C/O MSU Elections
The two candidates in the MSU presidential election clash over different approaches to advocacy
On Jan. 21, McMaster Students Union presidential candidates Simranjeet Singh and Denver Della-Vedova engaged in a two-hour long debate, in which they each responded to several questions pertaining to their platforms and the biggest issues on campus right now.
In his opening statements, Della-Vedova expressed that he wants students to experience a better transition to in-person learning than the one they experienced this year. Additionally, he introduced the three main pillars of his platform: amplifying voices, student stability and keeping momentum.
In Singh’s opening statements, he emphasized that his campaign is inspired by research and he introduced the five themes of his platform: building a more supportive student wellness institution, stronger Hamilton community, environmental sustainability, equitable education and career development.
The candidates then went on to discuss several issues that are important to McMaster students right now. They were asked directly about how their platforms tackled issues such as environmental sustainability, student mental health and student expenses. The candidates were also asked several more general questions about how their platforms and styles of advocacy would benefit the student body.
Regarding environmental sustainability, both Della-Vedova and Singh expressed that McMaster could be doing more for sustainability.
Della-Vedova suggested offering more eco-friendly food packaging on campus and collaborating with student-driven environmental initiatives, stressing the feasibility of these targets.
Singh also supported a reusable container program; however, Singh’s approach to environmental sustainability focused more on implementing auditing initiatives regarding McMaster’s waste management and educating students about sustainable waste management.
Singh and Della-Vedova clashed over the need for waste management audits. Singh stated that, due to COVID-19, much has likely changed since the last audit in 2019 and that a key role of the MSU is to fill gaps in the university’s knowledge. Della-Vedova, on the other hand, argued that data from 2019 is still quite recent and because of temporary changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new audit may yield less reliable data.
Regarding student mental health, Singh and Della-Vedova were in agreement about the seriousness of this issue and the importance of collaborating with the Student Wellness Centre.
Regarding student mental health, Singh and Della-Vedova were in agreement about the seriousness of this issue and the importance of collaborating with the Student Wellness Centre.
Amarah hasham-Steele, News reporter
Singh stressed his plan to advocate for further expansion of the SWC, expand and effectively market Thrive Week and advocate to expand McMaster’s student health and dental plan.
Della-Vedova proposed introducing telehealth and online booking options to the SWC in order to expand the use of preexisting resources. Della-Vedova also stressed the importance of student security and a positive campus environment for student mental health.
Regarding student expenses, Della-Vedova emphasized his aim to partner with the Food Collective Centre and with local businesses to assist food insecure students. Regarding rent expenses specifically, Della-Vedova discussed the possibility of revitalizing an MSU role dedicated to connecting students with reasonable housing.
Singh, on the other hand, proposed a large-scale audit of student housing and expanding usage of Open Educational Resources to decrease textbook costs.
Della-Vedova and Singh clashed over OER. Della-Vedova argued that financial changes due to OER would likely occur over many years and that more immediate expense issues should take priority. To this, Singh responded that the structures necessary to support OER already exist and that even a small decrease in average textbook costs would impact students significantly.
Overall, it seemed that Singh and Della-Vedova clashed on two major issues: the importance of data collection and the scope of their platform points.
Regarding data collection, Singh repeatedly stressed the research basis of his platform, proposing two major audits regarding environmental sustainability and a study about student housing. When asked whether he was more invested in student advocacy or in enhancing student life, Singh explained that his platform's research focus will enable him to enhance student life through advocacy.
According to Singh, he aims to collect information that’s lacking so that it can be used as the basis for more focused and effective advocacy.
According to Singh, he aims to collect information that’s lacking so that it can be used as the basis for more focused and effective advocacy.
Amarah hasham-Steele, News reporter
Della-Vedova disagreed with Singh on the role of data collection. He responded by stating that the MSU often collects a lot of data that goes unused because new leaders enter the MSU with new ideas every year. Della-Vedova emphasized action over data collection, saying that preexisting and online data are sufficient bases for advocacy.
