Last night’s informal debate at TwelvEighty offered a look at how the candidates stand out in a crowd, but it wasn’t the night for tough questions or head-to-heads.
Personalities and common goals emerged early in the hour-long panel talk, which allowed candidates who have fallen under the radar to share the floor with the frontrunners.
Haman Man, who has kept the lowest profile since announcing his candidacy, opened with a light-hearted joke. His demeanour was easygoing, but he was serious about his wide-ranging platform, from improved accessibility to students representing the MSU in parliament.
FYI, his posters are coming soon, and they’ll have Braille on them.
He sat next to Dan Fahey, who got riled up about campus food prices, tuition and book fees.
“We need more space in the libraries, but we also need some bloody books!” said Fahey.
Fahey’s answers weren’t as specific as other candidates. He spoke about the need for “students to take power into their own hands” and his fond impressions of McMaster’s student body as an exchange student, but didn’t elaborate much on his platform.
“I’ve got a lot of experience at my students union back home, and I wanted to bring some ideas here,” he said.
“I want to give back to McMaster and Hamilton, which I’ve really enjoyed so much.”
Rory Yendt, sitting at one end of the panel, took the most straightforward approach and focused more on explaining his platform than engaging with the audience. He was the most insistent on fiscal transparency.
“Students should have a say in all financial matters in the MSU, not leave it to the SRA,” said Yendt, who proposes that referenda be held in every case that student funds will be spent.
Yendt’s tone was less enthusiastic compared to others’ and it seemed at times as if he were ready to give up.
“Win or lose, I’m happy about it,” he said, referring to the result of the race.
The candidates seemed collegial and for the most part attentive to each other’s ideas. They each gave opening and closing statements, and responded separately to four questions.
The questions were easy to anticipate: What’s your vision for the MSU? Why did you choose your campaign slogan, colour and theme? What would you do during your first month in office? What can we expect from your campaign in the next eight days?
David Campbell had a consistently confident voice, and emphasized his experience on the MSU’s board of directors in his answers.
“I’ve heard people saying the MSU provides advocacy and services, but there’s a third element that’s left out,” he said. “It’s also about building community and campus tradition at our school.”
Jacob Brodka had an uplifting and charismatic tone. He expressed that he wants to make the MSU “fun and relevant again.”
Brodka chose to start his opening statement with “a shout-out to Huzaifa Saeed and Siobhan Stewart,” current VP (Education) and President of the MSU.
He then referenced Matthew Dillon-Leitch, President during 2011-12, and agreed with his point that “we need to invest in student ideas.”
Dowdall had a more job-interview tone when he talked about his experience as part-time manager of SWHAT and a teaching assistant. He then switched over to a more family-centred tone.
“I developed a group of friends that became my family,” he said. “My campaign is run with family here supporting me.”
More than once, Emmanuel broke out of his ‘space maroon emperor’ character, which was becoming repetitive after a few rounds of questions.
“I hope everyone’s aware that I’m running a joke campaign,” he said toward the end, getting a laugh out of the crowd.
He reassured the audience: “If I somehow get elected to office, I’ll do what needs to be done.”
The presidential pub night was a get-to-know-the-candidates event in advance of a more formal debate hosted by the MSU’s election department on Jan. 29, the same day polls open.
Here’s a line from each candidate’s closing statement, in order of speaking:
Rory Yendt
“It’s all about taking the engineering approach to the MSU.”
Haman Man
“Don’t vote for fancy slogans, vote for ideas. Don’t vote for change, vote for movements.”
Dan Fahey
“You are a very small minority of this institution – all of you are going to vote. You guys here, you’ve come out. Get as many people as you can to vote.”
Adrian Emmanuel
“Regardless of who you support, you support the space maroon empire in the end.”
James Dowdall
“We have seven fantastic candidates. We’ve come up with innovative ideas and we want to hear what you have to say. Come talk to us.”
David Campbell
“There’s a lot of opportunity for what we can do next year. I’m looking forward to seeing more of you next week.”
Jacob Brodka
“I think what’s incredible about an election is that we’re turning students attention to it. We’re really looking forward to getting your feedback.
Dan Fahey is not your typical MSU presidential candidate. To start, he’s the first student of the young iSci program to run. But most notably, he’s not from McMaster. Fahey is an exchange student from the University of Leiceister in England.
RELATED: Selected questions and answers from our interview with Dan
“I’ve not met a single person who has had a problem with it,” he said of his being an exchange student. “Hamilton is really similar to back home, it’s almost like another part of England. It’s very similar, culturally.”
Fahey is a radical candidate not only in his background, but in his platform. Upon coming to McMaster, he was “shocked” by the state of student government, and cites a feeling of “democratic responsibility an obligation” as his reason to run.
“You’ve got all this community and stuff going on, but then the governance is disconnected. It seems weird,” he said.
While other candidates look to make more minor changes within the MSU, Fahey is vocal about his plans for radical reform. He wants to see the election of the three VPs, and a larger, more open SRA that better represents minority groups at Mac.
But as noble as his plans may be, Fahey’s emphasis on democratic restructuring is unlikely to resonate with a disinterested student body. Presidential voting turnout hit a peak last year, even though just a third of MSU voted. His message of student mobilization and activism calls to mind the Quebec protests of 2012 – an association he welcomes, in designating the red felt square as his campaign marker.
In his mission to cater to underrepresented and often marginalized campus groups, including students who are female, racialized, first nations, queer or with disabilities, Fahey neglects the bigger picture and the average student. His platform fails to address the more common issues of the average student, which include campus capacity and mental health. The kind of change he wants to make is undeniably positive, but the kind of grassroots movement he hopes for won’t come to light if the majority of students are ignored.
Jacob Brodka
Website: Brodka2013.com
Facebook: Elect Jacob Brodka for MSU President
Twitter: @BRODKA2013
Video 1: BRODKA 2013: UP FROM HERE
Video 2: BRODKA 2013: Our Platform (see the BRODKA2013 channel for other platform videos)
Headquarters: Student Centre, on the balcony to the left of the entrance from the arts quad
[youtube id="7J0jaNOWH6Y" width="620" height="360"]
David Campbell
Website: DavidCampbell2013.com
Facebook: Elect David Campbell for MSU President
Twitter: @VoteDC2013
Video: Vote David Campbell for MSU President
More Video: See David's channel for videos related to his platform
Headquarters: Student Centre, next to Booster Juice
[youtube id="giPTvOpvghU" width="620" height="360"]
James Dowdall
Website: JamesDowdall.com
Facebook: Elect James Dowdall for MSU President
Twitter: @JamesDowdall1
Video: It's Time - James Dowdall, MSU President 2013
Headquarters: Student Centre, a table near the front entrance
[youtube id="cTPgcfpFkYs" width="620" height="360"]
Adrian Emmanuel
Facebook: Emperor Adrian I
Twitter: @bradrian
Video: Space Maroon Proclamation
[youtube id="NsmQhQRLZqA" width="620" height="360"]
Dan Fahey
Website: Dan4MSU.ca
Facebook: Elect Dan for MSU President
Headquarters: Student Centre, outside of Union Market
Haman Man
Website: Haman.ca
Facebook: Haman Man
Twitter: @MSUHaman
Rory Yendt
Website: RoryYendt.com
Facebook: Rory Yendt
Twitter: @RoryYendt
