Christina VarvisIf a Vice-President (Operations and Finance) candidate falls in the woods, and nobody knows who he is, is he still notorious?
What makes somebody notorious? Is it actually based on people knowing who you are due to your accomplishments and experience, or is it based on something meaningless like running a business that no one has actually heard of? It’s pretty clear in the VP (Operations and Finance) race that Cody Bondarchuk actually has something to run on, aside from telling people he’s notoriously good. I’m not just talking about his dog, either — last year’s presidential joke candidate, Doge.
The two candidates in this race, Bondarchuk and Samer Sleiman, are polar opposite, both in terms of their appearance and their platforms. In its simplest terms, Sleiman’s campaign has been more business-based, focusing on making hopefully shrewd investments to increase the SU’s financial well-being next year. Bondarchuk’s platform has been more focused on providing potential new services to benefit both the SU and student life. Sleiman is looking for ways for the Student’s Union to increase profit, such as a long-term plan to renovate RATT and Dewey’s, and increasing advertisement sales on SUTV. On the other hand, Bondarchuk is looking to bring students affordable grocery alternatives and more opportunities for part-time jobs around campus.
One of these doesn’t seem really realistic.
It’s pretty easy to see that Sleiman is using the RATT and Dewey’s renovation project as a way to get students excited, even though it’s completely unrealistic, and no one on campus right now will ever actually reap benefits from it. The Students’ Union doesn’t actually own the building in which Dewey’s is located, so they’ll have to go through the owner of the building before they actually begin any renovations. That takes us to Sleiman’s other point of a second Week of Welcome at the beginning of the Winter Semester. This sounds really familiar. I think it’s called Anti-Freeze. Even if Sleiman thought Anti-Freeze didn’t provide enough of a welcoming to the winter term, it’s not even his decision to make, as that would be a VP (Student Life) concern.
Moving back to Bondarchuk’s campaign, things start to make a little more sense.
His first point is affordable and accessible food and grocery options in SUB. Right now, options for good, cheap, non-processed food in SUB are pretty limited, except for during the occasional Farmer’s Market. Next, he goes into creating more opportunities for part-time jobs for students on campus and more attainable scholarships. These are points that will actually help students, rather than just a fly-by-night proposal to remodel a campus bar.
What makes somebody notorious? Sleiman may have the buzzwords and exciting, yet unrealistic platforms that make him seem like the stronger candidate, but when it’s all said and done, Bondarchuk’s plans are ones that will actually help make life as a student at the University of Alberta easier. Aside from that, I think running a valued service like Safe Walk makes you a little bit more notorious on campus than running a business while taking a full course load.
Honestly, I’m sure Sleiman is a strong businessman with a good mind for finance, but the reality is that Bondarchuk’s meat and potatoes platform is one that will be directly advantageous to students, which is what’s most important in a position like this.
