Gabriella MenezesAs seems to be the theme with the vice-president (operations and finance) (VPOF) race, not much changed at the Indigenous Students’ Union (ISU) forum on February 28. Nathan Thiessen’s ideas remained rooted in helping Indigenous students. Ryley Bazinet and Levi Flaman still struggled to really connect to students’ issues, but Bazinet struggled far more.
The ISU forum is an opportunity for candidates to address issues specific to Indigenous students. However, Bazinet’s opening and closing statements did not address Indigenous students in any specific way.
It didn’t get much better when I asked candidates how they would ensure SU spaces are safe and welcoming for Indigenous students in light of concerns that the ISU has raised. Bazinet rambled about connecting communities and holding each other accountable. Outside of abstract terms, how that actually addresses safety was unclear to me.
Flaman, however, had a slightly better response. He suggested being mindful of how the SU budget addresses security. But I’m finding that a recurring theme with Flaman is that he’s more focused on the budget and numbers than students. It makes sense to be intentional about what the SU is budgeting for, but there’s more that can be done beyond looking at budget lines.
Thiessen was a great example of focusing on students rather than budgets. He emphasizes the SU’s social responsibility to keeping SU spaces safe and welcoming for all students. And his focus was more on the people and programs. He suggested making sure staff are properly trained to deal with incidents where students may feel unsafe. Thiessen also mentioned expanding Safewalk and more broadly trying to ensure SU services and spaces stay safe.
Flaman did bring up an interesting point in his opening statement about supporting Indigenous-owned businesses. But once again, this focuses far more on money than people. And while it’s not a bad idea, if this is so important to Flaman, why hasn’t he done more of this in his last two terms as VPOF?
The moderator, Emma-Leigh Snow, asked candidates how they could address housing issues, which disproportionately affect Indigenous students. Flaman once again brought up an idea from universities in Nova Scotia, but focused more on housing this time. He suggested adding a student levy the SU would save up over time to invest in housing projects. Additionally, “in the meantime” that money could be put towards emergency bursaries for students without housing.
But as Thiessen rightfully pointed out, Flaman has failed to make any progress on his promise in the last election to explore SU investments in housing. If he didn’t follow through the first time, why should students trust him to this time? On top of that, saving up for an investment would take a long time to build up, so it wouldn’t solve anything now.
Bazinet’s answer was similarly disappointing. He suggested a policy to prioritize giving Indigenous students residence space. He also suggested expanding access to the university’s emergency housing. But the VPOF has no control over how the university operates their residences.
Thiessen focused on providing students with information about housing instead of trying to create an SU residence. He also acknowledged that the SU has a role to play in the advocacy around housing, especially for on-campus housing.
Yet again, Thiessen presented reasonable and meaningful ideas rooted in students’ needs. Meanwhile Bazinet and Flaman largely focused on budget lines. Whether that’s salaries or adding another student levy, neither is the right focus. Both will need to do a 180 over the weekend if they want to be serious competition for Thiessen.
