Noor ChaudhryThe race for vice-president (student life) (VPSL) started off as a slow-moving process for candidates Renson Alva and Adrian Lam, but quickly picked up for one candidate near the end. Alva and Lam have both showcased their support for services pertaining to mental health and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Additionally, they have both strongly emphasized the need for communication amongst all three campuses. Based on their platforms that have similar goals, yet different approaches. Who will voters elect?
Renson Alva
With his ambitious 15-page platform, Alva’s goals range from addressing mental health supports and SGBV, to enhancing student life at the satellite campuses of Augustana and Campus Saint-Jean (CSJ).
His presence at the forums started off with generalized campaign promises that he promoted to students. While the sentiment was nice, it got old after the CSJ forum. However, he stepped it up by the International Students’ Association (ISA) forum, where he gave more concrete examples of how he would promote these values. He suggested things like creating a mentorship program for international students, and even proposed working alongside Active Minds to destigmatize mental health access. Considering the Augustana and CSJ forums ultimately consisted of him regurgitating his platform’s table of contents, this was a step-up. In this case, it was nice to see him take action towards providing students with substantial ideas.
At the Myer Horowitz forum, Alva further advertised his desire to communicate with all students, including those from Augustana and CSJ. His preparedness for this proposition was evident when he said exactly what this communication would look like. He proposed monthly visits to both campuses, having an online presence through something like a Google Form, and virtual office hours. To me, this communication seems feasible, and if elected as VPSL, doable for the role.
Alva showed initiative in many aspects of his campaign, which only increased as the forums happened. However, his opponent Adrian Lam asked him about the reality of being able to achieve everything in his large platform. Alva’s response indicated that the things in his platform are not promises, but things that he can work on throughout his potential term.
Ultimately, I’m going to have to agree with Lam on that point. While the large platform is beneficial for a comprehensive view of his goals, he might be aiming too high — which could potentially result in disappointment for students who might be affected by these unfulfilled goals.
Overall, Alva has shown his improvement in providing students with specific examples of what he would do for larger aspects of the VPSL role. While these suggestions still need to be refined, there is something concrete that students can expect if Alva is elected.
Adrian Lam
Adrian Lam, a current Students’ Council Augustana councillor, has shown his compassion and desire to advocate for students of all cultural backgrounds at all campuses. While his championing for aspects such as mental health supports and resources for international and Indigenous students are admirable, his constant resort to generalizations during all forums is disappointing. Throughout the campaign, he has shown minimal improvement.
During opening statements at the Myer Horowitz forum, Lam stated that he “recognizes his platform is short but it contains real and achievable goals that [he] hopes to accomplish.” While it’s true that his platform is short — specifically one single-spaced paragraph on a pdf — unfortunately the goals are not coupled with tangible solutions that make his platform worthwhile.
His passion for advocating for students in terms of mental health and SGBV supports remained clear at every forum. Yet with every general declaration of support, I was consistently unfulfilled by phrases such as “celebrating diversity” and “being a voice for all students,” when there were no objective plans to accompany it.
Lam’s dedication to representing the underrepresented is admirable. If he were to provide in-depth examples as to how he would do this, his advocacy would be unparalleled. Yet at the same time, even though he hasn’t provided much in terms of examples, I fear that this advocacy would mainly be directed towards Augustana students. Lam’s campaign goals center around highlighting all student voices, but I worry his personal connection to Augustana would get in the way.
Throughout many of the forums, he expressed his concern over Augustana students historically being underrepresented in the SU, and that he wants to change this. While I am glad he is advocating for students on the satellite campuses, I am not sure how far this advocacy would truly extend to students at CSJ and North Campus.
At the CSJ forum, Lam repeated this sentiment about fostering communication with CSJ students, but was unable to provide a substantial answer to how this would be done. This made me worry that he only has Augustana students in mind. Even then, he does not provide much in terms of communicating with them, either.
While Lam’s platform points are important and contain duties that do fall under the VPSL role, his constant resort to vague statements is not enough for the role. It concerns me that he has no idea of how to follow through on these aspects at all.
Who should win, and who will win?
In terms of providing specific ideas that attempts to cover multiple issues pertaining to student groups, Alva brings more to the table. He has shown he has thought about the needs of students and the specifics of what this would entail. Both Alva and Lam show they know what the general requirements are for the VPSL role. Yet, Alva has showcased that he has certain suggestions in mind, whereas Lam does not. Alva’s understanding of the role, concrete ideas, and friendly demeanour make him the more personable candidate. Because of this, I think the student body is more likely to stand behind Alva.
Alva is ultimately the stronger candidate in the race. His commitment to connecting with students across all three campuses, striving to implement culturally diverse mental health resources, and holding the university accountable for the closure of the Sexual Assault Centre, makes him the stronger candidate for the role.
