The Concordia Student Union is officially looking for a new chief electoral officer following the resignation of Justin Holland early Monday.
Citing personal reasons, Holland will not be taking courses at Concordia University during the winter semester and therefore stepped down from the position with only two months to go before the general elections in March.
In accordance with the CSU’s bylaws, only individuals who are undergraduate students at Concordia are eligible for the posting. Therefore, not taking classes renders Holland ineligible to keep his employment with the CSU as he is no longer qualified for membership under bylaw 3.1.
Holland also clarified that he will finish his CEO report and reimburse by-election candidates for their expenses by Jan. 22 at the latest.
President Schubert Laforest said the departure was announced Monday morning in an email from Holland.
“Being that I will still be in Montreal during this time, and I will be, in a fashion—auditing courses for future reference, I will be making myself available for an orderly handover with my successor,” the email read.
Laforest told The Concordian that he was pleased with Holland’s work thus far.
“He learned quickly and managed a good election and he was always professional,” said Laforest. “It was a loss for us.”
The CSU listed the CEO posting the same day and already started advertising online through social media platforms in order to attract potential applicants. Some of the responsibilities of the CEO include ensuring that elections run independently and fairly, issuing directives on the carrying out of the standing regulations and training election officers.
Laforest said that while the timing is tricky he is “fairly confident” that his team will address the situation responsibly by hiring a new CEO quickly.
In order to be eligible to apply for the posting, applicants must be registered as an undergraduate student for the current semester and must possess a good knowledge of the CSU’s bylaws and standing regulations.
A controversial job posting for a communications co-ordinator by the Concordia Student Union created a divide on council last Wednesday during the first regular meeting of 2013.
The position advertised on the CSU’s website states that for $14.75 an hour this part-time employee with be “responsible for the public relations aspect of the CSU,” as well as for promoting awareness of the CSU’s various events, elections, campaigns and meetings. The position is aimed at spreading the word to the student body about what the CSU is spending its fee-levy generated funding on. It also aims to improve social media visibility through upkeep of the council’s Facebook, blog and more.
The communications co-ordinator would also operate under the direction of VP student life Alexis Suzuki and provide periodic reports as part of their duties.
The position has not been met with universal acclaim from council with some executives lauding it as a much-needed improvement while others deriding it as an attempt to shirk their elected duties. A fierce debate took place over the merits of the job before ending in a failed motion to close the job posting altogether.
The debate came down to a disagreement over the intentions and the outcome of hiring a communications co-ordinator. Critics like councillor Chad Walcott said that the work being described in the job posting was part of the executives’ duties as elected officials and that hiring a new person to take on those duties would be giving away responsibilities that the executive had not attempted to do in the first place.
Those defending the posting, including CSU President Schubert Laforest, claimed that the position exists in almost every group and corporation of similar size and smaller to the CSU. It was argued that having an additional person to add to the promotion already being done might help fix the lack of promotion that has left attendance at events and student awareness low all year.
Speaking to The Concordian, Walcott said that he felt that the executive was hiring someone for a job that they had not yet tried to do.
“I just don’t feel as though the executive has made enough of an effort to promote their events and initiatives themselves,” he said. “I think it would be more justifiable to hire an extra person to do promotions if they had demonstrated that they had tried promoting their events themselves and were overwhelmed as a result.”
Walcott added that the position of a campaigns co-ordinator was already responsible for promoting events, something which he claims was utilized to great effect for the promotion of last year’s events.
Laforest, whose arguments in defense of the posting helped bring the matter to a close at council, believes the job was about improving the efficiency of the CSU when it comes to communicating with students.
“I don’t believe we should content ourselves with doing enough and saying that’s good,” said Laforest. “I think that there needs to be someone who is looking at this from a more pragmatic standpoint and not just limiting communications to the circles of the executives and the council, someone who is finding other ways of reaching out to students who may not be connected to student life.”
Laforest also said that the decision to create the job came after reviewing models from other universities, where they found almost every group like the CSU had an individual solely responsible for communications.
