Students will be voting for four executive positions following recent restructuring
University of Guelph’s Central Student Association (CSA) is currently holding its general election, with campaigns running from Feb. 27 until March 8. This will be the first election held since the CSA executive restructured into a hierarchical model, with candidates running for a president and three vice president positions rather than the previous five commissioner positions.
The Ontarion met with each of the candidates and inquired about their reasons for running for the CSA, and what they believe they can bring to their position if elected.
Jay Rojas — CSA president candidate
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“I was unsure [about running] even to the day of the AGM [Annual General Meeting] because we weren’t sure about the new restructure to a presidential model, and even then, do I want to run for a position where I am the face of an organization and have all those responsibilities? I think one of the deciding factors was speaking to students who wanted to change what the CSA was and I don’t know what that change is. I know that I want to listen and I think, to me, that’s all that matters. Yes, I have a platform, but it’s not concrete, which is why I ask questions. On the website, there are opportunities to contact me directly on Facebook, email, [or] my cell phone is on there. I’ve made myself available 24/7 to listen to students and I’ve had interesting feedback.”
“I love engaging students. Whatever that may look like, whether that’s active listening, [or] spending time with them. Engaging students comes with the ability to relate, have a conversation, and meet them where they are, not where I want them to be. […] I believe active listening communication will be a foundation to be successful as a president—and more so as a president who has three vice presidents working together and cohesively.”
“[As president, I would want] the board of directors to be trained in a way where they would continue to represent the undergrad students, but also have the training needed for them to be effective with the amount of responsibilities they are going to have. Now that the execs have no vote, I want to ensure that the board are known by the students as the CSA. They would be my boss, essentially. I would be told what to do by the directors and I want to continue to empower them in such a way so that future presidents [and] future vice presidents are aware that it is the board that directs them on what to do.”
Kate Schievink—Vice president academic candidate
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“My intention to run a campaign is rooted in my admiration of the CSA’s commitment to equity, anti-oppression, and accessibility. Through this election, I’m asking students for the opportunity to honour and further advance the work that has been done along these lines by the CSA. While I typically strive for humility, I want to put forward my confidence in my ability to do an excellent job in this position. I’ve consistently been a sincere listener and thus learnt about the diverse needs of students, particularly regarding barriers to education and services within our University.”
“I fully understand that what is in the best interest of our students is not necessarily in the best interest of our administrators, and I am willing to stand up for the former. Moreover, it’s crucial that all students on this campus feel well represented, but we also need to acknowledge that many voices on our campus go unheard. I understand my positionality and the limits to how accurately and earnestly I’d be able to represent the needs of others. However I’d promise to practice proper consultation, respect the lived experiences of others and, when appropriate, advocate effectively for these individuals or groups.”
“What informs my current perspectives is the work I’ve done in organisations such as Interhall Council, Residence Life, the CSA board of directors, CSAHS Student Alliance, the Peer Helper Program, and in the Student Transition Office. These diverse roles have helped inform a keen sense of understanding and compassion for the challenges our students face; thus developing my commitment to accessibility, equity, and inclusion.”
Becca Cheskes—Vice president academic candidate
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“When I finished my classes in December, I was reflecting on my experiences over the past for and a half year here at Guelph, and I felt really grateful for my experience here, but I also felt inspired to find ways to make things even better for students at the University. One huge thing that I faced during my undergraduate career was struggling with my mental health. I was a student who frequently used the SAS [Student Accessibility Services], but these were services that I had to seek out to understand and I really wanted to work on making services here at the University easier to access for students. I want there to be more knowledge around them, I want them to be just easily accessed by students because those are the things that are imperative to having a successful academic career. I think the biggest point that I’m trying to drive home is that mental and emotional health is just as important as your academic success, and, in fact, those three things are really wrapped together and I think that’s what drew me to this position as the VP of Academic.
“I would say the experience of a ‘typical student’ in that University was not a cakewalk for me. I also was not—full disclosure—super involved. I was not the president of a club, I wasn’t on any executives—I tried to be as involved as possible, but I really was just trying to get through my four years as successfully as possible. I do think that I am bringing a fresh face to the CSA in that I really do think that I know the life of the average student. I think I’ll better be able to communicate with students in that way and have creative ways of getting student input so that we actually hear what students feel they need the most.”
Jack Wang—Vice president student experience candidate
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“Since my first year here at Guelph, I’ve been really involved and I wanted to give back to the community. I had such a great first year experience and that was because of the amazing student leaders here on campus. I wanted to run for vice president student experience to give everyone at the University a chance to explore what the University has to offer.”
“I know that coming from out of province—I’m from Winnipeg—the transition was a little bit tougher because I didn’t go to high school in Ontario and I didn’t know many people. I got involved in Interhall Council, which propelled me to the student leader that I am today. I was the Johnston Hall operations manager and then the following year I decided to run for a position on Mountain Hall council, and I got elected president. It was amazing to see so many students looking to you and having such an influence on these incoming students.”
