Tag: CSU elections

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Concordia Student Union News

Up for election! A brief profile of this year’s Concordia Student Union Executive Candidates

Photo by Catherine Reynolds/ The Concordian

Concordia’s Student media comes together to profile this year’s CSU executive candidates

To cover this year’s CSU elections, The Concordian, The Link and CJLO News teamed up to interview several executive candidates. CSU elections will be held between March 15 – March 17.

Elijah Olise, general coordinator

Interview conducted by Zachary Fortier and Mohammad Khan, The Link 

Elijah Olise is an urban studies student, currently working as a community organizer. Before running for general coordinator he planned to run as the CSU’s external coordinator in an effort to combine his work regarding housing, food security and community connection to Concordia and student government.

“I was hoping to connect the campus to work that I’m doing outside [school] and break down the walls of academia. To develop a mutually beneficial relationship for students as well as community members who are particularly part of marginalized communities.”

Olise wants to focus on further connecting the Concordia community and facilitating more student involvement with the CSU.

“I think it’s important to really invest more heavily into how we can build community,” said Olise.

As general coordinator he will focus on fostering this community through development of more clubs and events and encouraging greater democratic involvement within the CSU.

An ability to lead by example coupled with his decisiveness are some of the qualities Olise believes he possesses that will make him a good fit for general coordinator.

“When it’s necessary I’m decisive and ready to move forward on certain goals, past the talking phase and I encourage and inspire others around me to do exactly the same.”

Olise said some of his key values are community, inclusion, justice and sustainability.

 

Sean Levis, sustainability coordinator 

Interview conducted by Cedric Gallant , CJLO News Editor

Sean Levis is a fifth year philosophy student at Concordia. In 2020 he began living at the Woodnote Solidarity Cooperative where he joined the finance committee, later becoming their treasurer. His major goals are to create greater institutional stability within the CSU and greater housing sustainability to Concordia students through supporting the Woodnote.

“The reason I chose sustainability was when I first moved into the Woodnote I realized that there was not a lot of support to ensure the sustainability of the organization itself,” said Levis.

“The reason why I’m running for the CSU sustainability coordinator is I think there are a lot of initiatives with regards to sustainability that need to be done within the Woodnote and I think there are some sustainability initiatives at the CSU that need to be undertaken as well.”

Levis wants to ensure that CSU councilors are more democratically connected to the faculties which they represent and held more accountable to accomplishing students wishes.

Encouraging more grassroots organizing by the student body, is one of Levi’s major goals. “The ability of students to organize in their member associations is somewhat limited because they don’t have the support or the resources that they could otherwise have from the CSU.”

Another of Levis’ key focuses is bringing food sustainability initiatives to the Woodnote to mitigate food insecurity. In addition to providing free hygiene products and bringing a composting program to the building.

 

Sabrina Morena, Loyola coordinator 

Interview conducted by Evan Lindsay, Co-News Editor of The Concordian

Sabrina Morena is a third year human relations student at the Loyola campus. Some of Morena’s major goals as Loyola coordinator are to create more food options at the Loyola campus and creating a greater presence at the CSU there.

“I’ve been at Loyola the whole time throughout my undergraduate degree. […] There was a lack of presence of the CSU as well as lack of student life and sometype of engagement,” said Morena. “There should be some type of presence and some type of student life to make it more engaging and make those students who attend Loyola all the time feel like they matter as well.”

Morena said she wants to create more food options for students at Loyola or even create a discount card for restaurants around the campus. She also wants to bring more events like job fairs, orientation fairs and markets to the campus.

As Loyola coordinator Morena would try to highlight some of Loyola’s existing features like the Hive Café, a solidarity co-op program of which she is a board member.

“Many people I speak to in my classes don’t even know that the Hive exists or they might know but, they don’t know where it’s located,” said Morena.

“I want to bring more attention to [the Hive] because there could be some really cool initiatives that could be implemented at this location as well.

 

Meryem Benallal, finance coordinator 

Interview Conducted by Zachary Fortier, The Link 

Meryem Benallal is a second year student in political science. She has managed multiple companies, including her own, which lead to her running for the finance position.

“I opened my painting company with my husband. We had to do all the budgeting and the nitty gritty of a business. I learned a lot from that,” said Benallal. In addition to this, Benallal worked with two daycares managing their salaries, number of kids, different classes, and other regulations.

Benallal is a full time student and also a parent, which influences some of her biggest goals as finance coordinator. “My number one priority this semester is to hopefully fund or ease the struggles of student parents that I strongly empathize with.”

One of the important roles of the finance coordinator is to provide transparency to students on where their money goes – something Benallal thinks is very important

“Transparency is related to the students’ vision of where and how much they want to fund. I think we should first listen to what students want and their needs.”

Some of the areas that Benallal thinks require more funding are bursaries and CSU daycares. She also wants to provide greater transparency to students on where their tuition money goes and what students get out of that funding.

 

Fawaz Halloum, internal affairs coordinator 

Interview conducted by Cedric Gallant, CJLO News Director

As the executive primarily responsible for clubs and spaces, Fawaz Halloum will work to guide student clubs, as well as organize communications within the CSU itself, including some financial matters. Halloum will also work to organize anti-oppression training within the CSU and the larger student body.

In his final year at Concordia. Halloum will draw on his experience as a founder of the Concordia Mycological Society.

“I truly hope to see more engagement from student clubs in experiential learning opportunities,” said Halloum.

“I do have a plan of creating a specialized fund for internships for mature enough clubs […] where they could conduct an internship if it’s appropriate to their mandate.”

One of his other goals is to create a special fund for journals for undergraduate scientific or arts programs.

 

Asli Isaaq, academic and advocacy coordinator 

Interview Conducted by Zachary Fortier, The Link 

Asli Isaaq is a second year sociology student. In the past she has been involved in the ASFA, particularly working in the Anti-Racism and Anti-Sexual Violence Taskforce. She was also president of her CEGEPs student association.

“Student advocacy comes with student mobilization,” said Isaaq.

“It’s very difficult for us to advocate for students if students aren’t involved first. Before we get to the step of advocating for students we first have to rally students behind us,” said Isaaq.

In addition to this, Isaaq said she wants to “set a new tone” with Concordia’s administration.

“I don’t doubt the incredible work that the past student execs have done. But clearly there is a point where something isn’t clicking,” said Isaaq.

“There has to be a point where we strategize and figure out how we can get what students want and also get this university on our side.”

Following the pandemic, Isaaq thinks students are missing support from the administration. She wants to ensure that students are not being penalized by the administration for how they are proceeding with education throughout the pandemic and beyond.