Melissa Kate Wheeler, the councillor who added the item to the agenda in order to voice concerns over the wording of the job posting, told The Concordian that she could see both sides of the debate.
Wheeler said she believes that while the CSU currently does not have an employee whose specific responsibilities are communications, she thinks that the executive haven’t curated enough events or initiatives to “warrant the creation” of the position.
“I think I would prefer to see things being done by a part-time employee at the CSU office than tell the executive they can’t create this job and then have them continue to not do the job,” Wheeler said. “To me the most important thing is that the job gets done.”
Concerns were raised at the first 2013 meeting of the Concordia Student Union over the amount budgeted to the CSU’s Judicial Board, which councillor James Vaccaro said could lead to a potential conflict of interests in the future.
According to Vaccaro, the JB, which can be called on to interpret bylaws and settle disputes between members of the CSU, has only been budgeted one-tenth of what is meant to be given to the JB according to the standing regulations. Despite the regulations stating clearly that a global amount of no less than $5,000 is to be given to the JB for their work that includes funding for legal fees for lawyers and consultations, to date only a figure of roughly $500 was allocated to the board in the budget.
Vaccaro voiced concern that should the JB be asked to step in on a matter involving the CSU, it would be forced to first go to the CSU to ask for funding before it would be able to take any actions, something that Vaccaro said would cause a clear conflict of interest.
Nadine Atallah, VP clubs and internal affairs, told council that historically the JB has almost never used more than a few hundred dollars each year, which was why so little was budgeted to them this year. Atallah also proposed sending the matter to the policy committee for review, saying that the matter did need resolving but that altering the standing regulations to more accurately fit the financial needs of the JB might be a good idea.
Vaccaro explained that he was disconcerted that it needed to be brought up at council and that councillors who knew of the issue weren’t concerned.
“The thing that I found a little odd is that the executive is putting $500 in the budget for the Judicial Board, knowing full well that their minimum allowed budget is five thousand dollars,” said Vaccaro. “So right off the bat as your budget is being accepted, you’re going against the regulations of the union.”
He went on to explain that the appropriate funds should be made available in spite of not needing the entire sum in the past.
“It feels to me that the executive feel this is a non-issue, but if it does become an issue it will be a matter of importance.”
Council voted to send the issue to the financial committee and the policy committee for review.
Post-mortem orientation report
During a discussion of the upcoming winter orientation, councillor Melissa Kate Wheeler brought up the ongoing issue of Alexis Suzuki’s orientation post-mortem, a document submitted earlier in the year that Wheeler and others have raised complaints about in the past. The document, meant to be a summary of the successes and failures of orientation as well as recommendations for possible improvements, was considered short and unfocused by councillors like Wheeler, who told The Concordian that none of the failures of the orientation were mentioned and that its successes were played up to be greater than they were.
“There were a lot of problems with orientation. There was low attendance at a lot of the events and it sort of screamed poor planning in a lot of ways,” she said. “It’s a learning experience every year and no orientation is ever perfect, and nobody expected it to be perfect, but there were a lot of problems and they went completely unaddressed in [Suzuki’s] post-mortem.”
The wording of the post-mortem was also an issue for Wheeler, who said that nowhere in the report were words like ‘failure’ or ‘improvement’, compared to words like ‘success’ and ‘amazing’ appearing 12 times and nine times respectively.
Another point of contention remains Suzuki’s proposal to write a how-to guide for future orientations. Chad Walcott, another councillor to raise concerns over the post-mortem, told The Concordian that he was uncomfortable with the idea of Suzuki writing such a guide given that this past orientation was what he called the “least attended Orientation that I’ve seen at Concordia in the last 5 years.”
“To date, she has not demonstrated that she is able to be self-critical of her work, and as such I believe this limits her ability to give future VPs any insight into effective ways of running orientation,” he said.
The Concordia Student Union will start campaigning for student involvement in order to hold a vote related to the provincial government’s upcoming education summit scheduled for mid-February.
