Calls for transparency and accountability among the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) were at the centre of this year’s councillor debates, which took place Feb. 2 over Zoom.
Candidates running for councillor positions in the five different faculties gathered online to discuss their campaign goals, with many pledging to advocate for electoral reform amid concerns surrounding this year’s election.
Faculty of art and social sciences (FASS) councillor
Only two candidates, Ahmed Kataite and Stacey Osazuwa, took the virtual stage to discuss their plans if elected FASS councillors. There are eight candidates in total running for six faculty seats.
Kataite and Osazuwa both emphasized the need for stronger connections between students in FASS and CUSA, a barrier Kataite said he wants to “destroy.”
“If you talk to any student in FASS, they will not be able to tell you what’s happening in CUSA,” he said, adding he would ensure every student was up-to-date with what went on in meetings.
Kataite also said many third and fourth-year students are struggling to find honours project supervisors, an issue he would resolve by creating a website to facilitate connections between professors and students.
Osazuwa said she would run Instagram Live sessions after each council meeting to give FASS students updates and a chance to ask questions.
If elected, Osazuwa said she would also want to take the time to reexamine the current CUSA budget and allocate funds for enhanced mental and physical health resources, among other things.
“There is space and time to go through every criteria on the budget … and push more of the resources towards service centres and the students for them to get their money’s worth,” she said.
Both candidates promised to introduce networking events to increase access to research and job opportunities for students in the faculty.
Faculty of engineering and design
Four of the 10 candidates running for a seat in the faculty of engineering and design took part in the debate. The four attending candidates emphasized the importance of supporting engineering culture and community.
Several of the candidates highlighted engineering students’ concerns about increased workloads as an issue they would focus on if elected.
“It’s been a really challenging year for engineering students, certainly first years coming into an online community,” said Liam Kelly, a first-year student.
Kelly stressed the importance of mental health resources for students and pledged to organize online orientations and more opportunities for engineering students to connect with each other.
Saad Khan pledged to increase academic support, improve mental health accommodations for students, and provide more networking opportunities for upper-year students.
“I will make sure that CUSA is held accountable and that CUSA serves you,” he said.
Khan also called for electoral reform, one of the many candidates to do so throughout the evening. Sara Hubbard echoed Khan’s calls for reform and suggested implementing an independent hiring process for electoral officers.
As a first-year student starting university online, Hubbard said she had a unique perspective on the needs of students and pledged to expand resources, help facilitate connections between first- and upper-year students and advocate for fair treatment by professors.
“We want engineering to be as tight-knit a group as it always has been, on-campus or not,” she said, adding a healthy social and learning environment is essential for students to succeed.
Dotun Ilori said if elected, he would host events to address the lack of opportunities for upper-year engineering students to connect with one another. Illori said he also wanted to help students alleviate workload stress, and improve communication between professors and students.
Illori also pledged to call for electoral reform if elected, including implementing policies to make campaigning more fair for independent candidates.
“Working with other councillors is going to allow us as a collective to be able to change and impact one of the ways students experience engineering,” he said.
Faculty of science
Greg Dance and Michael Aide were the only two faculty of science candidates to take part in the debate, despite there being eight candidates for four available seats.
Dance said if elected, one of his main priorities will be supporting legislation to implement a referendum on the state of the election and make the hiring of electoral officers more transparent.
“CUSA, for too long, has not represented the students as much as they’d like to and I’m planning on changing that,” he said.
Dance said he would also want to advocate against the use of access codes that many students have to buy in their courses, or create bursaries to cover the cost.
“Vote for the people that are going to show up,” Dance said, encouraging science students to vote for him and Aide, the only two science candidates to show up to the debate.
If elected, Aide said he would want to improve collaboration between different science societies and advocate for more accessible materials for lectures and labs.
“I’m not going to work alone. This is something that is going to require teamwork,” Aide said, adding he would also want to improve collaboration between science and engineering councillors.
Faculty of public affairs
Fourteen of the 25 candidates vying for one of the seven available faculty of public affairs seats showed up at yesterday’s debate, with many calling for councillors to have more of a say in the CUSA budget.
