The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) convened for an emergency meeting on June 10 to nominate and elect the members of its new democratic reform and international student advisory committees. Both committees were were struck during their first meeting of the term on May 27.
During the emergency meeting, the council also elected new faculty of arts and social sciences (FASS) councillors to CUSA to fill the three seats left empty after candidates were disqualified for failing to release their expenditure reports.
The meeting began with CUSA president Matthew Gagné, who led council in observing a moment of silence for the victims of the attack in London, Ont. and the children found in an unmarked burial site outside a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
“There are families that haven’t felt safe in Canada for generations and that’s not okay. We need to take time to reflect on that. I would encourage you to take some time to think about what we could do to keep our communities safe,” said Gagné to those in attendance.
Following the moment of silence, seven nominees vied for the three vacant FASS councillor seats. Out of the seven nominees, Pierce Burch (a fourth-year environmental studies student), Katelyn Madigan (a third-year cognitive science student) and Tyson Scott (a third-year cognitive science student) were elected.
One councillor from each faculty and two students-at-large formed the CUSA democratic reform committee.
The faculty of public affairs—the only faculty with multiple nominations—had two nominees, Gray Simms and Emily Sowa, of whom Sowa won the seat. Sowa has been serving as a councilor for one year.
The faculty of engineering and design will be represented by Cameron Davis, who won by acclamation after being nominated by Grant Wilson, a second-year aerospace engineering student.
Pierce Burch (FASS), Greg Dance (faculty of science) and Musab Chaudhry (Sprott School of Business) were also selected to sit on the committee to represent their respective faculties.
Both positions on the committee open to students-at-large were filled by public affairs and policy management (PAPM) students.
Simon Harris, a second-year PAPM student, claimed the first seat. In his speech to council, Harris said that student politics at Carleton was becoming increasingly polarised and he wants to build an electoral process that will better serve all Carleton students.
Anthony Galipeau, in his final year as a PAPM student, won the second seat. Galipeau told council he wanted the position to ensure both CUSA and the electoral process are inclusive and organized.
The international students advisory committee had three student-at-large positions filled at the meeting. Among seven nominees, Anshul Tipnis, a fourth-year political science student, secured one of three spots.
In his written statement to council, Tipnis said he wanted to advocate for better treatment of international students and share their stories of hardwork and talent with the wider student body.
Cindy Ledesma Pozo, a third-year international student studying commerce, was elected for the second spot and Vyanjali Jokhoo, a third-year law, government and policy student, won the final seat.
Jokhoo said he hopes this committee will ensure that international students are not an afterthought for campus decision-makers.
Featured image provided via CUSA Facebook Live.
