Western USC Elections 2017

What is your current year and program?

Year 4, Criminology and Social Justice and Peace Studies (SJPS).

Why are you running for president of the KUCSC?

I am running for KUCSC President for a number of reasons. In summary, student council is something that I am deeply passionate about. I have quite a few ideas for King’s and the future of the KUCSC that are all extremely important to me. I also think it is important for there to be more than one candidate to choose from in high-level positions to encourage the discussion of ideas. I’m tired of hearing candidates say they want to make change and make a difference, throwing around buzzwords that are completely meaningless because they have no action plan behind it.

What relevant experience do you have that makes you qualified for the position you are applying for?

I am in my fourth year here at King’s and during my time here, I have been involved in a diverse array of activities. I have been a member to multiple clubs, a club executive, a two-time soph orientation voluneteer, two-time intramural sports athlete, and more. All of this has given me an in-depth understanding of the student experience. More importantly, this year on council has be an extremely rapid but thorough learning experience as to what student council entails. I will not deny that this is my first year on council, however, I would be lying if I said I haven’t been observant to the systems working around me all four years of my undergrad. Additionally, being best friends with Nate and friends with all the other members of the executive, has definitely taught me a ton about what the job entails and what the position entails beyond what is written in the by-laws, policies and Terms of References.

What do you see as the biggest issue on campus and why?

The biggest issue to me is the lack of student engagement in many avenues of student life. Many students don’t feel like their voices are valued and this affects everything from advocating for improved mental health services to working with administration for the little things like improving the games room. Secondly, whether it is a club event, KUCSC event, or King’s event, many of the events held on campus are under-attended. Many students are not engaging in student politics and are not attending events that other students have put hard work, long hours, and plenty of student dollars into.

What do you see as the biggest issue with the KUCSC and why?

I believe that the biggest issue with the KUCSC is the lack of voices being heard. I think the KUCSC in theory represents students really well, but in practice, the voices of the everyday student in the decision-making process are nowhere to be found. Representative are encouraged to be a part of student government but while there are given no guidance. This occurs from an insufficient amount of training to King’s councillors. Where there is training, it is often large groups of people crammed into a small room, which is not conducive to a productive learning environment.

What are the top three tasks/initiatives you want to accomplish if elected?

• First, If elected, I want to empower the voices of King’s students in being a part of what they think is important and what they want me to advocate for. I plan on doing this with the creation of caucuses for priority groups such as first year students, mature students, and international students (whether they are here for one semester or four years). Students can be a part of an advocacy body where they are valued member of the organization. This idea was largely based on my encounter with the USC’s creation of caucuses.
• Second, I want to work with the city of London to advocate on the needs of King’s students that do not affect main campus students. We as King’s students have a beautiful park across the street from Broughdale Hall called Broughdale Park which I would love to work with the city to reinvigorate, and make into a WiFi enabled study spot with picnic benches in order to get students enjoying green spaces which is a key pillar to mental health.
• Finally, the last task I want to accomplish is fixing up all the little things at King’s that have been overlooked in battles for greatness. Too often we get consumed by our visions and dreams for the greatness of our school, that we forget that the smallest things need to be taken care of as well. One example is to make KUCSC executive facebook pages because transparency is just another buzzword unless you have a plan of action to back it up. These facebook pages, and I hope the income execs will also participate in them, will be transparent in showing the KUCSC what they are doing under their portfolio. One thing in particular that I would like to do is to upload post-council videos giving a brief summary of what happened the council meeting from motions passed to executive reports.

How will you engage students at large with the KUCSC?

I plan on being on campus inside, as well as, outside of the office so that students can talk to me about what they would like to see in terms of programming and advocacy. I plan to being extremely active on social media to be visible and transparent. Most importantly, going into my fifth year, with a radically reduced course-load will give me the time freedom to engage with students and administrators to create a fruitful KUCSC. Finally, I plan to be very visible during orientation week as it is important to be visible and approachable.

How will you foster a close relationship with main campus?

