Jay Muoio on running for councillor

Muoio talks experience with Vic levies, equity and event accessibility

The Strand: State your year, major and position you’re running for  

Jay Muoio: I’m in second year, I’m specializing in sociology and majoring in psychology, and the position I’m running for is councillor. 

TS: And why are you running? 

JM: So, in first year, I got involved with Vic as much as I possibly could, but I didn’t get too involved, and I really didfall in love with Vic, I love being here, I’ve made so many friends here, and I’m still making new friends! The people here are amazing, and they’re passionate… and I saw all the stuff that VUSAC did, all the initiatives they ran, like the social justice issues they addressed, like renaming Ryerson… just the work, the things they did… and I’ve been reading about all their commissions and everything, and just… everything that VUSAC does around Vic is kind of at the heart of Vic life. I really am passionate about Vic life, and I want to be a part of VUSAC and be a part of that “helping support”. And, just, like, being at the centre of everything, I want to give back to this community that’s given so much to me. 

TS: What do you think sets you apart from the other candidates? 

JM: I have experience working with VicPride! from last year; and through being the head of VicPride!, I gained a lot of skills in equity… learning about accessibility, equity, inclusivity, event-planning and how to facilitate events, how Vic spaces work… I’ve sat in on some VUSAC meetings, so I kind of know––well, no, I don’t know––but I’m trying to make myself more knowledgeable about how VUSAC runs, so I have a built-up skill set. I’m really, really passionate about the Vic community; I, like… [laughs] it’s hard to explain, just, this place feels like home. And I know that I will put my best foot forward in every single thing I do for VUSAC. I will go – or, at least, try to go – above and beyond on every single thing! 

TS: Cool! So, what events or programming do you plan to do during your time? 

JM: The role of councillor is more, well, to hold office hours, but also to support the commissions in their various portfolios and assist with events that are already happening and are being made by other members of VUSAC, but for me, I’m most interested in supporting the Commuter Commission, the Scarlet and Gold Commission, and the Equity Commission. I hope to contribute my own ideas towards those commissions, and also to help them with all of the very important work they’re going to be doing, because I’m really passionate about equity, and about making sure Vic is welcoming and accessible to all… and the Scarlet and Gold Commission just sounds like a ton of fun, planning events, making events… obviously it’s a lot of hard work to run events and to get all the stuff together, but the payoff is very great. And I also want to work with the Commuter Commission because I’m a commuter, I commute from very far away, and working with the Commuter Commission would make me feel really good because I’m working with other people who have the same experiences as me, and also will be giving people… well, you know, it’s very hard to get involved when you’re a commuter. 

And being able to support them in what they’re doing, basically… that’s the work I hope to be doing, I want to support those three commissions specifically, but obviously if those spots are taken, I’m glad to support all the other commissions, because VUSAC does some really amazing work, and I just want to contribute to all of that as much as I possibly can. 

TS: What is one issue that you’re passionate about? 

JM: I’m really passionate about inclusivity, specifically of queer students. I’ve worked with queer students on campus before: I was an exec member of LGBTOut last year, and an exec on VicPride! last year––I’m hoping to return to VicPride!––and I’m really passionate about providing spaces for marginalized groups––especially within the queer community because there are marginalized groups within this marginalized group! And it’s an issue because people don’t find spaces, they feel left out, especially like queer communities can often be overwhelmed by, like, white people, or, like, leave out trans people and stuff… so doing specific spaces for that… like, sometimes to be inclusive, you also have to be exclusive and give them spaces… sorry, very incoherent! I’m very passionate about issues about accessibility, inclusivity, making sure those spaces are accessible, because disabled folks within the queer community also have issues with accessibility… basically, giving queer spaces and queer students a voice, especially, because, you know, sometimes they can feel left out of student life. Obviously, I don’t want to be their voice, I want to raise their voice, I don’t want to speak over them. Because I am privileged. I am in a very privileged position, and I don’t want to get things wrong, or talk over them, or not address specific issues that they’re passionate about. Oh, and also, another thing that I’m really passionate about is having pronoun pins at every single event, because sometimes they’re just not there––which is totally understandable, sometimes people just forget or, like, it’s not something you always think about––but it’s really important for inclusivity, even if no trans people attend the event or no people with non-conforming pronouns attend the event, it’s still important. It’s still important for them to be there, it’s important to educate people, and it’s important to make everyone feel welcome. 

TS: How do you plan to make events accessible? 

