Supporters of disqualified Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) executive Ashley Courchene have made a website to encourage students to support their cause.
“I thought students are really frustrated and there was a lot of misinformation flying around and we needed to set the record straight on what we know,” said Samiha Rayeda, the creator of justiceforash.ca
She said it has helped the cause have information organized in a single place where it is easily accessible for people who want it.
“It shows that this is an organized movement and this is something many students are supporting,” Rayeda said.
The website calls for CUSA president Fahd Alhattab and Frena Hailekiros, vice-president (student service), to resign from their positions on CUSA, which turned into motions tabled at the March 29 council meeting. One of the reasons for this, the website states, is because Alhattab and Hailekiros spent a great amount of effort on disqualifying Courchene and his Change slate from the elections.
Alhattab said he disagrees with the call for his and Hailekiros’ resignation. He said he believes the reason for the disqualification had solely to due with electoral violations.
“People are blaming me for the disqualification of [Courchene] but they should probably turn their blame to the volunteers whose actions caused the disqualifications,” he said.
He added he takes issue with the fact that the people associated with justiceforash.ca are calling for him to resign based on the CUSA constitutional board’s decision to uphold Courchene’s disqualification.
“I have been elected twice,” he said. “It’s ironic to me that the individual groups who are upset about the constitutional decision, claiming that it’s undemocratic, want to remove the president who has been democratically elected.”
Rayeda said supporters of Courchene are frustrated with a number of issues, aside from his disqualification from CUSA.
Adam Carroll, CUSA arts and social sciences councillor, said he has felt this frustration sitting on council.
“The frustration has culminated the past couple weeks when certain actions have come up that cause a lot of students to question the role of our president,” he said.
Alhattab said he has also felt this frustration and divisiveness around campus politics. He said he and the current CUSA executive have noticed a negative perception around the association.
“I think it’s important we reflect on that and see there is a group of students unhappy with current circumstances,” he said. “When we reflect on that we can engage in healthier discussions.”
Courchene said he was uncomfortable with his face being attached to the dissatisfaction at first, but added it has legitimized the movement that supports him.
“I wasn’t sure if I was alone in this or not but this shows there is support behind what is going on,” he said.
He said he is happy with what has been accomplished and hopes it continues during the next term of CUSA council.
“It’s up to people who know these things to do something about it and it’s really up to them what to do about that,” he said.
Alhattab said despite people’s perception of him personally, people should keep using CUSA resources.
“CUSA is still here as a positive impact for students,” he said. “We’re still here running positive programs—they can still come to our service centres, it doesn’t matter how you believe.”