You can listen to the full interviews with each of these candidates on the CJLO News Podcast.

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Concordia Student Union News

Voter turnout in the CSU general election plummets to the lowest percentage in recent years

This year’s CSU elections seem to have taken students by surprise

Students had the opportunity to vote last week in the CSU general elections, but it seems like many students may have missed their chance.

This year’s elections had the lowest voter turnout the CSU has seen in recent years, with 1,536 votes cast; 4.8 per cent of the 32,199 students registered to vote.

This was a 0.8 per cent decrease from last year’s general election, in February 2020, which had the advantage of being held in-person and online, with a total of 1,731 votes.

The results of this election were also a massive decrease from the by-elections in fall 2020 a greater success with a 17.8 per cent voter turnout.

The elections are an opportunity for students to select who will represent them in the coming year. This year, due to the pandemic, they were held entirely online which may have made it difficult for students to get involved.

Some were completely unaware elections were happening in the first place. 

“I didn’t know that it was happening this year, until I got the email pop up,” said Noah Cohen-Wanis, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student. “I had more important school things to worry about, like my grades.”

The pandemic and online classes have made it more difficult for students to keep up with school news unrelated to their own classes. In a time where students are notified of nearly everything by email, it can be easy to miss things.

Some students feel that just receiving an email from the school isn’t enough to get them interested in the election in the first place. Cohen-Wanis suggested a more personal approach, with candidates trying to make appearances briefly in Zoom lectures as they often did when classes were in-person.

“That way we can hear them talk and understand what their purpose is and what change they’re trying to make. It would definitely get me interested instead of just getting some email from the school,” said Cohen-Wanis.

Other students suggested taking advantage of other essential Concordia platforms like Moodle and MyConcordia; things that students interact with every day.

“Honestly if one of my friends hadn’t told me the CSU election was this week I’m not sure I would have seen the email until the weekend [after the elections],” said Patrick Baylis, a third-year Engineering student.

Not knowing who they were voting for was a common issue among students who did take part in the election.

“I feel like the most I learned about the candidates was when I was actually looking at the ballot — previously I didn’t know who was running,” said Baylis.

Information about candidates can be found on the CSU’s website. While many candidates have detailed bios and campaign information, many have less than a paragraph, or even nothing at all written. Some candidates simply stated the position they were running for.

Some students did try to vote in the elections, but got frustrated by the online process.

“I got an error saying I wasn’t registered for any ballot,” said Baylis. After contacting an elections representative from the CSU, Baylis was sent a second email that would detail how he was going to vote again. Many students received multiple emails with different voting information.

The emails contained unique voter login and password information for use on the official CSU online voting website. But after voting, some students were sent another email with new login credentials, after receiving an error message when trying to vote the first time.

Baylis explained that the follow-up email did not contain any information detailing if his original vote was invalid, or whether he would have to vote again. It was only after contacting a CSU elections official, that he was told he would have to vote again.

“It was just from my conversation with the election person at the CSU, I knew I would need to go and vote through that link as opposed to the previous link,” he said.

Baylis says many of his peers were sent second emails with voting links as well, and many were unsure if their original vote was actually cast. 

 

Logo courtesy of the Concordia Student Union (CSU)

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Concordia Student Union News

Our next Concordia Student Union executive team

A look into the CSU’s plans for the future

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) elections are underway, and for the second consecutive general election year, the executive team is running unopposed. Eight members comprise the guaranteed winning team, led by candidate for general coordinator, Eduardo Malorni.

Their platform, Brick by Brick, focuses on COVID-19 measures and safety, community building, advocacy and accountability. The Concordian, The Link, and CJLO hosted a group interview for the candidates, to hear more about their platform and plans for the future.

General Coordinator Eduardo Malorni

Candidate for general Coordinator Eduardo Malorni aims to better help students with the difficulties they face while pursuing their degree this upcoming year.

He plans on addressing a variety of complaints students have had about online learning, including mental health concerns, higher workloads, and issues with proctoring services.

Malorni also wants to work with other student unions to demand a change in tuition fees, considering how many students “are not feeling like the quality [of education while remote] is the same as it was in the past.”

Part of their platform will also be supporting students that would not feel comfortable returning to campus in the fall, and to help with the return to in-person activities on campus, when that time comes.

Malorni, who’s been a part of the CSU for over two years, said one of the greatest things he and other members of the CSU helped to achieve was the pass/fail option for students last year. The same year, however, several councillors resigned, citing a toxic environment.

“Those were some of my friends who resigned,” said Malorni. “I think it’s very important to fix that.”

He said he will continue to push for an affirmative action program in the CSU, and have more discussions with racialized minorities for their input on what else the union could change and provide.

This year, he wants to increase student involvement in the CSU.

“By far the biggest struggle we’re going to have is trying to improve upon our recruitment,” said Malorni.

One of the ways he wants to tackle the issue of increasing student involvement is by improving the branding of CSU services on campus. Malorni said he has seen many students wrongly attribute CSU services to the university, or just outright not know that the CSU is behind several initiatives on campus.

He said he feels confident that his team can tackle these issues going forward this year.

Sustainability Coordinator Faye Sun

Faye Sun is running to be the next sustainability coordinator at the CSU, with the objective of connecting students to sustainability initiatives and resources at the university.

One of such initiatives at Concordia would be transforming on-campus lawns into food gardens. For Sun, restoring habitats for pollinators is one of the top priorities.

She added that urban agriculture and gardening will also benefit Concordia students in the long run.

“If we don’t invest in urban food security [right now], we might not have any food in 80 or so years,” the CSU candidate added.

Being an Environmental Science major, Sun also aims to focus on environmental justice and sustainability issues that specifically affect Indigenous and African American communities.

“Eighty per cent of all of the environment that’s ecologically protected is on Indigenous land, and that’s definitely not a coincidence,” she said. “That’s why I believe in Indigenous sovereignty and stewardship.”

By striving for eco-friendly policies in an urbanized metropolis, Sun hopes to put Concordia on a green path towards sustainability.

Academic and Advocacy Coordinator Hannah Jamet-Lange

Hannah Jamet-Lange aims to advocate for accessibility, anti-discrimination, sexual violence measures, better mental health services, international students, and climate justice. One of her main goals is to strengthen the code of conduct and the sexual violence policy, with the end goal of making the CSU “a more welcoming, supportive and safe environment for everyone.”

Jamet-Lange is in her third year in Communications, Sexuality Studies, and History. They got involved with the CSU in her first year at Concordia, with the Campaign Against Sexual Violence.

Currently there is a question going to referendum to change CSU bylaws, making the code of conduct and sexual violence policy easier to enforce. Jamet-Lange said that is already a great step forward, and as academic and advocacy coordinator they wants to ensure it is enforced if it passes.