Della-Vedova emphasized action over data collection, saying that preexisting and online data are sufficient bases for advocacy.
Amarah hasham-Steele, News reporter
The second major point of clash in this debate was regarding the scope of the ideas put forward and the role of feasibility. When asked which point on Singh’s platform he was most critical of, Della-Vedova stated that although he liked many of Singh’s ideas, he believed many of them to be unfeasible within a year. Della-Vedova was particularly critical of Singh’s plan to transition to more OERs, emphasizing that there are limits on what the MSU can achieve within a year.
When asked which point on Singh’s platform he was most critical of, Della-Vedova stated that although he liked many of Singh’s ideas, he believed many of them to be unfeasible within a year.
Amarah hasham-Steele, News reporter
Singh, on the other hand, criticized Della-Vedova's platform points for simply focusing on increasing supports already in place. For example, as Singh explained, Della-Vedova was advocating for expansion of the compostable container program, whereas Singh was advocating for a widespread reusable container program.
Singh, on the other hand, criticized Della-Vedova's platform points for simply focusing on increasing supports already in place.
Amarah hasham-Steele, News reporter
Further, regarding OER, Singh explained that while he did not expect to see this transition completed within a year, he believed that progress towards more OER would still be worth pursuing.
Voting will take place online from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27. An overview of Della-Vedova's entire platform can be found here and an overview of Singh’s platform can be found here.
C/O Denver Della-Vedova
Getting to know the person behind the platform
Denver Della-Vedova is one of the candidates running to be the McMaster Students Union President for the 2022-2023 academic year. Della-Vedova's platform outlines three main pillars: amplifying diverse voices, prioritizing student stability and keeping momentum.
The Silhouette: What made you run for president and what is it about the role that attracts you?
Denver Della-Vedova: Great question! Aside from the elephant in the room of the obvious past experience [as current MSU President], with which I can say I like it, I think there’s a lot that I’ve realized I can do differently this year. Hindsight is a really handy thing and the second time around I can do a lot of that.
A couple examples would be the SRA support; we tried it this year, but it didn’t work, not the way we envisioned. So, trying to re-envision that and change it so there’s a better way to do it. Same with faculty support.
Another example would be Welcome Week – [I] didn’t really realize that there [were] communication errors there until I was involved in it and went, “Oh, this actually is an issue. We should really try to revitalize this for the coming year and make it clearer for everybody.”
A third reason would be, as much as everyone else, I would love it as an in-person experience. It’s not a guarantee, but I would really like that opportunity. I find my personality is very approachable; I try to be pretty friendly and connect with folks.
So, I’d really just like that opportunity to be with folks in the office, with students, engaged in student events – all of the things that weren’t necessarily possible this year.
The last thing that made me run is – and I think I had some trouble with this because it felt a little weird running again – but I think this is something that everyone who wants to should. I have a lot more that I feel I could give to the MSU, so I wanted to do it again.
What do you think is your strongest asset for the role?
At the risk of sounding conceited here, I’m probably going to say personality. I find I mesh well with most folks. I try to be patient, I’m a pretty good listener – I know I’ve been talking a lot here, but I’m typically pretty good. And I’m also not afraid to go my own way on things. If I don’t necessarily think what is happening is ideal, I’m not afraid to voice that.
So, I think [I am] that mix of being somebody who can work with folks while also being able to [say,] “I think what we’re doing isn’t working.” And identify[ing] that and communicat[ing] that in kind ways to groups and trying to work with them to find solutions is probably my biggest asset to the role because it’s that working with people element that I think is really important to a role like this.
For a complete overview of Della-Vedova's platform, please visit https://www.thesil.ca/msu-elections-2022-denver-della-vedova-platform-overview.
C/O Simranjeet Singh
Getting to know the person behind the platform
Simranjeet Singh is is one of the candidates running to be the McMaster Students Union President for the 2022-2023 academic year. Singh’s platform outlines five main pillars: student wellness, building a stronger community, environmental sustainability, creating more equitable education and career development support.
