Miriam Kearney: External Affairs
Why are you running for external affairs commissioner?
I’m running because…I got involved with the CSA board this year and started to see more of what the CSA does and how they can help students, and [I] wanted to continue in that work when the current executives step out, and wanted to be able to take my spin on things.
Do you have any experience with the CSA other than running for the position?
Yeah! This year I was a director on the board of directors. I represented OPIRG, and I’ve been doing that since October-ish.
What are some of the issues you’ve noticed are affecting students on campus at Guelph?
I think the two main ones that I’ve been seeing…are concerns about tuition, and being able to afford school…As well as just a general—not that racism is not overly overt in Guelph, but it’s definitely there, as that by fact that the Black Lives collective exists…I find that those are the two most talked about things that get mentioned.
Why do you think it’s the CSA’s responsibility to help those students and student groups, and to further their causes and collectives?
I think that in itself is the CSA’s mandate…to help students…That is what we were created for, and that’s what we exist for…Otherwise, the administration is just up in their little offices, doing their thing, whether that’s good or bad. That’s our duty, to help students. That’s straight up what we were created for.
How, if elected, do you plan on continuing on helping these students?
First off, is just reach out and speak to them…Finding out what they think their biggest need is…In terms of tuition, continuing working with the CFS (the Canadian Federation of Students) to lobby for tuition freeze. The Ontario new OSAP revamping thing is a great start, but it’s not perfect and tuition fees are still unregulated…In terms of starting to work with the Black Liberation Collective, just taking lead from them. They know what they need best, and taking direction from them, and using my position to help meet their demands in any way possible.
Let’s talk about the administration for a little bit. You describe them as “Sitting in their little offices.”
I sit on the CSA, I’ve had a little experience with administration…Anything I say about the administration should be taken with a grain of salt, as I don’t actually know what I’m talking about yet.
But you plan on learning more?
Yeah, exactly…As a general student, you don’t come in contact with the administration too much. I’ve started to meet them and have experience[s] with them on different CSA committees, and that will just continue to grow if I’m elected.
Do you think there should be more involvement between students and the administration?
I think connection between administration and students could only be a good thing…The students would have a better understanding of where administration is coming from, and the administration would be more connected with what their student body actually is…[Administration] tends to be older…they may not know what’s going on with us down here.
How do you feel about the lack of individuals running for the local affairs commissioner position?
I think it’s really unfortunate that nobody stepped up to do that…In order for the CSA to be running, and help the students as much as we can, we need student involvement as well…I think a lot of it comes from [the fact that] students just tend to not know what the CSA is…Our jobs are to help students, and it’s just a general lack of knowledge.
How do you plan on getting more students involved with student government?
I think a great first step would be to just get out there…Making sure that every student has an idea of what the CSA is, why we’re important, what we do…And hopefully that will help somebody come to terms with wanting to help us out.
How would you plan on working with The Ontarion?
I don’t have a lot of experience with The Ontarion. So, I know that you’ve recently started coming to our board meetings…I think that’s a great way; that The Ontarion comes out and can be keeping us accountable, telling us, the students, what we’re doing in the board meetings…Everything we’re doing should be transparent, so why not have you broadcast it to the world of Guelph?
Final Statement from Miriam Kearney:
I want to work toward a more safer and sustainable campus, with accessible finances, mental health-wise, and [a] safer community for gender-based violence and racism, and anything like that from those issues…There’s a lot of great groups on campus that are already doing work and connecting with them…I think instead of starting a bunch of little groups who all have the same goal, if you all connect together, you have more power…and that will help move things along faster and better.