The CSU will launch a website within the next two weeks that will allow students to pitch their concerns with higher education and specifically the governance of Concordia. In order to reach out to as many students as possible, the CSU chose to have undergraduates participate online and vote on positions proposed by fellow students.
To submit a position, students must support their claims with academic research consisting of three articles. According to VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon, who is co-ordinating the initiative, the CSU will help individuals with research if they request it.
The website will also allow for discussion of the proposals put forth on the four themes to be discussed at the summit including quality of post-secondary education, the accessibility of higher education, the governance and financing of universities, and the contribution of research establishments to the development of Quebec. Then students will have the opportunity to vote on what they believe should be conveyed to the provincial government at the summit.
The Parti Québécois promised the education summit would address the concerns and issues that arose during the student strike movement. Lauzon hopes the CSU will compile 10 proposals per theme, allotting for a total of 40 positions to represent the opinions of the undergraduate student body at Concordia.
One concern is the participation of students. In order to meet quorum, at least 450 students must participate in the vote and it must be done by the end of the month. The CSU will encourage students to participate by campaigning in classrooms, buildings, online, with posters and purchasing advertising space.
“Everybody is going to hear about it if they are anywhere on campus,” said Lauzon. “We’re hoping two to three thousand people participate.”
Student Senator Wendy Kraus-Heitmann said she is worried about the details of the campaign proposal, stating it posed “major problems as written” and that she is concerned with time constraints. In an email to Lauzon, she suggested that the CSU hold a series of town halls and bring positions and stances by the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec to students for them to vote on. The lack of time will make it less likely to hold a “meaningful” consultation according to Kraus-Heitmann.
Lauzon said that certain student faculty associations, specifically the Arts and Science Federation of Associations and the Engineering and Computer Science Association have already taken steps to contact their students to voice opinions. In September, ASFA’s executive took a strong stance in ensuring Arts and Science students would be heard in the upcoming conference.
While the CSU will not be present at the education summit itself since it is invite-only, Concordia students will be represented by the FEUQ. The results of the vote will be communicated to the university association so that Concordia-specific concerns may be voiced at the summit. Lauzon clarified that the CSU may also send a memo to the organizers of the summit if there is something they feel wasn’t addressed by FEUQ.
Some students like Mike de Sévigné, an independent student at Concordia, don’t have any concerns he wants brought to the summit.
“I’ve always been happy with what I have,” said de Sévigné. “But I do hope they [the government] listen to the concerns of other students and fulfill those needs.”
The Concordia Student Union appointed Hajar El Jahidi to VP academic and advocacy during a regular council meeting last Wednesday.
Following a ruling from the Judicial Board, the position of VP academic and advocacy that was tendered for the byelections by concerned councillors was officially closed because it was never legally opened. The decision stated that regulations were not adhered to when council put forth the initial motion, rendering it defunct. In accordance with the CSU bylaws, only the president may appoint someone to an executive position.
El Jahidi was the only candidate for the position formerly held by Lucia Gallardo, who stepped down in September due to her inability to resolve her registered student status issue. Since Gallardo’s departure the portfolio of VP academic and advocacy had been split between VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon and VP sustainability Andrew Roberts. Council, however, expressed concerns over fulfilling the mandate of an executive who was no longer there.
Schubert Laforest, president of the CSU, motioned to appoint El Jahidi for VP academic and advocacy. As of last Monday, El Jahidi underwent training for the position.
When asked why Laforest (who was initially opposed to opening the position) had changed his mind, he said it was the “responsible” thing to do and that “it would be detrimental not to” considering the higher education summit to address the governance of post-secondary institutions this February.
El Jahidi said she is collaborating with Lauzon to prepare for the higher education summit to ensure that Concordia students have their voices heard. She went on to say the she is hoping to implement CSU tutoring services in the near future as part of her mandate. Furthermore, El Jahidi hopes to use the additional money from VP academic and advocacy’s unused salary to date for student bursaries.
“For now I’m mainly getting up to speed with the rest of team and catching up on the work that’s been done since the beginning of the year,” said El Jahidi.
Similarly, the postponed motion to appoint a John Molson School of Business student to the university’s Senate was approved by council, appointing Melissa Lemieux.
