MSU president opened the Feb. 25 SRA meeting, detailing upcoming referendums, new event planning software and upcoming VP elections
The recent Student Representative Assembly meeting on Feb. 25 began with a report from the McMaster Students Union president, Jovan Popovic, on his his recent endeavours and future plans.
The report discussed the Feb. 7 opening of the Hub, the MSU's newest facility and on-campus social space. Popovic reflected positively on the large turnout to the opening event, where food and McMaster Student Union merch was given away to students. Popovic also stated that though the Hub is currently open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., new staff will be hired soon so that the hours can be extended in the near future.
Popovic then spoke on the upcoming MSU referendums regarding a new bike share program and for his own food accessibility initiative.
For the bike share program referendum, students will be asked if they would consider increasing their student fees by $24.50 annually for a bike share pass. The program would enable students to use the Hamilton Bike Share for 90 minutes a day throughout the year. Popovic noted that the proposed bike share pass is significantly cheaper than the normal $200 annual rate for a bike share pass from the city. Additionally, even if the referendum is successful, students would have the option to opt out of the program if they do not believe they would make use of it.
As part of his campaign for re-election, Popovic promised to implement a soup and bread program on campus to help address food insecurity. This referendum will ask students if they would agree to a $5 increase to the MSU fee to fund the program.
Popovic continued to announce to the assembly that the MSU has decided to adopt a new event planning software called Bounce to replace the current platform Eventbrite. Popovic stated in his report that the implementation of the new software is a work in progress and the goal is to have implemented the new software before the end of this academic year. Popovic elaborated that other university bodies have considered adopting this new events platform as well.
“I’ve begun speaking with the athletics and recreation department and they have shown some interest in seeing a demo to see if they would switch as well, meaning everything [regarding events planning] on campus would potentially be through one platform,” stated Popovic.
I’ve begun speaking with the athletics and recreation department and they have shown some interest in seeing a demo to see if they would switch as well, meaning everything [regarding events planning] on campus would potentially be through one platform.
Jovan Popovic, president, McMaster Students Union
Popovic was questioned on the cost of implementing the new software and he responded by clarifying that the new software has no additional cost as they make money by charging one dollar for every ticket purchased.
According to Popovic, the new software would also save the MSU money. Popovic stated that the student unions at the University of British Columbia and Western University are currently using the Bounce platform.
Popovic then went on to address the upcoming elections for the MSU's vice presidential positions. Popovic reflected that last academic year, very few individuals applied for the VP positions and so recruiting the rest of next year’s Board of Directors has been a top priority for the past few months. In his report, Popovic stated that he is currently aware of several potential candidates intending to apply.
“We have been working very hard to ensure that what happened last year does not happen again this year so that we have a full crop of candidates. . .I believe we have been successful, we are seeing much more interest than previous years,” stated Popovic.
We have been working very hard to ensure that what happened last year does not happen again this year so that we have a full crop of candidates. . .I believe we have been successful, we are seeing much more interest than previous years.
Jovan Popovic, president, McMaster Students Union
Popovic also provided an update on the return of an on-campus homecoming event next September, another promise from his re-election campaign platform. Popovic stated that progress has been made coordinating the event with the university and it is expected to occur next September.
Popovic stated that McMaster University's administration does not want to affiliate the title "homecoming" with the event due to the potentially negative connotations, which Popovic referred to as "ridiculous." Popovic stated he is currently working with MSU VP finance Sefa Otchere to ensure that an adequate budget is dedicated to the on-campus event for next September.
Popovic’s report concluded with a statement regarding the new international student cap. Popovic stated that he will be meeting with university administrators to ask questions and learn about the impacts of the new policy on international students at McMaster so that the MSU will be able to act to support students.
To read more about from Popovic's report, the report itself and the minutes of the Feb 25th meeting are available on the MSU's website.
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Blake Oliver — Vice-President (Education)
Ryan MacDonald — Vice-President (Finance)
Shaarujaa Nadarajah — Vice-President (Administration)
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Blake Oliver has been elected Vice-President (Education).
Oliver rounds out the 2016-17 Board of Directors, joining MSU President-Elect Justin Monaco-Barnes, Ryan MacDonald (VP Finance) and Shaarujaa Nadarajah (VP Administration) on the BoD. The Vice-President (Education) focuses on university advocacy and external lobbying.