Jamet-Lange stated that she also wants to create better definitions around the different forms of harassment and discrimination.

It’s crucial to have clear definitions when complaints go to the Judicial Board, so the board “doesn’t have to refer back to a dictionary or interpret what is seen as racism, what is seen as sexism,” said Jamet-Lange.

They said that the new executive team wants to work together to create a better culture around harm prevention.

External Affairs and Mobilization Coordinator Camina Harrison-Chéry

Camina Harrison-Chéry’s main goals are creating spaces for students to feel safe, specifically creating and supporting spaces for BIPOC students, tackling the lack of diversity at Concordia, and working on better mental health services.

“I think that since I’ve come to Concordia, I felt like my mission has been just to create spaces on campus and off campus where students feel safe, that they know they can contribute and that their opinions are important,” said Harrison-Chéry.

Harrison-Chéry is a Communications student and an entrepreneur of Haitian descent. She is the founder of BUYPOC, pop-ups that support BIPOC youth run businesses, and the owner of a headwrap brand called Urban Wrapper. At Concordia, she works to advance the Black perspective in the community, and is a member of Concordia’s task force on anti-Black racism.

To her, it’s clear that students see a lack of diversity in professors and the curriculum. Thus, Harrison-Chéry wants to work towards more diversity at Concordia, such as training staff to be aware of their biases.

“We [the CSU] are definitely responsible in terms of applying pressure and keeping that momentum,” said Harrison-Chéry, who explained that recently, with the Black Studies Department and the Black Perspective Office, there has been a lot of momentum in creating more Black spaces at Concordia.

As external affairs and mobilization coordinator, Harrison-Chéry plans to advance equity for BIPOC students through a number of initiatives, such as supporting the Black Studies and Black Perspectives Office, and investing in events that advance the Black perspective and centre around Black experiences.

Loyola Coordinator S Shivaane

S Shivaane is running for Loyola Coordinator at the CSU, and aims to improve learning conditions for Concordia students at the Loyola campus.

Shivaane’s top priorities include upgrading the shuttle bus service to and from the Sir George Williams campus, as well as providing healthy and affordable food options for Loyola students.

She noted that, in general, Loyola “has a lack of services and … amenities that pull students to stay there.”

Shivaane plans on laying foundations for “food co-ops,” which she expects will create more student jobs.

As for the shuttle service, she believes that the bus fleet needs to be expanded. According to Shivaane, the lack of accessibility is what makes Loyola seem like a distant campus, despite everything it has to offer.

“There are some students who are graduating, who have been here for four or five years, and they said that they’d never been to Loyola — which is so unfortunate, because it’s a beautiful campus,” Shivaane explained.

By pushing for a reliable shuttle connection, more study spaces and healthier food options, Shivaane is convinced that more Concordia students will be able to appreciate Loyola’s greenery and European-style architecture, and have a pleasant academic experience overall.

Finance Coordinator Aria Khaksar

Running for Financial Coordinator is not a small feat in a year where there have been class action lawsuits against universities for tuition rates. Aria Khaksar intends on addressing the issue head on.

He said, “I think after the year we’ve had with COVID, and of course the education level that has decreased … we need to talk to the school and to the board to lower tuition for students.”

Many students will be happy to hear this is an issue the CSU’s next financial coordinator is taking seriously.

“Tuition is something that has not decreased in forever and it keeps going up,” said Khaksar.

This is not a change that will happen on its own, since only the students are aware of the realities of online learning.

“It’s something that is very difficult for the school to understand, because for them the education that we’re getting online right now is the same that we would have in person,” said Khaksar.

Student Life Coordinator Malcolm Asselin

Student Life Coordinator is a challenging position in the midst of an academic year like none other. But challenges are what make life interesting, and Malcolm Asselin is excited to revive the student body.

He is prepared for the realities of next year, saying, “I want to be ready for both an online and in-person environment, just because I think it’s good to be prepared.” But this will not stop his goal of reaching students.

“I think a big challenge is, obviously, getting our information [on student events] to be interpreted and centralized, [because it] is key to reaching as many students as possible,” said Asselin.

Once students are informed, they can start participating in student-led events, such as Concordia’s Got Talent, an interdisciplinary event that is hosted by faculty associations collaboratively.

“It was the first time that all faculty associations collaborated together for an event, and we had an amazing engagement, students were involved. There was like some type of community being built here,” said Asselin.

For the coming year, one of his goals will be to bring together all associations at Concordia to work together in gathering the student body. He said, “I want more work like that, getting faculty associations to collaborate together for events.”

Internal Affairs Coordinator Harrison Kirshner

Harrison Kirshner is running to be the next internal affairs coordinator at the CSU, and hopes to concentrate on elevating clubs under the student association’s mandate.

Kirshner wants to help develop clubs by increasing their recruitment and getting the CSU more directly involved, “mak[ing] it easier for clubs to recruit, because that is really something that’s difficult during the online environment.”

Some of the clubs under the CSU’s mandate are Concordia Tennis Team, the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the Concordia Debate Society (CDS) and dozens more.

He is also looking into making a Facebook page for CSU clubs to post material they would like the CSU to advertise. The CSU would then be able to advertise their clubs on the newsletter, on their page, on their social media and more.

This could help get the university back on its feet when we come back to in-person learning. He said, “I believe that incorporating club recruitment into those mechanisms is something that we should do.”

 

Logo courtesy of the Concordia Student Union (CSU)

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Concordia Student Union News

Anonymous council members accuse CSU Executives of power grab

Misrepresentation, inter-faculty tension and lack of transparency in next by-elections according to anonymous council members.

In an anonymous statement to The Concordian, a group of Concordia Student Union (CSU) councillors is accusing some executive CSU members of trying to increase the executive team’s power while fostering a culture of inter-faculty tension with the referendum question titled Council Change as its tool.

According to the statement, not enough students chose to run for the CSU. However, instead of focusing on mass outreach on campus to promote involvement, the CSU implied that conflict between faculties is the source of that issue.

The question, previously named Faculty Equality, suggests a restructuring of the council by reducing the number of councillors from 30 to 16. At the moment, 13 seats are allocated for Arts and Science students, seven for JMSB students, five Engineering and Computer Science students, three for Fine Arts students and two for independent students as voted by the CSU on Oct. 23.

The new structure would allow only three councillors for every faculty plus one for independent students. Arts and Sciences will be divided into two separate faculties.

“More councillors just means more chaos. And chaos is inefficient,” wrote CSU President Chris Kalafatidis in a message to The Concordian. “Chaos means not being able to hold the Executive accountable.”

