Vice-president advocacy

Jennifer Black, United

What would you like to achieve if you were elected?

Something I’m super passionate about is creating safe spaces on campus. I’d like to extend that to as many spaces on campus as I can . . . I’m also really interested in gendered spaces issues regarding washrooms.

Something I’m also really concerned about is recent announcements from the administration about changes to faculty structures . . . I’m a little concerned that that’s going to decrease the quality of our education . . . so I’m interested in working with the administration and with the student senate caucus . . . to help make sure that those changes are as positive as possible.

What non-academic experience do you bring to the position?

I’ve coordinated the women’s centre for the past year. I have a lot of experience organizing events and working with the current UMSU council. I was also women’s representative on the 2010/2011 council, so I’m pretty familiar with how it works.

I’ve also helped out with Pan Canadian feminist gathering in May, and I’ve worked with Students Against Israeli Apartheid and Students Against Bill 94.

How do you feel about the state of support services for students on campus (health services, career counselling, etc.)? Is there anything you’d like to work with the university admin to improve/change?

Something I’m hearing a lot from students is concerns over the health and dental plan, so I’d love to work with students to improve that . . . It’s been talked about for many years … so that’s something I’d like to work with.

How familiar are you with academic discipline policies on campus and what are your thoughts on how they currently stand?

A lot of the issues that I’ve heard deal with international students. When there are issues of plagiarism, it often comes from a student who really didn’t understand that they were committing plagiarism. They have to go through the motions of trying to prove that, and I think we can do something pre-emptively to ensure that they don’t have to do that.

How would you work to ensure students facing academic discipline issues are effectively advocated for?

One thing that I think that would be good is more accredited courses geared towards international students . . . so setting up more courses that deal with plagiarism.

I think I would work really hard to advocate for [students] and make sure that they have the representation they need.