The 2021 Carleton University Students’ Association executive debate, held Monday night on Zoom, was attended under protest by the Ravens United slate after concerns for candidates’ mental health this weekend.
Campaigning was suspended over the Jan. 30 weekend after a student said on social media they were struggling with their mental health as a result of online harassment during the CUSA campaign.
“Our team feels that it is incredibly inappropriate to keep campaigning in the exact same way we had in the leadup to the events of Friday night,” said Ravens United candidate for president Matt Gagné in his opening statement.
“In protest of the elections office and the university, we will not be participating in these debates. Students deserve better,” he said.
All six Ravens United candidates attended the debate, but used their speaking time to focus on candidate mental health and emphasize that the university and elections office had not done enough to protect candidates from harassment during the campaign.
According to Jordan Collacutt, a third-year public affairs and policy management student and volunteer for Ravens United, the slate met Jan. 30 and decided to not participate fully in the debate.
Collacutt said the extent of that protest depended on the university’s response at an all-candidates meeting Feb. 1.
At the meeting, Carleton’s director of student affairs and student life Jeremy Brzozowski said the university would investigate harassment but there is a limit to the action it can take. Brzozowski said candidates should be reporting harassment to the social media platforms on which the harassment is taking place.
“They provided us with no plan, no structure and no way to go forward,” Collacutt said. “A lot of our candidates didn’t feel comfortable continuing campaigning … It’s a battlefield out there, and no one’s really enforcing the rules of war.”
Some independent candidates, including presidential candidates Jasmine Doobay-Joseph and James McKenna, and vice-president (student life) candidate Emilia Perez, decided not to participate in the debate or dropped out of the race for similar reasons.
That left the Students First slate and independent candidates to debate the questions asked of them by the moderator, Nathaniel Black, undergraduate representative on the Board of Governors.
Presidential debate
Kathleen Weary, current CUSA president and Students First candidate for president, emphasized her success in launching CUSA’s Hardship Fund and a campaign for the university to divest from fossil fuels.
“This year, CUSA was powerful,” Weary said in her opening statement. “We advocated for the issues that mattered to you and we provided solutions.”
Weary said her slate wants to continue the fossil fuel divestment campaign, help limit student loans, expand the Hardship Fund and re-evaluate CUSA ancillary fees.
Ammar Tosun, an independent candidate for president, also emphasized his experience. Tosun said he has spent 10 years as an undergraduate student and is married with two children. When asked about how he would resolve conflict with other executives or council, Tosun said his marriage has prepared him for compromise and communication.
“We all have our visions and missions and all of our plans,” Tosun said. “I am a good team leader. I listen to people. I’m going to bring that … to my executives if I were to be selected as president.”
Candidates for president Doobay-Joseph and McKenna dropped out shortly before the debate took place.
“How are we going to have debates after a weekend of silence as if nothing happened?” Doobay-Joseph wrote on Reddit, in reference to the campaign suspension. “I don’t want to be associated with an organization that doesn’t continuously talk about mental illness.”
Gagné attended the debate but did not answer questions. Instead, he used his speaking time to discuss the discourse of the election.
“If you associate yourself with the vile comments being hurled against candidates, you are not a Raven to me,” Gagné said. “Do not vote for me. Do not comment on my posts. Do not engage with me.”
Vice-president (finance) debate
Kareem AlWazir, independent candidate, said the $56,000 awarded through the Hardship Fund this year is not enough and expanding the fund is important.
AlWazir also said he wants to establish more grants to support student entrepreneurship and start workshops for students on financial basics, including how to manage your taxes.
Emily Buchkowsky, Students First candidate, said she wants to turn Haven Books, an off-campus bookstore and coffee shop owned by CUSA, into a “social enterprise,” support BIPOC businesses and fund student businesses.
She also emphasized her experience as president of the Sprott Business Students’ Society (SBSS) and said she would be the first woman to be vice-president (finance) of CUSA.
This claim appears to be false. From 2009 to 2011, Meera Chander served as vice-president (finance).