But the anonymous statement claimed that having fewer councillors translates to fewer opportunities for students to get involved in university politics, a lack of efficiency within the CSU and a lack of accountability on the Executive.

“Currently, the CSU has approximately 15 committees which all hold about four to five seats each. A reduction to 20 councillors may lead to a lack in quality, efficiency and impactful work,” read the statement. “This is immensely detrimental for students as these committees provide funding and services to the undergraduate body.”

As for accountability of the Executive team, the statement refers to this situation as “unfair distribution of power,” and says it would not properly represent the student’s interests. Kalafatidis thinks otherwise.

“The current council requires JMSB, Gina Cody, Fine Arts and independent students to strictly rely on the Arts and Science coalition to get anything done,” Kalafatidis said. “The current council only represents Arts and Science.”

However, seats are allocated proportionally to the number of students in each faculty. Arts and Science has a bigger representation as they form almost 50 per cent of Concordia’s student body.

The statement also accused the CSU president of trying to “gerrymander Council and make it seem socially acceptable by adding the word ‘equality’” in the question. The referendum question was renamed Council Change by the CSU.

Second chance for two by-election candidates

After the last CSU’s general elections, Danielle Vandolder-Beaudin was disqualified for asking students to vote for her slate, Cut the Crap. As a punishment, she could not run again in any CSU elections for a period of one year. However, the Judicial Board reversed that decision according to Kalafatidis.

A few months later during the summer, Selena Mezher, elected CSU Sustainable Coordinator last general elections, left the country which resulted in many reactions. One of the anonymous councillors said that Mezher failed to advise the CSU that she would be leaving and ignored everyone’s attempts to contact her which resulted in a defunct resignation. However, Kalafatidis said that Mezher committed no offences or violations, and never took any pay from the CSU.

A few months later, the two are running as CSU councillors in the by-elections which began on Nov. 12.

The anonymous councillors are requesting that previously disqualified or fired members wishing to run for CSU positions must include a disclosure on their ballots about the date and nature of the offence for all CSU elections.

“We believe that all students should have the right to participate in student life, however, being transparent and assuming responsibility for their actions is a good start towards accountability, something we value as councillors,” read the statement.

A motion will be voted at the CSU council meeting on Nov. 13 to set rules on penalties for candidates that previously committed offences. If passed, candidates will be forced to disclose those offences on ballots.

 

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

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News

Cut the Crap disqualified for ‘serious’ violation

One member of the slate incited students to vote for the team during the polling period

Shortly after the release of the results of the Concordia Student Union (CSU) elections, it was announced that Cut the Crap, the elected slate, was disqualified for violating standing regulations.

Florian Prual, chief electoral officer (CEO) of the elections, said a slate member incited students to vote for the entire slate during the polling period, which is in violation of the union’s standing regulations. “It’s probably one of the worst things she could have done,” said Prual.

Danielle Vandolder-Beaudin, the finance coordinator candidate, messaged students asking if they had voted, and introducing them to her slate. “You down to vote for us?” wrote Vandolder-Beaudin in one of the messages obtained by The Concordian. Vandolder-Beaudin proceeded to tell students how to vote online and listed the names of the Cut the Crap candidates.

Prual said this falls under “abuse of electronic balloting,” which includes pressuring voters to vote in the presence of a candidate, and bringing the means of electronic voting to a voter.

“That’s an issue and it’s pretty unfair to the other candidates. You cannot incite someone to vote for them during the polling period,” said Prual.

The standing regulation article in question was in fact brought forward to council by CSU Councillor Patrick Quinn, also the academic and advocacy coordinator candidate for Cut the Crap.

According to the standing regulations, it is up to the CSU CEO to declare who is elected 24 hours after the counting of the ballots.

CSU General Coordinator, Sophie Hough-Martin said “this is profoundly disappointing.” Hough- Martin said there is still some confusion as to what the next step is. She added, “I would like to assure the student body that we’ll do our best to rectify this […] to protect the interests of students and democracy in the university.”

Vandolder-Beaudin is banned from running in any CSU election in the next year.

Members of Cut the Crap refused to comment on their disqualification.

Photo by Mia Anhoury.

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Concordia Student Union News

Meeting the candidates of CSU Elections

Team Connect for CSU

Concordians will vote for their next CSU representatives on March 28, 29 and 30

Undergraduate students from the university will be able to cast their vote on either campus for their new Concordia Student Union representatives between March 28 and 30. Most candidates are teaming up to bring their mutual ideas to life. The Concordian spoke to them about their plans.

Connect for CSU

Team Connect for CSU (pictured above) consists of Asma Mushtaq, Alex Milton, Marcus Peters, Devon Leigh Ellis-Durity, Leyla Sutherland, Veronika Rydzewski, Mustafa Bokesmati and Thomas David-Bashore. The team believes they have a very strong platform that speaks to the immediate needs of students. Projects such as updating the CSU website and advocating for international students are very important to them. Divesting and reinvesting in sustainability is also one of their main focuses. “Our projects will improve student life while continuing to implement sustainable and transparent practices within the union and updating documents and practices so that we are able to better serve students,” the team told The Concordian. The team plans to advocate for international students on campus, and prevent future tuition hikes. They hope to improve student engagement within the union by having stronger, more accessible and transparent communication with students.

Team Unity

Amina Chemssy

Team Unity for CSU consists of two candidates so far: Eddy Kara, who is running for the position of general coordinator, and Amina Chemssy, who is running for the internal affairs coordinator position. The duo believe diversity is an essential part of Concordia’s student community. “It is important to welcome and be open to diverse insights and opinions,” they told The Concordian. “Only together can we achieve things for Concordia.” They plan on putting a Social Transparency Plan into effect, which they said will help with communication between students and the CSU. They will also put forward an Act of Concordian Equality which will ensure they are inclusive to all students at the school—everyone will be treated as equals. They also want to build trust between the CSU and students. They will do this by creating different projects to motivate students to believe in their own future. They hope to strengthen relations between the student organizations.

 

 

Agunik Mamikonyan

Agunik Mamikonyan

Agunik Mamikonyan is running as an independent candidate for the general coordinator position. “I didn’t want to make this election too political by being in a team,” she said. “I really want to make it about the students.” With the experience she has attained over the last few years, including being the general secretary for the School of Community and Public Affairs Students’ Association (SCPASA) and currently holding the position of vice-president of external and sustainability for the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA), she believes she is qualified for the position. “The role I had with the SCPASA definitely helped me with building my leadership role. I can offer direction, facilitation and I guarantee that my team will be well-organized,” she said. Mamikonyan wants to be further involved with the co-op housings, and bring more diversity and structure to the student union. If elected, Mamikonyan said she will be transparent and dedicated to her work, her team and all students.

