SU Elections 2022 Q&A: Students’ Council Candidates Part I

35 student councillors serve on Students’ Council. Elected councillors are expected to consult and represent constituents within their faculties. Councillors meet at Students’ Council meetings every second Tuesday to discuss and vote on bylaws and policies, and work with various committees and boards.

Candidates hoping to represent their faculties on Students’ Council were announced on March 17. Voting will take place on March 23 and March 24. This is part one of our Q&As with the council candidates, the second part can be found here.

The following interviews have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Arts (seven seats)

The following candidates are running in this race:

• Haruun Ali
• Jaida Han
• Jashan Mahal
• Leo Huang
• Milan Regmi
• Rebeca Avila
• Sarah Opeña-Sakar

The Gateway reached out to all candidates, but Han and Mahal were unable to provide comment before The Gateway‘s deadline.

Why are you running for this position?

Haruun Ali: I am currently a Students’ Union councillor and would like to continue my work in mobilizing students as well as holding our executive team accountable to the promises. However, largely, I want to work specifically this year on the things that I said I would do if I had been elected as [Students’ Union] president.

Leo Huang: I’m running for both Students’ Council and General Faculties Council because I’ve been interested in doing advocacy work, and as a political science student I feel I need to bring my knowledge to a test and experience the things that I study in-person. However, most importantly I run because I see there are many things that I feel our campus and even our Students’ Council needs improving. This university is a great university, however, their great things sometimes need improvements and I think I’m the one go in and make those improvements.

Milan Regmi: I am running for Students Council and for GFC because I want the University to come out of this pandemic stronger than ever, and I think this is the opportunity we have to be able to do so. The last two years have been extremely hard for students, with the culmination of a pandemic combined with continuous cuts to the University, which has deeply impacted the quality of education and services that students are receiving. From what I have seen so far in my University experience, however, I truly believe that when students of all different backgrounds and programs come together and work collaboratively to solve common challenges, it gives us a meaningful framework and a purpose to move forward and keep advocating for the kind of University that we want to see. Coming out of this pandemic hopefully soon, I really hope to be able to lead that charge in Students Council and GFC

Rebeca Avila: I am running for U of A Students’ Union (UASU) Council because I am passionate about advocating for the student community. I am enthusiastic about working to amplify students’ voices and collaborate in the implementation of solutions to their needs and concerns. 

Sarah Opeña-Sakar: I am running to represent faculty of arts students on both Students’ Council and General Faculties Council (GFC) because I am simply passionate about ensuring that everyone’s thoughts and ideas are heard.

What previous experience do you have that would allow you to serve as a good UASU councillor?

Ali: I’m a current councillor and have been involved in the community for years now. You can see some of my community work at haruun.ca.

Huang: I’m only a first-year so, I’ve never really done anything this big in my life until now. However, I was a student councillor in my high school in Calgary where I was in charge with event planning and helping at events. Currently outside the U of A I act as the Minister of Education in the Alberta Youth Parliament (AYP), previously the TUXIS Youth Parliament of Alberta, where I’m responsible for making and executing initiatives to help educate youth on public speaking and debate.

Regmi: In the past, I have been a Fine Arts Councillor and the Granting Director for the Organization for Arts Students and Interdisciplinary Studies (OASIS). I have also been an Undergraduate Senator sitting on the University of Alberta Senate, and I have also been a part of the Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee. I think being involved the past year in student governance has really given me an opportunity to open my eyes and mind to the student community and how each one of us on the University are unique in our own way, especially when it comes to the challenges we might endure and the journey we have taken to get here and are on right now. I think being able to understand just how diverse our University campus really is has really helped me be able to obtain more effective advocacy frameworks and create a strong foundation for how I want to govern, and I want to be able to carry that with me as both a Students Union Councillor and a GFC Representative.

Avila: This year, I have had the honour to serve as one of the arts councillors. I have been part of the Council Administration Committee (CAC) and the Social Media Sub-Committee (SMS). I think I can bring this previous knowledge and experience to better serve in my next term as UASU councillor.