“I think I’m at a unique position where I’ve been so involved in the various departments on campus from student housing with Interhall Council to Hospitality Services, for which I’ve been the vice chair and chair. Then I was the ombudsperson who is the direct liaison between students and administration for Hospitality Services, which makes me pretty experienced in the whole student liaison side of things. I’ve been part of college government, I’m the current president of the College of Biological Sciences student council and two years ago I was the VP of clubs and student affairs so I’ve definitely been around campus and I know the ‘ins and outs’ and I think that’s a great resource for the person who is going to be in the position, just to have a well-rounded knowledge of what’s on campus and to know what the campus has to offer.”
Emily Vance—Vice president student experience candidate
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“I’m running for VP student experience, which primarily is concerned with student space [and] running activities and events for student. This position particularly interests me because it really speaks to my skillset in events and activities. In the past I was part of a lot of clubs that ran events for students in our jurisdiction, like the Psych Society had activities for psychology students. I was part of Orientation Team this past summer and I really enjoyed that logistical part of events and what events people want to run and helping them getting everything they need to run them, and that’s what drew me to that.”
“I’ve been a student here for the past four years and I just really enjoy the student environment and the student experience. I love the campus environment [at Guelph] and anything I could do to help enhance that and have the student voice drive that forward really interested me.”
“In terms of the student space aspect, student space will probably be an issue for ever and ever, but in some of the work I’ve been doing currently, with some of the construction projects that the CSA has been heading, I’ve really enjoyed getting that feedback from students and seeing that feedback being transferred to the project has been really interesting and inspiring. What I would be hoping to do if elected is have focus groups and more survey opportunities, because when we are able to reach out to students and get those opinions to drive projects forward, I find that there is a lot of power in utilizing the student voice.”
Chelsea Mulvale—Vice president external candidate
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“When I came to campus, I wasn’t very involved with much at all. I was an off-campus student, was not involved in anything, and stayed in my apartment all the time. I barely went to class. I realized that I really wasn’t getting much out of my university experience. Then I got on the varsity figure skating team and started meeting people and connecting to different things on campus. Through that, I started becoming more and more involved and realized how much that added to my university experience. That contributes to why I want to run because I want to be able to help provide those types of experiences for students as much as possible. There’s different health studies that have been done about university students that show students that are involved tend to succeed and do better than students who isolate themselves. The larger role I can take in helping students become involved and find their purpose, the more students we can have succeed and identify what they want and how they see success for themselves.”
“The role of external is working with different levels of government and making sure that we’re advocating for student needs. As a person who identifies with a few different marginalized identities, I think that it’s important to bring that to light, on the campus and in greater society. The values that I have that inform that are community, effective representation of marginalized folks. What we have right now is the majority, which is great, but we need to lift those up that have often been erased and pushed to the side. That’s a big part of my campaign, communicating with communities that aren’t necessarily considered at the forefront of people’s minds.”
Kayla Weiler—Vice president external candidate
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“As a student, I’ve always been kind of mediocre when it comes to politics and things at the CSA, but in the past year or two, I’ve been interested in running for a CSA position. I attended the general meeting this past semester and it made me realize how important the CSA actually is. It influences everyone’s daily lives on campus. For situations, like the bus pass referendum, that could have been avoided if people were more involved with the CSA because all undergrads are already members just by being a student here. I think it’s really important for more students to actively vote and actively pay attention because I used to be a student who didn’t pay attention and, now that I am paying attention, I’m realizing that I can make a difference.”
“I think I’d be incredibly successful at being the external affairs vice president because I am really passionate about all levels of government. When Kathleen Wynne was here, I was given the chance to talk to her and ask her a question and it made me realize that I would be really good at this position because I’m really passionate about students and passionate about government. I think that being a history student has allowed me to take information and not just see it on face value, but see it at a different level.”
Devlin Scanlon—Vice president external candidate
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“As someone who grew up in this city, I understand the important role and influence students have in the community. However, throughout my undergrad, I noticed that the CSA had a tough time mobilizing students or using their combined influence to impact government policies at the provincial or federal level. Similarly, there were a number of great ideas such as the water bottle ban and tuition freeze, that have so far failed because there was no real plan to implement them.”
“I want to make real changes that go beyond simply having a big idea with no plan for implementation. For instance, I believe that tuition growth could be slowed or frozen. However, this would only be possible if other sources of revenue were opened up for the university. As such, lobbying for increased per student funding from the province would be my first step in slowing the growth of tuition.”
“Big ideas are great, but they are nothing without the knowledge and plans needed to make them a reality. As VP external, I would work to create lasting and realistic policy changes at all levels of government that are in the best interest of all students.”
Undergraduate students are able to vote for their CSA executive and board of directors from March 6 to 8 through their GryphMail accounts. In addition to electing candidates, students will also vote on a referendum to have menstrual products available for free on campus.