The Health Science student ran on a platform focusing on advocacy work with all levels of government. Key platform points include:
The full platform can be downloaded here.
Oliver has worked with the Ontario University Students Alliance as a general assembly delegate in 2015-16. The VP (Education) elect was University Affairs Commissioner and SRA Health Science for the past term. According to her platform, Oliver is also interested in running for OUSA leadership.
The 2016-17 Board of Directors will take over their roles on May 1.
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Ryan MacDonald has been elected Vice-President (Finance).
MacDonald joins MSU President-Elect Justin Monaco-Barnes, Blake Oliver (VP Education) and Shaaruja Nadarajah (VP Administration) on the BoD. As the name suggests, the Vice-President (Finance) role handles the financial details of the McMaster Students Union.
MacDonald ran on a platform that focuses on the long-term success of the MSU, as well as improving the McMaster community through empowering others. Key platform points include:
The full platform can be downloaded here.
MacDonald’s qualifications include work with the MSU and the University. Most notably, the Vice-President (Finance) elect was the lead author for the first MSU-University Budget Submission. Previously, he has worked with CLAY, the Maroons, Horizons and Spark.
The 2016-17 Board of Directors will take over their roles on May 1.
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Shaarujaa Nadarajah has been elected Vice-President (Admin).
Nadarajah joins MSU President-Elect Justin Monaco-Barnes, Blake Oliver (VP Education) and Ryan MacDonald (VP Finance) on the BoD. The Vice-President (Admin) role largely focuses on working with Part-Time Managers who run the services the MSU runs.
Nadarajah ran on a platform that aims to “pop the MSU bubble” and improve the support for PTMs and SRA members. Key platform points include:
The full platform can be found here.
Nadarajah was the campaign manager for Monaco-Barnes. The Vice-President elect has experience in a variety of MSU services, including Horizons, the Maroons and SWHAT. She also served as an SRA Science representative for 2015-16.
The 2016-17 Board of Directors will take over their roles on May 1.
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With as much scrutiny and attention as there has been on electing Vice-Presidents this year within the McMaster Students Union, it’s easy to miss a lot of the progress that’s been made compared to previous years.
Most recent and public of these were the VP Meet-and-Greet events, a chance for the 10 candidates variably running for VP Administration, Finance and Education to get to share and connect with the general public.
“I think it is very good for outreach, it is a good change for ... MSU members to come out and get to know their VP candidates and to inform and advise their SRA members who they want as their VP candidate,” said current MSU President Ehima Osazuwa.
As a showcase of the candidates, it’s a fresh addition to improving transparency for roles that earn nearly $40,000 in salary over the year and are chiefly responsible for the day-to-day functions of the MSU, a multi-million dollar organization.
But the freshness is perhaps also a result of the diverse pool of candidates that are running for each of the positions; amongst the 10 candidates running for three spots this year, seven of them are female, with one of the positions guaranteed to be held by a female.
With a strong possibility that women will even make up half of the Board of Directors next year, it’s one of many areas that candidates hope are starting to become more open for any and all individuals.
The issue of women in governance has been a topic of debate within the MSU to varying degrees, and recent initiatives like MSU and You have been trying to encourage and support women to run for leadership positions within the union.
As Giuliana Guarna, current VP Administration explained, the emphasis to her is not about ensuring women are filling a certain quota of roles; rather, it’s the process of establishing equal opportunity and support for women and others who aren’t fairly represented at a governance level.
“I think people underestimate how important it is to literally be able to see someone who looks like you, who talks like you and who has the same values as you in these leadership positions,” said Guarna.
“If you were a first year last year, and you see four men on the BoD, that’s isolating. Just visually, you don’t see yourself there. No one’s explicitly telling you that that’s not for you, but there’s that implicit messaging that maybe that’s not where you’re supposed to be.”
As Guarna also noted, this hasn’t been an issue of competency, as the Part-Time Managers who manage the various services within the MSU have historically been predominantly female. Next year, women will make up around 15 of the 20 or so PTM positions, a consistent trend in the history of the MSU.
As a current PTM herself, VP Administration candidate Nishan Zewge-Abubaker commented on the increase in female candidates, stating that “It’s kind of an indication of [how] people are feeling encouraged to run for these kinds of positions.”
