Late Post of the Sexton Debate
First of all Pundits in attendance: Janet Conrad, John Hillman, Zhindra Gillis and even a pundit of elections past: Mark Coffin
I will be honest it was the day after St. Patrick’s day so I found myself 15 minutes late and without the capacity to take notes. I caught the closing remarks of the people running for senate. Maggie “The Green Machine” Lovett spoke elequently and gracefully as usual. She projected both maturity and professionalism, things that are required for senate. Carly “Smiles” Nicholson was very upbeat and told people to pick her. Ben “The Situation” Wedge I think reminded us he’s going to be a Sexton student and voters could tell this guy actually eats sleeps and breaths policy. Christian “The Bouncer”Browne made all the other candidates look really small in comparison and his voice was particularly loud(Or was that just me?) which showed us all he can hardly be ignored.
Then came the VP Education part of the debate and I went to get a sandwich. I could hear Evan Price talking about “experiencial learning” from the kiosk. I could hear Rob LeForte showing off his experience and Karl Dempsey telling us what he could bring to the job.
From what I gather it was pretty much the same as the studley debate.
Both Henry Whitfield and Greg Debogorski showed up late. I am assuming Greg had class and Henry told the CRO(and me) he had a midterm.
I can’t remember if Hannah was before or after the VPI candidates but I will cover her debate now. She was asked a few questions by the CRO then the floor was opened up for questions. (sound of crickets) I won’t lie I actually had a question for Hannah but I really didn’t know what it would accomplish to ask her since a lot of Sexton Students were still in class and the main attendees of the debate were the die hards following the campaign. Maybe Hannah can answer it here: ” With all your experience in the last two years it has been no secret you were likely going to run for this position, why is it you seem to have learned every aspect of the VP Student Life’s portfolio with the exception of the fact that you seem to have had no interaction with the Sexton Entertainment Director or the Sexton Entertainment Committee in order to learn about running events on Sexton Campus?”-Maybe I’m wrong and you’ve talked to people on Sexton. I hope you will soon come talk to me since I have a few things to discuss with you about Orientation, Techball and December 6th which are all included in the constitution as things you must do. We could not have done any of those things without support from the VP Student Life so I hope you will get to know how things run on Sexton since it is a bit different from upper campus and there is a learning curve associated with it.
Ok, The VPI debate. Or as I like to call it “Let’s bash the tiger patrol to Sexton idea and DSUtube”. The VPI candidates played a little dirty with each other. They ripped on Kayla for her tiger patrol van to Sexton idea and she defended it. They ripped on Henry for DSU tube. A Kayla supporter wearing a Kayla Kurin t-shirt directed a question at Henry and then interrupted him as he spoke. Tim and Glenn were just as bad at doing the digging at the other two but came out of the match relatively unscathed. I do think these candidates are underestimating the value of a clean campaign. It may have been a good idea in a race that is as close as this to try to get the second choice votes from those supporting your opponents. Honestly right now I am pretty appalled at how that all went down.
By the time we got to the presidential debate the Electrical 4 students who had come to support their classmate Chris had left and there were very few Sexton Students around. Truthfully there is only about a half hour per day that more than one group of students is not in class. Also by this time the Mechanical 5 students were testing design projects and everyone was distracted by the hovercraft and the dog playing fetch with a robot. Sadly this is not a joke.
Debogorski talked about how students “down here” don’t know who their representatives are or anything about the union. I took personal offense to that, but instead of defending myself I am going to defend all the other representatives of the DSU on Sexton Campus.
Nick Allen is our Sexton Entertainment Director and everyone knows Nick runs the T-Room events and other events put on by the DSU on Sexton. If he is not talking up his events to everyone in person he is emailing all the students and telling them about it. Andy Ngae the DSU Sexton Campus Manager meets with people on a regular basis and most students actually know who he is. Trust me you can’t miss this guy he is intense and he is always working for the students. He is closer than ever to getting us an ATM machine on campus and he got athletics to put on fitness classes at the Sexton gym sort of like the ones offered on Studley. Can you beleive that’s a new thing? Most classes offered at Sexton cost money so this was huge. These are just his accomplishments relating to his job with the DSU. If I have to go on about what he has done for international and IE students I will have to start another post. You may not know Adam Pelissero, who is one of the Architecture presidents and represents Architecture students to the DSU but the Architecture students do. He has worked with the current VPI and with his council to do great things for the architecture students. Finally Stephanie Hagmann is the Sexton Engineering Rep on the DSU and the president of the Engineering Society. (Please note I am NOT the engineering rep) You would be hard pressed to find an engineer who doesn’t know who she is or how hard she works for engineering students. Mr. Debogorski, you’d be lucky to find one that wouldn’t defend her come hell or high water for the crap you say about her when you generalize the councilors as you do. Oh dear this has become another angry Zhindra rant but I just felt I had to defend the people Debogorski put down.