 

 

Embrace Con U

Embrace ConU

Embrace ConU consists of candidates Omar Riaz, Soulaymane Al Alaoui, Gabriella Polanco, Carlos Vasquez, D’Anté Hanna, Émilie Leduc and Ahmed Badr. The group of students came together with the goal of representing all students from the Concordia Student Union.“What makes us stand out is that we have a big stance on the lack of [faculty] representation in the CSU. We believe that, for the last three years, for example, the students from the John Molson School of Business have not been represented well by the student union,” said Al Alaoui, who is running for the position of finance coordinator. Embrace ConU is focused on three particular projects, which they call “pillars.” First off, the team has a strong focus on students and wants to make the university a more welcoming space for students by funding more clubs, student projects and faculty associations. The second pillar focuses on the university community and creating a sense of belonging for everyone at Concordia through different events and ensuring more open communication with heads of departments about student needs. Finally, the group plans to concentrate on economic and ecological sustainability, and building partnerships that will help the CSU grow, according to the team.

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Concordia Student Union News

CSU elects new finance coordinator

Thomas David-Bashore is the CSU's new finance coordinator. Photo by Nelly Serandour-Amar.

Thomas David-Bashore will be the new finance coordinator as of Dec. 1

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) appointed a new finance coordinator during their special council meeting on Nov. 30.

After deliberating between three candidates, Thomas David-Bashore was elected to take on the role.

Bashore, a second year student in political science with a double major in history, has been involved with other student associations, including the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA). “I think I gained the experience to be a valuable asset to the CSU,” Bashore said.

He said that his first objective will be to make sure all the executives have the financial resources necessary to accomplish their goals. “I also think that financial transparency to council and to students is very important, which I will work on,” he said.   

Lucinda Marshall-Kiparissis, CSU’s general coordinator, was confident in the council’s decision. “All three candidates were very strong, and I’m looking forward to see what Thomas bring to the finance coordinator role,” she said. Omar Riaz and Ahmed Bader were also running for the position.

Dec. 1 will be Bashore’s first official day as finance coordinator. “I hope the students and the executives will be happy about my performance,” Bashore said.

Former finance coordinator, Adrian Longinotti, resigned on Nov. 21, after sending out a letter announcing his departure. Longinotti was asked to resign by CSU councilors due to his problematic behaviour surrounding queerphobia, misogyny and other oppressive politics.

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Wheeler takes the vote

Photo by Sophia Loffreda
Photo by Sophia Loffreda

Despite some late night hiccups and with only one contested position, the ballot counting for the Concordia Student Union elections finished with the CSYou affiliation being voted in for the upcoming academic year.

The only contested position, VP Finance, went to CSYou candidate Scott Carr with 617 votes in his favour. Competitor Pierre Tardivo had 364 votes.

The other CSYou candidates all received a similar number of votes. Roughly 900 students voted for CSYou, approximately 60 to 100 voted no and there were approximately 250 abstaining ballots.

All of the candidates running for council were also elected, including outgoing executives VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi, VP student life Alexis Suzuki and VP clubs and internal affairs Nadine Atallah who received 244, 279 and 41 yes votes, respectively.

The three referendum questions included in the voting were all passed by wide margins. The Greenhouse fee levy was granted its request for $0.12 per credit with a vote of 1142 for and 234 against. The Sustainable Concordia fee levy was granted its increase of $0.10 per credit, raising it to a total of $0.15 and the Concordia Food Coalition received a vote of 1,219 for and 145 against, in its request for support.

Three changes to the CSU’s bylaws were also adopted by the student body, despite a procedural mistake that almost let the alterations disappear since they were not initially included as referendum questions. A notice of requirement was not fulfilled and the CSU was forced to abide by a notwithstanding clause since the changes weren’t formally announced during postering.

In total 1,438 students voted out of more than 30,000 undergraduate students over the course of the three-day voting period, with women outvoting men by 783 to 655. The majority of the votes were cast by Arts and Science students, 816, with the second most common being Fine Arts students with 257 votes. John Molson School of Business and Engineering and Computer Science students voted the least with 182 and 133 votes cast respectively.

A last-minute mistake caught by Chief Electoral Officer Andre-Marcel Baril has forced a recount of the ballots in the JMSB building, but Baril has stated that the recount can in no way affect any of the results. Nevertheless Baril says that the recount must be done for the sake of procedure. An error left certain polling days with an irregular amount of votes and other dates with none for VP sustainability candidate Benjamin Prunty and VP student life candidate Katrina Caruso. The mistake is not expected to change the outcome of the vote but there will be a recount.

Speaking to The Concordian a few days after the ballots were counted, upcoming CSU President Melissa Kate Wheeler said that she and her team not only plan to shadow current executives in the coming weeks, but will also seek out past executives for advice and guidance. Wheeler gave Caruso as an example, saying that the incoming VP student life will be seeking out former VP Laura Glover for advice.

“Given that this year was not so great, it would be great to get a couple of extra people for training because I’m not convinced that this year’s executive knows what they are doing,” she said.

When asked about the fact that some of the current executives, such as Nadine Atallah and Alexis Suzuki, will be returning next year as councillors, Wheeler said that she was not concerned despite a history of butting heads this year.

“I trust that their intentions are good,” she said. “I think everyone has the best intentions at heart.”

No Fine Arts representation

Despite the intense campaign to fill empty Fine Arts seats on the CSU council earlier this year, not a single Fine Arts student ran for the CSU council for next year, leaving the department in a similar situation they faced after this year’s byelections. Steps taken during this election period, including specifically postering and campaigning in the Fine Arts VA building, did little to encourage students to involve themselves in next year’s CSU.

Recently-elected Caruso, herself a Fine Arts student, told The Concordian that while she was disappointed with the lack of Fine Arts students on the ballots, she understood the disconnect that made participation in the CSU’s affairs so uncommon.

“As a Fine Arts student, I’ve felt little connection with the Concordia Student Union prior to this election – and this is my third year at Concordia. Fine Arts students are incredibly under represented at Concordia, which is unfortunate because we have so much to offer,” she said.

Caruso added that the issue of communicating with Fine Arts students was one she hoped to address by fostering connections and building new relationships between students and the CSU.

“The major issue with the union is the lack of new blood — time and time again, people join the CSU because of their friends,” said Caruso. “I’d like to change that. I’m going to be working with FASA to have Fine Arts students at large run in the byelections, and win those seats.”

