Presidential candidate Jialiang (Kevin) Hu was disqualified from the 2024 election for ten campaign violations, but was reinstated following his appeal hearing on Feb. 8
The McMaster Students Union presidential election came to a close on Jan. 25 and Jovan Popovic was announced as the winning candidate with 3620 votes. In this announcement from MSU Elections, candidate Jialiang (Kevin) Hu was noted as being disqualified from the running as a result of seven standard violations and three severe violations, which totalled in fines greater than half of the election budget.
A comprehensive list of Hu's violations and an official statement are available on the MSU Elections website.
"Due to the amount of fines exceeding half the spending limit, Jialiang (Kevin) Hu has been automatically disqualified under 7.12," reads a quote from MSU Elections on their website.
Rule 7.12 of the MSU presidential election rules states, "the Elections Committee shall automatically disqualify a candidate if they have accumulated fines exceeding half of the spending limit, accumulated seven severe and/or 14 standard violations, or if it finds that a candidate has deliberately sabotaged another candidate’s campaign."
Hu's violations included, but were not limited to, misrepresentation of campaign expense sheet, campaigning in group chats, forcing individuals to vote and contracting a vendor outside of the Underground printing service.
In an interview with the Silhouette on Feb. 10, Hu expressed his distaste with the elections protocol for making his disqualification public without undergoing the hearing first.
"It's an unofficial result at that moment. They still post it on Instagram, on their official Instagram. It is made public. The result being made public without going through a proper trial, without going through full investigation, without hearing the side of the candidates. . . you can see why it is very unjust," said Hu.
It's an unofficial result at that moment. They still post it on Instagram, on their official Instagram. It is made public. The result being made public without going through a proper trial, without going through full investigation, without hearing the side of the candidates. . . you can see why it is very unjust.
Jialiang (Kevin) Hu, presidential candidate, McMaster Students Union
Upon being notified of his disqualification, Hu decided to appeal all of his violations. The appeal hearing took place on Thursday, Feb. 8 and resulted in two of Hu's violations being overturned. The two violations that were overturned were violations 4.2, forcing individuals to vote, and 7.11.4, misrepresentation of expense sheet.
His disqualification was then retracted and his voting ballot opened and counted. An update was posted on the MSU elections Instagram with Hu's results included, but the result of the election did not change with the addition of Hu's ballot and Popovic will continue to serve as MSU president in 2024/2025 term.
When asked about his 4.2 violation by forcing individuals to vote, Hu responded that this claim was entirely unfounded and the evidence provided for this claim was unsubstantiated.
"In the meeting minutes provided, certain members of the committee said that they also witnessed this act [of forcing an individual to vote], but they don't provide any testimony. . .This is also a conflict of interest because you cannot be the witness, the jury, the judge and the executioner. This is like North Korea style trial," said Hu.
Despite Hu expressing his satisfaction with the hearing outcome on his Instagram story, with the caption, "justice has won at last", Hu also said in the interview that he felt all of his violations were unfounded and not based in adequate evidence.
"Those [violations] were the only two overturned, but I did provide concrete evidence regarding other ones. I don't understand why the committee didn't overturn these other violations. I'm slightly disappointed," said Hu.
Those [violations] were the only two overturned, but I did provide concrete evidence regarding other ones. I don't understand why the committee didn't overturn these other violations. I'm slightly disappointed.
Jialiang (Kevin) Hu, presidential candidate, McMaster Students Union
When asked about his violation for contracting vendors outside of the Underground, Hu stated that although he did utilize a third party service to print his lawn signs, he had received explicit permission from the Chief Returning Officer to campaign with lawn signs.
"So you're you are allowing me to use lawn signs, but the Underground doesn't make them, so where should I make them?" said Hu.
Hu currently serves as one of the engineering representatives in the Student Representative Assembly. When asked he was if he was planning on applying to other MSU roles in the future, Hu stated that he has considered running for a vice-president position, however he also added that he had concerns about the current practices within the MSU.
"I'm hesitant after what happened this time. . .personal bias and pettiness could get in the way of clear judgment for some people. We are all students who do not have a good understanding of the justice system and how elections are supposed to be run, how appeal process and the whole system is supposed to run," said Hu.
Hu concluded his interview by sharing some closing sentiments about the MSU electoral process being flawed.
