MSU elections 2019: Josh Marando's platform overview

Photo by Kyle West

Josh Marando is a Level IV arts and science student with a combined honours in Biochemistry. Marando has held a number of leadership positions within the McMaster Students Union, including MSU advocacy coordinator and welcome week faculty societies coordinator. He has also held executive positions with MSU Spark, the Creating Leadership Amongst Youth conference and the society of arts and science students.

The 12 pillars of Marando’s platform highlight a wide range of priority areas all tied to supporting students, strengthening community and improving space on campus.

Marando’s first pillar aims to revitalize the McMaster University Student Centre. He plans to create more lounge areas by renovating the third floor terrace and clubspace. He also plans to add an additional food court.

The second pillar aims to reduce the costs of education. Marando plans to advocate for tuition freezes, upfront grants and program based Ontario Student Assistance Program funding.

He also plans to work with the university to eliminate late fees on tuition payments.

Marando’s third pillar aims to reform teaching and assessment strategies in order to better support students’ academic needs.

He plans to allow students to opt out of exams if they have two in 12 hours, implement a deferred exam period at the end of the exam period, introduce podcasting in more courses, work toward open education resources and extend the add/drop deadline.

Pillar four focuses on improving campus infrastructure such as lecture halls and study spaces. Marando aims to accomplish this by increasing the deferred maintenance budget by $12 million per year and implementing a campus accessibility audit and advisory committee.

Pillar five stresses the need to expand the student wellness centre space and hire more primary care physicians, counselors and psychiatrists.

Marando’s sixth pillar includes the promise to hire an additional sexual violence response coordinator.

Pillar seven focuses on supporting international students by lobbying for tuition freezes and allowing international students to access the Ontario health insurance plan.

Marando also aims to shift the responsibility of sidewalk snow removal to the city.

Marando’s eighth pillar looks at shifting the responsibility of sidewalk snow removal to the city.

In his ninth pillar, Marando outlines strategies to support student leaders by reducing the amount of money that they are expected to pay out of pocket and by streamlining processes for room booking and event planning.

Marando also aims to strengthen student-led arts based initiatives by providing financial support and improving access to performance and practice spaces.

Marando’s last pillar focuses on improving MSU operations, specifically through the creation of a human resources coordinator position.

More information about Marando’s platform can be found at Josh2019.com.

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