Marie-Claude Noël
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.
Do you have any on-campus experience related to your position?
I’ve had this position now for a year, which has been a lot of fun and a real growing experience. I had some experience going into the first year, but no matter how prepared you are, you really can’t anticipate all the things that are going to happen.
One of the biggest events the vp social organizes is 101 Week. How will you make the upcoming 101 Week stand out for students?
You have to put the students first. You have to organize what students want to see, not so much what you want to pull off as vp social. It’s making sure students have a memorable experience and not so much about being memorable yourself.
I think that something that people often overlook is the impact low-budget events can have. If you bring a whole bunch of students to one place, you can do something really successful.
It’s really about being in touch with the students and doing what they want to see happen. I had a lot of fun with it.
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 student 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.
What’s 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 favorite villain is Elektra. She’s kind of a little bit of both—a little good, a little bad.
Jozef Spiteri
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.
Do you have any on-campus experience related to your position?
As I said previously, I have been vp social for the student association at the Faculty of Arts. Previously, I was social commissioner for the Student Association at the Faculty of Arts. Jaime Howard was the social, so my experience goes from organizing 101 Weeks starting at Camp Fortune, doing a number of events including zombie toga, Epic Mealtime live, Jail Party, and Church Party two years in a row.
One of the biggest events the vp social organizes is 101 Week. How will you make the upcoming 101 Week stand out for students?
I think this 101 Week as vp social, I did a good job with Camp Fortune and other events. I think that if people would allow me to give a shot at it, I would be able to transform Fedstock into something much more community-based, something that features more Canadian artists and teams up with different events—we have the [Ottawa Folk Festival] at the same time this 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?
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; it could hurt.
