AS A CURRENT vp social of one of the many hardworking federated body executives on campus, I find it laughable when candidates running for re-election run on a platform that is the exact opposite of what they achieved in their previous term.
MC Noël, candidate for the position of vp social affairs of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO), stated her intention to run a plethora of events that included arts showcases, festivals, craft sales, and community-building events at the candidates debate last Wednesday.
Further, she pledged to run philanthropic assemblies, holding speaker series, hosting a winter welcome week, and creating more student spaces on campus. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Were I a first-timer in regards to working with (or encountering) this candidate, I would absolutely agree with you. However, on behalf students who have been involved in the past year, I have to ask, “Why didn’t you accomplish these things last year?”
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the so-called debates, this answer is something students won’t be aware of. Debates would serve students better if students were able to further probe into questions and responses, thus truly uncovering the inner workings—pros and cons—of all candidates. Instead, students watching the debates are left with only a partial scope of what candidates are really all about.
One could argue these points were not accomplished because of all the other work she put in last year—to which I agree, that could be a valid reason. However, as someone who has had to work closely with the SFUO throughout the year, I’d like to pose a question. But first, let me give you some facts: The SFUO vp social gets paid $30,000 dollars per year and has a budget of $50,000 to plan events, and volunteer vp socials of federated bodies get paid $0 and on average have budgets of around $5,000 to plan events.
With that in mind, how come volunteers of federated bodies with social budgets 10 times less than that of their SFUO vp social can produce a variety of events such as faculty balls, out-of-town trips, concerts and charity sport tournaments, yet a paid executive can only deliver a fraction of this?
Yes, this candidate has been there to offer support to federated bodies throughout the year through advice and funding; however, as vp social your responsibility goes a whole lot further.
Not only should you support students, but you should enrich life on campus and truly offer students a “university experience.” Were students offered this last year by the SFUO? I’d have to say no.
My advice to students voting in the upcoming elections: Don’t be fooled by candidates hiding behind scripted debate answers, classroom presentations, and flowery platforms online. Instead, do your research, see who has accomplished most in previous years, and talk to your respective student executives and gain insight from their experiences with candidates.
But lastly, and most importantly, get out and vote!
Ben Pearson
Fourth-year health sciences student
