Some students are questioning the validity of a Board of Governor (BoG) undergraduate student governor candidate after he recently resigned from Carleton’s Academic Student Government (CASG) ahead of impeachment.
Mahmoud Sabry said his candidacy has received some negative responses from the same people who moved the motion to impeach him. Sabry said he’s willing to discuss the problems with anyone who asks, but no one has approached him to discuss their concerns.
“No one, from those people, actually came and tried to talk to me and understand what happened.” He continued, “I just want people to stop me, and talk to me, and ask me about what happened.”
A previous article from the Charlatan said the motion included that Sabry—then vice-president (operations) with CASG—hasn’t held his required office hours throughout the semester and missed two meetings in September, which Sabry attributed to a personal reason and sickness.
In the article, CASG president Emily Grant said, “The motivations behind the motion came from the councillors seeing a lack of participation on the part of the VP of operations and fulfilling his job duties, as well as not being a very present participant in council and in operations.”
Users on social media sites such as Reddit have also questioned Sabry’s decision to run.
To be eligible to campaign as a student governor, students must attend a Board 101 information session and submit an expression of interest to the BoG which is reviewed by the university secretary.
The BoG’s student handbook reads, “The role of a Governor is to act honestly, in good faith and to ensure that decisions and actions being deliberated upon at the Board level are in the best interests of Carleton University as a whole. The Student Governor’s perspective and experiences as a student are invaluable to these discussions.”
Sabry said he’s thought about running since his first year when he met one of the student governors.
“If I can actually deliver my point in the right way, to the right people, then why not actually be the voice of the student in the very important matters like mental health and tuition fees?” he said.
Sabry has been a part of various organizations on campus, and currently serves as an engineering councillor on the Carleton University Students’ Association.
“I love what I’m doing,” he said.
He also said some people just focus on the things he’s done wrong, but he still hopes to continue serving students.
“No one is perfect, but we’re all here [as] students —we’re learning.”
Photo by Aaron Hemens