Any student wishing to see a full breakdown of the votes for and against each candidate and question can find them at the CSU elections website: http://csuelections.wordpress.com/

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CSYou stands together as a team

With only VP finance candidate Scott Carr running opposed, the entire CSYou slate was elected to form the executive of the Concordia Student Union for 2013-2014 academic year.

Carr beat Tardivo for the only contested position with nearly twice as many votes. The preliminary results show that Carr garnered 617 votes as opposed to Tardivo, the only independent executive candidate running, who received 334 votes.

However, a recount will be taking place this weekend due to an error in counting the ballots early Friday morning — votes for VP sustainability elect Benjamin Prunty and VP student life elect Katrina Caruso were affected in the John Molson School of Business building. An error left certain polling days with an irregular amount of votes and other dates with none. The mistake is not expected to change the outcome of the vote but there will be a recount.

While the final count or preliminary numbers have not yet been released for councillors and members of Senate, it appears that all undergraduate students running for council will have their seats for the upcoming year. This includes current VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah, VP student life Alexis Suzuki and VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi who received 41, 279, and 294 yes votes respectively in the preliminary results.

All fee levy referendum votes passed, including a motion of support for the Concordia Food Coalition. Approximately 1,142 students voted in favour of a new fee levy of $0.12 for the Concordia Greenhouse project and Sustainable Concordia will also be receiving $0.15 per credit, a ten-cent increase from the current $0.05 fee levy collected.

All final numbers will be released once the CSU’s Chief electoral officer, Andre-Marcil Baril will conduct his recount.

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Meet your Concordia Student Union candidates

CSU Presidental candidate Melissa Kate Wheeler
CSU Presidental candidate Melissa Kate Wheeler

Melissa Kate Wheeler – Presidential candidate

Experience:
I’ve done a lot of volunteer work throughout my existence and typically very active in high school up until university where I took a break to focus on my studies for a couple of years. I was CSU secretary — taking minutes at every meeting. This year I am on as an Arts and Science councillor and sit on several committees.

Strengths and weaknesses:
I think I have two fundamental strengths: I see good things in everybody and I think it makes me more approachable. My weaknesses are I think I set a lot of personal goals and don’t always follow through. I have a hard time rolling with the punches when it’s of a personal nature.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
I’d like to really go out and integrate student feedback into our plans. Another thing is visibility and providing opportunities for students at large to get involved. Responsibility and long-term planning, things like student centre can’t be rushed. Smaller-scale projects: promoting spaces that already exist, like the seventh floor CSU lounge needs a facelift.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
There have been some successes this year but this perception that council has been vocal due to personal vendettas. Council has been vocal this year because there is a lot to be vocal about.

Do you feel your team can adequately represent the needs of all students?
Yes. I think that this sort of assumption that students coming from a faculty can accurately represent everyone from that faculty is faulty. I don’t think not having an engineering student will stop us from representing our students.

What will you do to ensure students are sitting on academic bodies?
It’s about visibility. It’s about letting them know what their role is. We’d make sure to come out really, really hard with information everywhere and encourage people to get involved.

Do you think there’s a reason why you’re unopposed?
Students are either disenchanted with the union or don’t know what it is. I think we’ve had an exceptionally bad year at the CSU. My team is strong and we’re quite qualified. It’s about turning it around and giving the students their union and their voice. We really want to encourage people to vote.

VP external and mobilization candidate Caroline Bourbonnière

Caroline Bourbonnière – VP external and mobilization candidate

Experience:
Well, VP external and mobilization involves organizing campaigns, mobilizing people and official spokesperson for the CSU at the provincial level. With my experience at ASFA, I think it will help with the FEUQ while understanding the workings of a federation and what my students want. I have a wealth of experience organizing speaker events, namely ASFA Talks.

Strengths and weaknesses:
My strength is diplomacy. My weakness is when I am invested and deem an event successful, I take it personally when people tell me I haven’t been doing a good job.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
I want to develop a stronger stance with the FEUQ and build a more united voice at Concordia. I want to organize a successful divestment campaign with VP sustainability candidate Ben Prunty.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
I would organize weekly meetings with all faculty executives and CSU executives. That would have solved a lot of communication issues and lack of Fine Arts seats.

If you were approached with a similar situation to the political science petition, how would you react?
That was a particular situation. ASFA voted unanimously on that petition and mandated me to present the petition to faculty council but before you can bring it up to council you need to bring it to steering committee. I was personally caught between following the rules and doing my job properly while maintaining ties between the administration, and what seemed right as a student representative. But I feel that was a great lesson learned for next year since I might be obliged to stand up to administration and I’m definitely not afraid of putting any pressure on the university.

VP clubs and internal candidate James Vaccaro

James Vaccaro – VP clubs and internal candidate

Experience:
I’ve been working for the past year and a half to bring a new club to Concordia, the Political Bouillon. I know how important it is to get back to clubs quickly and with an informed response. As internal, I’ve worked with different parts of student governance and know how organizations work with one another.

Strengths and weaknesses:
I think my strength would be the ability to entertain and idea without necessarily agreeing with it. My biggest weakness is being incredibly focused on what I am doing to the extent that all my focus on that one thing.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
I want to turn the CSU into an organization that student groups and students want to work with and get involved with instead of seeing it as an organization that fails students time and time again.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
When it comes down to it, council was full of dedicated people who wanted to make it work and we sat on committees that never met. Eight executives can do amazing things but the 30 people sitting around the table can do even more amazing things.

Was VP internal your first choice?
I really had trouble picking which portfolio I wanted to work with but it came down to the other teammates. Clubs and internal was about the space issue at Concordia, I really thought students deserved more.

How are you going to make the student centre consultation a success?
It has to be a multi-problem approach, we can’t just throw a survey online and we have to go out and get the information from students. We have to be on our feet and talking to students one on one across both campuses and all faculties.

 

VP Loyola candidate Crystal Harrison

Crystal Harrison – VP Loyola candidate

Experience:
I’ve been on COMS Guild for two years, a councillor for ASFA, as well as two external committees. I bring a direct communication with students.

Strengths and weaknesses:
My strength is definitely my passion for this campus and my spirit and positive attitude in tense situations. My weakness is that I do take things pretty personally.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
I want people to know what is going on here, increase services and let students know that services are here. I want to help with food options. Another smaller thing is lack of printers. Advocacy, HOJO, legal services should be available here.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
It’s hard to answer this. I would change just how negative everything was. It’s just the general attitude of the students because of all of the contention between council and CSU.

What are your plans for the Hive?
I know the Hive café has been this mythical unicorn but everyone talks about making it a reality. We’ll be doing it over summer. Things are pretty much signed off for construction.

Any regrets jumping from ASFA to the CSU?
No, none at all. It was the perfect fit. My heart is in Loyola and the CSU allows me to do all that I truly care about.