And yeah, he’s running against two Sexton students who in their own right have done wonderful things for their respective Sexton communities. So the debate continued with Chris Salnier talking up his experience and his ideas for policy change and Neil Bailey talking about how his degree is directly related to what the job would entail and how he would focus on community involvement. Seriously….can they be co-presidents? Please can we keep them both? However this turns out folks, this won’t be the last you hear of either one.
So that’s the Sexton Debate wrap up. As always I welcome, you’re a bias nasty pundit comments with open arms 
This is easily the worst article I have read this year from any student news source, and that’s saying something because I read the Gazette each week and that has consistently produced poorly researched garbage articles all year.
I’m speechless. I can’t believe you actually posted this.
I actually feel pretty bad about that. I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish, just frustrated with coverage.
Sorry, ms ghillis
Why so hard on Hannah? I mean, its not as if she is the VP Student Life NOW! Give her a second! You’re upset because she hasn’t job shadowed Kris, or done his job on Sexton yet? Rubbish. I’m upset that you expect our candidates to have such experience with union operations.
No offense to Hannah, I’m sure she’ll do a great job doing exactly what Kris did, and maybe a bit better, with more helium. But, we need fewer Hannah’s and more Neil’s running in this election.
Just as a personal note, I think more debates should include puppies playing fetch with robots. It would certainly increase attendance…
Just wanted to apologize for interrupting Henry after I posed the grants question. Yes, I am a Kayla supporter (t-shirt and all) but the reason I posed the question was because Henry’s individual question was about grants. With the bind we’re in at DASSS right now, I was curious to have him follow-up his initial answer in regards to a current example. I did interrupt Henry when he started answering because it seemed like he may have misinterpretted my question, but never intended to be overbearing. I was not asking about his personal experience with DASSS (I’m sorry that the Society has not “reached out to him”) and I wanted to clarify that I was interested in his take on the grants situation.
I understand now that it came off as rude, but I thought maybe I hadn’t adequately framed my question and wanted to ensure he knew it was just about grants.
I also talked to the Elections Committee afterwards, and they did in fact extend his time to compensate for the miscommunication. Again, I’m sorry Henry and I trust you did not see this as a malicious act.
Moral of the story — happy campaigning, candidates!! Be competitive, be clean, and be speedy!! Only 33 hours of campaigning left — good luck!
@Tim Disher
Yes I can understand your frustration. Part of the reason I hadn’t posted anything on this was because the debate was pretty much the same as the Studley one.I chose to talk about something that frustrated me which was Debogorski’s unfounded comments. I was actually appalled by Debogorski’s comments about how Sexton students are treated since I am one and so are Chris and Neil. He maybe should try listening to students on Sexton and practice what he preaches.
@Unwon Voter
Why am I so hard on Hannah? I actually think what I asked was a fair question from my perspective. I didn’t ask it during the debate because frankly I felt as though I would have been picking on her in public. I figured posting it would give her more of a chance to think and react. It’s no secret that Hannah has been eying the VPSL position for quite some time and that she has worked closely with Kris in that time. She built a platform on her experience and has, on this very site openly asked to be taken seriously as a candidate since she is taking the election seriously. I am simply asking why if she has taken the campaign so seriously this far is she the only candidate who has not tried to reach out to the Sexton Campus community? I am not saying she should be shadowing Kris but to some extent I am wondering why she hasn’t been around asking about how to do the job in every aspect especially during campaign week. I am wondering why we can get away with grilling the VPI candidates on every small aspect of the job and when one question is posed to Hannah who is 99.999% likely to be VPSL it’s in bad taste.
I am confused though. Why are you saying we need less Hannahs and more Neils? I think both are great candidates and I don’t see how that statement ties into the election since they are running in different categories or how it ties into your comment since you are criticizing me for picking on Hannah.
@Tim Disher
Also I was not impressed with the VPI debate. Every single one of them got up and attacked one or the other’s ideas. I understand that’s politics but this is also student politics. The VPI race has been tainted from the beginning and I’m not sure what they are trying to accomplish by bashing each other openly in public, sometimes they were taking digs at eachother’s platforms when it wasn’t even relevant to the question or hadn’t been brought up yet.
