Leah HennigAt the International Students’ Association (ISA) forum vice-president (external) (VPX) for the University of Alberta Students’ Union (SU) elections, candidates came out with a wide range of old ideas, and only a couple of new ones. Arman Chauhan and Angel Raina are showing promise, but neither one is really ahead of the other. Both are showing increased awareness of the position, a desire to collaborate, and have some fresh ideas. Dustin Rodenbush isn’t doing enough to show care and understand the issues of the wider U of A community.
In her opening statement, Chauhan acknowledged the 10 per cent tuition hike international students faced last year and humbly said that while she can’t stop every increase, she’ll advocate against them. And she added that she would also advocate for a predictable tuition model that keeps tuition the same throughout someone’s time in school. This is a great idea, but it exists already. International students have a guaranteed tuition rate when they are admitted.
Another issue is tuition changes are not in the VPX portfolio. It would make more sense to take advantage of the current VPX Abdul Abbasi’s momentum with external institutions. Abbasi has been heavily advocating for some time to minimize cost increases for students. And, he even got the U of A a slight increase in our operating grant. This is what VPX does, not advocate internally.
Her only promise that is actually within the VPX portfolio is to advocate for double points for U of A international students using the Express Entry system. This is also something Abbasi was working on. Chauhan building off of Abbasi’s foundation is definitely something she should be running on more.
Raina came into this forum swinging, staying in her portfolio with relevant and consistent plans. She reiterated her intent to advocate for transit safety, residence grants to reach Edmonton, and federally funded mental health supports. Alongside this, she emphasized that her advocacy would be with multiple levels of government.
Raina did mention some plans for internal advocacy, but not in the same way other candidates did. Raina said she plans to work with the next vice-president (student life) (VPSL) to ensure newcomer support. While she didn’t give any specifics, acknowledging her possible place within the SU’s executive committee and the desire to work as a team shows strong candidacy. After this, Chauhan said she had similar sentiments.
Rodenbush took things in a different direction as he promised plans to advocate to the City of Edmonton on a range of issues. Rodenbush said he’s set to follow in Abbasi’s footsteps, advocating for underground cell service in transit stations. The issue here is that the city has already promised this to be delivered in March.
And for Rodenbush’s own plans, to advocate for escalator maintenance to happen outside of hours that affect students. Alongside this, he said he would advocate to the city to clean up trash on campus. If Rodenbush is given the chance to advocate to the city for this, they’ll likely tell him to turn around, since that’s more of a campus issue.
When candidates were asked directly about transit safety, Chauhan noted some standout plans to maintain the transit coalition and back the Downtown Vibrancy Fund, which is now called the Downtown Action Plan Fund. Part of the Downtown Action Plan Fund plans to increase transit safety by beautifying the transit system. Chauhan’s backing of this unique non-confrontational approach shows attention to what’s going on in the city, and a willingness to consider new approaches to problem-solving.
Raina had some equally interesting plans. She repeated her plans for peace officers in transit, and mentioned plans to advocate for the re-creation of a co-ordinated outreach program like the Crisis Diversion Team, which she said is something the city had in the past. However, the Crisis Diversion Team actually does still exist. And so does the Community Outreach Transit Team (COTT). COTT’s Team Lead of Edmonton actually even came to campus for a town hall to chat about transit safety this last December. Raina’s lack of research and awareness here makes her promises questionable. Rodenbush added nothing new.
When asked about what candidates think the SU did right, or what they would change in response to the federal government’s cutting international student working hours, Chauhan said she didn’t think she could do much. However, she did say there’s room for her to get up to speed on the topic.
Raina showed an awareness of the going ons of the SU and noted they were successful in advocating for increased hours from 20 to 24. She also offered holistic approaches to alleviate financial pressures. She said plans to advocate for affordable housing, mental health supports, and said she’d address food insecurity as well. These are all alternative ways to tackle the issue. This approach to alleviate the effects is a great way to use the abilities of the VPX position. Even if it isn’t a direct solution, she thought outside of the box here.
Rodenbush said he’ll platform for increased working hours and employment opportunities for new graduates. But so is everyone else. Raina hit a home run with her approach to the issue and showed a problem solving approach and an awareness of issues facing international students.
It’s clear which candidates have a grasp on how students’ concerns can be addressed. Now the question is, who can do it better?
