punditry.ca — uncovering DSU elections

Just a pre-even-officially-naming-candidates-election roundup, folks:

• Mike introduces us to a must-read article for aspiring student politicians.

• I cover some of the themes that may emerge in the coming election.

• Zhindra discusses secret contracts and anarchists, and how candidates can best navigate them.

We’re still in the process of collecting information and rumours, so please feel free to use the Submit News button on your right.

The only other news is a surprising and impressive group called “Lounge Lizards for Debogorski” that has seen fit to create a movement this is attempting to draft one Mr. Gregory Debogorski to run for the DSU Presidency.  Little is known about these so-called “Lounge Lizards”, but its membership has grown by 1600% (from 1 to 16) since it was first created.  Could this be the first sign of an impending landslide Debogorski win?  You decide!

Back to your regularly schedule break/Olympic hockey.

The past few years has been a really exciting time to be involved with the DSU no matter how you slice it. After last year’s students vs students, NSPIRG levy fiasco which usurped the attention of AGM goers, the DSU has probably had more attention than it has in a long time, both negative and positive.

Now the new topic du jour “Secret Contracts” has potential do the same. We’re one post into punditry and already it’s a hotter topic than who’s rumored to be running in the election. This is both a positive and negative thing. Positive in the sense that the drama starved Dalhousie student population is sure to show up in droves to the next AGM in order to be part of the chair challenging, vote counting, McInnes room action. (I hope the executive orders enough pizza.)It’s positive in the sense that these topics circulating around campus are certainly decreasing student apathy.

It’s negative in several other ways. Negative in the sense that if we go through another AGM (or two) without making other necessary constitutional amendments or without discussing other student issues and spend the whole time debating a single issue then I am sincerely worried about the future of the DSU. Productivity at these meetings is important. I’d say no single issue is more important than any other. For all I know there could be a multitude of other issues students feel strongly about but we may not hear them because of people on campus and grabbing on to the latest hot topic in an attempt to be radical. Not saying the issues here aren’t important but I also feel the real issues are being overlooked in favor of “Secret Contracts” for dramatic effect.

The real issue by the way is NOT exclusivity in the contracts. I actually think the real issues are diversity of student representation, communication and  affordability and quality SUB food services. From what I gathered from the students who wrote me back after I replied to every single email I received about “Secret Contracts” last semester; communication is an issue in the sense that the services offered at the SUB are not what students want and the council and exec who have access to contracts and the ability to vote on them need to know how to represent this. Diversity of student representation ties into this in that there is a group of students on campus who obviously feel unrepresented; representation is always an ongoing uphill battle in the DSU. Affordability and quality SUB food services seems to be the main issue from which the other issues have stemmed, including the issue of exclusivity.

How can we avoid “Secret Contracts” overshadowing other important issues and still have the people involved with it heard? I think the key is communication. Not just in a “How should we vote?” way but also in the sense of how can we compromise and work on this in the future? The DSU exec is waiting for SMAC to come to them but I hope they aren’t holding their breath since SMAC doesn’t seem to be biting.

SMAC probably isn’t interested in a meeting even if they had a representative that could meet. They would much prefer to paint me and the rest of the councilors as cloak wearing evil masterminds who meet in secret and prefer to keep students in the dark.(insert self satisfying “Muuuhahahahaha” here) Most councilors enjoy feedback,  I know John Doucette has gone so far as to talk to individuals until he found one that had an opposing point of view to his own. We want to accurately represent the students or we wouldn’t be there. Believe me, we stick it to the Exec on a regular basis.  SMAC should talk to anyone on any of the execs of societies on my campus. If they haven’t met me in person they have certainly read what seems like a million emails from me. I even sent out the secret contracts motion for feedback. (PS Dear SMAC, I am not the Engineering rep as it says in your post about my CKDU interview I am the Sexton Campus Director, Stephanie Hagmann is the Engineering President and Rep)

