Undergraduate students can vote now until Oct. 13
Two candidates for the UOSU executive team are running uncontested; Rayne Daprato for Student Life Commissioner (Daprato has held the role in an interim capacity since May) and Tristan Maldonado-Rodriguez for Francophone Affairs Commissioner. Here are their insights on the roles they hope to fill.
The Fulcrum (F): Can you please introduce yourself?
Rayne Daprato (RD): Hi, I’m Rayne. I am in third-year political science with a minor in law.
Tristan Maldonado-Rodriguez (TMR): My name is Tristan. My parents are originally both from Honduras. I am trilingual. All my schooling was done in French, [but] then obviously if you grew up in this area, you learn to speak English pretty quickly. Spanish was the only language we spoke at the house, so I grew up speaking Spanish with a couple of words in English or French thrown in there. Languages are important to me. Their richness, the doors they open. Studies show that they’re good for your brain development. I think it’s just a plus all around to learn new languages.
F: Why are you running for a seat on the executive team?
RD: I love this question. The main reason that I’m running is because I was hired as interim student life commissioner for the summer; I want to finish out the year and accomplish some of my long-term goals. Outside of that, I just really care about student life on campus. I want to make sure that the student leaders that we have on campus and club executive services all feel supported and that they have a space to grow.
TMR: I’m running because I think that bilingualism is a foundational pillar of this country. [The] University of Ottawa is one of the biggest institutions where you can come and study in both French and English. I’d like to find a better balance between both languages. I’ve been going around the campus talking with students and they’ve been bringing up various points. Schedules are hard to find classes only in French for example, and that’s normal to a certain degree, because the student population is mostly English. But from what they’ve been describing to me, it makes their life more complicated. I’d like to find a better balance.
F: What previous experience do you think will help you in this role?
RD: So last year, I was the VP of socials for the International, Political and Policy Studies Student Association (AÉÉIPPSSA). I did a full year of event planning, which gave me a fantastic opportunity to make connections across campus and within [the faculty of social sciences]. Outside of that, I’ve just always been pretty involved. I am a people person. I really enjoy creating community.
TMR: I’m a public servant at the moment. In the public service, it’s the same thing insofar as it’s bilingual, and the same challenges are there. The university has the obligation to serve its students in the language of their choice. And that’s the same thing for people in this country when they receive a federal service, whether it’s the airport or trains, whether they’re when they’re calling a call center. They have the right to be served in a language of their choice.
F: How do you plan to collaborate with your fellow commissioners?
RD: I have already been working with [the executive committee] throughout the summer, so I want to maintain those connections. In terms of the incoming team, I think really just being able to keep an open mind and work with whoever we get will help me and then again, as I said, I just really care about connections. I consider myself pretty positive person who cares a lot about just like maintaining a positive kind of outlook on the team. And then also maintaining work-life balance really helps to make sure that we see each other as people and students, as well as colleagues.
TMR: I’m hoping that we can work together well as a team. I’ll be a helping hand if they’re willing to help too. We can all reach our goals together. All the different commissioners have a place. All of them are important. If we can all work together, we can all achieve our goals mutually.
Editor’s note: the voting period runs from Oct. 9 to 13. Students can find their ballots in their student email inboxes or can vote in person on campus.
