Osman Elmi is a fourth-year law and political science student running as a vice-president (student life) candidate with the Students First slate in the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) 2020 election.
Previous Experience
Elmi is currently a CUSA councillor for the Faculty of Public Affairs (FPA), where one of his campaign promises was to organize an FPA gala, which will be taking place Feb. 28. He has also been involved in off-campus roles such as helping his mother fundraise to build a school in Somalia.
Reasons for running
Elmi’s past experience as FPA councillor was one of the reasons why he chose to run as a candidate this year he said, adding that “after being FPA councillor, the one step higher is being exec[utive].”
“One thing I always want to do is leave an impact,” he said, adding that giving back to the community was always something he was raised upon.
“My parents moved from Somalia, they came here, my dad put himself through school, he went to McGill and became a professor and then a vice-dean overseas in Kuwait. It’s always been [about] giving back because you’ve got so much.”
Slate or independent?
Elmi’s decision to run in a slate “just kind of happened.”
“Everyone is a great leader,” he said of his five other teammates, adding that he “saw no one else I’d rather be with and also bonded with.”
Campaign goals
Elmi’s slate has a grand total of 30 campaign goals, with one of his main goals being a new incentive for student transportation: Uber everywhere.
“It can be Uber or Lyft, so it’s incentives and discounts for students at peak hours, the Panda game [and] exams because we know students sometimes study too late or they wake up late and can’t take a long bus ride,” he said.
Elmi also wants to help organize “CUchella,” an interactive music festival on campus that will feature pop up shops, food vendors, and performances from A-list artists.
“As much as we do like having fun, we’re a big campus and we have a lot of big, big charitable initiatives,” said Elmi, adding that he wants to make charity events—like wheelchair basketball organized by the Carleton Disability Awareness Centre (CDAC)—bigger.
Final thoughts
“One thing I look for in a leader is if they inspire students, so I would like to inspire students,” Elmi said.
“A leader is someone who gives back to his students and hopefully gives them the best opportunities and best experiences here at Carleton for however many years they’ll be here,” he said, adding that he hopes to leave a legacy of giving back to students.
“You shouldn’t just have five years or four years or however many years at Carleton. You should have the best years at Carleton, because these are the years usually most people do remember.”
Featured image by Tim Austen.
