With no motions and only four attendees, Mar. 31 general assembly concludes in under 20 minutes and sparks renewed concern about engagement in student politics
On Monday, Mar. 31, the McMaster Students Union held its annual General Assembly, with no student participation. Adam El-Kadi, the MSU's vice president (administration) and chair of the meeting, opened the event at 5:03 p.m. and adjourned it just 18 minutes later at 5:21 p.m. Only four MSU members were present, far short of the approximately 780 students required to meet a quorum.
With no submitted motions and no observers in attendance, the meeting consisted only of a land acknowledgement, a brief procedural explanation and a presentation by MSU president Jovan Popovic. The official minutes confirmed the assembly was non-quorate, meaning any motions passed would be non-binding.
The General Assembly is one of the few democratic avenues through which any MSU member, meaning all full-time undergraduate students, can propose motions directly to the union. In contrast, most MSU policy decisions go through the Student Representative Assembly, which meets biweekly and involves elected faculty representatives.
A motion to adopt the agenda passed with four votes in favour and none opposed. Popovic then delivered his presidential report before the meeting concluded at 5:21 p.m.
In the weeks leading up to the event, the MSU made a post informing students to attend and submit motions, calling the GA a chance to shape the union's operations and advocate for change. Despite this, not a single motion was proposed by students.
Low attendance and engagement with student politics has been a consistent challenge in recent years for the MSU. But this year's lack of turnout has drawn particular concern from student leaders. In an email statement, Jovan Popovic, the MSU president, expressed concern about the lack of students who directly participate in shaping the direction of the organization's future.
Low attendance and engagement with student politics has been a consistent challenge in recent years for the MSU. But this year's lack of turnout has drawn particular concern from student leaders.
"Despite considerable outreach efforts, which included social media, banners, printed materials and features in our monthly newsletter, we saw a disappointing turnout of only four students. This outcome is deeply concerning, especially when we consider the reach of our communication channels. For instance, our March newsletter alone was read by over 10,000 students. If just 10% of those readers had attended, we would have far surpassed quorum," stated Popovic.
Popovic emphasized the union's commitment to improving future engagement, including starting promotion earlier in the academic year and collaborating with student leaders across campus.
"Our goal is to empower students to understand how their involvement in the GA can drive real, meaningful change on campus and ensure that the MSU truly represents the diverse voices of our student body," he stated.
Our goal is to empower students to understand how their involvement in the GA can drive real, meaningful change on campus and ensure that the MSU truly represents the diverse voices of our student body.
Jovan Popovic
President, McMaster Students Union
Although this year's meeting was largely procedural, the MSU maintains that the GA remains a vital part of its democratic structure. Moving forward, the union hopes new strategies and broader student outreach will reverse the downward trend in turnout.
For now, the empty seats at this year's GA serve as a reminder of the gap between available student governance platforms and student participation in them.
Piper Plavins’ election platform for MSU president is wide ranging, but falls short on details and considering feasibility
Piper Plavins’ platform highlights the need focus on educating students about MSU services, advocating on behalf of students during a food insecurity and housing crisis as well as increasing what the MSU does for students. However, the candidate falls short on considering how to financially make her initiatives happen given the MSU's current fiscal state
Plavins' focus on student experience, especially as most of it relates to expanding old events and creating new ones, is without a concrete plan as to how to fund these events. When asked about this by the Silhouette, she referred to the upcoming Homecoming and Large Events referendum, which is not guaranteed to pass.
Without a clear plan to pay for these events, the current projected deficit in the MSU budget of $415,000 to $500,000 — in part caused by deficit spending on Homecoming 2024 — could be a major obstacle to the further large event spending the platform promises.
According to a December 2024 memo to the Student Representative Assembly from MSU VP Finance Declan Sweeney, the financial situation and deficit of the MSU is unsustainable.
Considering this, Plavins' platform is ambitious. Particularly as it relates to events, Plavins' plans do not align with the recent MSU initiative as outlined by Sweeney in his SRA memo: “considerable discussion about how to better reduce costs through integration of services & potential agreements with partners,” stated Sweeney.
"MSU Week," an event proposed by Plavins to raise awareness about the MSU near the beginning of the academic year, seems particularly fiscally irresponsible.
The first three days, the job fair, services day and advocacy showcase, resemble ClubsFest which nearly all of the MSU’s services already attend. Plavins suggested to the Silhouette that because ClubsFest can be “overwhelming,” having an additional event to promote MSU services would help raise awareness.
The choice of the name "job fair," Plavins admitted, may have been a mistake, as most MSU services hire between the start of the second term and the end of the academic year.
In her platform, Plavins’ promises to “continue the homecoming legacy” and expand the Holiday Market largely lack any details to distinguish her ambitions from current MSU initiatives, a pattern that resonates throughout the rest of the platform.
Plavins’ proposal for an Student Representative Assembly retreat, which she insisted in an interview could not meaningfully be replaced by team building exercises, concludes the first pillar by demonstrating its continued pattern of financial over-ambition.