Opeña-Sakar: I have connected with hundreds of students over the course of this past year in my leadership role as vice-president (media and marketing) for University of Alberta’s Black Students’ Association (UABSA) where I had the opportunity to listen to the concerns and shared experiences of many.

Could you briefly and concisely describe your platform?

Ali: My platform holds the same ideals as my presidential one however I want to collaborate on my initiatives with the incoming president-elect and vice-president-elects. I also want to work on governance this year to ensure that it is more accessible to people from different backgrounds. Finally, I want to make sure that we are holding the university accountable to a higher standard and that our university is listening to students.

Huang: This election I’m running on three points. First, I want to improve our Students’ Council’s transparency, especially around future replenishment elections. As Students’ Council arts representative, I will propose that all future replenishment elections will be recorded and live streamed, as well as be posted on YouTube and the UASU website. I will introduce voting records of every vote in council. Second, I will be fighting for hybrid class structures. I will call for all classes be recorded by professors and posted on eClass as well as posting all assignments on eClass, so classes can accessed outside the classroom. Finally, as arts councillor I will call for the replacement of the chairs in Tory to better ones.

Regmi: My platform is all about collaboration and consultation. I believe that for any councillor to be effective, these two things must come hand-in-hand. As a councillor, my goal is to establish effective communication between myself and department associations, as we as Arts students come from all different faculties and it is important that each and every perspective is taken into account. My goal is to also establish effective communication and collaboration with other councillors from other faculties as well on advocacy projects that will have a University-wide impact and are shared challenges that we have, such as tuition, accessibility, and mental health.

Avila: My main platform point is to conduct strong cross-disciplinary consultation initiatives throughout the academic year. I plan on working with fellow arts councillors and GFC arts representatives, OASIS members, and other faculty of arts associations to better understand what students’ needs are and how we can better address them. 

Opeña-Sakar: My platform is all about outreach, accountability, and transparency. I plan to consistently touch base with both individual students and student groups/networks associated with the faculty of arts in order to keep track of any pre-existing concerns and ones to come up in the near-future as well. Of course, I will also commit to finding what is already in place that benefits arts students and advocate to continue such implements.

This is a really tough time for students, and there are many issues to address. What would your number one priority be as a UASU councillor?

Ali: My number one priority is ensuring deferred maintenance is tackled. As some art students can attest like myself, our Humanities Building is quite literally falling apart.

Huang: In Students’ Council, I will focus on transparency as a big priority. I see students have lost a lot of trust in the Students’ Council ever since the previous Board of Governors (BoG) representative replenishment election and are unhappy about it. I want to change that as soon as possible because we need students to trust the Students’ Council during these tough times.

Regmi: My number one priority as a Students Union Councillor and GFC Representative is to ensure that as we hopefully emerge back to in-person campus life, that the transition back is as smooth and as less disruptive as possible. I want to ensure that we have a strong foundation to support students as they make their way back to campus, whether that might be in the form of mentorship programs in order to assist students with any questions or concerns they might have as they experience campus life again, or advocating to ensure that we have the appropriate resources and accessibility for mental health, or for academic accessibility.

Avila: My number one priority as Students’ Union councillor is to make sure that the UASU is actively engaging with students and being transparent in the advocacy work. 

Opeña-Sakar: We can all agree that the past two years have not been easy for anyone and I believe that the newly elected executive team has brought tangible goals to the table which will improve the lives of so many students regardless of faculty. Therefore, my number one priority will be monitoring the progress of how each executive portfolio fulfills their platform points and ensuring that their plans positively affect all students in the faculty of arts.

Fun Question: Where is your favourite place to study or get work done on U of A’s campus?

Ali: Dewey’s! If you see me there working on my laptop, pop by!