Hey Zhindra,
Thanks for the input concerning my involvement down on Sexton. I have responded via Facebook message as I feel this issue can be handled between us outside of the hallowed halls of punditry.
In brief, working with the Sexton entertainment committee is extremely important to me and is something that myself and Kris have discussed. Despite this, I feel that I have a lot to learn in regards to the events on Sexton. However, I felt that due to the fact that I am running unopposed, your time would be better used discussing Sexton issues with the other candidates. I, in no means, meant to disregard Sexton and had full intention of meeting with you and all relevant others after the elections. I would love to set up a time to chat, so it’d be great if we could do that via Facebook or email!
Thanks,
Hannah
Did you really take a Debogorski comment seriously and take the time to defend it? If I learned anything from the Presidential Debate, it’s that the modest efforts to act like a serious candidate are just a facade.
I could write a whole article about him, but frankly, he’s not worth my time. I think the same thing of your paragraph about him.
@Hannah
This particular line struck me as not only odd, but upsetting. If you take Sexton seriously, then let’s hear your response, in public. Yes, you’re unopposed, but you have just earned yourself a “no” vote from one Sexton voter. Remember, 2000 people vote in the DSU elections. All it takes is pissing off one group, and it could quickly spiral into a “no” majority – not that I foresee this happening, but if you care about my vote, you’d say something other than “your time would be better used discussing Sexton issues with the other candidates.” Mediocrity sucks. This makes me feel like you’re a mediocre candidate cruising to victory thanks to no opposition.
Zhindra, what debate were you at? I only caught the VP internal and most of the presidential parts between classes but they were much more of a debate then the question and answer “debate” they had at the DSU. I did notice that question repeatedly being asked to Henry, but lets be honest, he didn’t really give an answer to it, he threw a bunch of slogans out, about trying really hard to do a better job. As far as Glen and Hiltz’s alleged mudslinging? If you had noticed, the question of the effectiveness of DSUTube was asked as a question (probably a plant) to Henry. The moderator was the one who opened the question up to all of the candidates. Not only that, but Hiltz brought up a good point about feasibility and access. I believe that’s why the idea was thrown out a few years ago. Development of such a program and maintenance therein costs money. Why not find a better alternative for students, ALL STUDENTS, not just those with camcorders. In the end, it was a question that should have been for Henry and if it was not meant to be scrutinized, it should not have been asked to the other candidates. The same goes for the Bus Vs. Tiger Patrol questioning… if you don`t want to hear the answer, don`t ask it during a debate and if it`s part of your platform, you had better be ready to defend it! I don`t think Kayla did her homework before adding in that section to her platform (also noting Mark Hobbs as her example) as clearly, she had no backing information.
In the end I think Neil Bailey was the victor in the presidential portion and Hiltz won for VPI closely followed by Glen. And yes, Zhindra, you probably heard much of the same information from them as you did at the DSU, but thats because most of them haven`t changed their platforms since Tuesday. That heated discussion you obviously don’t have much of a taste for… that’s what makes it a debate.
@Hannah
Thank you Hannah for your message. I am working on a reply. For the record I do think you will be a wonderful VP Student Life.
@Eric Snow
It’s one thing when he makes general statements about all of us or even if he made a statement directed at me in particular I usually just ignore him. When he comes down to Sexton and makes completely false accusations against people who work very hard whom he as a non-Sexton student has no experience with then I have to say something. Not for his benefit but so that those who are not informed will be informed. If he came to a group of graduate students and said that you and Kyle and Joanna never talk to any graduate students and that DAGS does nothing for them would you not be offended and defend your fellow DAGS members? I use that as an example because I know how hard you all work for grad students.
Zhindra- your illusioned if you think every engineer/architecture student knows who their representative is and what they do.
Good work old chap! Keep the status quo going Zhindra.
I probably know half as many engineers at dal as you do. I beleive I can speak for engineers out of “your” loop.
Just because you aren’t freinds with these people doesn’t mean they do not exist.
@Samer
I agree completely.
@Hannah
There are issues that relate to you specifically on Sexton, on a weekly basis. Kris has done a wonderful job supporting the entertainment director on Sexton, which has been a very big job.
I think Zhindra was just trying to make you more aware of some of the tasks on Sexton, and that the campus is not a side note to main campus events and activities.
Your comment makes it seem as though you shouldn’t be answering questions (or taking up time from other candidate questions) because you’ve got it in the bag.
