Elected after the resignation of the previous General Coordinator, Fawaz Halloum is ready to start his year
Fawaz Halloum takes over as General Coordinator after the previous Concordia Student Union (CSU) leader, Elijah Olise, resigned over the summer. Despite starting in the middle of the mandate, he says: “I can do this role. It’s a role of support and just providing an environment where people can be heard and speak freely.”
A fourth-year history student, Halloum joined the CSU in his first year as a board member, and climbed up the ranks with the hopes of one day becoming an executive.
“I’ve had a lot of exposure to how the CSU works and I’ve always felt like I could bring some change.”
Halloum took over the position shortly after Olise was involved in a dispute and resigned.
According to the CSU’s External Affairs and Mobilization coordinator, Julianna Smith, “[Olise] was brought to an impeachment trial — he was about 20 minutes late — and then he resigned in the middle of the impeachment trial, before evidence could be provided.”
The executive committee elected Halloum as a replacement in August, and he accepted the position despite needing to juggle it with his role as Internal Affairs Coordinator.
Halloum shared his plans for his year-long mandate. His first priority is overseeing the renovation of a CSU building downtown, which will become a student centre. This is the first time CSU dabbles in real estate.
“This is unique and, in a way, historic. So that’s on the top of my list, making that student centre ready for use by next summer.”
He also wants to improve mental health services for students, and he hopes to establish a drop-in daycare for student-parents like him.
When asked about Halloum, Smith stated that “he’s someone who is very determined and has a clear outlook of what he wants. He’s good at seeing something up ahead and following it through to the end.”
Both coordinators are excited about the CSU’s plans for the semester. “We want to bring back the vibrancy that Concordia has, because we do have such a vibrant community,” says Smith. “We have so many clubs, so many different fee-levies, so many groups, so we just want to bring everyone together so we can all have a great year.”