In an email to the Charlatan, Buchkowsky said she had looked at previous CUSA executives and “couldn’t find a female in the position.”
“I’ll be sure to correct myself going forward and believe this amplifies the fact that women aren’t as represented in these business positions enough,” Buchkowsky said. “Since it has been a decade since a female held this position, it truly represents one of the reasons why I am here today.”
Ahmad Ali Mohamad, independent candidate, said he has gained experience as the vice-president (finance) of the Carleton Computer Science Society and will serve the interests of students.
“CUSA is there to help and to represent all the students,” Mohamad said. “I plan to … empower leaders on campus. My model is, true leaders do not create followers. They create more leaders.”
Ravens United candidate Venassa Baptiste attended the debate but did not answer questions in protest. Independent candidate Manuel Osvaldo Lebron Flores did not attend the debate.
Vice-president (internal) debate
Rawan Abdou, Students First candidate, said that transparent and fair funding for Carleton clubs is necessary. Abdou also said she plans to host a club crawl each semester for students to connect with new clubs.
“My absolute mission is to represent not just my community and my culture, but to represent all different minority groups,” Abdou said.
Abdou said she would also push to make sure council meetings and minutes are always shared.
Liam Lowe, independent candidate, said he would push for votes in CUSA council meetings to not be by secret ballot. Lowe emphasized his experience as a faculty of public affairs councillor and involvement in many clubs.
Ravens United candidate Ahmad Hashimi attended the debate but did not answer questions in protest. Independent candidate Hiwan Bayru did not attend the debate.
Vice-president (student issues) debate
With Ravens United candidate Valentina Vera González attending the debate but not answering questions and independent candidate Myia Loback not present, Students First candidate Sami Islam was the only candidate present to answer questions.
Islam said his goals were to terminate Carleton’s contract with Aramark, a food service company on campus which has received criticism for its role in U.S. prison labour, and make sure mental health professionals respond to the appropriate issues on campus, rather than the special constable.
“I’m not using pretty buzzwords to get into an office,” Islam said. “These issues matter to me.”
Islam said one of his top priorities is getting the university to institute Kinàmàgawin, the Indigenous strategy announced by the university last year.
Vice-president (community engagement) debate
Sydney Holley, independent candidate, said their candidacy was unique because they haven’t held a political position at Carleton before.
“That’s a plus on my end, because it just brings someone new, someone fresh into the mix,” Holley said. “For all these calls for reform or change or transparency, I haven’t had to deal with anything in the past. By bringing me in, I can help transform CUSA.”
Holley said they hope to create a clubs tab on the Carleton app and communicate more with students through email to re-establish the Carleton community while classes are online.
Michael Isa, Students First candidate, said he plans to introduce COVID-19 care packages for students to help improve both mental and physical health.
Isa also said he would welcome conflict among executives in council, because “without conflict, it means that nobody has different opinions.”
In his closing statement, Isa said his vision for Carleton is a school where everyone is ready to give a helping hand to others.
Ravens United candidate Callie Ogden attended the debate but did not answer questions in protest. Independent candidates Divine Oluah and Ibrahim Dokhan were not present. Independent candidate Tiana Thomas dropped out over the weekend.
Vice-president (student life) debate
Jay Slawter, Students First candidate, said he plans to create a friend finder, an app or website that helps students make friends through the pandemic. He also wants to host Carleton’s first pride festival.
“We need to bring our community together,” Slawter said.
Ravens United candidate Daisy Kasper attended the debate but did not answer questions in protest. Independent candidates Perez and Alyssa Arkell did not attend the debate.
Perez said she did not participate because there were not enough safeguards to protect candidates.
“I am not willing to put my mental health and well-being at risk for tonight’s debates,” Perez said on Instagram. “After how little was done to help the candidates and our community, I am glad that I made this decision.”
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A councillor debate will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 2. Voting for the 2021 CUSA election will take place virtually on Feb. 3 and 4.
