A councillor debate was held to fill vacant positions on the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council on March 19. The councillor debate followed the executive debate, with most of the audience leaving as it began.
The remaining seats on CUSA council include one faculty of public affairs (FPA) position, four faculty of arts and social sciences positions (FASS), and one special student position. No debate was held for the special student position as the only candidate, Jacob Dioszeghy, did not attend the debate.
Faculty of Public Affairs
Three candidates turned up to vie for the remaining seat in FPA, including Monib Abdulrazaq, Kareem AlWazir, and Rachel Campbell.
The two remaining candidates, Shay Ishola, and Dawson Braine, did not attend the debate.
AlWazir started the debate by speaking about his experience with various groups on campus, such as acting as the president for Students for Justice in Palestine and serving as a floor representative on the Rideau River Residence Association council.
Abdulrazaq campaigned on implementing more gender-neutral bathrooms in Richcraft Hall, lowering the cost of textbooks, and more representation for minority groups, either through class representatives or guest speakers.
Campbell said she wants to address the “real-life sexual violence concerns,” by ensuring the survivor and the perpetrator are never in the same room and reducing the time of investigations.
“We need to make changes that are survivor-centric,” she said.
During the question period, AlWazir said he has two main objectives which include improving councillor leadership and strengthening relationships with external organizations to create opportunities for jobs and internships. Later, he said he planned to improve the FPA lounge and create a tutor program for students.
“This can be a huge asset for us all,” he said.
Abdulrazaq wants textbooks to be more affordable for students, citing he can’t be spending $400 on textbooks to sustain his education.
Campbell said she wants more underrepresented groups to be included.
“I want to see more girls up here,” she said. “It’s very important that we foster those people that aren’t traditionally featured.”
AlWazir said unity, communication, and opportunities are a huge problem for students. He says he’ll lobby for a better lounge with books to use, adding “not for you to take home, no that’s too much.”
The rebuttal period was used for candidates to expand on their platform points, as the candidates all agreed with one another.
AlWazir said to his opponents, “I’d just like to thank you both for such a peaceful and nice debate.”
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Only one of the three FASS candidates, Cameron Jette, showed up for the debate. Jette spoke to a small group of students who remained from the previous executive debate.
Candidates Sierra Hitsman and Evan Saunders did not attend.
“We’re going to a follow a similar format to the other positions, except it’s going to be hard to debate yourself,” said debate moderator Shawn Humphrey.
“It’s really nice to see people stay,” Jette said to the audience in an opening statement. Jette campaigned on needing more accessibility on Carleton’s campus.
Jette did not get onto the raised platform but sat in their walker to speak to the audience. There was no ramp available to access the platform.
“As you can see even just sitting here tonight, the CUSA council is not made for disabled people,” Jette said.
While answering the questions, Jette said they want accessible washrooms, accessible mental health spaces, and accessible events. Jette also said they want to see an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter at events.
“I think accessibility in many different forms is something that I fight for,” Jette said.
Humphrey responded to Jette’s answer, saying “That was way over time, but as someone with a disability, I enjoyed that as well.”
Jette also said they would fight for mandatory courses on marginalized identities.
In their closing remarks, Jette said their experience as a student is different from that of the other candidates, mentioning that they weren’t able to access the debate platform.
“I’m bringing identities that aren’t seen in the CUSA exec board, in CUSA council,” Jette said. “These people don’t experience the world the way I do.”
Students will be able to cast their votes for the councillor candidates on March 21 and 22.
