President
Aaron Griffiths, Independent
What would you like to achieve if you were elected?
The long and short of it is I want to make students here happier. I see a lot of students around here that are real sad and that’s why I’m calling my campaign “No More Tears.” I want to make sure that The Hub is finished so that people can drink. I want to make sure that the bus ban is lifted so that people don’t drink and drive. I just want to see things done around here.
What non-academic experience do you bring to the position?
My experience is in the school of hard knocks. I’m also the only eight dan black belt in the running.
How would you work to raise awareness of and interest in UMSU and the services UMSU provides?
We all know we don’t have much of a future, so I want to see UMSU bring the students up. We can all work together, and I think it’s the only shot we have.
Are there any changes you would like to see happen in terms of the way UMSU functions? If so, what are they?
I want to see more student resources given back to the students. I haven’t seen much happen this year. There used to be beer gardens and parties and celebrities on campus every once and a while. I haven’t seen any of that this year. I don’t know where any of that money’s going . . . but I would loosen the purse strings.
A large part of UMSU’s role on campus is to communicate the needs of students to university officials. What are your thoughts on the actions and policies of the university administration this year, and how would you advocate for students’ needs and interests to these officials?
The bus ban . . . is unacceptable in this day where we have so much heat on us. If we like to drink, we obviously can’t drive. How are we supposed to get around after hours?
That’s something that I’d like to see changed.
Bilan Arte, United
What would you like to achieve if you were elected?
Primarily I would like to bring back a community feel and a really positive energy to the entire student body. I would like to involve student much more in the student union so that it’s not just me sitting in my office, but it’s something that involved all 24,000 students that make up our membership.
What non-academic experience do you bring to the position?
Right now I’m a World Wise coordinator so one of the things I coordinate is programming and connecting with students, so that’s something I do on a daily basis. As well, I’m the women’s representative on UMSU council, so I’m already part of the community and just want to extend that . . . positive feeling to the rest of campus.
How would you work to raise awareness of and interest in UMSU and the services UMSU provides?
I think that we can do a lot of work in better promoting and communicating our campaigns, and actually consulting with our membership. That means going and doing classroom talks, tabling, and talking to students to find out what those issues and concerns are, and then taking those concerns to all levels of government.
Are there any changes you would like to see happen in terms of the way UMSU functions? If so, what are they?
I would place more of an emphasis on that feeling of community, so reaching out to our membership, finding out what those issues are, and leading a campaign that’s going to start . . . a movement.
A large part of UMSU’s role on campus is to communicate the needs of students to university officials. What are your thoughts on the actions and policies of the university administration this year, and how would you advocate for students’ needs and interests to these officials?
I think the one thing that’s talked about amongst the university administration is the student experience. What I would do as a representative if elected, is really emphasize how important it is to feel safe and to feel prioritized as a student.
