Ahead of the upcoming general election, presidential candidates talked about advocacy, student fees and engagement at the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) debate on Jan. 31.
The candidates running for the presidential position are:
- Burte Ariunbold, a third-year law student
- Kamran Azizli, a fourth-year criminology student and current president of the Rideau River Residence Association
- Sarah El Fitori, a third-year neuroscience and mental health student
- Sean Joe-Ezigbo, a third-year commerce student and current CUSA vice-president (finance) and secretary treasurer
- Finlay Maroney, a second-year software engineering student
Maroney did not attend the debate.
Held in the Nideyinàn Galleria, the event was moderated by the Charlatan and campus radio CKCU. A crowd of almost 100 people attended the debate.
The voting period in the CUSA general election is now underway and will take until Feb. 8 through emailed ballots.
Advocacy
As potential presidents of the representative body of Carleton undergraduates, the candidates were asked how they would advocate for students and work with the university regarding transit and international student tuition.
Ariunbold said she wants to “give back” to international students by running a larger Mosaic campaign and working to guarantee tuition costs throughout a student’s undergraduate degree. Ariunbold also agreed transit is a “very pressing” issue, and said she would like to look into possibilities for on-campus transportation.
Campus accessibility is a key advocacy issue for El Fitori, who said her goals include improving transit to campus for disabled students.
El Fitori also said she would work toward implementing a digital system for reactivating U-Passes.
“In this day of technology, I don’t know why it hasn’t already been done,” she said.
However, she said the issue of international student tuition goes beyond CUSA’s domain. She said she would advocate to the university on the issue, but would mainly aim to increase scholarship funding and ensure proper mental health support for international students.
CUSA’s budget, he said, would also be reworked to lower student fees related to the association.
This refinancing would also allow CUSA to improve student transit by providing shuttle bus service to campus beyond exam season, Joe-Ezigbo said.
Azizli also addressed the need to advocate for students beyond the university, and promised to meet with the mayor and city council on transit issues and present a petition to Parliament sharing student concerns on international fees and their mental health impacts. Azizli said he believed CUSA could take “a firmer stance” on the issue of international student tuition.
Student fees
During the CUSA general election, students will vote in referendums on increasing levies to fund clubs and societies and create levies for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives and first-year orientation and programming. The ballot will also include a referendum on removing the Millennium Promise and World Food Program levies.
Both El Fitori and Ariunbold expressed their support for all five referendums on the ballot.
Joe-Ezigbo said he supported the increase in the clubs levy, but said that while he believes in the importance of EDI initiatives, he does not want CUSA to “rely on student funds” to provide those services.
Azizli said he supported the creation of the EDI levy, but was against increasing the clubs and societies fee, calling the current state of clubs funding a “disaster.” He promised to reform the funding policy to an “event-based system,” where clubs request funds for specific events rather than all at once at the beginning of a semester.
While discussing CUSA and campus experiences, candidates were asked to share their plans to follow through with CUSA’s recently passed Greek letter organizations policy to prevent hazing incidents on campus.
The move follows the Charlatan’s Oct. 30 report on alleged hazing among Greek letter groups.
Joe-Ezigbo promised to advocate for the university to take accountability and solve hazing issues off campus. Sexual violence prevention, he added, is a key element of his campaign.
“We don’t want to do damage control,” he said. “We want to stop the problem before it causes any damage.”
Azizli said that he would look into how service centres can assist students and hold perpetrators of hazing and sexual assault accountable, while Ariunbold said she would create awareness workshops for Carleton students and staff and promote “a policy of zero tolerance.”
On the other hand, El Fitori said solving hazing or sexual violence on campus is “just not something that’s possible.” She promised to combat the issue by creating a social justice clinic and implementing student mentorship and empowerment initiatives.
“Education is nothing without empowerment and confidence,” she said.
Candidates were also questioned about their plans to increase student engagement with CUSA. Only 13.4 per cent of the student body voted in last year’s general election.
El Fitori promised to host regular town halls to receive student feedback, while Ariunbold suggested campus-wide surveys to examine the root causes of low engagement. El Fitori also proposed greater collaboration between CUSA and campus clubs.
“I really want to work closely with the clubs,” Ariunbold said, promising that her approach would “bring the integrity back to CUSA.”
Joe-Ezigbo also emphasized the importance of fostering good relationships with clubs.
“Our plan is to meet people where they’re at,” he said.
Azizli said he would increase engagement by doing his best to motivate other students to get involved and make a difference.
“We have leadership in all of us,” he said.
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For more information on the CUSA election, read the rest of the Charlatan’s coverage or visit the CUSA elections website.
