MSU Elections 2018: Muhammed Aydin Platform Critique

One of Muhammed Aydin’s major platform points involves creating a landlord rating system, which would allow students to rate landlords and act as a measure to promote tenants’ rights. It is clear that Aydin has not checked with the current McMaster Students Union on what they have already done on this front.

In his Jan. 17 report to the Student Representative Assembly, MSU vice president (Education) Ryan Deshpande confirmed that the landlord wiki is already underway and should hold a soft launch by the end of the term.

In addition, the Municipal Affairs committee released the MSU Landlord Report that outlines the research they have compiled detailing the relationship various students have with their landlords. The report also discusses various different models of landlord rating systems used in different cities, such as Philadelphia and Toronto.

While it is true that these documents were only released once the presidential race began, it is clear that this project has been in the works for a long time. In his Oct. 25 report, Deshpande stated that he was working on this project with associate vice president (Municipal Affairs) Stephanie Bertolo and that the project would be up and running sometime this year. According to the MSU Landlord Report, the report was compiled sometime in December 2017.

Aydin’s platform points concerning housing do not offer anything outside of what the MSU is currently working on. While it would be fair to promise to continue previous board members’ projects, all the documents released by Deshpande and the Municipal Affairs committee point to landlord wiki project being done within 2017-2018 school year.

Such a gap in Aydin’s platform illustrates the lack of research into the type of work the MSU has already committed itself to. It should be noted that information about current MSU projects can be found on the MSU website under the SRA tab and is generally made available a few days before it is physically presented to the SRA.

Overall, Aydin’s platform points concerning housing have already been completed by the current board of directors.

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