The results are in. Victoria College students have officially elected their International Councillor, Equity Commissioner, and eight Councillors.
The Victoria University Student’s Administrative Council (VUSAC) held their fall elections entirely online this year. “The online format of the election [was] quite successful,” wrote VUSAC Chief Returning Officer Vibhuti Kacholia in an email to The Strand. “This [was] in part [due] to the enthusiasm of incoming students to get involved with VUSAC and the online promotion and information sessions from the end of the summer into the school year to make sure that students knew the election was happening and how to get involved.” Candidates had the chance to answer questions and speak to their electorate during Town Hall on September 25, and voting was held from September 26 to 29. A total of 274 votes were cast, making up 6.7% of the Victoria College student population, which Kacholia noted was on par with the average turnout of seven percent in regular fall elections.
The role of a VUSAC councillor is characterized by variety. Councillors have the opportunity to interact with all positions on the council and serve as a voting member, along with assisting with events and other responsibilities. According to Kacholia, they provide “great support to the other portfolios on the team, including Commissioners, Staff, and Executives.” VUSAC reserves three seats for first-years and three for upper-year students. Amongst a tough competition of 16 candidates, first-years Elaine Lee, Vedikha Jha, Maximus Caron, Maggie Zhang, and Joy Wang were elected to office. Second years Kate Haberl and Nathan Ching, and third year Alexandra Kurtesi join them as upper-year Councillors.
Stuti Roy, a third-year student, is inaugurating the role of International Councillor, and is in charge with advocating for international students. “As Vic’s international student population has grown, we have seen them come together to tackle barriers like international tuition and visa issues. We at VUSAC want to continue this advocacy and invite international students to have space reserved for them on council to make change,” explained Kacholia. The International Councillor’s mandate obliges that they are paying international student fees. Roy ran unopposed.
“The Equity Commissioner is a very important role on council as they work with the Equity Co-Chair to put on equity focused programming for Vic students,” wrote Kacholia. After having a scratch ballot majority in the spring Equity Commissioner election, third-year Lulu Karra was elected to the office this fall. The Equity Commissioner’s mandate encompasses advocating, training, and advising on equity issues, along with co-running the Equity Commission and serving as a voting member on several hiring and planning committees. Karra ran unopposed. The new members were ratified at the October 2, 2020 VUSAC meeting. “We are excited for all these new members, as they are elected members of council [and] they bring more student voices and perspective to the decisions made at VUSAC,” wrote Kacholia. The next VUSAC meeting will be held on Friday, October 16 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm (EST) through Zoom. All Victoria College students are invited to attend.
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