Leah Hennig Vice-president (student life) (VPSL) felt more in tune at the Campus Saint-Jean (CSJ) forum, but still had their priorities in the wrong places. VPSL candidates Brish Goorimoorthee, Nolan Greenwood, Manyu Rathour, and Paige Wall came to CSJ with more ideas for parties than ideas for safety. There is clearly a lot of work that needs to be done at CSJ. VPSL candidates seem to recognize some of the issues, but are forgetting the most important ones.
Throughout the forum, Goorimoorthee understood the issues of being a bilingual student, but nothing more. He had very little to say on how he would address the issues besides translating material into French. Instead, he focused more on accessible events for CSJ students to attend. Bringing more events to CSJ is important for community building. But it feels as though there are more important issues that need addressing first. One of those things is safety.
One of the biggest issues Greenwood has brought up throughout his campaign is the price of residence. At CSJ, he discussed how rent had increased from $800 to $1,300 under rent rationalization. With this, there was little to no improvement in living conditions. Rent did increase for Résidence Saint-Jean (RSJ) even though finding these exact numbers is tricky. He also discussed translating the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) materials into French for CSJ students. Overall, Greenwood has done a good job of consulting with CSJ students to understand and address their needs. While not every approach he gave had a firm answer, it’s good knowing he has done his homework.
Rathour made many great points throughout the forum, but not all of them very equally. Translating materials into French for CSJ students was a big concern for him. Unfortunately, like Goorimoorthee, Rathour didn’t seem to have many plans in place to address this need besides increased communication. Increasing communication, though, can only do so much.
He did make an excellent point by saying that CSJ needs better access to food options. He has suggested adding a shuttle service to grocery stores and for the Campus Food Bank (CFB) to have easier options for students. Adding this to CSJ would help address food insecurity and would benefit students in need. Maybe more concerning, though, was Rathour’s desire for a prom-type event to take place at CSJ. Reallocating time, efforts, and funds for a prom that many people would likely not enjoy feels like a strong step in the wrong direction. Both Goorimoorthee and Rathour need to realize that the VPSL role is more than a friendly face and an event or party planner.
Finishing up the forum, Wall added three of her main issues she hopes to address for CSJ students. First, she hopes to modify grants for cross-campus event collaboration. Next, she hopes to have at least one VPSL-led event on CSJ. Alongside that, to pilot shuttle service for high-impact events. While events on campus, and specifically CSJ, are incredibly important to the university community building, there was too much time and energy spent on them.
There was a lot left unsaid at this forum, even though it was a step up compared to the last forum. Besides Greenwood’s mentioning the SGBV task force, there was no talk of increasing safety measures at CSJ. As VPSL, safety comes as a very important part of the job. CSJ is majorly underrepresented, as is clear from the candidates’ platforms. But while each and every one of them mentioned co-ordinating more events, the talk of safety was at an all-time low. Having more accessible events is crucial to a lively university life, but those events have to be safe for everyone. And with a lack of safety concerns, VPSL seem to forget what half the job entails.
Even though the CSJ forum acted as a step up from the ISU forum the day before, it’s clear there is still a lot of work to be done. All candidates want to make life at CSJ better for every student, but their priorities seem to be in the wrong places. Instead of focusing so heavily on events that could be brought to CSJ, they should be putting some of that energy into making sure the campus is safe for everyone to enjoy those events.
