’s on the agenda. To have the agenda out before and spend that entire week advertising with fun graphics.
You’re running unopposed for the highest position in VUSAC; why should voters cast a ballot for you rather than abstain?
I think they should cast a ballot for me because I still put in the work regardless. I made a 30-page platform; I’ve been trying to go out to students to hear them speak. It’s important to me to know that the VCU is confident in my ability to lead. To choose not to cast a ballot, that’s telling me that they’re not as confident in [my leadership]. It would push me to work harder. Having less uncontested elections is a priority for me.
You ran for Scarlet and Gold Commissioner last year; that was also uncontested. This seems to be an issue across the board for VUSAC elections. I think there are about seven uncontested positions this year; does that correlate to lack of political engagement to you?
VUSAC is really inaccessible right now in my opinion. It’s hard to get involved. I think highlighting what VUSAC does earlier in the year is beneficial. If students know what VUSAC does, they’ll feel more confident in campaigning for these positions. Often grooming someone for a certain role can discourage other people that might be just as qualified for the role.
What would you do as president to help get voters more engaged?
Our outreach and promotions need to be enhanced. The format of caucus needs to be restructured because it’s very long and that could be off–putting. All the information there is important. I want to have surveys to hear from students to find out how VUSAC can best serve them and what we can do to make them more engaged. I need to listen to the students to hear how to change VUSAC in order to get them to care.
You’ve mentioned Doug Ford and the Conservative government’s decision to make student fees optional. If you are elected president, what are you going to do to help mitigate the damage it might cause?
That’s a big thing in my platform. Starting in the summer I’d like to promote where our fees are going and how it funds all the amazing programs at Vic. I would also continue to lobby the government wherever possible if needed. VUSAC might need to take a little more political stance going forward and stand for what we believe in. I would consult clubs and levies to hear what their concerns are moving forward because every club and levy may have different concerns with the changes.
At the last caucus meeting there seemed to be some concern over the use of specific funds, whether that be overspending or an overwhelming portion of the budget used for one event. How would you seek to deal with this concern over the use of student fees?
Some of the ways funds are being spent need to be re-looked at. Moving forward, we need to prioritize what programming and initiatives are most important to the VCU. Student fees should go back to the students as much as possible. Having a large portion of fees being reserved for a single event that only touches a very small group of the Vic population makes me uneasy, but levies can make those decisions themselves. Levy audits are happening, and we’re looking at reducing spring levy fees. Before making any decisions, I want to find out what services and programs are most important to the VCU and the plan from there.
Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
Voting is from March 16 to 20 at voting.utoronto.ca
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