"[MSU] elections are more like high school elections. It's more about how many friends you have, how many people will like you, rather than if your policy will actually benefit the student population. Despite being in university, it is still like high school. Favouritism still overwhelms rationality," said Hu.
With Hu's appeal hearing coming to a close, the 2024 presidential election results are now official and Popovic will begin his second term on May 1.
Hu proposes many different ideas to enhance student life around campus but he falls short on the specific details relevant to carrying out his ideas
McMaster Students Union presidential candidate Jialiang (Kevin) Hu's campaign proposes ways to enhance student life and engagement. However, Hu did not account for the financial feasibility of these ideas and he did not consult with the services he directly referenced in his campaign about their ability to participate in his initiatives.
McMaster Students Union presidential candidate Jialiang (Kevin) Hu's campaign proposes ways to enhance student life and engagement. However, Hu did not account for the financial feasibility of these ideas and he did not consult with the services he directly referenced in his campaign about their ability to participate in his initiatives.
Hosting events before, during and after McMaster sports games
One of Hu's primary platforms proposes hosting events leading up to, during and after McMaster University sports games. Hu mentioned serving alcoholic beverages on-campus before the games and hosting a beer garden.
When asked about the feasibility and if this was permissible by current university standards, Hu shared that he consulted with McMaster Hospitality Services and he was informed that with proper staff training, alcohol could be served to students.
The Silhouette reached out to Chris Roberts, director of hospitality services, who shared that although Hu's idea for serving alcohol was discussed, the specific mention of the beer garden as stated on his campaign website was not.
Improvements to MSU food services
In his written platform, Hu discusses improvements to MSU food services. His goal is to amend menus to be more accommodating to dietary restrictions and for menus to serve more authentic cultural food. He also emphasized the importance of low price food options to be accessible to students.
However, Hu does not mention how he will lower food prices while still ensuring adequate pay for MSU food and beverage staff. Hu also does not discuss in his platform whether staff training for his cultural food menu implementation will be paid or unpaid.
In an interview with the Silhouette, Hu explained lowering menu prices would result in greater sales, which should maintain profit for the service. He did not present any research corroborating the likelihood of this outcome nor did he provide a contingency plan if sales do not increase.
In an interview with the Silhouette, Hu explained lowering menu prices would result in greater sales, which should maintain profit for the service. He did not present any research corroborating the likelihood of this outcome nor did he provide a contingency plan if sales do not increase.
Cultural fair
Hu noted in his written platform that he plans to host a cultural fair, which would involve cultural performances and food. Hu shared that La Piazza and Centro would serve cultural dishes and host some of the fair. Hu explained that this idea was suggested on the basis that La Piazza and Centro currently have a number of cultural dishes, with specific restaurants designed to serve them on a rotating basis.
Ultimately, there is a question of feasibility as the space cannot be rented by any other group on campus, including the MSU. This aspect of the event would only be feasible through collaboration with Hospitality Services. Additionally, despite Hu's focus elsewhere in his platform on promoting MSU owned food services, he doesn't seem interested in utilizing these spaces for the cultural fair.
Reorganizing university departments
In the advocacy section of his platform, he proposed moving both McMaster Hospitality Services and Housing and Conferences Services under the department of Student Affairs. Hu explained the reason for this change is in an attempt to save money for his food affordability initiative.
"That is quite a big issue because now [Hospitality Services] are treated by the university as a profit-generating unit. Meaning that the priority is no longer to serve good, healthy, and affordable food to our students. It's more to generate profits for the university," said Hu.
That is quite a big issue because now [Hospitality Services] are treated by the university as a profit-generating unit. Meaning that the priority is no longer to serve good, healthy, and affordable food to our students. It's more to generate profits for the university.
Jialiang (Kevin) Hu, MSU presidential candidate
However, in his interview with the Silhouette, Hu shared that he was unsure if the university would indeed be willing to relocate entire departments, rather specific sections. It is also worth nothing that the MSU is a separately incorporated entity from McMaster University and as such, an MSU President doesn't have the power to restructure the university. The President's portfolio does include lobbying the university to make changes; however, they cannot make the change themselves.
Further, in an email to the Silhouette, Roberts also reaffirmedae45 that such a large department transition is not in the hands of the MSU president.