Eric-
I find this funny from the guy who possessed the insider vote, knows almost every rule in the DSU, and yet flatered HARD at last year’s debate.
I am not going to turn this into a name calling competition. But you were also a joke as a councillor. What the hell did you and ZIMMER accomplish in council beside a few incremental changes, and stalling the decision making process almost to a halt.
Further, if you applied your knowledge and ability to ACTUALLY improving the students position within the union, you could of won last years vote np. The problem is you refuse to get down from Snow Mountain.
pfft!
@Sexton Voter
Can I just say I am so happy that sexton students are reading paying attention and getting informed! Also, that my opinions are my opinions and I don’t claim by any means that everyone at Sexton thinks like me.
I hear what you’re saying but I did feel that even with DSUtube being opened up both Glenn and Tim attacked it outright and shot it down. I didn’t necessarily believe they thought it was a bad idea but that they were looking for reasons to ridicule it. I agree Hiltz won the debate I think he had the most professionalism and class out of the four of them but I didn’t think overall the VPI debate was about the issues as much as bashing the ideas from platforms.
@Gregory Debogorski
If you are referring to the particular engineering student I saw you speaking with before the debate, I am actually quite good friends with him. Good try though! If you do talk to any engineers that feel marginalized by me I am more than happy to hear their concerns.
snow-
Protip: take yourself out of the context of your current social group if you wish to see the true state of affairs around you. There is a sociology term that evades my memory, but essentially the insiders have created so much of their identity on their “political” endeavors on campus that it is destroying the systems they operate.
I also believe that this is why you band so tightly together in a “blocking coalition” when it comes time for elections. Further, group-think deteriorates an individuals intelligents & creativity.
And honestly, I am more educated on the subject of organisational performance. This does not mean that I think all your opinions invalid. I think you need to pop your ego, because your just another student just like me.
OMG that statement must make you bellow in anger. The infamous Snow only a normal student.
pffft!
Hannah Dahn has arranged to meet with myself and the Entertainment Committee to go through this past year on Sexton. Anyone interested in being a part of this please email me at zgillis[at]dal.ca
@Zhindra Gillis
I’d respond to him in person. If he said the kinds of derogatory things I’ve heard about the DSU staff (among others), I’d probably ask him to leave. I wouldn’t waste my time writing anything about it after the fact.
@Gregory Debogorski
How can you possibly expect to engage anyone on this campus when this is the way you treat people who actually do care already? The only way anything I’ve heard from you would engage anyone would be if you actually tried to do some of the things you’ve said, and we’d see a swell of support to counter the insanity. And let’s not get the false impression that this would be a good thing; as soon as the crisis were averted, it would die down again, just like what happened after last year’s AGMs.
I’m a volunteer, Greg. Do you want to know what I’ve accomplished? I’ll give you an itemized list. There are tons more things that could and should be done, absolutely, but I’ve already put enough of myself into the DSU that both my grades and my bank account have suffered. Some people have put off entire years of their lives just to work for the DSU. Engaging more students is great, it should be a priority, but do you really want to do it by pissing on everyone who actually does care about improving the Union?
And what exactly have you accomplished in four years and four campaigns? It doesn’t take a seat on Council to take action. If you spent even a fraction of the amount of time you spend yelling, whining and debasing others on actually engaging constructively with the DSU, maybe it would already be a better place. Just because you threw together a few ideas on a website by the end of campaigning doesn’t mean you get a prize.
After four years, it’s just not funny anymore.
P.S. I think I’ll get along just fine without your advice on how to win elections.
@Eric Snow
The irony that I wrote that after pointing out to Zhindra about doing something similar in her post is not lost on me. I won’t waste my time responding again.
Nice work Zhindra. You sure showed Debo… that… uhh… someone who’s involved in DSU and Sexton politics knows something about the DSU and can identify the major people in Sexton politics. Really insightful.
His point was about average Sexton students and you’re not the average Sexton student. If you think they possess the same info you’re delusional.
Bearing in mind it was the morning after St. Pat’s, and all the head and upper body injuries I managed to incur the previous night and early morning may have impaired my interpretation of events, but I also attended this debate and have these thoughts.
I was a little disappointed by the debate as whole, not as bad as the Studley one, and for different reasons. I felt that the questions that came from the committee were too general, and allowed the candidates to make very vague and ambiguous statements about their goals, without any ideas as to how they would implement them. They might as well have taken only audience questions, or really just let the candidates “debate” for a longer period.
