Carleton University’s Board of Governors (BoG) has found its four new student representatives for the next academic year.
Only two undergraduate students and two graduate students expressed interest by the Jan. 27 deadline. All four students were acclaimed to the positions rather than elected by students.
Next year’s student governors will be undergraduate students Mira Gillis and Jonathan Ojangole, as well as graduate students Georgette Morris and Janakan Muthukumar. Both undergraduate governors will be returning for their second consecutive terms.
The BoG is responsible for appointing senior university executives as well as setting budgetary guidelines for the university’s fiscal year.
Gillis, a third-year public affairs and policy management student, said her decision to run again was inspired by her unique experience on the board and her desire to promote the purpose of the board to more students.
“The board is an important body that doesn’t get a lot of attention,” she said. “I felt my experience would only be an asset.”
Returning undergraduate governor Ojangole, a third-year computer science student, said his previous time on the board was marked by good relations between university administration and students.
“Carleton has a good governance structure going on, with quite the competent team working with university admin at the top,” Ojangole said.
Incoming graduate representative Morris, who is working towards a PhD in law and legal studies, emphasized the importance of student perspectives during the policy-making process as a main reason she chose to run.
“Being someone that has studied policy administration and law, student voices really do matter,” Morris said. “Part of my role is being on various committees, where these sorts of policies are decided upon.”
Fellow incoming graduate representative Muthukumar, who is also working towards a PhD in law and legal studies, echoed this.
“This is a forum where you can actually make change and raise issues in a way that is heard in decision-making” Muthukumar said.
Muthukumar also noted the importance of the BoG in maintaining the brand and reputation of the university.
“I want to build the name of Carleton and build our reputation as one of the finest universities in the country, and one of the most remarkable in the world,” Muthukumar said.
Given the lack of interested applicants and a low voter turnout last election, the new and returning student governors emphasized a desire to better engage students through social media.
“Of course, an email is sent to everyone, but I think people would be more familiar with content when it is presented on platforms they are more familiar with [such as] Instagram and TikTok,” Ojangole said.
“I would like to create [social media] pages for future undergrad governors, so they can see all the work done over previous years,” Gillis said, adding she would also like to work more with other student bodies and offer town halls
The nominations will go to the BoG for approval in June. The students will start their one-year terms on July 1.
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
