SFUO Presidential Candidates
Philippe Mulet, fifth-year mechanical engineering student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Mulet: I think we need to build consensus in this university. There was this moment that came when I realized that all the student bodies are defederating … I’m in engineering, so I like fixing problems.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
It’s all about the student experience, in my opinion. I’d like to bring the federation back to the glory they had by making the students really feel represented. Part of my goals would be to review different things of how the SFUO is run and try to change it.
Back in the day, the BOA was formed by the executives of all the federated bodies, so I really want to include them into the day-to-day decision-making process of the student federation. I would get a committee together to look at ways we could change the constitution [to make that happen].
Part of my platform is I’m reaching out to students [and] sending emails to the community at large to figure out what they want and find out what works.
Leadership and strong decision-making skills are necessary for this position. How will you go about proving to students you are a strong leader and you possess the necessary traits to be president?
Leaders aren’t born—they’re made. My goal is to run with it. I’ve acquired skills reaching out to students—I am reaching out to them, because the more information we get, the merrier we’ll be. I am trying to reach out right now, so I can lead them in this change we all need.
I don’t have anything to hide—once the campaigning really starts, I’m going to make my Facebook public to everyone, and I have a blog that I’ll be updating. People will see I’m not bullshitting around—I’m writing about what I want to do and how I see it.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
“All we are saying is give peace a chance.” —The Beatles
Who are your favourite fictional hero, and villain and why?
Atomic Ant. It’s a tiny little ant, but she’s powerful—she has all the force in the world. Being little can bring big change.
Villains… Why would he be my favourite? I’m going to say … How can a bad person be good? Riddler from Batman. He’s never direct—you can always interpret him in your own ways.
Votemulet.com | @philippemulet
Affiliations: None
Ethan Plato, fourth-year international development
and globaliazation student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Plato: I am running for president because I think that there’s a decent amount of people who feel alienated from the student federation at the University of Ottawa.
I’d really like to get back to ensuring that we continue to build on the work of creating an accessible campus, but also making sure it’s inclusive for all the different groups on and off campus so that they may feel part of the [U of O] community. My biggest thing is that I feel that, as president, I should be somewhat of a mediator, as well as a manager, for the team that works toward that end.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
I’d like to really focus on revamping the professor evaluation program. Bubble sheets really aren’t enough. Profs alter their teaching style for that … just so that they get good marks.
I also want to work on some very creative and interesting social events. We’re thinking about trying to lobby to, once a month, get the noise bylaws pushed back to 1 a.m., for example, so that you could have a concert in Strathcona Park or bonfire hockey in the outdoor rink of the [Sandy Hill Community Health Centre].
Leadership and strong decision-making skills are necessary for this position. How will you go about proving to students you are a strong leader and that you possess the necessary traits to be their president?
I think the biggest thing is to lead by example. I am not someone who’s in your face yelling at you about things, but I will get the job done. I am someone who is reliable and—I’d like to think—intelligent.
I think I work well with people, and I try not to make enemies with people. Maybe that’s not good if I want be a politician, but I’ve lived my life that way so far, and so I hope to continue to do that.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
Communication is key.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
My favourite hero is Batman. He has been my favourite hero for a long time. My brother’s first words were “Na na na na na na Batman,” so that just shows the influence [I] had on [my brother]. I like him because he doesn’t have any super powers—he’s just a boss, and he does it on his own.
I don’t want to stick with Batman, but the Joker was just amazing. [I like] the Joker just because he is so well done, and chilling, and I think it is especially kind of terrifying the way that he thinks that society is bad and tries to bring out the worst in everyone.
Plato2012.ca | @ethanplato
Affiliations: Jozef Spiteri
Amalia Savva, fifth-year political science and public administration student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Savva: I’m running because I feel that the past year was a great opportunity for me to start a lot of projects and to start good building around the student federation. I’d love to continue the work next year.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
I feel like a lot of it is going to be continuing the work I’ve been doing over the past year. This year I’ve done a lot of outreach to students and a lot of communication with students, [like] through the campus-wide survey that we did this year. Continuing that work, taking those results, and putting them into action for next year [is one of my goals].