As far as the elections go on this topic if I were running I would steer clear of the words “Secret Contracts” along the campaign trail. It’s like health care in politics; everyone knows there are issues with health care but it’s the best system we’ve got. It’s the third rail;  if you touch it you die. It’s a complex issue with no clear solution, as much as “Secret Contracts”  is. I wouldn’t build my platform on “Secret Contracts” but rather on the issues surrounding it like communication, diversity, quality and affordability of food services at the SUB.  I would also try to nail down someone at the core of SMAC if you can find one and have a sincere discussion about secret contracts just to get some perspective. That would be the golden ticket; probably a pretty rare event that is not likely to happen but the most ambitious elections candidate should definitely try.

Hey everyone!  This will be my debut post on Punditry.  Looking forward to trying things from the writing side of the election.  If you want to learn more about me or the others, check out the Pundits page.

While there’s not a whole lot to report yet on the election itself (though if you’ve heard anything about potential candidates, please click on the Submit News button on the side to let us know), the issues have been going on for awhile.  I’m going to touch on a few of them that you can expect to see or hear about during the race.  This is far from a complete list, but lord knows it’s long enough as it is, and others may add to it over time (feel free to do so yourselves in the comments).  Enjoy!

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President
“The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Union and shall provide strategic direction for the Union.” – DSU Constitution

*While I’m going to point out a few issues that lean more or less upon the President as the primary go-to person, many of these issues could end up in other portfolios.  More importantly, however, is that Presidential candidates have to be prepared for questions on any topic at all.  External issues summarized under Vice President (Education) are especially prominent, but Presidential candidates can and do get hit with everything.

Food on Campus
Anyone who’s heard about the “Secret Contracts” issue will know about the concerns here.  Even broader, though, are the recurring concerns about food on campus.  The options are very limited, the service is often slow, and the facilities are spread out across multiple campuses, and that just the beginning of the issues.  Look for intelligent ideas to help work on an issue that isn’t likely to die any time in the near future, knowledge of what the existing problems are, and familiarity with the limitations of what’s actually achievable.

Study Space
Talk to just about any student on campus about it, and you’re likely to hear some kind of issue about their study space concerns.  It can be lab space, or time of access (we miss you, 24 hour Computer Science Building), quality of the space, or something else among a range of issues.  This one is open to just about any candidate who’ll take a swing at it, but it’s definitely something you should expect to hear something about.

Sustainability
Ah, buzz words.  Expect to see the word “sustainability” firmly engrained in platforms for every position.  Some of them might even mean it!  The key is to see who will know how the system works.  Effective candidates will look at the role of the DSU Executive as it relates to DSUSO and the Vice President (Finance and Operations) (who is the Executive most responsible for sustainability), and ways of fitting it into things that are actually relevant to the portfolio.  Oh, and speaking of buzz words…

Apathy
As important as it is, I still cringe when I hear this word.  The only thing that’s worse is a student politician who has found the answer that those fools have clearly been missing for decades: “Communication!”.  Yes, it’s an issue that absolutely deserves discussion.  No, it can’t be easily fixed, and certainly can’t be addressed by buzzwords.  Look for actual creative ideas that could work.  And especially, look for candidates who are mindful of the…

Diversity of the Student Body
No, not all 16,000 odd Dalhousie students are in your Political Science class: some don’t even spend more than a few minutes on Studley campus until they graduate.  No, they’re not all aged 19-23: some have careers, study part time and have completely different interests and needs.  We have an extremely diverse study body both academically, based on interests, cultural backgrounds, and countless other determinants.  There are plenty of ways to go about reaching out to the broader student body, and plenty of groups to approach to figure out how to do it.  Look for candidates who put some thought into this and have a genuine approach.  This is particularly an issue on campuses: keep a close eye on how candidates speak to issues on Sexton Campus, as they make up a not inconsiderable voting block.  What, you’d like another example?  Well, then, how about…

Graduate Students
Yes, I’m putting it out there.  Lobbying on tuition?  Yeah, not always that big of a deal for us.  Looking at student space needs?  Ours tend to be completely different.  Planning a major binge drinking bash?  Not necessarily gonna be our thing (I’m half kidding on that last one, there’s no way I’m making it through grad school without a few swigs of the ol’ bottle).  Still, look for candidates who can speak to the unique concerns of graduate students, including but not limited to lobbying on research funding, graduate stipends, study and office space concerns, accessible child care on campus, teaching and research assistant jobs, and any one of a number of graduate student issues.  Particularly listen to Presidents on specifically how they plan to use the still relatively new Graduate Student Advisory Committee.