The Silhouette: What made you run for president? What about this role attracts you?
Simranjeet Singh: In terms of why I wish to be president, I first came to make McMaster in 2017. I was in a program called medical radiation sciences and it was a great opportunity for me to learn about what exists [at McMaster] and how vibrant of a community there is.
[I] initially actually was not that involved in student leadership. It was actually only in my third year that I was elected to the SRA but, from that point, I was able to gain a huge amount of knowledge about what opportunities exist for advocacy as well as what gaps exist . . . and what changes can be [implemented].
[In 2021], I kind of was thinking about what more can be done, how can I implement the knowledge that I've learned moving forward and I thought that the president position would be a great place to do that advocacy. Through my experience in the MSU as well as just being a student and other experiences, I've gained an understanding of what gaps exist and then I was able to do consultations to better learn of how I would fill those gaps.
That's why I chose to run for president, because I feel like it is the best opportunity for me to deliver the support students need and I think this is important as well because some of these gaps are things that I would have loved to have had in my first year.
If, for example, I had more affordable housing, if I had less expensive textbooks, if I had greater access to career development supports, I know that I would use those to further myself as much as I could and I think it's important that the future students also have that opportunity.
So I thought that I had pretty good ideas, I think and a way to implement them and the president position is, I think my best way of doing that, which is why I chose to run.
What do you feel is your strongest asset for this role?
So I think of myself as a pretty conscientious person, so that kind of encompasses the thoroughness and my dedication to my work.
I have been someone who has been quite dedicated to the MSU for that reason because I have a clear interest in ensuring that students are more supported with the resources they need and [it’s] something that I generally find enjoyable as well. I like to be in these discussions, I like to understand how I can solve the problem that is in front of me and then work with the relevant partners to have a plan in place to actually solve that problem.
[A]s a part of conscientiousness as well, that involves going to do the correct consultations and working with community to understand what their needs actually are and how I can utilize my position to solve those needs.
So I do think that in my past, through the things I’ve been accomplishing, the SRA and academically, I do think that that at least provide some sort of basis to kind of prove that I am a conscientious person.
[I] will apply that conscientiousness through my role through my dedication to my work and during external consultation with the university, with certain groups to better understand how I can best serve their needs and then actually apply that moving forward.
For a complete overview of Singh’s platform, please visit https://www.thesil.ca/msu-elections-2022-simranjeet-singh-campaign-overview.
C/O Denver Della-Vedova
Meet Denver Della-Vedova, one of the candidates running to become MSU president
Denver Della-Vedova is running for re-election as the McMaster Students Union president. After graduating as a life sciences student in 2021, Della-Vedova was acclaimed to the position of MSU president for the 2021-2022 year.
His platform features three main pillars, which collectively highlight a total of fourteen major points that he hopes to address in the role of MSU president. These three pillars are amplifying diverse voices, prioritizing student stability and keeping momentum.
Amplifying Voices
Della-Vedova wishes to continue the MSU’s relationship with the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities. In his platform, Della-Vedova states that this group has played a key role in lobbying the federal government for students’ interests and he proposes a $1 fee to ensure that the MSU maintains their member status. Della-Vedova also commits to advocating for Indigenous students and undergraduate research funding.
His second goal is environmental sustainability. More specifically, he hopes to expand the reusable container program and to consider more eco-friendly non-reusable container options.
His third goal is to increase student advocacy engagement, which he hopes to do by providing students with an MSU Avenue 2 Learn tab, which he says should be available by summer. Additionally, he hopes to utilize the communications department to reach more students.
His fourth goal is faculty society support. He hopes to better connect Student Representative Assembly caucuses with their respective faculties. Further, he intends to investigate the possibility of pooling resources across the MSU and faculty societies for collaborative events.
Finally, he hopes to increase the university’s accountability and engagement, potentially by creating an accessible Instagram page for McMaster’s important updates or by creating a Linktree containing reliable McMaster news and information sources.
