What position are you running for, and what are the responsibilities of this position?
I’m running for the position of VUSAC President! The President is the spokesperson and leader of VUSAC and oversees all council matters, from check-ins to finances. With help from the executive team, commissioners and other council members, they set the tone of VUSAC for the upcoming year. They also work directly with the Dean’s Office and the Principal’s Office in representing student interests on larger governing bodies.
Can you summarize the key points of your platform?
My platform can be broken down into four pillars: Engagement, Involvement, Spaces and VUSAC Internal Change.
Engagement: The key idea here is that we need to ensure that VUSAC is actively reaching out and engaging with the VCU in meaningful ways, and actually listening to student concerns.
Involvement: VUSAC needs to make its council more accessible! This year’s election has a contested race in every single commissioner role and most of the ex-officio roles, but we still see that many of the executive positions are uncontested. It is obvious to me that more and more students want to get involved at Vic, especially on VUSAC, and we need to make accessible and equitable opportunities to be on council for all types of people.
Space: Student spaces are a key in establishing the warm and welcoming community that Vic is known for, but it doesn’t always feel that way for every student. I want to work on optimizing how student space is used at Vic and ensure that no student feels unwelcomed in a space that is meant to serve students.
Internal VUSAC Changes: I served as the chair of the council policies review committee this year, and although it allowed me to see all the incredible work that council members are doing, it also made me see all the discussions that we still need to have about how VUSAC can better serve its students. I hope that introducing policy changes, in engagement with our students, will allow VUSAC to be more efficient and become a more welcoming presence on campus.
Why do you want to run for this position, and what makes you best suited to fill this position?
When I think about what I want to do in the future, I truly have no idea about what it may look like. I do, however, know that I want to be passionate about the work that I am doing, and that it is impactful and tangible. What this means to me, particularly from a VUSAC perspective, is creating and maintaining systems that allow our current organizations and operations to grow and flourish, while paving the way for increased engagement in a way that is long-lasting and meaningful to our community. I am running for President because it is a role that offers exactly what I want to do; to interact with VCU students to hear their concerns, to represent student interests at an administrative level and to support the rest of council in doing the same.
I believe that I’m a good candidate for this position because I am passionate about student issues and I am ready to support our council in whatever goals they set. I love talking with students and finding sustainable and tangible solutions to problems that they face, and I hope to bring this passion and energy to VUSAC next year as its President!
What goals do you hope to accomplish if you are elected to this position?
My overall goal as VUSAC President is presented in my campaign motto: “Creating a council that is engaged, impactful and tangible”. However, if I were to pick two goals that are of utmost priority for me are 1) introducing monthly tabling sessions, outside of the VUSAC office, where I can engage directly with students, and 2) introducing a hired first-year position. The latter is especially important to me because currently, the only way to get involved on VUSAC as a first-year student is to run in the Fall election, which can be terrifying for a student who is adjusting to university life!
A short list of some more of my goals can be found in my platform, linked here: https://tinyurl.com/tc4dxlf
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Please come out and vote March 14-17! It’s so important that VUSAC is made up of representatives that have been chosen by the students, and that can only happen if as many students as possible vote and tell their friends that elections are happening! Although my position is uncontested, I hope that the VCU will decide that I am the right person for the role and choose to vote for me to create a community of more engaged students who are doing meaningful work on campus!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Voting is from March 14 to March 17 at voting.utoronto.ca
