The candidates in the 2010 Carleton Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) elections kicked off their campaignsMarch 16.
Among these candidates is Kourosh Khosravi Faramini, a master’s of applied science student who is running for the position of vice-president (finance). If elected,Faramini said he will speed up the processing of GSA grants.
“I’ve been on the council in 2008-09 . . . [and] I have experience working as an office administrator,” he said. “I deal with GSA grants . . . so basically I think I know what’s involved in being VP finance.”
Faramini’s opponent is Nick Falvo, the current vice-president (academic), whosaid he hopes to provide transparency in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research budget, as well as more equity in funding for all graduate departments at Carleton.
“I think that we have a . . . system amongst students where some receive quite a bit of graduate funding and then some receive none at all,” he said. “That is unfortunate and it should change.”
Shermin Hedayat, a civil-engineering PhD student is running for vice-president (academic) and graduate student representative on the university Board of Governors. Hedayat said he has previously studied in Iran, Singapore and Malaysia. He said if elected he plans to fight for subsidized tuition fees, provide funding and resources to more students and faculties and to cut down on crowded classes by lobbying to hire more professors.
Elizabeth Whyte, a master’s of social work student who is currently a GSA councillor, will run against Hedayat for the position of vice-president (academic). Her platform includes helping students obtain graduate funding by designing an all-in-one handbook on the issue, creating more financial accountability between the Carleton administration and students, and implementing a contract that would be used by all departments in order to protect students’ intellectual property.
Austin Miller, meanwhile, will compete against Hedayat for the position of graduate student representative on the Board of Governors. Miller said he will be campaigning to make the board focus on environmental sustainability and become more accessible to students.
“[The board] is the highest decision-making body, it meets somewhat infrequently, and it’s not always open to students as much as [they] would like,” he said.
Miller and current GSA president Kimalee Phillip have already been acclaimed as vice-president (external) and president, respectively. Other positions that are already filled, according to the GSA website, include Kelly Black as vice-president (operations), Tara Fischer, Hedayat and Falvo as members of the university senate, and Marena Winstanley, Monica Gill, Carmelle Sullivan, Fischer and Falvo as graduate student representatives to the graduate faculty board.
Voting will take place March 24-25.