Student Stability
Under the umbrella of student stability, Della-Vedova hopes to address housing instability by raising awareness about where to access housing resources, continuing legal clinics from this year and updating the off-campus housing website.
Della-Vedova is prioritizing financial stability in his platform. He plans to continue sharing and optimally allocating resources, to push the goals of the OUSA Responding to COVID-19 policy paper and to make jobs more accessible to students.
His third stability-related goal is mental health; he aims to make current Student Wellness Centre services available more frequently, focus on telehealth and online booking, engage students in positive social events and follow the recommendations of the OUSA Student Health and Wellness paper.
Finally, Della-Vedova aims to focus on food security. Specifically, he intends to work with the Food Collective Centre to get support from local businesses, looking at potentially expanding the gift card program or buying food in bulk to distribute to students in need. He also intends to make campus food options more allergy friendly.
Keeping Momentum
Under the umbrella of keeping momentum, Della-Vedova explains the projects that he would like to continue from this year into next year, as well as logical next steps from projects completed this year.
Firstly, Della-Vedova wants to improve Welcome Week by implementing a better fee system involving cash advances to faculties, surveying first-year students about the effectiveness of the events and providing better organizational support.
Della-Vedova's second goal under this umbrella is the prioritization of first-year students. He hopes to better share MSU services through the Archway program and community advisor floor meetings. He hopes to give presentations about the MSU to students in residence.
His third goal is to improve delivery of online classes. He plans to do this by generating a set of guidelines to ensure the consistency of online course delivery in areas such as types of software, quality of lectures and availability of recordings.
His fourth goal related to keeping momentum is to increase internal support and student government engagement. He aims to accomplish this through the previously mentioned MSU A2L page and by increasing communications between the Board of Directors and the SRA. Further, he plans to circulate the “Who’s Who in the MSU” document more widely and to lengthen board terms by two weeks to allow for more training time.
Finally, Della-Vedova aims to improve Student Accessibility Services. He draws attention to the accessibility barrier of requiring a diagnosis from within the last five years and he proposes offering incentives to notetakers so that more students volunteer for this job and are compensated for their work.
To learn more about Della-Vedova's platform, visit his Instagram page @denverformsu2022.
A record 79 candidates were vying for a position on the McMaster Students Union Student Representative Assembly general elections, which ended last Monday.
Seventy-nine candidates competed for 31 SRA seats across all faculties, the highest number ever.
Last year, there were just 41 candidates running for 31 seats. Two years ago, there were 50 candidates.
The highest number of candidates came from the SRA science and SRA social science faculties.
Twenty-five candidates ran for seven seats for science, while 16 candidates ran for five seats in social science.
In 2018, there were just nine and five candidates for the science and social science faculties.
Candidate turnout was higher than last year for other faculties as well.
SRA commerce had eight candidates running for four seats this year compared to five candidates last year, and the arts and science faculty had four nominees running for one seat compared to one nominee last year.
Voter turnout was markedly high as well. Twenty per cent of undergraduate students, or a total of 4283, voted in the SRA generals election, a dramatic increase from last year’s election, which saw 1064 voters.
Several current SRA members and winning candidates attributed the increase in candidate turnout to more effective advertising from the McMaster Student Union elections department this year, made up of chief returning officer Uwais Patel and deputy returning officer Emily Yang.
“This year, the CRO and DRO did a really good job in doing outreach. It was a lot of promotion, and it was faculty-specific promotion as well,” said Tasneem Warwani, current SRA arts and science representative.
“I think what they did really well was reach out to SRA members to ensure that they were reaching out to their constituents,” said Devin Roshan, current SRA health sciences representative.
One new initiative the elections team took on this year was sending faculty-specific emails directly to students to remind them of nomination deadlines and how many seats were available.
“On the MSU pages, social media-wise, I saw more promotion about it,” said third-year social sciences student Allie Kampan, who won an SRA seat. “More people were aware of it this year.”