“I am ecstatic that JMSB has a representative in time for the December 7 Senate meeting, which is long overdue,” Lemieux said.
Prior to last Wednesday the JMSB faculty lacked undergraduate student representation on Senate, something that is mandatory in accordance with university bylaws. For Lemieux, she hopes that the CSU will amend its bylaws to reflect those of the university regarding undergraduate seats on Senate and hopefully address the lack of independent student representation.
The Concordia Student Union held byelections last week to fill the spots and elect new representatives from Arts and Science and the John Molson School of Business.
During the voting that took place from Nov. 27 to 29, only 465 Concordia undergraduate students cast their votes. The undergraduate student body is over 30,000.
Caroline Bourbonnière, Patrick Lefebvre, Justin Occhionero, Benjamin Prunty, Hardial Rosner, James Vaccaro and Ashley Walling ran to represent Arts and Science on council.
With the exception of Occhionero, all candidates were elected. Occhionero only lost by three votes, with 181 in his favour.
Anja Rajaonarivelo, Pierre Tardivo Martin and Eugene Gusman were elected to the vacant JMSB seats since there were four open spots during the byelections. Chief Electoral Officer Justin Holland of the CSU confirmed that only approximately 80 votes were cast for JMSB candidates.
Gusman stated that he was excited to sit on council but that the lack of interest from the student body and low voter turnout left him feeling disappointed.
“I want people to care a little more of what happens around them, whether it’s in school or in Montreal,” he said.
This concern was also voiced by Prunty, who said he wants to investigate student apathy.
“In a lot of ways, participation is the measure of legitimacy for political or representative bodies and we have to make sure that we are, in fact, legitimate,” said Prunty. “Increasing participation won’t be easy, but it must be done.”
For Lefebvre, he hopes to create an initiative to help students with disabilities and reduced mobility attend more school events.
“I also want to help create a fund to […] pay for aides who can help with feeding and bathroom needs of disabled students while at events,” said Lefebvre.
CSU President Schubert Laforest stated that he is pleased with the outcome of the byelections.
“I’m happy we’ll have a lot of new members, and great representatives representing the Arts and Science faculty,” he said. “But there is still a lot of concern about the Fine Arts faculty not having a representative. It’s something we definitely have to look into,” Laforest added.
– – – – –
BYELECTION RESULTS:
ARTS AND SCIENCE CANDIDATES:
Benjamin Prunty – 230 votes
James Vaccaro – 218 votes
Hardial Rosner – 215 votes
Caroline Bourbonnière – 209 votes
Patrick Lefebvre – 206 votes
Ashley Walling – 184 votes
Justin Occhionero – 181 votes
JOHN MOLSON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS CANDIDATES:
Pierre Tardivo Martin – 45 votes
Anja Rajaonarivelo – 39 votes
Eugene Gusman – 29 votes
A petition is circulating and calling for a new round of byelections in January to fill the vacant Fine Arts seats on the Concordia Student Union’s council.
After the departure of councillor Laura Glover, and the forced resignations of councillors Michael Mercer and Nicolas Martel due to mounting absences, Fine Arts students have been left without representation on council. The most recent byelection did not allow for all three seats to be filled after no one ran for the only seat available, that of former councillor Laura Glover.
Erika Couto, the author of the petition that has garnered close to 250 signatures and VP clubs and services of the Fine Arts Student Alliance, told The Concordian that as well as only having one seat out of three available for elections, the one seat available for Fine Arts students was poorly promoted.
“There was very little outreach done to advertise this one open seat,” Couto said. “No visible postering in buildings frequented by Fine Arts students, nothing was sent to the FASA executives to be sent out through our listserv. These were all easy steps that could have been taken to ensure maximum visibility for the open spot.”
Couto said that the lack of representation is a concern for her, considering the CSU deals with millions of dollars in funding and makes vital decisions for the entire undergraduate student body.
“What it comes down to is that I know these people, I see them every day,” she said. “I owe it to them to fix a problem when I see it, because I care about them.”