I think [it’s about] not only communicating to the students, but communicating with the administration, whether that’s through Food Services, within the University Centre, or the advertising policy on campus.
Leadership and strong decision-making skills are necessary for this position. How will you go about proving to students you are a strong leader and that you possess the necessary traits to be president?
I feel like this year I’ve proven that a lot, [like] through the campus-wide survey. Being a leader is about having that open form of communication with our students and, again, talking to students.
I don’t think being a leader is being in the office all day. Being a leader is about talking to students and making sure not only that we hear what they have to say, but returning on what the federation is offering.
When it comes to within the SFUO, teamwork in there is extremely important, especially with the executive. I think being a leader in that case is providing the rest of the executive with the help they may need throughout their mandate.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
It’s my role to ensure the student federation listens to student voices and advocates for student rights—and that’s what I’m all about, and that’s what I’d like to see for next year.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
My favourite hero would be Martha Washington … She’s definitely a strong, very powerful woman. My favourite villain would be Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. He’s a very strange, very intricate person.
Amaliasavva.ca | @amaliasavva
Affiliations: Adam Gilani, Anne-Marie Roy, Marie-Claude Noël, Liz Kessler, Tasha Peters
SFUO VP University Affairs Candidates
Christopher Clarke, third-year political science and environmental studies student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Clarke: I’m running because I have an extreme interest in the position itself. Dealing with administration, appealing on students’ behalf, dealing with [Action Sandy Hill], in specific. Also the U-Pass program, I believe I can improve that working alongside the city, get a better deal for students, stand up for students’ tuition fees, represent better campaigns—those are the main points.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
Some of the main goals that I wish to accomplish would be re-gearing the Drop Fees campaign. I’d rather target, in specific, the [U of O] administration and have a large public campaign against them to decrease the rate at which tuition prices increase. Right now, they go up between five and eight per cent [annually], depending on your program, and I’d like to knock a few per cent off that.
This position requires heavy collaboration with the administration. How will you ensure all student interests are represented?
I would make sure to bring up specific student issues, listen through social media what the major issues are, talk to people on campus, find out what their problems are, and address complaints brought up through the Student Appeal Centre with the necessary committees.
I’d work to find a reasonable compromise between the administration and the students and to have it benefit both, coming out with a positive outcome.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
“All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” —J. R. R. Tolkien
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain and why?
My [favourite] super villain is Darth Malak from Knights of the Old Republic, the video game. It’s an amazing game, I love it. I base all my characters off that game.
Superhero—I’m not too sure. Most of them are kind of corny. I have to say Optimus Prime; he saves the world, he’s got this wicked voice, he’s a pretty badass robot.
Chris-clarke.org
Affiliations: None
Liz Kessler, fourth-year political science and women’s studies student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Kessler: I am running because I want to continue to be an advocate for student rights on campus, to work on improving student representation, to make sure the student voices are heard in everything that happens on our campus, and ensure that the administration is held accountable to the students’ voices.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
This year has been a big year in terms of making the National Day of Action happen. It’s going really well, and I want to continue that campaign.
[I want] to create a bill of rights for students in residence. Right now, students who live in residence are not covered by the Ontario Landlord and Tenants Act. They don’t have the same rights as other tenants in Ontario in terms of when your landlord can come into your house, privacy, what happens when there is damage. Right now, students are getting blamed for things living in residence that aren’t their fault.
Another project that I want to do is to improve the representation of part-time students. Right now … there are many different places [in administration] where students have voices on those committees in different ways, but in none of them are part-time students allowed to be at the table. We only get the perspective of students who are full time, and have more time to put into those kinds of things. Something that I want is to get a dialogue with the university goingPon how can we change that and make sure that part-time students are represented at the table.
