MSU Presidential Candidate Platform Overview: Jovan Popovic 

In his campaign for MSU president, Jovan Popovic aims to increase student engagement with the MSU, improve the student athlete experience and create more opportunities for commuters to attend campus events 

Jovan Popovic is the Sports Editor at the Silhouette for the 2022-2023 academic year. He has taken a leave of absence during his presidential campaign. The Silhouette is committed to impartiality and journalistic integrity in its coverage of the MSU presidential election. For more information, see the Silhouette Operating Policy. 

Jovan Popovic is a fourth-year undergraduate commerce student running for president of the McMaster Student Union.  

The overarching theme of Popovic’s platform is student life, with three main pillars focusing on student engagement, student sports and commuter life.  

Student Engagement 

The first pillar of Popovic’s campaign, which he sent to the Silhouette in an email, is focused increasing engagement between students and the MSU. Popovic highlighted four main focuses under student engagement: keeping the student body up-to-date on MSU operations, supporting MSU clubs, increasing campus events and re-establishing the Welcome Week experience. 

Firstly, regarding keeping the student body informed about MSU operations, Popovic proposed holding information sessions and increasing the MSU online presence to allow for student engagement and feedback. Popovic also proposed the addition of an MSU informational tab on AvenueToLearn.  

Secondly, Popovic claimed that MSU clubs are currently underfunded. To amend this, Popovic proposed training club executives to find private industry sponsors for their events. Popovic also noted that, through his experience as co-president of the McMaster Sports Community, he is skilled at securing sponsors for club events and can act as an authority on this matter.  

Similarly, Popovic’s next focus is to increase the number of on-campus events being held throughout the school year. His platform stated that, if elected, he would enact this plan with the help of MSU Campus Events, the other elected MSU Board of Directors elected board of Vice Presidents and university alumni. 

Lastly, Popovic hopes to re-establish the Welcome Week experience. Popovic proposed that, by working with Campus Events and the incoming VP Finance, he would determine an appropriate budget and organize a stronger, more engaging Welcome Week experience.  

Sports 

As an avid participant and leader within McMaster’s sports community, Popovic dedicated a pillar of his campaign to improving student athlete experiences and increasing overall student engagement with campus sporting events. 

In his platform, Popovic highlighted several issues concerning the treatment of student athletes, including disparities in the treatment of Ontario University Athletics teams and U Sports, higher female athlete dropout rates and budget allowance disparities. Popovic discussed how he will work with campus athletic groups to advocate for student athletes and ensure that they are better represented and respected within the university. 

Alongside this, Popovic discussed the untapped potential for garnering student engagement through on-campus sporting events. Popovic aims to work with McMaster Athletics & Recreation and Campus Events to increase student awareness and capitalize on the entertainment aspect of sports games.  

Commuter Life  

Popovic’s last campaign pillar focuses on offering commuter students the same opportunities to attend campus event as on-campus or local students.  

Popovic discussed the current Campus Master Plan, which concerns several ongoing maintenance projects, including the maintenance of temporary parking Lot M. Popovic claims that, if elected, he would collaborate with Facility Services to deal with the deteriorated state of Lot M. He also pledged to oversee the completion of these major projects in order to make parking on campus more accessible to commuters.  

Popovic also claimed that, if elected, he would offer accommodations to commuter students during campus events. For example, free parking in the evenings and low-cost meal options might be offered, incentivizing commuter students to engage and participate in events.  

To learn more about Popovic’s platform, visit his website here.  

Voting for the MSU presidential election takes place from Jan. 24 to Jan. 26 using the Simply Voting platform and more information about the election can be found on the MSU elections website.