At the council meeting where the petition was discussed, a decision was reached to support the petition and look into the issue of holding another vote in January. Though there were questions of where the money would be found, it was decided that the matter would be sent to the financial committee to figure out the technicalities of holding another election.
Nadine Atallah, VP internal and clubs of the CSU said that she was concerned about the lack of representation for Fine Arts students, but that it was not a unique situation.
“It’s definitely unfortunate any time that you have a lack of representation or no representation at all for any faculty at council and we should all do our best to do serve those people,” Atallah said, adding that she was pleased to see Fine Arts students interested in representation. “There are also independent students who aren’t represented at all on council, and we’re having a hard time getting independent students out, which is concerning for me as an independent student myself.”
The Concordian sat down with Patrick Goodwin of MHPM Project Management Inc. to discuss the new contract with the Concordia Student Union in hopes of building a student centre. Here is our breakdown of the next year and the proposal that undergraduate students dished out $97,300 for.
THE PROCESS
Analysis
As part of the plan, MHPM and the CSU will conduct a analysis by surveying students on their wants, needs and current space. In order to move forward and present options, Goodwin emphasized that Concordia’s undergraduate student body plays a huge role in the entire process.
“We’re reaching out to students in general who don’t use the facilities as much to see where they stand,” said Goodwin.
Report
Following the needs analysis, Goodwin said that a report will be produced for early 2013 and presented to the ad hoc committee organized by the CSU. In consultation with the executive and committee, MHPM will develop options geared to the needs and wants of students.
Options
Following this, the CSU will present the options to Concordia students and see which choices are well received and which aren’t. According to Goodwin, it’s possible to combine different aspects of the options.
“We don’t want to present a slew of options that are confusing, the idea is present different ways of looking at things,” he said. “We also get a bit of a vision of where students want to go.”
Preparing for next year
Outside of MHPM’s mandate and realm, a referendum could be held for students to decided how to move forward. Furthermore, the CSU and MHPM will work in tandem to provide a roadmap on how to move forward with future student centre initiatives.
THE CHALLENGES
Student involvement
One of the main obstacles that MHPM and the CSU will face is having students participate in the needs survey and provide their input on a potential student centre.
“The CSU wants to get the support but it’s up to the students,” explained Goodwin.
“It’s getting the engagement.”
Concordia’s undergraduate population is composed of 30,000 students and the goal is to involve as many as possible.
Two campuses
The mandate and proposal is geared to construct a student centre at Concordia’s downtown Sir George Williams campus while still accommodating the needs of the population at Loyola campus in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
“Our mandate is very much laid out for a student centre at the SGW campus but it is for the entire student body,” Goodwin told The Concordian.
Urban setting, lack of space
While it is too early to consider options for a proposed student centre, one possibility that can be ruled out is modifying a building that Concordia already owns. It would be difficult to change a facility that is already in use since the university already has a large student population and a lack of space.
“I think there are too many things involved in that,” said Goodwin. “If it is an option, we need some openness from administration on that.”
The objective is to find out what students think “how far is too far and what they consider campus to be” so that a location can be found that reflects Concordia student life. However, Goodwin remains optimistic considering MHPM has dealt with Ryerson University in Toronto that also is in the heart of the city.
Administration
A significant problem of the past is the dealing of the CSU and university administration when it comes to proposing and accepting a student centre plan. According to Goodwin, past proposals failed because students’ needs weren’t taken into consideration or the university presented an offer that received a negative reaction from undergraduate students.
The Concordia Student Union’s Judicial Board nullified the opening of the VP academic and advocacy executive position by council while simultaneously deciding that additional Arts and Science councillor seats could be opened for the upcoming byelection.
The three members of JB discussed the case Friday afternoon with respondent and Chief Electoral Officer Justin Holland before issuing a statement later that day. As per the CSU’s request stemming from a regular council meeting Nov. 14, JB investigated the legalities of the vacant executive position and the potential opening of new seats following a slewofresignations.