“We discussed that Hospitality previously reported to student affairs and then shifted to financial affairs back in 2014. There is no plan for the university to move it back to student affairs. This would not be a decision for an MSU President to make. Kevin can raise the question with the university administration, but it is a decision that would not be made easily or one that would ever be done quickly,” said Roberts, in his email to the Silhouette.
When discussing how he plans to finance his proposed initiatives, including a gaming station with expensive equipment, Hu shared in his interview with the Silhouette that whatever does not fall within the MSU or university budget will be funded by sponsorships. Hu explained that other universities are sponsored by companies such as Dell or Apple to make these initiatives feasible. However, Hu fails to offer contingency plans for what would happen if such sponsorships were not secured. It is also worth noting that in 2021, the student representative assembly passed a motion that included the MSU continuing to refrain purchasing from Dell, among other companies, as part of equitable purchasing initiative.
Overall, Kevin Hu’s platform attempts to enrich student life through creative community events. Many of these ideas though have been proven infeasible and his platform would have benefited from further research, discussion with current MSU and McMaster staff as well as discussion of a more secure means of funding.
Voting for the MSU presidential election takes place from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25 using the Simply Voting platform. More information about the election can be found on the MSU Elections website.
Hu's platform focuses on enhancing student life through new food menus, sports, cultural and other events
Hu did not attend the scheduled photoshoot with the Silhouette's photo assistant ahead of publication.
Jialiang (Kevin) Hu is a third-year Integrated Biomedical Health, Engineering Science and Entrepreneurship student running in the McMaster Students Union presidential race. His platform states that student engagement at McMaster University has recently declined and if elected, he hopes to revitalize student life on campus.
Hu's campaign platform is divided into five sections: athletics, food, culture, advocacy and a miscellaneous section.
Hu's campaign platform is divided into five sections: athletics, food, culture, advocacy and a miscellaneous section.
Athletics
As part of his athletics sections, Hu plans to introduce more sports events on campus supplemented with entertainment before, during and after the games. Hu discusses in his platform an initiative he calls Student Week, where the week leading up to a sports event will consist of on-campus activities including carnivals, food trucks and beer gardens.
Hu proposes to have half-time shows during games, where the McMaster Marching Band and cheerleaders would perform. Furthermore, he proposed a giveaway during half-time and an on-campus party with concert performances.
Food
In his food section, Hu proposes to improve upon three MSU-owned food services: TwelvEighty Bar and Grill, the Grind and Union Market. Hu's primary focus of this proposal is to make changes to TwelvEighty, to make it more accessible and enjoyable for students.
Hu also mentions improving upon advertisements, promotions, entertainment and food through renovations of the spaces, making the space bookable by MSU clubs and having students be able to decide on monthly specials.
In an interview with the Silhouette, Hu shared that one of his goals is to amend menus to be more accommodating to dietary restrictions. Hu also proposes for menus to serve more authentic cultural food.
Hu's platform emphasizes the importance of low price food options to be accessible to students.
Culture
In the culture section of the campaign, Hu proposes a cultural fair initiative to celebrate diversity at McMaster. He explained that the fair would consist of booths, cultural dishes in La Piazza and Centro and performances. Hu states that these could be sponsored by the Alumni Association and Student Success Centre.
Advocacy
Hu further divided the advocacy section of his platform into four main points. The first point being to move Hospitality Services and Housing and Conference Services from the department of finance to the department of student affairs in an effort to redirect the focus of these services away from a profit-based model and encourage greater focus on meeting the needs of students. In the next point under this section, Hu proposes to have the municipal government provide political and financial support for McMaster’s off-campus housing. The third point under this section looks to initiate steps for student activities to be more easily put in place, by proposing by-laws that ease the restrictions on the kinds of events students can host, such as bake sales, and simplify the process to get approval for an event. Hu's last point in his advocacy section is to find a balance between academic and student life.
Miscellaneous
In the final miscellaneous section of his platform, Hu discusses ways to enhance student life, including investing in new technologies and electronics, esport tournaments, anime conventions, obtaining sponsors for clubs and teams and introducing more methods to partake in recreational sports.
Voting for the MSU presidential election takes place from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25 using the Simply Voting platform. More information about the election can be found on the MSU Elections website.
