SU Elections 2022 Q&A: Vice-President (Operations and Finance)

The Students’ Union vice-president (operations and finance) oversees the SU’s $11 million annual budget, and is responsible for the operations at the Students’ Unions businesses — including Dewey’s, Room At The Top (RATT), the Daily Grind, and more. This position also oversees the operation of the Students’ Union Building (SUB) and sits on committees and boards related to the dispersal of Dedicated Fee Units (DFUs).

There is one candidate in the 2022 Students’ Union vice-president (operations and finance) race — Julia Villoso, third-year anthropology student and current Students’ Union arts councillor.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

---

In 1 minute or less, can you tell us why you are running for the position of Students’ Union vice-president (operations and finance)?

Julia Villoso: I’ve been in student governance for the past two years. Last year I got the chance to serve as my second year as the arts councillor and Council Administration Committee (CAC) chair. I thought in my position I was able to [make] a really great change on campus, where I [did] the residential school memorial, the campus mentorship program, and integrated pronoun pins within the council chambers. I really think within the vice-president (operations and finance) role I can really do more change on campus through that way and have more resources to be able to really improve the lives of students. 

Can you briefly and concisely describe your platform?

Villoso: My platform focuses on four main points. I have sustainability which tackles all three pillars of sustainability social, economic, and environmental. I also have accessibility and accountability, reconciliation, and revitalization of SUB.

[In] my first point in social sustainability, I want to focus on Students’ Union Pairs, EmpowerMe, and disability accommodations. In terms of environmental sustainability I want to focus on student group sustainability specifically and the period equity program that we have. For economic sustainability I want to work on content marketing, SUTV, Perks, and bringing delivery services on to campus. For accessibility and accountability, I want to create a student group handbook [and] try and make more spaces for more students to join student governance and better our relationships with different student representative associations on campus.

My third point is reconciliation. I want to really make the residential school memorial an annual thing and bringing those conversations back into campus and bringing more awareness to the atrocities of the residential school system. I also want to commemorate National Day of Truth and Reconciliation through educational programming. As well as, tackling the Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Committee (ARRC) recommendations in changing the SUB room names into Cree.

My last big point is the revitalization of SUB. I want to make [sure] the promises of the Myer Horowitz renovation are followed through on, create new furniture for the building, tackle interior design, and also make sure that all the business decisions are being with made with student-led choices.

How do you plan to support businesses that have been impacted by university course delivery going back and forth between in-person and online delivery?

Villoso: As my portfolio as vice-president (operations and finance), I will focus more on either the Students’ Union businesses or the sort of business that we have within the building — like the different businesses within the food court.

Like I mentioned before, I have three separate big things in terms of economic sustainability. I think one really big one that will help all these businesses is delivery services. I really want to bring these delivery services — whether that’s like UberEats or DoorDash — onto campus because it gives students who are not on campus an opportunity to be able to support our Students’ Union businesses. Also, [this will] reach a relatively untapped source of the greater Edmonton community to be able to order stuff at the Daily Grind, Dewey’s, or RATT.

How do you plan to promote sustainability on the U of A campus?

Villoso: I think sustainability is one of the largest points in my platform. I really think that I could have improved on what has been done with the Sustainability and Capital Fund. I am in the Sustainability and Capital Fund Committee (SCFC). We had one project that was approved this year and there is so much left of that grant of the Green Fund that is not being used by students, because each project can apply up to $10,000 in that money. I really want to make sure that we advertise that and that students projects are being funded because every single student is paying for that fund.

I also want to integrate sustainability throughout all the SU’s practices. [For] the period equity program, trying to grab a resource that is environmentally and socially sustainable. In terms of revitalization of SUB, there’s lots of sustainable routes that we are taking when creating renovations and installing solar panels. In terms of getting new furniture I want to make sure that they are not only economically sustainable — because we are using the students’ money for that — but also that they have a long life. Not only students today can use them but also students far into the future can use them while also making them very good for the environment as well.

What projects would you like to see funded by the Sustainability and Capital Fund, not including the Myer Horowitz Theatre? 

Villoso: Like I mentioned already, one of the really big things I want to see is new furniture. I really love SUB and I spend absolutely 24/7 in this building basically. Most of the furniture [is not] comfortable, and they are about 30 years old — so basically older than most of us.

With the Sustainability and Capital Fund I want to bring furniture that is economically, environmentally sustainable and make sure that we have longevity in mind when we buy them. So, I want to look at getting new furniture for SUB and replacing all of our stained chairs and our flat couches. Other than that, I think the biggest thing I also want to use the Green Fund and the Sustainability and Capital Fund for is student projects. We really need to focus on supporting students on campus and all ideas they have in order to make campus sustainable.

Why should students trust you to manage a budget of over $11 million?

Villoso: I have over two years of experience in student governance. That is through not only the SU but I am also involved with the Organization for Arts Students and Interdisciplinary Studies (OASIS), and the Women’s and Gender Studies Department Association in which I am the vice-president (finance). They really trust me to apply for grants and making sure that the club is healthy financially.

With those two years I have also learned a lot about the SU and I am very confident in my knowledge with the Students’ Union. I have been on every single finance and money-related committee within council except for the Fee Governance Committee which was just implemented this year. Other than that I have also been on different boards such as the World University Service of Canada’s (WUSC) Refugee Student Sponsorship Committee board. I also got a chance to serve in the student group adjudication committee this year that really looked at all the student group grants on campus and seeing the financial aspects of all the student groups this year. I think my compounding amount of experience I think really helps me to manage the Students’ Union’s budget.

Fun Question: If you choose to have any business on campus at the U of A, what would you choose?

Villoso: I think a really popular one that everyone wants is McDonald’s. Just because it is cheap and I love their iced coffee. So, maybe in the future, we’ll see if that is possible.