Huang: As of second semester I would say I enjoy it in the reading hall on the second floor of Rutherford South since I find it calming to study in there. It’s weird because I feel more distracted and hyper in Rutherford North; I blame the spirits in Rutherford South for calming me down (just kidding).

Regmi: My go-to spot has always been CAB. Can’t go wrong with Remedy Cafe and some really nice study spaces in the basement!

Avila: My favourite place to study on campus is Rutherford Library. It is my comfort place where I can concentrate the most and get assignments done faster!

Opeña-Sakar: Whenever it’s cold outside (which is most of the time), I love studying on the fourth floor of Cameron Library. It’s nice and quiet which motivates me to stay focused on my work. However, during the warmer months I do try my best to sit outdoors and enjoy the beautiful scenery around campus!

Augustana (one seat)

The following candidate is running in this race:

• Abdul Abbasi

Why are you running for this position?

Abbasi: I am in my first year studying at Augustana Campus and there are many issues that can be solved in Augustana with the help of the UASU. I will work for the betterment of students, especially at Augustana.

What previous experience do you have that would allow you to serve as a good UASU councillor?

Abbasi: Currently I am off-campus councillor of the Augustana Student Association and part of the Student Advisory Committee to the Office of the Registrar. I was also part of the Graduation Committee in high school. I will use my past experiences to give my best to the council and the students.

Could you briefly and concisely describe your platform?

Abbasi: I will be advocating to provide more resources to Augustana, not limited to providing more financial aid to the students at Augustana and making the Students’ Union play a more active role in the Augustana campus.

This is a really tough time for students and there are many issues to address. What would your number one priority be as a UASU councillor?

Abbasi: My first priority would be to get more financial aid for the students all across the University of Alberta, to support them financially and to get transportation between Augustana and North Campus

Fun Question: Where is your favourite place to study or get work done on U of A’s campus?

Abbasi: The study rooms in Augustana.

Business (two seats)

The following candidates are running in this race:

• Fateh Arslan
• Levi Flaman

Why are you running for this position?

Fateh Arslan: I am running for this position as I have seen the inconsistencies that happened this year with the academic year being online one day and in person the next. I was really affected by these inconsistencies and I am sure everyone in the student body shares the same view I have. I want to make sure that everyone this next year has consistency and stability to help give the student body the normalcy they have craved for a long time.

Levi Flaman: I am running for Students’ Council to correct some of the issues that have plagued the Students’ Union in recent years. For example, the issue with transparency that arises when both the legislative and executive bodies that run the Students’ Union neglect to upload meeting minutes or presentation materials in a timely manner, if they are even uploaded at all, or when committees often fail to submit important motions in time for main agendas, relying instead on using late additions which come out the day of meetings. This gives decision-makers inadequate time to read and digest important information prior to making important decisions. Students’ Union members collectively contribute thousands of dollars every term and they deserve to know what the organization that collects those funds is doing with them. In addition, the Students’ Union has a habit of bending or at times breaking its own bylaws and has been called out for it numerous times by the student judiciary. Yet despite this, it continues to happen and why it continues to happen needs to be identified so it can be addressed.

What previous experience do you have that would allow you to serve as a good UASU councillor?

Arslan: I have started a fundraiser before to help fund the organizations during the refugee crisis in 2017, and I am an International Students’ Association (ISA) marketing and engagement coordinator.

Flaman: I’ve previously served on the UASU Students’ Council and several of its committees, the GFC, and as a department association executive.

Could you briefly and concisely describe your platform?

Arslan: Consistency to the academic year and help plan a hybrid/full in-person model and stick to it, to bring back normalcy to the student body, and to help in the fight for tuition hikes.

Flaman: A comprehensive review and repair of the currently written bylaws to correct any issues in preparation for implementing the proposed changes suggested by the Governance Restructuring Task Force. After that is complete, exploring the possibility of a potential change from part-time/full-time fee assessments to a per-credit model similar to how the Students Association at MacEwan University assesses their student fees.

