Lochlann KerrEvery year, The Gateway hosts a panel to discuss the Students’ Union (SU) election. This year’s panellists provided their insights on the candidates running, student politics, and who students should vote for in the 2025 SU election.
Opinions expressed by the panellists do not reflect those of The Gateway.
The Panel
This year’s panel included:
- Areeha Mahal: The Gateway 2021–22 News Editor, former Deputy Arts and Culture Editor, and former Deputy News Editor
- Mason Pich: fourth-year political science and religious studies student at the University of Alberta, former SU arts councilor
- Habby Zoud: second-year philosophy student, secretary of the Campus NDP
The Candidates
Abdul Abbasi, a fourth-year law, crime, and justice studies student and current VPX.
Nate Goetz, a fourth-year law, crime, and justice studies student and current Augustana councillor.
Juan C. Munoz, a second-year business student.
For the VPX race, all three panellists agreed that none of the candidates had a strong presence, either online or on-campus. So far, Mahal has seen the most from Abbasi, which she thinks may have to do with the presence he’s already built due to his current role as the VPX. But, none of the panellists have seen much from either Goetz or Munoz.
“For this year [VPX candidates] just [haven’t] had the best social media platforms. They’re just not getting the same support that other candidates are,” Pich said.
Zoud agreed with Pich, and said the “social media presence [has] left something to be desired, which is not great for [VPX].” While he has seen some of Goetz’s posters and posts, Goetz “doesn’t get much traction with the stuff he posts.”
In terms of forum performance, none of the candidates particularly stood out to the panellists. Pich “found all three to be a bit lackluster,” although Munoz has brought a presence, at least.
“He is very confident in what he’s saying. Now, whether or not that’s what I think is the best way to explain his platform, is maybe a bit different.”
So far, Mahal has found that Abbasi hasn’t brought any fresh ideas.
“It seems like a continuation of work he’s already done, rather than a step forward.”
Mahal agreed that Munoz has brought a strong presence to the forums. As well, she noticed that he’s shifted from “general rhetoric to more concrete stuff,” which she appreciates. Lack of concrete specifics at forums is also something that she has seen from Goetz.
To Zoud, the VPX is a very strong position in the SU. Whoever is elected has the potential for advocacy and mobilizing students. This is something “we haven’t seen very much for the past year from Abbasi, which is not great,” Zoud said. He noted that Abbasi has talked about his experience in the role and the connections that he’s built during his term, but Zoud is “not really sure if that matters.”
While Zoud thinks Munoz has “a bit of an edge” over Goetz at the forums, he is not particularly impressed with any of the candidates.
The panellists discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the VPX candidate’s platforms
For Mahal and Pich, Goetz’s platform was the strongest.
Pich raised concerns with one of Abbasi’s professed goals — leaving the Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS). In his Q&A with The Gateway, Abbasi stated that “we know CAUS isn’t working and it’s not worth staying in that anymore.” Pich “would be willing to hear him out on his rationale,” but argued that CAUS was “very effective” during the term of the 2023–24 VPX, Chris Beasley. This was due to Beasley taking on the role of chair, which Abbasi also could have done, Pich said.
While Munoz has mentioned grants he intends to work towards expanding, which Mahal found noteworthy, ultimately she found Goetz’s platform to be the strongest. Out of the three candidates, she finds his focus best fits the portfolio of the VPX role.
“He, I think, is looking a lot at what specifically falls within the VPX role, which is a lot of external advocacy.”
When looking at candidate’s platforms, Zoud wanted to see “what would differentiate any of the candidates from the previous term because the previous one was very, very weak.” Across the board, Zoud was disappointed with the lack of focus the VPX candidates placed on mobilizing students.
“I think the role of VPX [should] not be … just go and network with a bunch of politicians,” he said.
The Gateway asked the panellists which candidate they think has the most realistic goals.
According to Pich, VPX is “an interesting position” as the success of the VPX’s goals is often dependent on how well those goals align with other governments and the university. For this reason Pich thinks Munoz has the most realistic goals. Though, he added, all candidate’s goals are “limited … in how achievable they actually are.”
Both Abbasi’s and Goetz’s platform points “have some sense of vagueness,” Mahal said. Abbasi has spoken about pushing students to vote in upcoming elections, which Mahal would like more information on. She noted Munoz has been more specific in his goals, such as naming the grants he would aim to increase funding for.
The VPX candidates have all made promises surrounding advocacy. Mahal noted that achieving any advocacy goals may not be realistic. Still, if the VPX can get the work started, “that would not be time wasted,” she added.
For Zoud, it is important that they fulfill their promises of advocating, even if they are unable to secure the goals of their advocacy.
Who will win: three votes for Abbasi
Who should win: one vote for Goetz, two vote for Munoz
Correction: This article was updated at 11:49 a.m. on March 5, 2025 to reflect that two panellists thought Munoz should win, not one. The Gateway deeply regrets this error.