Some faculties also tried to host more faculty-specific events encouraging students to run. For example, the social science caucus ran an event where they handed out nomination forms.
“I think the SRA reps made it more approachable this year,” Kampman said. “There’s a stigma around a lot of MSU things, specifically SRA, which is that it’s unapproachable.”
Roshan pointed out that increased turnout also comes from regular efforts through the year to educate students on issues and what the SRA is doing.
The health sciences election this year featured eight candidates for two positions, building off seven candidates last year after just two in 2017.
Students entering post-secondary education may also be becoming more interested in politics.
“Looking at the first years specifically, in my interactions I’ve had with them, they’re very passionate about getting involved,” Warwani said.
First year council elections this year featured a record high of 54 candidates running for sixteen positions.
Not all faculties saw a rise in candidate turnout. Humanities had only three nominees, meaning all three available seats were acclaimed. There were just two nursing nominees for one seat and four kinesiology nominees for two seats. SRA engineering also had just eight candidates for six available seats.
All of these faculties have struggled to put forth nominees in recent years, with seats often being acclaimed.
According to incoming SRA engineering representative Hawk Yang, one possible reason for the typically low candidate turnout is that the engineering faculty has a prominent engineering society, which often overshadows SRA engineering initiatives.
Nonetheless, as evidenced by the SRA statistics, the MSU is still seeing refreshingly high interest in student government this year.
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By: Ashlynn Labinaz
The results of the recent McMaster Students Union presidential election were released on Jan. 24, with Josh Marando becoming president-elect. Jeffrey Campana came second in the polls, with Madison Wesley and Justin Lee placing third and fourth respectively.
Given our current state of affairs, these results beg the question: did social media impact the outcome of the MSU election?
The simple answer? Yes. When investigating the social media accounts of the candidates, all four individuals created Facebook and Instagram campaign accounts, posting platform content to build a larger following and campaign support.
When comparing the Instagram accounts of all four candidates, the winning Marando had 618 followers, Campana had 512 followers and Lee had 15 followers. Wesley’s deactivated account could not be used in this comparison.
Overall, there appears to be a clear association between the candidates’ social media presence and their election success.
I believe this correlation is attributed to the candidates’ engagement with their followers on social media. Marando, for example, created a new Instagram account dedicated to running his campaign. He posted ten different times over the course of the election, highlighting different events he attended and campaign promises he intended to fulfill.
Conversely, some of Marando’s opponents did not rely as heavily on their social media presence, posting only a handful of times on Instagram.
The MSU Elections Department also acknowledged the importance and presence of social media in the presidential election. On the elections page, there were two appendices: one with candidacy rules and another six-page Appendix A, containing social media regulations that candidates were required to follow.
This appendix was tediously written and included an explanation of how to post on every major social media platform to ensure that no candidate had an unfair advantage.
Clearly, the MSU Elections Department understood the importance of regulating social media during elections in order to avoid potential problems related to digital campaigns.
One increasing problem on the world stage, for example, is the propagation of “fake news” — that is, disseminating information that is intentionally wrong with the goal of swaying thought and opinion. Clearly established social media regulations for candidates is therefore an important step towards addressing election misinformation.
Despite any potential negative consequences, social media platforms have important benefits during elections. Specifically, social media allows voters to make more informed decisions.
In a digital age where information can be retrieved in a matter of seconds, many have become apathetic towards researching electoral candidates. Social media then provides a fast and easy way for voters to learn about candidates’ platforms.
For example, Marando featured an Instagram post highlighting the key points of his campaign. This post took less than a minute to read and provided a basic understanding of his platform, allowing students to easily inform themselves.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs0tWePBOU6/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
The easy access to this information also facilitates one’s ability to compare different candidates and their platforms.
Social media in elections also provides a platform for direct dialogue between candidates and voters. Throughout each campaign, the MSU presidential candidates were posting, tweeting and sharing. Every social media platform allowed candidates to receive messages from the public, which ultimately encouraged political discourse.