This is a really tough time for students, and there are many issues to address. What would your number one priority be as a UASU councillor?

Arslan: Normalcy and consistency for the students.

Flaman: I would seek out a moratorium on any new student-led fees or increases to existing fees. In the past few years, we have seen the creation or increase of such fees such as the Sustainability and Capital Fund created in 2020, the newly created International Students’ Association Fee (ISAF) this year, or the recent increase to the Student Legal Services Fee. All of these fees, while relatively small individually, do add up to a significant amount combined over four years and I’d like to put a pause on the nickel-and-diming for at least a few years.

Fun Question: Where is your favourite place to study or get work done on U of A’s campus?

Arslan: I love to study in the Students’ Union Building (SUB) Atrium during the weekend and ECC during weekdays 

Flaman: SUB as it is one of the few places on campus open 24/7. It also has various options for food and caffeine that are open fairly late and reasonably comfortable furniture for relatively long study sessions.

Education (three seats)

The following candidate is running in this race:

• Pien Steinbusch

The Gateway reached out to Steinbusch but they were unable to provide comment before The Gateway‘s deadline.

Engineering (five seats)

The following candidates are running in this race:

• Adrian Wattamaniuk
• Aiman Saif
• Chanpreet Singh
• Deep Rajani
• Dumi Gausi
• Gurbani Baweja
• Jayden Brooks
• Madina Usserbayeva
• Polina Reisbig

The Gateway reached out to all candidates, but Said, Gausi, and Reisbig were unable to provide comment before The Gateway‘s deadline.

Why are you running for this position?

Adrian Wattamaniuk: Since stepping in as the interim BoG representative, I’ve had the pleasure of serving on Students’ Council. This is a very important decision-making body for student issues, and I would love to continue serving and representing engineering students on it.

Chanpreet Singh: Students need a strong voice that hears them and is fearless to stand up for them, and this is the voice that I want to be as engineering councillor. I am newly elected co-president of the Engineering Students’ Society (ESS), so being in Students’ Council shall further enable me to advocate for my engineering constituents. The SU needs to be held accountable to the students, and thus I will ensure I question all items to hold the SU accountable.

Deep Rajani: I am extremely passionate about advocating for my fellow engineering community and ensuring that their views, opinions, and interests are listened to and given consideration. For example, the recent tuition hikes, transition between different learning platforms, and decrease in quality of education has made our community feel helpless. Therefore I am determined to make a change to this to ensure that nobody feels like they have no say in any decisions impacting us or that their opinions are irrelevant in any decision making. I am confident in my ability to be able to keep our community engaged through transparency and ensure the problems we all face are identified, discussed, and resolved in the best way possible through strong and brave advocacy.

Gurbani Baweja: I am running because I believe in uplifting those around me and I want to use my experience and voice to advocate for engineering students. I believe that there is an essential need to hold those at positions of power accountable for their work and transparency and I wish to accomplish that while representing you. We have all taken the bumpy road towards completing our degree during the pandemic and as we navigate back to normal, students need a representative who understands their hardships and is willing to listen and be their voice. I have never been afraid to boldly advocate for the best interests of my community and that is why I am the right fit to represent engineering students in Students’ Union!

Jayden Brooks: I have been involved in student governance over these past two years and have slowly expanded in scope what I have done. With this, I have looked to continue into different avenues when it comes to student governance and hence decided to pursue representing all engineering undergraduates and run for a representative position in Students’ Council. A lot of this decision also came from my unique position as a president of the Electrical Engineering Club which I believed would offer a unique perspective in Students’ Council. On a more personal level, I have always been interested in SU governance over the past few years, whether it be contacting candidates with questions, watching the forums, etc. And with that, I have built an interest towards it, and it has been something I have hoped to pursue further.

