Executive candidates in the Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) election race debated student issues in Fenn Lounge to a boisterous crowd of supporters Feb. 10.
Candidates discussed key issues including student safety, residence phone contracts, and student involvement during the hour-and-a-half debate.
There are three slates running in the RRRA election. Daniel Shalinsky is the presidential candidate representing Better Together (BT), Reilly Vamplew is leading Equity, and Will Verschuren is heading New Leadership (NL).
The presidential candidates discussed residence maintenance.
Shalinsky promised to add a work order section to the CU Mobile app. This would mean residence students could submit issues they have in residence from their phones. Shalinsky said this will streamline the process.
Verschuren said a faster way to put in work orders “doesn’t mean that Housing is going to get to them faster.”
Vice-president (administration) candidates Florencia Saslavsky (BT), Sean Bortolot (Equity), and Graham Pedregosa (NL) heatedly discussed residence phone contracts.
Saslavsky promised a phone plan that cost $88 per year, a savings of $147 from the current cost of $235. She said she could do this within the current contract.
Pedregosa said Carleton was “stealing” from residence students and said the phones cost $16 per year for the university to maintain.
Bortolot disagreed with both of the other candidates, and said the phone service “is not a contract we can bail out of just because we feel like it.”
Each presidential candidate said their slate has something unique to offer residence students.
Shalinsky said he has a better understanding of RRRA from being a second-year residence student.
He said the name for his slate, Better Together, came from the need for RRRA to work with other organizations on campus, such as the Carleton University Students’ Association.
“When we work together, we can accomplish so much more than different organizations doing their own things,” he said.
Vamplew said he offers inclusiveness to residence.
He said his slate name, Equity, represented the diversity of his team and campaign. During the debate, Vamplew said he wants to ensure no one in residence is discriminated against, regardless of their race or sexual orientation.
“It’s about that umbrella of inclusiveness for everyone,” he said after the debate.
Verschuren said he brings commitment to his campaign’s promises. One of his promises is to create a student job bank.
“We’re going to make sure students come out of residence as qualified as possible,” he said.
Vice-president (programming) candidates Mursal Yusuf (BT), Amy Yee (Equity), and Arpita Dar (NT) presented their ideas for marketing to all students.
Residence students can vote for the 2014-15 executive Feb. 13.