VP academic and advocacy candidate Gene Morrow

Gene Morrow – VP academic and advocacy candidate

Experience:
So basically I’ve been sitting on Senate for two years now and that is largely my experience. I’ve been involved with student politics as a Senator in a variety of different ways.

Strengths and weaknesses:
My main strength is probably a very pedantic spirit. For weaknesses, I would say that I overload myself. It’s about being able to manage my time better and limit my scope.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
To co-ordinate between departmental faculty, Senate, and Board of Governors. I’ll be meeting regularly with faculty representatives because that’s what’s coming to Senate. On the advocacy side, it’s something I have a lot less experience in. I’d like to engage students in a discussion about higher education and the theory of e-learning.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
I would have had the correct and most up to date version of the bylaws and standing regulations to everyone. If people are working off the wrong standing regulations, that may explain a lot of this year.

VPAA has admittedly been a contentious position this year, what will you do to change that perspective?
My basic stance is do the job. We’re being elected to work 40 hour weeks and if we do that, do the work we are mandated to do and spend the time in engaging with students and demonstrate we’re doing the work appropriately then it takes a lot of contention out of it.

Is the ineligibility of independent students sitting on Senate something you’d pursue?
Definitely. If I am elected then I will hopefully be talking with both the provost and president about the issue of independent students sitting on Senate. I think infringing upon that right is unfortunate.

VP student life candidate Katrina Caruso

Katrina Caruso – VP student life candidate

Experience:
I’m currently Editor-in-Chief of CUJA, a FASA councillor, [part of the] Clubs and Services committee and I’m also an ex-officio Fine Arts officer for CSU.

Strengths and weaknesses:
I’m organized, I’m responsible and honest and real and don’t [put up with nonsense]. You can count on me to do the job done. My weakness is that I get stressed and I can be a little emotional.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
Working in communications, website, calendar works. As well as just organizing projects in what students really want and actually need. I’d like to collaborate more with students who aren’t involved like JMSB and ENCS.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
Communication is lacking and often at times I’ve been wondering what’s been happening prior to me being on the CSU. I would change accountability because I feel a lot of people aren’t being honest.

How will you act as student faculty liaison with faculty associations?
I like being involved with CASA, ENCS, FASA meetings because they are important and I will bring what they need to the CSU. I’ve never personally seen Alexis Suzuki at my FASA meetings.

Why are you running unopposed?
It’s unfortunate that we can only hear about these open positions the week before, there is a real lack of communication.

VP sustainability candidate Benjamin Prunty

Benjamin Prunty – VP sustainability candidate

Experience:
I have experience in social economy and I’ve been sustainability-minded for a really long time. I’ve been on the sustainability and action fund board this year, involved with Sustainable Concordia and several conferences on sustainability. I’m involved in the Liberal Arts society, ASFA council, councillor for CSU.

Strengths and weaknesses:
I have strong analytical skills and an understanding of sustainability. I’m definitely driven. My weaknesses would be I’m not stretching myself thin which is something I’m working on.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
Basically I’m very interested in the food system at Concordia. Hive Café is something I want to get off the ground and see operating by the fall. I think it’s important to allow students to have a say in where their food comes from and I want to be a part of Concordia’s negotiation process for a new food contract.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
The website is a real problem. There’s a certain lack of transparency when the website isn’t running – I can’t find the bylaws.

How will you make the student centre sustainable?
I don’t know that the student centre exists. I think my role in that is that we do find the right people to make it sustainable. Apparently JMSB is incredibly sustainable so I’m gathering there are a few experts around.

How do you feel about running unopposed?
It’s a sad day for democracy, that’s for sure but I do think that I am qualified so I know I will commit to this project and portfolio.

 

VP finance candidate Scott Carr.

Scott Carr – VP finance candidate

Experience:
I guess I have a very different experience from a lot of the candidates and I’ve been really involved in JMSB. I’ve been involved since I’ve walked into the door and I have a lot of experience in case competitions that has taught me a lot about analytical abilities. It’s about that extra little something that you bring.

Strengths and weaknesses:
I am extremely straightforward, I will tell you what I am thinking and to a certain extent that can play on a positive and a negative.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
There are some structural changes and the first thing I’m going to have to do is learn. I’m going to need to learn a lot and then analyze a lot. I want to assess CUSACorp, its structure, how it operates, its marketing. Then it’s about assessing the students of Concordia and I see them as a target market, and we need to know the needs of our target market.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
I don’t think the CSU has enough business knowledge on board. You can say Keny Toto fulfilled his mandate but at the end of the day it’s about going beyond the basics that are put in front of you.

Do you have a plan for Reggie’s?
I think anyone coming in here saying they have a detailed plan hasn’t done their research and any plan needs to be in pencil because things are going to change. There is a lot of potential there, it’s prime real estate with a lot of access to students and it’s not being utilized.

As you’re the only candidate running opposed, why should students vote for you?
I don’t like to focus on the negatives about the other candidate but I have a lot of experience with businesses, and bringing a diverse experience. I’ve done well. I feel that I’ve worked hard to acquire knowledge and I would like to use that knowledge in a great social meaning.

VP finance Pierre Tardivo

Pierre Tardivo – VP finance candidate

Experience:
Well, I bring three years of business education from JMSB. Then what I bring is my knowledge as a councillor and now, my knowledge about the CSU is quite elaborate. Also, It won’t be a big learning curve of learning day-to-day activities of VP finance. I also sit on the Financial Committee since two weeks ago.

Strengths and weaknesses:
I think my strengths are that I’m easy to work with and that I am diplomatic. I think most of council and most of the execs get along with me and I never really anger people. I guess my weakness is experience.

With your platform, what do you want to change about the CSU?
I’ve been promoting four platform points but there are a lot of things to change. Ethical investments is one — it’s important to remember we represent an image of progress. There are procedural platform points: streamline funding and transparent reports. I would like to change the way we make decisions and would love to come up with a rule of thumb as to how we would accurately fund projects. As for transparent reports, they would be accessible to everyone.

If you could change one thing about this year’s CSU, what would it be?
Well I think not much was done this year. I think there has been a lot of mess ups, and I think that’s widely known. Less petty issues and more collaboration.

Do you have a plan for Reggie’s?
It’s always a very important point for VP finance and I want to take on the challenge. My idea is to hire extremely competent external directors and we need to hire a competent business manager. By controlling the inventory, we would be reducing costs and we would increase sales and have more events. Having food available at Reggie’s would definitely be something I’d consider.

