Last spring, Sean Joe-Ezigbo was elected president of the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) after running a campaign based on financial stability and organizational accountability.
Joe-Ezigbo, who was CUSA’s vice-president (finance) in the 2023-24 academic year, also promised to address the association’s financial deficits, offer parking reimbursements for students with disabilities and create housing and sexual violence supports.
It’s now halfway into Joe-Ezigbo’s term, so the Charlatan sat down with him to discuss CUSA’s work so far and what’s coming next.
The Charlatan (TC): How have the first few months been in your role as president?
Sean Joe-Ezigbo (SJE): We’ve had the most engagement from students in a long time. We see it on social media, or when people come to the office to get a student discount card, even if they don’t know what CUSA is. It’s nice to see students getting involved and making use of our services.
But every job has its challenges, and we’re working on being more financially prudent.
TC: What are your team’s biggest achievements so far?
SJE: Students this year have been absolutely loving the discount card. We’ve given away thousands and we love to see students benefit from discounts for local businesses.
We also started our CUSA breakfast club, where we give out non-perishable food items and do pancake breakfasts. That has been so well-attended. Hearing students say how we’ve helped them with food insecurity has been amazing.
We’re also getting parking reimbursements for students with accessibility needs up and running soon, which I’m really proud of.
During fall orientation, we reached more students and spent less money, which was mind-blowing.
We also rented out the Haven space, which is both saving us money and producing revenue. We’re doing a lot better financially.
TC: What challenges have you been facing?
SJE: On the organizational side, early on we struggled with finding a balance between financial efficiency and providing benefits for students.
It’s also been a bit tough with the university this year because they’re also in a financial crisis. This year, we took on more organizing for Club Expo, which the university typically leads, and the parking situation also really took us by surprise. We would have thought that would have gone through more consultation with students.
TC: Last year, CUSA faced financial issues and closed Haven. How are CUSA businesses performing this year? Any more expected cuts or closures?
SJE: There won’t be any closures this year.
Rooster’s has reinvented its operations. They’re saving so much money because our manager contacted suppliers and got much cheaper products. We’re currently working to see how we can replicate that at Ollie’s.
Prices did go up at Roosters. We’re not sure yet if that’s a potential solution for Ollie’s. We first have to identify the pub’s problem before we make a solution, whether that’s staffing efficiencies, reallocation of hours or whatever it may be.
TC: Last year OC Transpo proposed raising the U-Pass fee by more than the agreed upon 2.5 per cent. Any updates on that?
SJE: We haven’t received any updates yet, but we’ll be restarting that conversation. Students are really feeling financial pressure this year, from food insecurity to rising rent. Advocacy can only go so far, but our focus is to make sure the U-Pass remains as affordable as possible.
TC: Last year, many students expressed concerns about CUSA’s transparency. What steps is the organization taking this year to make it more accountable to students?
SJE: I think CUSA’s transparency has improved in recent years, especially financially, but there’s still more to do.
All our financial records are online, but this year we’re working on a financial guide to explain our budget, our audited statements and show where student fees actually go.
With Haven’s closure, students felt blindsided, so we’re working on better communicating major changes, so people know what’s coming before decisions are finalized.
TC: What are some misconceptions about CUSA?
SJE: I think people think there’s this long history of corruption in the organization. Historically, there were issues, but since governance reform, it’s very hard for that to happen now. Everything we do has to go through the council or the board.
I get why some students feel skeptical. Trust takes time to rebuild, but our team really does care. We want to improve the student experience, and over time, I hope we earn more trust.
TC: What are you looking forward to for the rest of this year?
SJE: I’m really excited about the budget. It’s a whole beast, but I want it to be the most accurate and realistic one we’ve had in years. I don’t want a budget that just looks good, I want it to reflect exactly where we are financially.
That’s my main focus, so I’m ready to dig in and ensure we set CUSA up for success going forward.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Featured image by Simon McKeown/the Charlatan
