One of Muhammed Aydin’s major platform points involves creating a landlord rating system, which would allow students to rate landlords and act as a measure to promote tenants’ rights. It is clear that Aydin has not checked with the current McMaster Students Union on what they have already done on this front.
In his Jan. 17 report to the Student Representative Assembly, MSU vice president (Education) Ryan Deshpande confirmed that the landlord wiki is already underway and should hold a soft launch by the end of the term.
In addition, the Municipal Affairs committee released the MSU Landlord Report that outlines the research they have compiled detailing the relationship various students have with their landlords. The report also discusses various different models of landlord rating systems used in different cities, such as Philadelphia and Toronto.
While it is true that these documents were only released once the presidential race began, it is clear that this project has been in the works for a long time. In his Oct. 25 report, Deshpande stated that he was working on this project with associate vice president (Municipal Affairs) Stephanie Bertolo and that the project would be up and running sometime this year. According to the MSU Landlord Report, the report was compiled sometime in December 2017.
Aydin’s platform points concerning housing do not offer anything outside of what the MSU is currently working on. While it would be fair to promise to continue previous board members’ projects, all the documents released by Deshpande and the Municipal Affairs committee point to landlord wiki project being done within 2017-2018 school year.
Such a gap in Aydin’s platform illustrates the lack of research into the type of work the MSU has already committed itself to. It should be noted that information about current MSU projects can be found on the MSU website under the SRA tab and is generally made available a few days before it is physically presented to the SRA.
Overall, Aydin’s platform points concerning housing have already been completed by the current board of directors.
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Muhammed Aydin is a level VI Life Sciences co-op student. His platform focuses on food, housing, technology and infrastructure.
Aydin is currently the facility head for the McMaster Muslim Student Association and has some previous experience with the McMaster Students Union through his time as an executive member of the Student Walk Home Attendant Team. He has also worked as a peer career mentor.
His first pillar focuses on making food cheaper on campus. Aydin would like to implement a $5.00 meal option at Union Market, which would include a main, a snack and a drink. He would also like to create a Pay-It-Forward button, which would allow someone to pay for a product to be used by a stranger at a later time.
Aydin’s second pillar lays out his plans to improve student housing. He hopes to create a landlord approval system where students may outline their past experiences with landlords and inform students of their rights as tenants. This approval system would also work as a verification system for landlords. Aydin also hopes to create a website for verified landlords to post their listings, preferably tied to the current listings website that the Off-Campus Resource Centre offers.
Aydin’s third pillar concerns technology. Aydin hopes to improve WiFi on campus so that one could access WiFi anywhere on campus. He also plans on creating an MSU app meant to act as a resource hub for all MSU resources and services.
Aydin’s last pillar addresses infrastructure on campus. Aydin plans on building bigger bus shelters throughout campus so that every bus stop has one. He also wants to mend the bike repair station and add two more stations on campus. His also hopes to create a campaign informing students of their ability to call Facility Services to request repairs, particularly for electrical outlets on campus.
If you'd like to learn more about Aydin's platform, visit his Facebook page and website: www.maydin2018.com
https://www.facebook.com/maydin2018/
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