As you’re the only candidate running opposed, why should students vote for you?
This might sound surprising, but I get along with the people running on the current team and there would be a team dynamic if I were working alongside them. In terms of dedication, I’ve been interested in this much longer. I don’t want to slander Scott either, he has a lot of strengths himself but just not the ones I mentioned.

Photos by Marilla Steuter-Martin

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Backlash over procedure from council

Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin
Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin

A lack of communication and failure to follow procedure is interfering with the production of the Concordia Student Union once again.

Various changes to the organization’s bylaws are in danger of disappearing should they not be included during the general elections as a referendum question.This process not only went undone, but also went unnoticed until Judicial Board Chairperson Nick Cuillerier brought it to the attention of council last Wednesday.

The oversight could mean that revisions to bylaws ‘I’ and ‘J,’ and a modification to bylaw 10.2, fall flat before they were ever truly recognized. Bylaw ‘I’ was changed to reference bylaw ‘J’ to provide a committee to oversee the spending of the student centre fund.

The executive did not realize the implications until it was brought forth after Cuillerier saw a notice of polls poster at Concordia the same evening.

The mistake, while VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah promised it would be quickly rectified, garnered backlash from council.

“This is a huge dereliction of duties,” said Councillor Chad Walcott. “I want to know what happened to let you screw up to such a massive degree.”

The executive did not have a clear answer as to why the notice requirement was never done other than it was an error.

As the notice requirement was not fulfilled, the CSU used a notwithstanding clause under the standing regulations since the changes were not announced in the postering.

“Any ordinary motion, resolution or regulation who derogates from the code can only be adopted with a clause stating that the motion operates regardless of the code of standing regulations. The clause must state which article(s) are not to be applied towards the motion. Such motion requires a 2/3 majority vote and will cease to have effect 4 months following its approval,” standing regulation 267 reads.

This allows the revisions to the bylaws to be put to referendum and the executive was mandated through a motion to issue an email to the undergraduate student body to inform them of the question before 6 a.m. Thursday morning but has to yet to do so.

Missing report, missing meetings

A Senate report from VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi was missing from the documents presented to council last Wednesday. Councillor James Vaccaro asked for the report but El Jahidi was absent due to illness. However, since Vaccaro and Senator Chuck Wilson were both present, they quickly went over the details of the last Senate meeting.

It also came to light that El Jahidi, since taking her mandate in November, has yet to attend any Steering Committee meetings. The total number of meetings is now at five, three of which El Jahidi was part of the executive for and has missed.

Speaking to The Concordian, El Jahidi said that her absences were unfortunate but were out of hands as factors including IT problems and sickness prevented her from being present for Senate and steering committee meetings.

“For steering committee I was very unfortunate as I haven’t been able to attend. For the first meeting I was out of town but I sent my regrets, and for the second one I was sick and I couldn’t make it,” she said.

El Jahidi also said omplaints about her absences were never brought to her prior to being aired elsewhere such as at CSU meetings, and that despite difficulties attending meetings she had made an effort to keep up with Senate and steering committee events.

“I’ve been keeping in touch with what’s been happening at the steering committee,” she said. “I tried once to talk to the other person who was at steering, I think it was Chuck [Wilson], but he wasn’t that responsive.”

Conversely, Senator Chuck Wilson said that is not true.

“That is not true — no one knew,” said Wilson. “Danielle Tessier would specifically ask me, awkwardly, if I knew if Hajar was coming.”

Wilson said that he was sending updates on meetings since February.

“I’m really not sure where this is coming from,” said Wilson. “I’ve been trying to keep everyone aware of what’s happening at Steering, and I’ve never heard so much as a peep from Hajar about it.”

Part of the responsibilities of VP academic include the coordination and the chairing of meetings of the student academic caucus, as well as sitting on Concordia’s academic bodies.

A Senate report has yet to be filed.

More backlash

The same meeting produced remarkable tension throughout the room, this time aimed at Chairperson Jean-François Ouellet for not following procedure during council.

During multiple votes, Ouellet counted abstentions within the total number of votes — a process that violates Robert’s Rules of Order. An abstention, or the refusal to vote, is not technically supposed to influence the outcome of a vote.

Furthermore, council lost patience with Ouellet when he refused to acknowledge Councillor Gonzo Nieto’s challenge to the chair toward the end of the meeting.

Both Nieto and Walcott left shortly after the challenge was disregarded.

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The Concordia Student Union’s elections are coming

The Concordia Student Union elections are approaching and the majority of executive candidates are running unopposed for the 2013-14 academic year.

The nomination period for potential applicants ended Friday and it was revealed Monday that 10 undergraduate students are vying for the eight spots reserved for the executive. The positions of VP student life and VP finance are the only roles that have more than one candidate.

John Molson School of Business Councillor Anja Rajaonarivelo and Fine Arts Student Alliance councillor Katrina Caruso are both competing for the portfolio of VP student life.

JMSB Councillor Pierre Tardivo, who joined the CSU during the November byelections, is running for the position of VP finance against Scott Carr, who campaigned for president of the Commerce and Administration Students’ Association for the upcoming year but lost.

Councillor Melissa Kate Wheeler is the only student running for president of the organization — the first time since the Unity slate ran completely uncontested for all executive spots in the March 2008 election.

Executive candidates:
Melissa Kate Wheeler – President
Caroline Bourbonnière – VP external
James Vaccaro – VP internal
Gene Morrow – VP academic and advocacy
Crystal Harrison – VP Loyola
Benjamin Prunty – VP sustainability
Pierre Tardivo – VP finance
Scott Carr – VP finance
Katrina Caruso – VP student life
Anja Rajaonarivelo – VP student life

Council
Familiar faces within the Concordia political realm will returns as councillors including current VP clubs and internal Nadine Atallah, VP academic and advocacy Hajar El Jahidi and VP student life Alexis Suzuki.

During the Feb.13 council meeting, Councillor Chad Walcott asked if Atallah had intention of running for the upcoming election as an executive again and her response was no. However, Atallah never specified that she would not try to return as a councillor.

The total number of candidates applying for council is 21, but Chief Electoral Officer Andre-Marcel Baril said that he could not provide more information, including which faculties that councillors are representing, by press time.

Councillor candidates:
Wendy Kraus-Heitmann
Nikos Pidiktakis
Justin Occhionero
Yasmeen Zahar
Chuck Wilson
Hajar El Jahidi
Francis Boyer
John Talbot
Adam Veenendaal
Nadine Atallah
Alanna Stacey
Yassine Chaabi
Reenaben Patel
Vitali Gofman
Aaishah Karim
Radia Tbeur
Aaisha Malik
Omar Badawi
Sergio Del Grosso
Bilal Nasser
Alexis Suzuki

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