Wong’s initial platform was centred around creative ideas of transparency, sustainability and inclusion. His main points reflected upon demonstrating the McMaster Students Union’s usefulness as an organization by making both advocacy work and financial plans conducted by the organization transparent to students, in addition to reviewing the funding behind Light Up the Night.
His adjacent platform initially saw two points, which included the replacement of all walkways on campus with canals and to block all stairways during inclement weather to ensure that other stairways did not feel left out.
Wong has since added six more platform points to his adjacent platform since campaigning began on Jan. 15. These points include suggesting a more modern motto for the university, revisiting the McMaster Student Absence Form policy and changing policies surrounding the length of SRA meetings.
Further, Wong hopes to ensure that students have “thicc” toilet paper across campus, research the logistics behind replacing all university and MSU administration staff with robots and enact a 24/7 monitoring of all microwaves on campus. Wong has also added a suggestions tab to his website in order for students to add their own ideas.
Wong’s changing platform demonstrates that his candidacy could have benefitted from further discussion with the student body.
One point, in particular, raises concerns as to whether Wong had conducted proper research within the undergraduate student population. His “Save Our Lakes” point raises serious concern over student safety.
Wong’s Save Our Lakes campaign sees the replacement of all walkways on campus with canals. Citing that this action will double as the restoration and preservation of our local environment, Wong and his team believe that it is time for McMaster to cave to the inevitable in light of recent weather trends.
This proposal is arguably a logistical nightmare. Primarily, only 56 per cent of North Americans can perform the main five swimming skills and over the past two decades, there have been over 10,511 accidental drownings in Canada. Wong has not commented on any precautionary measures that the MSU will take to ensure the safety of all students while implementing this platform point.
Further, temperatures have hit record-breaking lows in recent months, which raises concern as to how McMaster’s Facility Services will maintain said canals during winter months. It also raises concerns as to how students will navigate their way to and from classes on these canals during winter months, and in general. Again, Wong has not commented on whether the MSU will provide skates, gondolas or ice picks.
Overall, a major critique of Wong’s campaign is the lack of planning and the ever-changing nature of his platform.
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Connor Wong is a Level VI Engineering and Physics student. Wong’s platform surrounds transparency, logistics, sustainability and inclusion within our campus communities.
While Wong does not have any official experience within the McMaster Students Union, he has experience coordinating between groups and communicating with professional contacts from his time doing co-op placements. Wong has also worked and played in a jazz band for several years now.
His first point aims to create transparency within the MSU’s advocacy work in order to reassure the student body of the MSU’s usefulness as an organization. Within his platform, Wong notes that the general media focus on campus events and awards rather than the advocacy work undertaken by the MSU, and contributing overall to the general impression of inactivity on the organization. Wong also aims to make financial decisions made by the MSU to be fully transparent and publicized by creating a nice, big, potentially shiny poster and hanging said poster up in a central location on campus.
Wong’s platform also intends to reflect upon the “tragically moist” and costly Light Up the Night. Although he feels as though the event should be completely eliminated, it does require a second look, particularly within its funding.
Further, Wong takes a sustainable approach within his platform by addressing the potential replacement of all walkways on campus with canals in light of recent weather trends. Wong cites that this action will double as a restoration and preservation of the local environment.
Finally, Wong promises to block off all of the stairs on campus during inclement weather in order to ensure inclusivity between the currently unblocked stairs on campus.
For further information on Wong's platform, visit his Facebook page and his website: www.wong2018.com
https://www.facebook.com/wongwongwongwongwongwongwongwong/
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