Madina Usserbayeva: I have always been involved in the student body representation, even though I never had a particular interest in governance. I feel devastated when I see underrepresentation of minority groups. As a female in a male-dominated field, and as an international student I understand the struggles and barriers one faces and I can relate to so many different issues within the student body. I want to speak up and amplify voices of those who think they are not heard, I want to listen to students and address their concerns. Throughout my degree I gained enough experience to be able to dedicate my last year for service on Students’ Council.

What previous experience do you have that would allow you to serve as a good UASU councillor?

Wattamaniuk: In my three years at the university, I’ve served as the vice-president (academics and services) (2020-21) and president (2021-22) of the ESS. I am currently the Interim BoG Representative, and have spent two years on the GFC. This experience has given me a very in depth perspective on governance, and a solid understanding of the issues.

Singh: I have been two-time president of the ISA and Council on Student Affair Member along with being a GFC member. I am also co-president-elect of the ESS. I have been in governance for two to three years now and thus bring a lot of experience to be a strong engineering councillor who is always ready to question things and bring student prospects. I have also in the past raised concerns about SU Council transparency and thus being in SU Council shall enable me to further address the SU Council transparency issues.

Rajani: I have served as the director of external relations at the ISA as well as a resident assistant at the University Residence. These two experiences have allowed me to really strengthen my leadership skills as well as my ability to listen and understand the issues faced by a diverse range of individuals and come to a mutually beneficial solution through conflict resolution. Although these positions have not been directly related to an advocacy-based role, I strongly believe that my passion and desire to serve our community and act in its best interest will make me a good candidate to represent our community as an effective and driven councillor.

Baweja: Over the past two years I have ensured that international students across all faculties are empowered by breaking the norms of their underrepresentation at the U of A. My major accomplishments during student governance as the vice-president (external) of the ISA were: advocating for retention of talent in Alberta by working with the Ministry of Advanced Education, setting up a committee on campus to take feedback from students from all across the globe, forming an advocating body to unite the voices of students across Canada by collaborating with several other universities, and fighting for transit safety, online learning options, permanent residency pathways, and against tuition increase. There is much more that I have advocated for. Likewise, I want to represent my engineering community in the Students’ Council and GFC so that I can make a lasting positive impact from my work.

Brooks: While I do not have any direct experience within Students’ Council as a representative, I have various experience through club involvement and other student governance. My primary experience would be the 2021-2022 presidency of the Electrical Engineering Club. Within this position, I have advocated and worked with both the electrical and computer engineering department and the faculty of engineering regarding the exceptional tuition increase, lab kits, and more. Out of student governance, I served as the 2020-2021 vice-president (operations) of the Engineering Innovation Club which I had helped found. Much of my involvement persisted on working with my colleagues on expanding the club and improving on the systems we had in play.

Usserbayeva: Since my second year I have been actively involved in the student government. I started off as a sponsorship coordinator at the ESS, assistant vice-president (student services) in the Chemical Engineering Students’ Society (ChESS) and events coordinator in the ISA. I was a career fair director at the ESS, vice-president (student services) at ChESS, vice-president (internal affairs) and incoming vice-president (student life) at the ISA. I have a great understanding of the engineering students’ wants and needs, I know how to communicate and engage people around, I am not afraid to raise uncomfortable questions and start silenced discussions. I have always been a heartfelt advocate who deeply cares about my society. 

Could you briefly and concisely describe your platform?

Wattamaniuk: I really want to focus my time on council to ensuring that the council is an inclusive and representative body. It’s impossible to consult with the student body on every issue, so it’s critical that our council is a faithful representation of the student body. I want to help lay the groundwork for inclusive and constructive governance.

Singh: My platform consists of three main points, Firstly, I will do student-first advocacy by being your voice and my advocacy shall always be in your best interests! Secondly, I will advocate for more awards and bursaries to provide more financial support for engineering students. Third, I will be transparent and accountable to you all by sharing updates about the SU and GFC and taking your feedback on all important matters!