Overall, I strongly believe that social media acts as a useful campaign tool in elections that future MSU presidential candidates should definitely take seriously.
Although some may argue that his popularity won him the election, I attribute Marando’s success to his effective social media strategies. By consistently posting succinct summaries of his campaign goals, Marando was able to spread his message to students in a simple and accessible manner.
In addition, with the increasingly influential nature of social media in elections, students should become more informed and equipped users of these platforms.
Marando used social media to his advantage to help him win a presidential election. Similarly, students should recognize social media’s extensive and far-reaching value as a necessary election tool in this new digital age.
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CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, there was a graphic that indicated that Josh Marando answered that he "strongly agreed" with the police presence on campus. However, in our survey, Marando answered that he "strongly disagreed" with the police presence on campus. We apologize for this misconstruction and have changed the graphic since.
The Silhouette recently surveyed the four McMaster Students’ Union 2019 presidential candidates on their opinions on where the MSU and the university are doing well and where they can improve.
The survey consisted of seven statements. Candidates were asked to indicate their level of agreement with each statement on a scale from “strongly agree” to “disagree.”
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="197" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 1"]
The first question asked candidates about their opinions on the statement that “The MSU is committed to equality and inclusiveness.”
The candidates all agreed on the MSU’s commitment to equality and inclusiveness. Jeffrey Campana and Madison Wesley indicated they “strongly agreed” with the statements, whereas Justin Lee and Josh Marando said they “agreed.”
The second question asked candidates whether or not “Increased police presence will promote increased safety of students on and around campus.”
There were a range of opinions on the relationship between McMaster students and the police.
Lee was the only candidate to agree that police presence will promote safety. Campana was neutral, while Wesley disagreed. Marando was the only candidate to strongly disagree.
In September, a string of break-ins in Westdale prompted a greater police presence in the area. During the same month, a video depicting a woman being run over a McMaster police horse was widely shared on social media.
The candidates were mostly in agreement with the statement that the MSU should oppose the provincial government’s free speech mandate requiring Ontario universities to implement a free-speech policy.
Wesley was the only candidate not to agree with the statement, choosing a “neutral” response instead. Campana indicated he agreed, while both Lee and Marando chose “strongly agree.”
In October, the Student Representative Assembly unanimously passed a motion opposing the government mandate.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="201" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 2"]
The next question asked candidates whether or not the MSU should lobby against the government’s changes to tuition, student fees and the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
The survey showed that all the candidates were in stark opposition to the provincial government’s changes to tuition, student fees and OSAP announced on Jan. 17.
Lee, Marando and Wesley all strongly agreed with the statement, while Campana selected the “agree” response.
Regarding McMaster’s accessibility, Wesley and Campana indicated there was room for improvement, as they strongly disagreed and disagreed with the statement that the school is “fairly accessible” for students with various disabilities.
Lee and Marando were neutral on the issue.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="202" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 3"]
The results also show that none of the candidates are satisfied with McMaster’s current efforts to prevent and address sexual violence. When asked if McMaster does a “sufficient job” in this area, Campana and Wesley strongly disagreed, while Lee and Marando disagreed with the statement.
McMaster’s sexual violence policy is up for review this year.
Overall, it appears that while there is a high degree of agreement amongst candidates on topics such as the Ontario government’s recently announced tuition and OSAP changes, candidates differ in their views on issues like the relationship between students and the Hamilton police and McMaster’s response to sexual violence.
The voting period for this year’s MSU presidential election is taking place from Jan. 22 to 5 p.m on Jan. 24. To vote, students can fill out the ballot sent to their McMaster email or login and vote at www.msumcmaster.ca/vote.
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Elections for the next McMaster Students Union president are wrapping up with polling closing on Jan. 24. As students cast their ballot this year, they are presented with five options: to vote for one of the four candidates, or to abstain. However, students should also be given the option to cast a vote of no confidence.
A vote of no confidence is essentially a vote claiming that the student has no confidence in the presented candidates and would not like any of them to act as a representative for the student. This could be due to a variety of reasons ranging from the infeasibility of the candidates’ platform points to judgements made on the candidates’ character.