Being a King’s Councilor on the University Students’ Council has given me an opportunity to see the difference the USC can make in student programming and advocacy. If elected I hope to foster a close relationship with main campus by being an active member of the University Students’ Council (USC) and representing King’s students’ needs to the USC. I believe that the working relationship between the USC and the KUCSC is not been where it ought to be. I will advocate for there to be an affiliate representative at all levels of the political process, as the USC’s mandate is to represent all students. I want to make it clear to the USC, that King’s and the other affiliates are campuses and should not be treated as faculties. We have a diverse student population with diverse lived experiences and most importantly we have a diverse set of needs that I do not think is on the USC’s priority list.

What is your current year and program?

Year 3, Honours Double Major in Sociology and Political Science.

Why are you running for president of the KUCSC?

I am running as a KUCSC Presidential candidate, because I want to ensure that every King’s student is reflected through Council’s work. It is important for the KUCSC to engage with diverse groups on campus by providing students-at-large with various opportunities for involvement. In my three years on Council, I have seen different visions and strategies implemented to gauge the student experience at King’s. This year’s council has started working beyond the clubs system and council members, but for the entire King’s student population. There is still so much potential for growth and advocacy that I plan to push for.

What relevant experience do you have that makes you qualified for the position you are applying for?

• My experience on the KUCSC consists of being in the role of Vice President Student Affairs. I planned speaker series and awareness weeks (pre-exam wellness, and healthy relationships week) with the Student Outreach Team. I also had experience advocating on behalf of students on various King's committees, including: Food Services; Scholarships and Bursaries; and Planning Committee.
• OUSA Delegate: I was elected through the USC to represent Western and King’s University College at OUSA’s General Assembly, as we collectively debated the contents of the Rural and Northern Students Paper; Sexual Violence Prevention; and Ancillary fees to present to the provincial government.
• I have been on the KUCSC since my first year (First Off-Campus Representative, and King’s College Council (KCC) Representative)) - Ward 10 Youth Councillor in the London Youth Advisory Council: I represented the youth of Westmount Area and amplified their voices to local politicians and leaders. In order to gauge the youth opinion, I hosted focus groups in my community about important issues in our ward, and the city.

What do you see as the biggest issue on campus and why?

The biggest issue on campus is ensuring that students-at-large feel included in the King’s community, beyond their classroom experience and spending their time in the Student Life Centre. Yes, student engagement is an issue – specifically when it comes to reaching those students who may not be on the KUCSC, club executive teams, or a Soph.
In addition, another key aspect in this conversation is, do students believe that they are receiving adequate services (specifically mental health services through King’s)? Perhaps if students were able to easily navigate these services, they would be more inclined to further participate within the community.

What do you see as the biggest issue with the KUCSC and why?

In the past few years, the KUCSC has been too focused internally on solely getting students to join the KUCSC without realizing that the Students’ Council is the advocating voice of all King’s students to administration, faculty and staff at King’s. The biggest problem is ensuring that the KUCSC’s work is reflective of the diverse student population, and that every student should relate to the programming and advocacy presented by their respective Council. This way, student engagement is not solely based on the students, but it is also the responsibility of the KUCSC to provide various ways for students to get involved.

What are the top three tasks/initiatives you want to accomplish if elected?

• Full review of mental health services at King’s.
• Sexual Violence Prevention and Education on the new policy.
• LGBTQ+ Programming.

How will you engage students at large with the KUCSC?

My primary goal is to create opportunities such as co-op placements in London for King’s students (through past student leaders on the KUCSC/King’s alumni); and the graduate application assistance program that ensures that those interested in applying for graduate school can have a student who has been through the process look over the applications. I plan to have student consultations on the KUCSC’s vision and strategy in order to see that it is in line with what students expect of the KUCSC. Through active consultations and providing students-at-large the opportunity to make use of new services is a different way in engaging with students.

How will you foster a close relationship with main campus?

Since numerous points on my platform focus on collaborating with the USC, in terms of helping establish a similar support group such as Pride Western or Ally Western at King’s for LGBTQ+ students. In addition to working on starting a chapter of a Peer Support Network at King’s in collaboration and guidance of the Peer Support Centre at the UCC. This shows that by working closely with the USC on similar projects, I will ensure to foster a close relationship with main campus and the other affiliates, if elected as President.