Andres Reyes highlighted accountability as an issue he would tackle if elected by legislating a conflict of interest act and hiring an ethics commissioner.
“We have seen some controversial actions in this election and past [elections], and I think it’s important we move forward [by] legislating acts that promote accountability and transparency,” he said.
David Noonan said students deserve councillors who will be accountable to the student body and their needs.
“This election is about change,” Noonan said, adding he would push for equitable access to public transportation and like Reyes, also advocate for a conflict of interest act, among other policy changes.
Council accountability was at the forefront of many candidates’ responses throughout the evening. Emily Sowa said she wanted to create “two-way conversations” between council and students.
Sowa promised to keep students in the loop on what happens during CUSA meetings, proposing a mailing list that could send meeting minutes to students within 24 hours.
Candidate Gary Simms also pushed for financial accountability and the inclusion of councillors’ suggestions and feedback prior to the proposal of the CUSA budget.
Simms said the current system—in which the vice-president (finance) proposes the budget—is “not acceptable.”
“Councillors actually need a say in what goes on [in] the budget,” he said.
He said he would also like to see improved access for clubs and students to receive CUSA funding.
As a first-year student, candidate Haniya Saeed said the transition to an online university experience for her has been “difficult,” something she would hope to change for other students through increased services.
“CUSA has really helped through that transition and I would really want to continue that by holding a lot of the events that would be in-person online,” she said.
Improving accountability among councillors through monthly summary reports was among one of the changes Hibrahima Dieng said he would promote if elected.
Dieng said he also wanted to create an online platform for councillors to increase visibility and emphasized the importance of diverse student representation.
“I have firsthand experience on the lack of diversity and what that can do to a person,” he said.
Benjamin Lieu said he wanted to see more mental health awareness, financial aid, and student success opportunities such as tutoring programs.
“This past year has been quite difficult on student’s mental health, especially being online,” he said, adding he wanted to focus on implementing improved resources for students.
Lieu said he would offset the costs of these proposed expenditures by cutting certain CUSA benefits.
Many of the candidates proposed reexamining the CUSA budget in order to put as much money back into students’ pockets as possible.
Jordan Vecchio, running for reelection, said he wants to see visible council events, tailored programs for the faculty of public affairs and more investments into clubs and societies.
“The student association [exists] to help students,” Vecchio said, adding he wanted to see the continuation of the Hardship Fund and other financial aid for students.
Candidate Keenan Reynolds said he wanted to improve the Carleton experience, protect students’ grade point average by advocating for compassionate grading, and fight for what students need.
“This institution is ripping students off right now,” Reynolds said of CUSA, adding that the quality of online education does not justify the cost of tuition students have been paying.
Candidate Liam Clarke said he was driven by the values of community, accountability and diversity. He proposed to open a hub to connect with every student in the faculty of public affairs to ensure every student has a voice.
“We represent what the people who put us in our position want,” he said, adding he would bring students’ concerns to the forefront of council meetings.
Nora Draper said she would push for CUSA to assist students financially and simplify the option and process of opting out of certain fees.
“I know the struggle of being a student in these conditions,” Draper said, adding she would want to rebuild a sense of community by focusing on faculty-specific events.
Sam Morency said he wants to see transparency within CUSA and the election process, including making running for CUSA more accessible through workshops for students interested in running.
Morency also said he wants it to be mandatory for professors to record synchronous lectures, as well as the continuation of compassionate grading measures in upcoming semesters.
Electoral reform was mentioned throughout the night, with candidate Waqas Ali pledging to push to ban slates and secret ballot votes if elected.
Ali said he would also want motions that affect more than one faculty to require a set number of students’ signatures before it could be passed.
Rebuilding students’ trust in CUSA is one of Pablo Mhanna’s goals, as well as improving financial support options for students and reviewing the school’s business contract with Aramark.
Mhanna added that being a councillor isn’t about having all the answers but about listening.
“We all want to do our best here and have fun while we’re at it. We deserve good representation,” he said.
Voting for the 2021 CUSA election is taking place virtually on Feb. 3 and 4.
Featured image by Safiyah Marhnouj.