This pattern of female organizers behind the scenes is even further evident when recognizing that four of the 10 candidates running for VPs previously worked as a campaign manager during Presidentials this year.
It’s an exciting prospect to see so many qualified and diverse individuals come from a variety of backgrounds, and several of the candidates explained how encouraging and important it’s been to see role models from before.
Said VP Finance candidate Miranda Clayton, “Seeing [former VP Administration] Anna D’Angela in my first year in the MSU actually made a bigger impact than I initially thought; I realized that’s where I’ve seen the most women.”
“I had to talk myself into running for VP Finance, because I’ve never seen a woman be successful in this role.”
Shaarujaa Nadarajah, another VP Administration candidate added, “We want more women in governance, we want more females in high leadership positions.”
The Student Representative Assembly for the 2016-17 year will decide the VPs for next year over a two-day period from April 2nd to 3rd.
With files from Saad Ejaz.
Photo Credit: Kareem Baassiri
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Every March, past and present MSU student leaders, University administrators and some members of The Silhouette, get together for Student Recognition Night, an evening that highlights achievements and successes in student politics and service provision. Apart from the awards ceremony, one of the most anticipated parts of the evening is the current MSU Board of Directors’ Swan Song — a humorous and final goodbye from the President and the Vice Presidents of the MSU that has traditionally been used to poke fun at student politics, sing a couple self-deprecating lines and throw a few (welcome) jabs at our coverage.
Unfortunately, this year the song crossed the line from humorous to offensive. Although much of the song was funny and light-hearted, I have two issues with it: the individual attack towards a student activist, and the way it ridiculed the efforts of student activism, specifically the pro-Vice Presidential election reform campaign team and the Student Mobilization Syndicate.
Addressing student concerns of increasing tuition rates and groups that have requested that the MSU be more active beyond its role with OUSA, the song included lines like, “They say that tuition has doubled; maybe because they’ve been here for 10 years,” and in the same vein, “They’re now on the SRA; at least I’ll soon be gone.” For anyone involved with the MSU, the identity of the person the BOD was referring to is very clear. It’s also well known that this person is also a mature student who used to attend McMaster and has now returned for reasons that we’re not aware of and which frankly are none of our business. Whether their choice to leave was because of financial reasons, health reasons, or simply a matter of personal choice, whatever angle you decide to look at this line from, it is extremely offensive.
The person in question is also, as the song gives away, a new member of the Student Representative Assembly. The lines only create unnecessary and damaging animosity between the executive branch of the MSU and its governing body members, which should expect more respect from the BOD. There is a difference between inside jokes and personal attacks towards people you don’t engage in constructive dialogue with. That the person was also not present (or invited) to Student Rec Night makes the whole thing even more uncomfortable.
Beyond the personal attack, I was also disturbed at the willingness of the Board to ridicule the efforts of student groups whose goals are to push for change within the MSU. I’m not arguing that their stances are good or bad, but students should feel free to speak their mind about how they want to govern their student union without being ridiculed. For example, one line from the song about the VP reform petition was: “VPs-at-large they tried to file a petition once or twice… by once or twice I mean maybe a couple of hundred times.” It later added, “It’s too bad you lost VP to some Yik Yaks and memes… 21 votes,” referring to the small number of votes the pro-reform side lost the referendum by (a sad 0.3% under the two-thirds majority needed). What good does it do to ridicule the efforts of students with good intentions and students who want to improve the democratic process of our union? The BOD are the people in power. Whether you choose to respect their opinions or not, they still hold a lot of ground. Ridiculing student movements creates a hostile environment that discourages people from expressing opinions that the larger voices within the MSU might look down on.
Before anyone messages us to let us know that we don’t get the “point” of the Swan Song, that it’s meant to be in jest, let me assure you that we know. We know that it is meant to highlight the sometimes ridiculous and immature nature of student politics, and give the BOD a chance to respond to criticisms they’ve faced throughout the year. But it is not meant to be malicious or attack individual people. It’s not meant to discourage student activism, especially not activism that doesn’t align directly with how the MSU sees itself. The petitions and activist groups get attention because they speak to people — the numbers speak for themselves: both in the number of people who signed the VP reform petitions and those who voted in favour — and the last thing the MSU should be doing is making people feel that they will be ridiculed for wanting to make a change or be involved. Though the Swan Song does not take away from this BOD’s accomplishments, it ends the year on a sour note.
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