Q & A: Haman Man

 The following are selected questions and answers from the Sil’s interview with MSU presidential candidate Haman Man.

Why are you running to be MSU president?

One of the factors in my decision was that fact I had been trying to have a couple changes coming to McMaster and the avenues I took to get those changes weren’t really fruitful. I started my nominations about a week ago. All the same, I’m very hopeful, and one way or another it’s going to be a really sweet campaign. I’m going to have a lot of fun. Also, I saw the MSU as an avenue to seriously promote student interest in the government, as opposed to simply for the school itself. It’s a union, at the end of the day. Its purpose is to advocate student interests by getting together with other unions and affect public policy in that way. 

Who would you vote for, if not yourself?

Dan. He has a special characteristic that none of the Canadian candidates share, that he comes from a completely different background and a completely different system, which means that he has ideas that he can incorporate into the Canadian systems which we couldn’t ever come up with. This is an extreme advantage. If he could incorporate some of the things from his home country to here, we’d all benefit from receiving a perspective that we might never have been exposed to otherwise.

Why did you choose McMaster?

Shortly before I had to submit my final say, my chemistry teacher convinced me that McMaster was a much better university because of the atmosphere, and if I were to pursue a medical career here, McMaster had this program where they place you in small cities that have no doctors. You’d be their only hold to health care. And I thought, if a university can think of something so unique and so helpful, there’s no way I can’t be nurtured by that sort of environment.

Where do you like to go in Hamilton?

One of my favourite places is the Sky Dragon Centre. This is a very small nook in the city but every member of this organization works so hard to make sure adults and children have access to what they’re supposed to have access to — like yoga classes, dance classes — and it’s a small place to get together. It’s really the definition of community for me. And coming from a big city, there are fewer places like that than there should be.

One of my favourite places to volunteer is the Hamilton Community Foundation.We need more things like that here, at McMaster. We do have a bunch of them, but more is always better. For people to come in with any idea — say, I want to make a blanket fort. And we’ll take them in and say, “So, you want to start a blanket fort? Who can that benefit? So once we’re done with the blankets, can we donate them to charity? Can we get businesses involved with that? For example, could we get sponsorships from local businesses? Could we raise money doing this? Could we try setting a record and having a name for McMaster?” Just any idea, and making it fruitful.

What’s your favourite kind of Timbit?

I’d like to say the original glazed. It has a certain texture that when you bite into it says Canada, screams Canada, and suddenly I hear the national anthem and Rick Mercer’s singing behind me in a lumberjack coat.

If you could invite anyone, dead or alive, to a dinner party, who would you invite?

It would be Charlie Chaplin and Tommy Douglas, two of the biggest influences in my life. Charlie Chaplin was there to just provide laughter whenever I needed it, and at the same time, provide a breakdown of how he saw the world that still applies today. And Tommy Douglas because he was an orator and he really felt for every individual.

To throw someone else in there, I also have a great passion for Roman history and Roman culture, so I’d absolutely love to be in the presence of Cicero, the great orator, who always dissected motive in the courtroom — and he’d always win.

What’s your favourite or most-watched Youtube video?

I certainly love the squirrel look … but there’s a version of that with Justin Bieber which is just as dramatic.

What qualities do you look for in a girlfriend/boyfriend?

Passion, encouragement, support. Someone who’s a motivator and inspirator. So you always work off of each other to improve yourselves.

What’s your favourite place on campus?

I don’t want to give it away … it’s the fourth floor of MDCL, where there’s a piano. During stressful times I just like to go sit there, play piano. Students enjoy it, teachers enjoy it, and, most of all, I enjoy it. Otherwise I’d have no access to a piano, and I’d lose a very precious skill.

What’s your favourite memory or moment from your time at McMaster?

It would be one of my first few days here, when I was welcomed into Edwards Hall, with no clue as to who anyone was or where I’d be headed, and just meeting so many excited and enthusiastic people in a small community.

Cats or dogs? Cats.

Facebook or twitter? Twitter.

Pop tarts or Eggos? Eggos, because you can leggo of them.

Beer or liquor? Liquor, because it sounds like licorice.

HP or LOTR? Harry Potter, because … Snape.

Spice Girls or Backstreet Boys? Backstreet Boys.