This year’s UMSU vice-president, finance and operations (VPFO) race has the most candidates of any executive position, with four students competing for the role. Each has outlined distinct priorities focused on transparency, revenue growth and student financial support.

Ameenat Arogundade

Ameenat Arogundade is a finance student from Asper school of business, vying for the VPFO position.

Arogundade is the current VPFO of the Black Students Community and she believes she helped make solid impacts by joining the community. “I believe I’m ready for a bigger role to impact the students more positively,” she said.

Arogundade hopes to accomplish more transparency should she be voted into office. “Not everyone is financially savvy, so [my goals are] making sure everyone truly understands exactly where the money is going to and focusing on also student groups and communities who tend to be less advantageous on the financial side.”

In three words, she described her term as “responsible, student-voiced and capable.”

Arogundade enjoys swimming, watching movies and is interested in startup businesses and numbers.

Kai Jassal

Kai Jassal is an economics and econometrics honours student, also running for the position of VPFO.

According to Jassal, he has gained experience working on provincial and federal political campaigns. He has also been “an executive on two different U of M student clubs as well as an executive at a different university”

Jassal is campaigning on an eight-point platform, divided between finance and operations. His priorities include increasing UMSU revenue, lowering student costs and expanding services available to students.

His proposals include creating a strategic plan to own University Centre, expanding MSC criteria to include subscriptions and introducing a free lunch program.

Neha Saru Magar

Neha Saru Magar, another candidate for this position, is a student at the Asper school of business studying finance. She takes delight in “connecting with people and building community.”

Magar believes “student dollars should directly support student success.” She is convinced her experience in the financial field makes her the right candidate for the position.

“With experience in research, data analysis and student leadership, I understand budgets, assess long-term sustainability and make supportive financial decisions for the community,” she said.

If voted into office, Magar said she plans “to protect and strengthen scholarships and bursaries, improve accessibility for hardship funding and club grants, advocate firmly for students in U-PASS and health and dental negotiations and prioritize food security initiatives such as the UM Food Bank.”

In three words, Magar envisions her term in office as “responsible, student-support and student first.”

She expressed her understanding of the financial pressures students face. Magar’s goal, she said, is “to ensure strong support for the students on those realities.”

Cameron Provost

Cameron Provost, also running for this position, is a commerce student majoring in finance and marketing. He would like to run for VPFO as he has “seen a lot of things he would like to change at UMSU”. He was previously an UMSU board director on the finance committee.

Should he be voted into office, Provost would like to implement ESG reporting — sustainable accounting practices which account for positive and negative externalities of UMSU activities. He would also like to reinvest most of UMSU’s free cash into bursaries and scholarships, student organizations and risk-free investments.

Provost mentioned he wants to make UMSU’s investments more transparent and make information a lot more accessible and readable for the general public.

Provost envisions his term with the words “accountability, transparency and sustainability.”

One fun thing about Provost is that he plays hockey and rides his motorcycle.