Creativity
Anyone running for President (or any of these positions, for that matter) should have their own reason for doing so.  That means a vision for what they want to accomplish, fresh ideas and creative approaches to solve problems.  Any candidate who can come up with serious and innovative ways to improve the DSU deserves a solid look.  This is also my way of reminding you all (and potential candidates out there) that there’s plenty of issues to chew on and ideas to be had.

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Vice President (Internal)
“The Vice President (Internal) shall be the Chief Communications Officer and shall be charged with facilitating communication between members of the Union, including but not limited to, the Council, the Executive, Societies recognized by the Union and committees of the Union.” – DSU Constitution

Societies
“Societies are the lifeblood of the union”.  I don’t know who said it first, but it’s spread like wildfire ever since.  And rightly so; Dalhousie has over 200 student societies, and they have incredibly diverse and unique issues.  The smart candidates will be the ones who know their ways around the details: joint societies, levy societies, referendum-mandated society, to name a few, and all the issues that they each respectively face.  Turnover and ratification issues are likely to come up, not to mention money.  And on that note we move on to…

Grants
Yes, the monies.  There are always little hiccups with grants, but this year, they’ve gotten out of hand to the point where Council has to formally approve them before they can be distributed (a practice that was eliminated years ago for efficiency).  Candidates should be talking about getting the money fairly distributed, properly considered and efficiently distributed to societies and students.  This could be through changes in policy, process, both, or some creative new idea altogether.

Website
The DSU is now on track to launch a brand new flashy fix-it-all website!  Yes, again.  To be fair, it’s been a little while since the last one came online.  Nevertheless, wherever this new one ends up sitting in terms of process, be it finished or well on the way, the successful candidate will have the joy of navigating it, working out its kinks, teaching students how to use it for ratification or other purposes, and generally putting it to good use.  Also, beware of candidates who see this as a fix-all for DSU communications issues.  The website is certainly a tool, but it won’t do it all, and it ain’t the only one in the box.

Leadership
A relatively new responsibility for the Vice President (Internal), leadership is an area where the candidate does a lot of work with the Office of Student Services.  This position will require ideas to make the leadership conference successful and strategies for approaching the leadership work that goes on outside of conferences.  On top of that, candidates may have to contend with the delicate balance of benefiting from Student Services resources and maintaining it within student’s jurisdiction (which, by the way, is also a recurring them for the Vice President (Student Life)).

Impeachment
There’s just no way around this one: the sitting Vice President (Internal) came pretty darn close to getting impeached this year.  I won’t get into the details of the issues, but they’re out there if you look over the Council minutes or ask anyone who was there.  There are a lot of outstanding issues and considerations on this topic, and while it might not come up formally, expect it to provide a backdrop and informal discusssion point for this year’s candidates.  Workload and committee responsibility questions could easily stem from this.  Also, if anyone who was a member of Council during the impeachment vote end up running for Vice President (Internal), it will be interesting to see how and why they voted.

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Vice President (Education)
“The Vice President (Education) shall be charged with advancing the interests of the Union on matters of an academic and external nature.” – Proposed DSU Constitution

Provincial Issues
Last year’s Vice President (Education) got an election, one that led to a landslide first ever NDP majority government.  Next year’s, however, will have an even greater responsibility.  The winner of this election will be dealing with both the O’Neill Review and the next Memorandum of Understanding negotiations.  Either one of these issues alone would arguably be enough to make provincial issues the top issue for the next Vice President (Education).  Also look for talk of how candidates see themselves fitting into their role with the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations, our provincial lobby group (ANSSA).

