It’s been an unprecedented year for all student governments, including the Carleton University Students’ Association.
CUSA executives were voted in last February, before COVID-19 led to a shift to virtual classes and all student life being moved online.
As the winter semester comes to an end, the Charlatan spoke with Kathleen Weary, CUSA president, to revisit whether her slate’s campaign promises were achieved.
Promise: Cleaner, accessible and inclusive washrooms on campus.
Accomplished: CUSA reached an agreement with the university to prioritize the renovation of all washrooms in the University Centre, and the project should be ready by September.
Weary said the university also committed to creating one gender-neutral bathroom in every building, which should be completed within the next year.
“Obviously this is a long-term project,” Weary said, adding that parts of the campaign had to be put on hold during the pandemic, such as implementing signs around accessible washrooms.
In order to address concerns of long wait times for accessible washrooms, Weary said they had planned on improving signage so students who didn’t need them wouldn’t use accessible single-stall washrooms.
Promise: Mandating annual anti-oppression training for CUSA staff, volunteers and executives.
In progress: Weary said an anti-oppression training module has been put together by contracted graduate students which can be reused every year when onboarding future staff, volunteers and executives.
The module should be ready to roll out in the near future and is expected to be used when hiring new service centre co-ordinators over the summer.
Promise: Expanding academic accommodations.
Accomplished: While Weary said this campaign promise was originally meant to bring more flexibility to physical and mental health accommodations, the focus shifted to COVID-19 accommodations in light of the pandemic.
Weary said CUSA advocated for more recorded classes, compassionate grading from professors and implementing SAT/UNS grading.
“We’ve been in ongoing conversations with administration about expanding accommodations, especially around compassionate grading throughout the year,” she said.
Promise: CUSA brand ambassador jobs.
Accomplished: CUSA hired brand ambassadors in the fall and winter, including hiring 10 students in 2020.
Weary said brand ambassadors have been promoting and raising awareness of different CUSA programming and service centres on social media, including TikTok.
Promise: Kijiji for Carleton.
In progress: A Kijiji-style closed Facebook group is expected to launch in the near future after having its launch postponed this weekend due to Easter.
Weary said the group will have strict rules and guidelines to ensure students feel as safe as possible buying and selling items.
“We’re really excited to provide students with this service as [the] end of [the academic] year approaches for everyone who’s moving,” she added.
Promise: Make transportation more accessible for students.
Not accomplished: The goal of this campaign promise was to implement a ride-sharing program for students coming to campus, but was ultimately scrapped due to the pandemic.
Promise: Introduce emergency relief funding.
Accomplished: Since launching the emergency hardship fund in October, Weary said CUSA has distributed $77,000 to students in need.
“This has been a really humbling part of our year, because there’s been a tremendous need for financial support from students,” she said.
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