Hajar El Jahidi, the only candidate for VP academic and advocacy, VP Loyola Stefan Faina and Holland were the parties present for the hearing. Councillors and plaintiffs, Chad Walcott and Melissa Kate Wheeler, cited work obligations for their absence.
The written decision produced by JB states that CSU bylaws and regulations were not adhered to when the vacant executive position was issued for the byelection, therefore legally never opened. In accordance with bylaw 7.3, council does not have the power to appoint an undergraduate student to the position but “should the president of the Concordia Student Union wish to appoint a vice-president academic and advocacy, he should do so with regards to Concordia Student Union bylaw 7.3.”
Furthermore, following numerous departures from council of Arts and Science representatives, JB rendered that all three positions were eligible for byelections if Holland so chooses to open them.
Faina stressed that retracting the executive position from the ballot and not opening the three seats would be detrimental to the CSU and representing the undergraduate student body.
“Technically should we allow these three seats to be open? No. Should we? Yes,” said Faina. “It’s miraculous to have people running for the CSU at this time. So let them, please.”
This was a choice Holland favoured when asked by JB Chairperson Nick Cuillerier if he felt it was appropriate to open the seats.
“I think it’s a grey area,” replied Holland. “I think if the position is in the same faculty and they have willing candidates, it would be in the best interest of the CSU.”
Since councillors April Underwood, Adriana Farias and Haneed Alatrash resigned prior to the campaign period, contrary to the plantiffs’ claim as proved by Holland, these additional seats can be opened. Therefore, if Holland does add the three seats, six Arts and Science seats will be opened for a council that is dwindling in numbers.
Walcott disagreed with the conclusion JB issued, feeling uneasy about opening the seats.
“I’m a little worried this decision will favour Arts and Science councillors,” Walcott told The Concordian. “It’s problematic.”
According to Walcott, he believes that concerned councillors will address this at the council meeting Wednesday.
The Concordia Student Union may have to rescind its decision to open the seat of VP academic and advocacy after the Judicial Board hearing set for this week.
During a regular council meeting Wednesday, councillors brought forth concerns regarding the legalities of the positions up for grabs in the upcoming byelections on Nov. 27, 28 and 29.
Chad Walcott, former VP external and current councillor, suggested that all candidates be rendered ineligible for the VP academic and advocacy position. Walcott was the councillor who initially motioned for the position to be opened despite reservations from the executive including President Schubert Laforest and VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon during the meeting of Oct. 24.
The motion was amended by Councillor Melissa Kate Wheeler, who stated that it was not a matter of ineligibility but that the position was not legally opened to begin with.
The opening of the position was not initially announced and revised posters had to be issued to rectify the matter.
The executive took issue with the motion, including VP internal and clubs Nadine Atallah, who stressed that backtracking now would set a “dangerous precedence” for the CSU by deeming candidates ineligible. Laforest agreed, stating that Walcott’s proposed way of solving the problem was not proper.
“This is not done maliciously, it’s an error, but we have to recognized this error,” said Walcott. “Our standing regulations and bylaws were not followed.”
Councillor Rami Khoriaty expressed concerns with the motion, stating it was a “political move” before Gonzo Nieto, former VP clubs and student space, tabled the motion to render the candidates ineligible indefinitely.
The issue of legalities regarding vacant positions being opened following the nomination period will be addressed by the Judicial Board this week in order to render a decision before the byelections.
In addition, a mounting number of resignations from council left some wondering if these positions were now opened for potential candidates since it occurred after the announcement of polls.
Three councillors resigned in the span of six days and currently council sits with less than half the seats filled. As it stands, three seats for Arts and Science, three for John Molson School of Business, one Fine Arts seat and four independent spots are available in the byelections.
However, if the last three seats that were vacated by an influx of resignations from Arts and Science councillors were to be opened for the byelections, six Arts and Science seats would be available. It’s up to the discretion of JB to decide whether or not this is legal. Members of JB will also have access to a lawyer for an hour of legal consultation from the CSU.
Concordia Student Union councillors Charlie Brenchley, Adriana Farias and April Underwood officially resigned from their positions on council this week in separate letters.