Plavins’ first campaign pillar, while attempting to accomplish the necessary task of raising student awareness of available MSU services and spaces, risks falling short due to ongoing budget constraints. Considering the event that the Homecoming & Large Events referendum fail, she has not included any specific plans as to how she would otherwise finance her platform promises.
Even if the referendum succeeds, the redundancy of multiple proposals might prove a poor way of managing limited MSU funds.
Improving Student Advocacy
Plavins’ second platform pillar, student advocacy, in attempting to cast a wide net, finds itself lacking specific details in many areas.
When asked, Plavins admitted the lack of detail in some proposals was because she was going to be playing only one part in ongoing initiatives. Plavins’ reasoning here is solid, but in certain instances where the platform hints at larger ideas, her lack of detail is disappointing.
She could not clarify what she meant by “higher level clubs,” nor did she offer details on what advocating for “inherently accessible classrooms” would look like.
Plavins’ most concrete promise, a $5,000 funding increase to the Food Collective Centre, could be one of her most difficult to implement.
Sweeney shed light into how the current budgeting process works for the MSU in an email to the Silhouette: “Any budget adjustments would require careful consideration, as they may involve reorganizing existing allocations, increasing student fees, or making reductions in service operations elsewhere,” stated Sweeney.
The lack of detail about her own advocacy goals, in both her platform and interview answers was disappointing. However her repeated commitment to existing MSU and university level advocacy efforts suggests that Plavins’ could be an effective, if not particularly novel advocate as president.
Plavins’ shortest pillar, MSU excellence, is far less developed than her other two. Her proposal to revamp TwelvEighty was made without consultation with TwelvEighty's manager. Similarly, her parking plans lack the perspective a consultation with Parking Services might have provided.
In an email statement to the Silhouette, Rob Morrallee, director of parking services, confirmed that he had not been consulted by Plavins. He noted that her proposal for a Lot M bus schedule , as the service is already run at consistent intervals, and that her proposed flex passes are already being worked on.
These underdeveloped parking-related plans only serve to draw attention to the platform’s complete silence on assisting transit or cycling commuters.
While Piper Plavins offers students a very long platform full of promises, Plavins’ most developed proposals lack concrete plans to secure funding, while her less detailed statements lack much in terms of substance or consultation.
The announcement of an acclaimed MSU president-elect should raise questions as to why no one is running for MSU positions
Graphic By Nigel Mathias/Contributor
By: Belinda Tam, Contributor
On Jan. 26, 2021, it was announced that Denver Della-Vedova was acclaimed for the position of McMaster Students Union president for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Taking into account both world events and student’s everyday lives, this news may not be on the top of everyone’s mind at the moment. Knowing that this semester is a continuation of a time where the majority of classes are being conducted online — besides a small subset of students being on campus — there’s no doubt that students have been pouring more time into their studies.
Since an acclamation hasn’t occurred within at least 40 years, it's important to discuss the barriers in running an election. There are multiple rules in place for running candidates, which can pose as a potential financial barrier if you get fined.
Since an acclamation hasn’t occurred within at least 40 years, it's important to discuss the barriers in running an election. There are multiple rules in place for running candidates, which can pose as a potential financial barrier if you get fined.
Depending on the position the person is running for, guidelines and rules can vary. Violation of election rules may cause you to be fined unless you go through an appeal process. Furthermore, there is the issue of having financial accessibility if a candidate racks up lots of fines, which in turn may stop them from wanting to run.
With that said, there is actually a lot of work to be done when running for one of these positions. In previous presidential elections, candidates often take time off from class, especially for the campaigning period in order to inform the general student population about their mission and what they are hoping to do when elected.
When taking time off from class and possibly even work, not only does the student have to put in extra time and effort to catch up but this time off may also impact evaluations at work as well as testing in courses. Based on the amount of time required to dedicate yourself to running, this may also eliminate more candidates from applying.
In addition, the candidate also often makes a campaign team and has to coordinate the more minor details such as making sure someone was always present at their campaign table.
With that being said, having a team does alleviate the workload but much work is to be done at the beginning of this process when it comes to planning your campaign, as well as managing the team.
This is a lot to handle in conjunction with coursework and personal life. With this level of commitment and time invested, candidates seem to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the position.
Another important note is that you may have a better chance of winning the election if you are more involved and connected with people in the MSU.
Another important note is that you may have a better chance of winning the election if you are more involved and connected with people in the MSU.
Previous presidents such as Ikram Farah, Josh Marando and Giancarlo Da-Ré were all heavily involved in the MSU, which may have had a role in them winning since they had connections to others in the MSU.
As a result, they are more likely to know people who are in positions of power, so it’s easier for them to reach out and build their platform. While opinions may vary, having connections could mean that you have a better chance at winning.
However, we might be missing out on those in the student population who want to run — and might actually be good at the job for that matter — but won’t win because they don’t have those connections.
If this indeed is the case, this means that there is a bias in the system. Those who choose to run by themselves are at a greater disadvantage compared to those who have connections with the predecessors in the role they are campaigning for.
With Della-Vedova’s acclamation of such an important role within the MSU, it is important to reflect on why this issue may have arisen in the first place. If elections aren’t accessible for anyone to run, we may see more acclamations in the future.