Federal Issues
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), our federal lobby group, is ever moving onward and upward, and has done a pretty decent job at cleaning house internally with new procedures.  Nevertheless, it has taken some hits in the last year, particularly with the impending loss of the UBC AMS.  Federally, the winner will also be contending with the possibility of an election at almost any time due to the current minority parliament.  Expect to hear from candidates on contingency plans if a federal election comes.

Senate Reform
Unlike its Canadian counterpart, the Dalhousie Senate is well on its way to some pretty significant reforms that have been ongoing for over a year now.  This is a pivotal point for keeping students in the loop, and an unprecedented opportunity to campaign on greater student representation.  I expect to see candidates (for Senate, as well) talk about it; whether they’ll know how to go about it is another story.

Municipal Issues?
HS…what?  The recently founded Halifax Student Alliance more or less collapsed about a year ago due to a lack of buy-in from schools other than Dalhousie.  Whether this comes up or not remains to be seen; while the organization has essentially bit the dust, it had a lot of work done, and the issues on transit, safety and tenancy are just as relevant as they were when it was founded.

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Vice President (Student Life)
“The Vice President (Student Life) shall be charge with facilitating the operation of activities aimed at the improvement of student life on campus.” - Proposed DSU Constitution

Orientation Week
Perhaps the responsibility that Vice Presidents (Student Life) are best known for, Orientation Week is the part where candidates have to be prepared to hit the ground running and dedicate the better part of their summer to a single event.  Look for familiarity with how orientation has been done in past years, and creative ways to improve upon that, particularly ones without glaring flaws.

Campus Bars
What do the Grawood and the T-Room have in common?  They’re both run by the DSU!  And, well, little else.  Drinking being the proud tradition that it is here, the quality of these great institutions is a central part of the VPSL responsibilities.  Look for Vice President (Student Life) candidates to talk about creative ways to get people out to the bars, types of events they would like to see, rules for underage students, and other possible issues (possibly even finances).

Athletics
Here’s an area that doesn’t typically get much attention during DSU elections.  Last year, a new Athletics Commissioner position was created to try to reach out to the athletics community on campus.  With the talk of new Dalplex facilities coming in the future, this will certainly be an issue of discussion.  Listen to hear what candidates have to say about broader issues for students involved in athletics, as well.

Uh…
I’m going to be completely honest with you all: I’m no expert on this portfolio.  I’m positive that there are other issues, but I’m far less up to date on them.  Hopefully another pundit can get into this, and if not, that’s what the comments are for.

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Senate
“Who?” – Virtual absense in DSU Constitution

Discipline and Academic Integrity
This is the recurring theme for the position of Senate, and easily the greatest responsibility placed upon student senators.  The quality candidates will be the ones who understand how the discipline process works for plagiarism and other academic offenses right out of the gate, both for due process in hearings and for strengths and weaknesses when it comes up for review.  Any senate candidate who isn’t talking about this issue hasn’t looked into the position well enough.

Senate Reform
See above under Vice President (Education).  More or less the same role.

Struggle for Relevance
My quote above should be a fairly good introduction to this section.  While this is less of a specific issue, it’s ones that candidates will be addressing individually.  There are plenty of other academic issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the Senate.  Furthermore, they have a role in other areas that are indirectly related, though no less important, to the academy: computing and information technology, libraries, professional development, and other campus facilities.  This is where candidates may be able to set themselves apart.

Just for the record, as a former Senator, this is a position after my own heart.  Candidates here usually get a pretty free ride compared to Executive candidates (which is fair, given the size of the relative roles).  Still, this year, I’m going to do what I can to make sure the race for this position doesn’t fall through the cracks.  Consider this your warning, candidates! =)

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Well, that’s all for now, folks!  Stay tuned.  Also, comments are open for business.  I’ve undoubtedly missed things of terrible importance, so please feel free to point them out.