While students can abstain, an abstained vote has ambiguous meaning. Although one can abstain because they feel a lack of confidence in all the candidates, abstained votes can also mean the voter feels uninformed to select a candidate, or cannot decide between equally-qualified candidates. Simply put, an abstained vote is not equivalent to a vote of no confidence.
The idea to implement a vote of no confidence is not novel. It was first proposed by Eric Gillis in 2014 when he was the 2014-2015 bylaws commissioner for the Student Representative Assembly. Since his initial proposal, the idea of a no confidence vote has been continuously advocated for by Miranda Clayton, who worked on the bylaws committee in 2014-2015 before her role as operations commissioner in 2015-2016.
Gillis and Clayton hoped to have a vote of no confidence implemented for SRA elections. As it stands, if only one person runs for a seat on the SRA, that seat is considered acclaimed by the individual. This is a consistent issue in the SRA where many seats are acclaimed. In doing so, students are deprived the opportunity to voice their oppositions or give any input into their representation.
This makes little sense. If others have to create platforms, run campaigns and be supported by the student body to obtain their seat, why shouldn’t candidates running unopposed be held to the same accountability? In essence, acclaimed seats should not exist as those seats are not truly representative of the people they are meant to represent. Instead, students should be able to take a vote of confidence on candidates running for those seats.
According to Clayton, the reason a vote of no confidence has not been implemented yet is largely due to such a change requiring major electoral reform. Ballots would have to be made to include a “no confidence” option and this would require major restructuring to the online ballot system and perhaps even changes to the MSU constitution.
Though these changes may be a large undertaking, they are nonetheless critical to ensure students are being represented properly.
The idea of a no confidence vote, while created with the SRA elections in mind, can be applied to the MSU presidential elections. If students are not confident in any of the candidates running, this is a problem that should be recognized and addressed by the student union.
I understand the risk associated in abstaining to vote or casting a no-confidence vote when multiple seats exist. In scenarios like these, it may make more sense to vote for the “lesser of two evils”. But if students truly feel that none of their options are good, they should have a forum to voice their concerns.
If the majority of voters have no confidence in their presidential candidates, this calls for drastic change. I’m not certain what sort of change this might entail. It could include holding a re-election, or changing the election bylaws to ensure candidates meet a level of standards and qualifications.
This might also be a non-issue. Perhaps students do feel confident in their given candidates. The only way we can know for certain is to allow students to have the option to vote no confidence.
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Last week, the Silhouette News team wrote up platform critiques for each of this year’s McMaster Students Union presidential election candidates. The critiques collectively point out that while the candidates are trotting out some interesting ideas, many are patently unfeasible.
Madison Wesley advocates for a McMaster campus store textbook rental program, but the director of retail services at McMaster told our News contributor that the program would be impossible to implement.
Justin Lee hopes to unveil “Uber for Busses,” but does not establish how he will work with app developers, the Hamilton Street Railway, McMaster and Hamilton city council to bring this to fruition.
Jeffry Campana aspires to build a McMaster ice rink by 2020, but as our News Reporter highlighted, plans to do the same in previous years collapsed in the face of insurance and accessibility obstacles.
Josh Marando wants to increase the deferred maintenance budget by $12,000,000 a year. Nevertheless, as our Features Reporter articulates, Marando’s plan hinges on acquiring Ontario government grants. Under the Ford government and recent budget cuts, this plan is just not feasible.
This is not to say that this year’s candidates have a limited knowledge of the MSU and what students care about. With a renewed focus on issues like accessibility and food security, the candidates seem to be cognizant of at least some pervasive student concerns.
They just also failed to do their MSU due diligence and consultation homework.
Whoever wins tonight should keep in mind that the MSU president does not have jurisdiction beyond the maroon-coloured walls of the union’s office.
Our next MSU president should fight to uphold their promises, but also shrink their imagination down to what is possible during their term.
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