This position requires heavy collaboration with the administration. How will you ensure all student interests are represented?
I think holding more consultations with students is really important. We’ve had a couple of them this year, specifically on the harassment and discrimination policy, which were really useful and effective in showing the administration the number of opinions on the issue. So I think having more consultations with students and also improving the amount of representation we have on various Senate committees and things like that is very important.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
“All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” —J. R. R. Tolkien
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain and why?
I think my favourite hero is probably Hermione, from Harry Potter, I think, because she’s smart and she has a very strong sense of right and wrong. She’s very much intellectual, and everything is about thinking something through, but she also has a heart.
And my favourite villain… I actually have no idea. I like more complicated villains that have reasoning behind what they do and are not just pure evil.
Voteliz.ca | @E_Kess
Affiliations: Amalia Savva, Adam Gilani, Anne-Marie Roy, Marie-Claude Noël, Tasha Peters
SFUO VP Social
Jozef Spiteri, fifth-year history, communication, and Arab studies student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Spiteri: I am running for vp social to protect and entertain the students. I feel that in the past year of me being vp social for the arts faculty that I have accomplished a few events that could have been much better if I had been given resources and funding, so I think it is the next step forward for the students.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
Some of the goals I hope to accomplish would be to revamp Fedstock. For example, I would like to start in September, and recreate a volunteer group for the SFUO, which has been more or less gone in the past year. I would also like to see the Winter Challenge be more important, and to create a stronger sense of community at [U of O] events.
The U of O is a diverse campus with students of different interests and backgrounds. How will you ensure participation from all the groups and increase accessibility to SFUO events?
I honestly don’t think it is possible for every student to be entertained by one event, so we would have to really sit down with everyone at the beginning of the year and figure out what size [the different interest groups] are and what size of events they’re looking for.
It would be too easy to entertain just the one group, and I think I have shown that I am able to entertain multiple groups in the past year—from people that enjoy massive amounts of food, to people that enjoy certain locations, to people that enjoy a swing class.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
Protect and entertain.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
It changes a lot. I would say Batman at the moment. He found himself being a self-made man. His parents were killed, and he always finds a way to come up with a solution out of his belt—something I do not have, but I always come up with ideas with duct tape or something random.
Favourite villain? I think Dr. Evil—I think he would be up there. The sharks with lasers on their heads would be a good toy to have.
Jozefspiteri.ca | @Spiteri2012
Affiliations: Ethan Plato
Marie-Claude Noël, fifth-year communication student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Noël: I got to start a lot of really great work this year and I’d love to get the opportunity to continue it. I have some projects in the works, and I’m also looking forward to bringing some new ideas onto the floor and see what we can do with that.
I really enjoy the position and I really like working with the students. It’s a very different view of the university than I got in the past, because I kind of got to work with different groups on campus—be it federated bodies, services, or clubs.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
My platform is in a three-point format. I’m looking to showcase the student talent we have on our campus, because we have a lot of it and it’s not something we get to explore very often.
I’m also looking to create more venues for students to have their voices heard. Something I’m looking to implement is philanthropic assemblies … so that students can come in and vote on the philanthropic initiatives that are going to be upcoming in the new year.
The U of O is a diverse campus with students of different interests and backgrounds. How will you ensure participation from all the groups and increase accessibility to SFUO events?
That’s something I’ve been working quite a bit on this year. It’s a lot about reaching out to those groups, and one of the things I said I wanted to do was create more venues for students to have their voices heard. We’re not just catering to the voices of the loud, but the voices of the minorities as well.
One of the things I worked on this year and I’d like to continue to do is helping students who are already running events by supporting their events and helping bring crowds to those. It’s not about having the biggest, flashiest event; it’s about taking what’s already there and making it bigger.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
It’s not about being memorable yourself, but making sure students at the University of Ottawa have a memorable experience.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
I’d say Spider-Woman is my favourite; she’s a good, kick-ass woman. And my favourite villain is Elektra. She’s kind of a little bit of both—a little good, a little bad.