JM: So, on top of providing pronoun pins, and being aware of the wide variety of diverse people who will need certain accommodations, making sure spaces are wheelchair accessible–– or ensuring that it’s clear that they aren’t if we really can’t have that happen, because we don’t want to lie to people or misconstrue information and say “Oh, it’s accessible” when it’s really not–– but also just being aware that accessibility, even though it’s extremely important to have wheelchair-accessible spaces, it’s also about being aware of content warnings and trigger warnings, and providing those, especially in front of more sensitive topics or sensitive events. It’s also about being aware of noise warnings, because some people can’t be around really loud noises, so trying to mitigate that, even at nights like karaoke night where you can’t really avoid screaming and loud stuff, at least have other spaces and other events for them to go to so it’s not like all of the events will be completely exclusive of these people who can’t come to these other events. And just to continue to listen to the community, to see what people need and what would help people! Even creating an anonymous Google Forms, to be like “How can we make our events more accessible?” because there are things we won’t think about, that I won’t think about, because I’m privileged, I’m an able-bodied person, I don’t really have any accessibility needs, so just… yeah, being aware of what other people are saying. 

TS: How do you plan to increase event attendance and engagement in VUSAC? 

JM: Obviously, making sure spaces are accessible, because you don’t want to exclude people; making sure pronoun pins are there; basically, making sure that spaces are as welcoming as possible. But obviously, “welcoming” is not the same as “being known,” right? And you want these events to be known to the community so that people will come to them; you want people to come to them, people want to come to them, they just need to know about them. So, like, obviously postering is a very big part of it, and marketing on Facebook, but also trying to get the word spread around, even through word-of-mouth; trying to be more present in the community, like, hosting events in more public spaces so more people walking by will be like “Oh, what’s this?” and come. Even just having more chill events in the Atrium, so that people can come, like “Oh, what’s this?” so they’ll be like “Oh, VUSAC” and then go to more VUSAC events, that sort of thing. Also, making events that people in the community want to go to; even, like polls, like, using school forums, like “What events do you want to see?”, then seeing what events really hit it off and what events were more lackluster in their attendance, reasons for why each event did what – especially if they’re specific types of events––host more events that people really want to go to, or if it’s like, “What did we do wrong here/do right here?” if it’s a marketing sort of thing… always trying to improve that system. 

TS: And of course, you know about the student choice initiative; the deadline was September 19, and we’re just trying to get all the info about funding and how much each of the VUSAC levies are getting… it’s a much better response than what we were hoping for, but then again, students will have to make their decision again for the winter semester, so we kind of have that worry, like “Oh, what if not a lot of people opt in?”. So, what can we anticipate for them? What will you do in your power to persuade students to opt into levy fees, what will you say or do? 

JM: Obviously, VUSAC existing, VUSAC showing the community why it’s worth it is a really big, important part. VUSAC kind of does that every year; VUSAC is a great council, it’s a really great team, at least from what I’ve seen from the outside – and I’m sure that they’re some really great people, I know a lot of great people who are on VUSAC… sorry, I lost my train of thought! Right, so kind of explaining to students where their fees are going, making sure students are aware of where their fees are going to, showing how these fees help them, help fellow students. 

TS: What will you do to persuade people to opt into VUSAC? 

JM: So, making sure, again, that we are creating spaces that they want to see. Talking about engaging with dialogue, with community constantly as a member of VUSAC, going around and saying “Hey! How do you think VUSAC is doing?” or even dropping that into conversations with friends, trying to get the public, the Vic community’s opinion on what VUSAC is doing, and just to let them know that VUSAC is doing stuff! That VUSAC is taking in their requests, and that they are a part of VUSAC. If they feel like they’re a part of VUSAC, or of the VCU that VUSAC is working for––because VUSAC is working for the students, basically––then they’ll feel like maybe these fees are more important, they’ll realize how important these fees are and just how great student life can be! 

TS: What will you do if you do not win? 

JM: If I don’t win, I’m still on various clubs: I’m hoping to return to VicPride!, and be Vice President of Warewolf Club so I’m still doing a bunch of stuff around Vic; I’ll still be around Vic, and I’ll still be trying to engage with the community as much as possible, and I really want to volunteer at VUSAC events if I don’t become a part of VUSAC. I want to talk, to try to share the ideas that I have right now, with the councillors that do get elected and see what they think of them, or if they can be used for VUSAC still––because just because I might not be on VUSAC doesn’t mean that this passion I still have for VUSAC should go to waste. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to resent VUSAC at all, because at the end of the day, we’re all running because we’re passionate about Vic, because we want Vic to thrive. The other councillor candidates are all great, and they will be able to help Vic thrive just as much as I would be able to help Vic thrive – obviously in different ways, because we’re all different people––and obviously I really want to be a part of the reason why Vic thrives, but they’ll be able to do an amazing job and I want to support them, even if I’m not a part of VUSAC. 

TS: Now, do you have any last comments or last words for this interview? 

VOTE!  

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.  

You can vote now until October 4^th at voting.utoronto.ca