Rajani: My platform is based around three major points. Firstly, the student learning experience in the context of hybrid learning environments. This will include advocating for more flexible teaching platforms in the short term to ease the transition process back to in person learning, as well as look for potential solutions to offer hybrid learning in the long term. My second point [is] exceptional tuition increases and quality of education. I will strongly advocate for more financial aid in the form of scholarships and awards as well as opportunities for all students to gain industry experience and offset their tuition costs. Lastly, I want to place a strong emphasis on the students’ voices. I want to ensure that they feel informed and engaged in the decisions being made that ultimately impact us.

Baweja: My platform is centred around three major promises: ensuring that my constituents’ voice is heard, providing better support for our community, and advocating boldly for the interests and needs of my constituents.

Brooks: In a summary, I plan to achieve two major things: communicate what is going on at the highest levels of student governance, but more specifically communicating what will affect engineering students and their program, and work with my fellow engineering representatives to advocate for the unique engineering culture that exists.

Usserbayeva: My platform is a combination of my own thoughts and feedback I got from engineering students. Above all, I will ensure constant, transparent communication between Student’s Council and students. Mainly, I will be advocating for the reduction of co-op fee for the students on their work terms, continuation of the hybrid learning model, and the increase in student awards. I will be promoting collaboration and frequent touch points not only with the ESS, but also with  the discipline-specific student group associations.

This is a really tough time for students, and there are many issues to address. What would your number one priority be as a UASU councillor?

Wattamaniuk: A governance code of conduct has been in the works in the past year, and this would be my first priority. It is critical that council is a safe space for everyone, where a diverse exchange of ideas is encouraged. Without this, harassment and discrimination cannot be acted against.

Singh: Recently, the U of A has started charging $10 for [enrolment] verification documents, which is absurd! I have raised it in GFC meeting on March 21, and will keep on pushing the registrar to continue providing PDF verification letters for free so students don’t have to pay an additional $10. I will be always opposing more tuition and fee increases and this is what I would want to start my term with.

Rajani: My first priority will be to ensure that students are satisfied with the way the university plans to operate in the near future. This includes whether students feel safe returning to campus and whether students are comfortable with returning to fully in person classes.

Baweja: Coming straight out of my platform, my number one priority as a UASU councillor would be to understand the hardships of my constituents and I wish to accomplish this by permanently creating a feedback system where students can anonymously fill in their concerns and I would consult on those concerns raised with appropriate stakeholders.

Brooks: My primary priority as a Students’ Council representative is to bridge that communication gap that the average engineering student has about the Students’ Council. This may be initiatives offered by the Students’ Union, advocacy plans, or anything else but I want to focus on informing all engineering students of what will affect them and their engineering program.

Usserbayeva: My number one priority would be open communication and engagement with the engineering students. There is an evident communication gap between the council and student body, students are not aware of ways to reach out and voice their concerns which is unacceptable. I will ensure that I am approachable for people to freely express their concerns. 

Fun Question: Where is your favourite place to study or get work done on U of A’s campus?

Wattamaniuk: I’ve recently taken to the [John] Scott Health Sciences Library to study. It’s far away from the engineering quad (which is nice when you need some individual working time), and medical students are remarkably quiet.

Singh: I love Cameron’s fourth floor and DICE eighth floor to study or work! The SUB Food Court is my favourite dining space!

Rajani: I’m sure this is a popular place amongst engineers — DICE eighth floor. I like having the option of the view and having a personal workspace as well as tables where you can study together in a group.

Baweja: I absolutely love studying on the fourth floor of Cameron Library!

Brooks: This will be a little bit of a different answer compared to most people, but I love studying on MecE fifth floor. As most of the discipline clubs and ESS is up there, there’s always a friendly, relatively quiet, environment up there! Being said, table space is limited compared to other places sadly!

Usserbayeva: I enjoy exploring new places, hence I do not have one favourite spot on campus. It really depends on my mood, if I am trying to focus I choose to go to ETLC Solarium, but if I want to socialize I would browse around ECERF second floor and DICE eighth floor (the great view comes as a nice add on).