Gabriella MenezesNot much changed at the third forum, hosted by the International Students’ Association (ISA), in the 2025 University of Alberta Students’ Union (SU) election. While consistency is usually considered a good thing, it’s simply stagnation when you’re consistently mediocre or even bad. This rang true for some of the vice-president (operations and finance) candidates as they went head-to-head again on February 27. Much like at the last two forums, Nathan Thiessen continued to present strong ideas. Meanwhile, Ryley Bazinet largely stuck to his promise to cut SU fees and Levi Flaman offered nothing new.
Flaman continued to just say he wants to continue doing what he’s doing. As the current and 2023–24 VPOF, Flaman is seeking a third term. And it seems that he’s seeking yet another term to simply wrap up his unfinished work. But that isn’t a good reason for students to re-elect him for a third. This was especially apparent when candidates answered a question about their approach to the SUB master plan. During Flaman’s current term, the SUB planning committee didn’t meet until early 2025. Yet he promises that this time, he’ll actually do something with the SUB master plan.
Bazinet also largely continued with what he’s been doing. Though, he did do a good job specifically addressing international students in his answers to questions. But Bazinet either stuck to his promise to cut fees and utilize businesses or offered ideas that were better suited to the vice-president (student life) (VPSL) portfolio. It’s not that the VPOF and VPSL roles never intersect, but Bazinet’s ideas for his own role are lacking.
And, like the other candidates, Thiessen’s performance was on par with the last two forums. He again emphasized collaborating with student groups and associations, specifically the ISA, to address students’ needs. Particularly, Thiessen said he intends to help the ISA find more fiscal security. He mentioned helping the ISA pass a membership fee, which failed to pass in the 2024 SU election. Focusing on supporting student groups in their own efforts was the right move.
Flaman also mentioned making the processes for student groups more efficient and easier to navigate. But, once again, he said he has made minimal progress on in two years. If he hasn’t been able to fix that problem, it might be time for someone else to take the reins.
Another great idea from Thiessen was a resource bank that student groups could borrow equipment from. He mentioned things like barbecues, as the ISA does BBQs for social events, but it has the potential to include a lot more too.
All Thiessen has to do is continue doing exactly what he has been for the rest of the campaign. Flaman and Ryley on the other hand, have a lot of ground to make up in the next two forums.