Mcnoel.ca | @MCnoL
Affiliations: Amalia Savva, Adam Gilani, Anne-Marie Roy, Liz Kessler, Tasha Peters
Anne-Marie Roy, fourth-year communication student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Roy: I’ve been involved with the SFUO for a little while now, and I can definitely see things that could be improved in the communications between the SFUO and the students, and also between the SFUO and the community in general. I’m really interested; I really want to do the work and improve the communication.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
I’d like to re-establish a good connection between the SFUO and students. I also want to re-establish a good connection with the media. I’m aware that sometimes folks at the SFUO are hard to get a hold of, and that’s something I definitely want to fix to ensure students are well informed [about] what’s going on.
How will you keep the population of our university not only informed, but also engaged?
That is one of my goals: I’m hoping to really increase the voter turnout next year. I think one of the really important issues about engaging students is they don’t understand the SFUO; they don’t know what we do. Most of them don’t know they have 12 services they can take advantage of.
I think the first step to engaging our students is informing them, and I think that’s something we have to start months before the elections roll around. It’s something we need to begin as soon as they come [to campus] in September.
I’d also like to really revamp the website and give students a reason to go back—that way they always have contact with the SFUO.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
Go big or go home.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
Catwoman. She’s intelligent and sexy while eloquent at the same time. Catwoman’s sexy side comes out when she’s a villain. Tintin is my favourite hero—let’s go with that one.
Annemarieroy.ca | @AMroy_cmn
Affiliations: Amalia Savva, Adam Gilani, Marie-Claude Noël, Liz Kessler, Tasha Peters
SFUO VP Student Affairs Candidates
Kate Hudson, fourth-year psychology student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Hudson: I’ve seen a lot of people maybe frustrated with the SFUO in previous years, but they don’t do anything about it, and I think that if you want to see change you need to do it yourself.
I’m going to be here for a fifth year, so I thought, “Why not run for the SFUO?” I think I can really make a difference in students’ lives.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
One of the big things I want to do is reconnect with the federated bodies, because in past years there has been a lot of unrest—a lot of talk of defederation—and rather than simply telling them “no,” it’s important to start a dialogue with them and understand what their thoughts are, what their priorities are, and try and get them more involved in the SFUO. Give them more power to make their own decisions, so that they feel more invested in the SFUO—they feel that they’re really being listened to.
Managing clubs and services on campus requires high organizational and communication skills. How will you go about making sure all needs are met, policies are upheld, and everyone is happy?
I think the vp student affairs does rely a lot on people like the club coordinators and volunteers, so it’s really important to have a good relationship with the clubs coordinator and be able to delegate—but also let them do their own job.
I think it’s also important to have a regular schedule with regular office hours, so that if people have concerns they can always come into the office—something that’s regular and posted, so they know I’m available for them.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
It’d be an honour to represent students at the University of Ottawa as your student affairs.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
My favourite fictional hero would have to be Batman, because he’s really awesome and his super power is intelligence. That’s pretty cool.
My favourite villain would have to be the Joker. I’m a huge Batman fan. I’m kind of a nerd as well, so I like all of the comic book heroes and villains, but Batman would definitely have to be a favourite.
Voteforkate.ca | @Katelynmhudson
Affiliations: None
Tasha Peters, fourth-year political science and women’s studies student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Peters: I’ve been pretty involved on campus for four years now in a lot of different vicinities, and I’ve seen a lot of great work that’s been done and also a lot of things that can be done to make our campus even better for students.
There’s such a diversity of really awesome, amazing, interesting students on our campus … that often don’t get seen, and I want to … work with those students.
Recognizing that there are a lot of barriers that students face and helping work with students to address those is important.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
One big thing is working with the different portfolios together. So how can the services work with clubs and forge those links? How can the services and clubs work with the businesses? That’s going to be a big thing. Also looking after students’ well-being. One thing I want to push for: More microwaves on campus.