Brenchley stated in his letter that he did not feel he was upholding his duty to his fellow Arts and Science students, and that in his final year, he realized that he needed to put the priority on his studies in order to succeed.
He stated that with the “added stress” and “time commitment,” he found his “heart wasn’t really in it.” He also cited his decision to work part-time as another reason for his resignation.
Chad Walcott, former VP external and current councillor, said that Brenchley’s departure was unfortunate because he had a “strong voice” on council.
Farias’ resignation letter listed time commitment issues as one reason for her departure, and said that “personal health issues” factored into her decision.
Walcott suggested that Farias’ poor attendance at council meetings may have been an agent in her decision to resign.
Last Tuesday, Underwood submitted her resignation as well, saying that she wanted to devote more time to her studies and her position as VP academic of the philosophy students association.
It was also announced Monday, in an email by CSU Chair Jean-François Ouellet, that Arts and Science councillor Hajar El Jahidi would be running for the open executive position of VP academic and advocacy. Jahidi is currently the only candidate for the position, which was vacated earlier this year when Lucia Gallardo resigned due to her inability to resolve her student status issues in time.
When asked about the low turnout for the vacant position, Walcott said it was unfortunate that only one person was running.
“I think there probably could have been more advertising done with regards to the election as a whole,” explained Walcott.
In violation of the CSU’s standing regulations, certain candidates started postering before the designated time. Candidates are only allowed to poster after 9 p.m. the day before campaigning but posters of several candidates were seen at both campuses throughout the day Monday. The polling dates will be Nov. 27, 28 and 29.
After the recent resignation of Lucia Gallardo, the executive position of VP academic and advocacy is open, along with numerous other seats on council, and will be up for grabs in the upcoming Concordia Student Union byelections this month.
Leaving the position vacant was discussed at the regular council meeting Oct. 26 when councillor and former VP external Chad Walcott motioned to put forth the vacant position in the upcoming byelections.
“I proposed the motion to open up the VP academic position because the CSU should have a full executive,” Walcott said. “The job of an executive is often overwhelming, so I figured if we have a chance to reduce some of the pressure by filling the position then we should take it.”
Due to Gallardo’s resignation because of student status issues, current members of the executives have taken on her various roles and responsibilities. VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon and VP sustainability Andrew Roberts have split the portfolio. Since Gallardo stepped down, Lauzon has handled academic affairs and Roberts is in control of the advocacy portfolio.
Schubert Laforest, CSU president, was hesitant to leave the position open because he preferred to appoint someone who he thought would be best suited due to their connections and current work with the CSU.
“Council felt it was more convenient to leave the seat open. I just hope people who want to run at least get information on what the job entails, what are the requirements and if they have any experience,” Laforest said.
Laforest went on to say that he is also hesitant because of the timing which is something he wants to “minimize.”
“We’re in the middle of mandate, things are intense, with Senate and all, and the idea of having to train again in the middle, it’s not the same as being elected at the beginning,” he said.
Lauzon voiced his reservations during the meeting, stating that it would be difficult to have a new student join their team. He emphasized that it was a “risk” and that an incoming member might not be beneficial in the long run.
The CSU byelection nominations started yesterday and will proceed until Nov. 9 and forms for applicants are available at the CSU offices on the 7th floor of the Hall building.
Although the executive felt it was unnecessary and unwarranted to open the seat, the motion passed.
Following the resignations of councillors Juliana Ramos and Laura Glover, additional seats on council are fair game to those seeking a spot.
The seats that are open are one Fine Arts seat, two Arts and Science seats, three John Molson School of Business seats, and three Independent student seats.
Laforest states that a few students have stopped by to give their nominations but doesn’t recall any Independent student nominations yet, since those students are a lot harder to find.
“I mean, there’s always worry, you don’t know what you’ll get, and if they’ll be dedicated or not. It’s something you can’t control, but I do have faith,” Laforest said.
Thus far, no one has expressed interest in the VP academic and advocacy seat. The polling dates will be Nov. 27, 28 and 29.