The mental health campaign is something that I really care about and want to work really hard on and strengthen for students. I want to help clubs reach out more—having bulk purchasing for clubs so they can actually use the SFUO’s bulk purchase program so they can … publicize their club for more affordable prices.
[Student] services’ websites are going to be a really top priority for me if I’m elected. The way they are structured now makes it really difficult for them to always be up-to-date, and it’s important for the services and also for students to be able to access those services.
Managing clubs and services on campus requires high organizational and communication skills. How will you go about ensuring all needs are met, policies upheld, and everyone is happy?
A couple of years ago, there was a huge 1,000-conference on this campus to talk about climate change that brought … youth from across the country. I was a really big part of organizing that.
It’s important to keep talking to everyone, make sure everyone’s concerns are met. This job obviously has a lot of staff with all those services, so I think talking to them—making sure they’re supported—is going to have to be a top priority.
I’ve been on the BOA for a couple of years, so I think having a really clear understanding of the policies in the first place is going to be … important.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
I want to look after students’ well-being; I want to make sure student’s voices are heard; and I want to make sure that the huge diversity of students on this campus are seen and represented.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
Fern Gulley was my favourite movie growing up, so I would say the fairy from Fern Gulley—she was the best. She is definitely one of many favourite fictional heroes. At least she was when I was three years old.
I guess my favourite villain is Robin Hood; he was a villain to some people. I actually don’t like Robin Hood that much—just the way he gives to people as opposed to working with them.
Votetasha.ca | @Tasharpeters
Affiliations: Amalia Savva, Adam Gilani, Anne-Marie Roy, Marie-Claude Noël, Liz Kessler
SFUO VP Finance Candidate
Adam Gilani, third-year political science and public administration student
The Fulcrum: Why are you running?
Gilani: I am running for vp finance because I really think I have the experience and the skills necessary to fill the position. The work that vp finance does is not necessarily the most visible, but it’s nevertheless one of the more important positions.
I think the SFUO plays an important role in student life. It’s a very unifying force on campus, whether people agree with what it does or not. It’s still the centre of student activity and that’s something I definitely would like to be a part of and help improve.
What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish if you win?
I want to help students save money, and better use the money the students have to give up anyway to the school and to the SFUO. To do that, I would like to improve some of the student businesses—improve Café Alt, Pivik, Agora—and take some of those businesses to the south end of campus since they are all concentrated on the north end of campus.
Sticking with the businesses, using those to give more practical uses for students, like using them to hold certification courses, such as Smart Serve or barista training—that’s one of the ways we can prioritize our resources, and not only save money, but give back to students as well.
Bringing [my goals] to the pragmatic side, budget consultations with all the members and groups that are particularly important to the SFUO in terms of the budget [should happen]. So with that also comes SFUO accountability.
According to the budget presented at the Board of Administration last summer, some of the SFUO businesses, like Café Alt and 1848, are not making any money. How will you ensure their profitability?
One of the things that will bring traffic to these businesses is the certification workshops, which I had in mind. When students see they are getting something from these businesses, they will identify with them better.
Promoting these businesses to the south end of campus is going to be essential. [School of Information Technology and Engineering], for example, seems very far off from all the activity on campus and it is very important to reach out to the south end.
Give us a quote to remember you by.
I’m committed to saving students their hard-earned money.
Who are your favourite fictional hero and villain, and why?
I’m a big Greek mythology guy, but I also love comic book heroes, and Wolverine is one of my favourites. You can’t mess with those claws.
For villains, I’m going to be a bit unconventional and say Gru from Despicable Me. I loved that movie.
Adamgilani.ca | @adamgilani
Affiliations: Amalia Savva, Anne-Marie Roy, Marie-Claude Noël, Liz Kessler, Tasha Peters