About the “mudslinging” and “bashing”. While I agree that Kayla took the worst of it in this debate, I don’t think it was in anyway vicious or distasteful. Because Kayla stated a specific idea in her platform, I think it is very fair grounds for the other candidates to publicly disagree with her on it, and force her to defend her point. Isn’t that the point of the debate? As Sexton Voter mentioned, the DSUtube question was asked directly to Henry, and I remember the CRO asked that all candidates comment. If they don’t like the idea, then it is fair that they should say so. I personally think its a cool concept, just would like more clarification on how it would work, which I have yet to hear. I think if all candidates didn’t have to speak to questions asked directly to one person or another, there would have been more time for audience questions, and after two VPI debates I know a lot of students didn’t have a chance to answer the questions they wanted.
I don’t think that Sarah’s question to Henry was in anyway unfair, no more so than the last question in the Studley debate (before the line of 6-7 students were cut off) was an obvious softy on residence for one candidates benefit.
I also think it’s unfair to say that all the candidates are involved in poor behaviour, especially if we’re using the Sexton debate as evidence. I heard little or no comments from Henry that criticized other candidates platforms (not that it shouldn’t be done) and Kayla was mostly on the defence. I also think that the comments made by Tim were done respectfully and professionally, and I don’t think Kayla or Henry were hurt or offended by them. I think the atmosphere of this race is a little blown out of proportion. Sure, it’s a little more intense, perhaps due to the fact there’s four candidates who all seem to have a decent shot at winning, but I don’t think it has gotten unfriendly. Kayla and I see Tim around all the time, and always stop for friendly conversation. I’m also good friends with Glen and think he’s a great guy, he even took my mom to Reflections last night! I think we’ll see when this one is done that there are no hard feelings, and that this is just a fiercely competitive race with 4 candidates who all really want this job.
One last thing. I have personally heard Mark say that the buses are a major pain in the ass, and I know for a fact he spends a lot of money cabbing around Halifax. I think everyone knows that the bus holds more people than a van, but it’s often late, over crowded and I’m sure makes scheduling your day a little more difficult. I also think it is a very, very small part of the platform that does not have very wide implications if it were to be implemented, other than the cost of printing a few sheets advertising the times the vans would arrive at each campus throughout the day.
anyway, happy voting!
It would be great to clear up some issues:
- @Sandy/Anyone else who thinks the res question was a plant: I do not even know the student that asked the question, she was in fact wearing a Tim Hiltz pin. The fact that the question was asked, well, it may be a shock to you out there, but even though this years Res Council did not get off the ground, people out there DO CARE about Residence Issues…. Surprised?
- @dsuTUBE Question: I am glad it was opened up to the rest of the candidates, because it is only fair to open a question up in the debate to all candidates. If other candidates do not support/like the idea, then it is in their right to comment. Without opening up questions to all candidates, it does not allow fairness/equality in the debate.
To be honest, I would love if people started caring about the issues they have in their platform and stop trying to cut each other down. We’re lucky this year to have FOUR very different VPI candidates with very distinct ideals and points of view.
Lets get back to that and focus on running a campaign based on the student issues and try and leave some integrity in tact.
@Henry
Maybe it wasn’t a plant, you might be very right and I shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that. But it did come across that way.
The dsuTUBE thing was…just annoying. It’s a good idea, I like it, and I’d bet the other candidates do too, at least to some extent. But having all candidates answer a question about something in your platform is strange, and they would have all benefited more by talking about their own platforms. Also, I think at your expense, others felt compelled to attack the idea, and I would have really liked to hear someone say “yeah that’d be great, we just need to sit down and figure out a good way to run it”.
I think people do care about the issues in their platform. And I don’t think the debate was about “cutting” anyone down, but more about openly disagreeing with each others ideas, and forcing each other to defend them. I don’t think the debate was as “heated” as others suggest, and when I stated that not all candidates were involved and that was a nod to you, as you took the criticism of dsuTUBE well and didn’t go on the offensive. And again, I don’t think any of the candidates questioning each other is necessarily a bad thing, I thought thats what a debate was. If not, it should just be called Candidate Q&A.
@God Help Me I Agree With Debo
I am curious to know if you are a Sexton Student? If so I am always available to speak in person.
I am sorry if it sounds like I am shamelessly name dropping. I should be more clear that my point is those people work hard to bring things like free events, pancake breakfast, bbqs, entertainment, services, prgrams, athletics, speaker series and much more. I would be surprised if you could find a student who has not seen or heard of one of those things. I think the hard work of those students who I mentioned should not be discounted by a non-Sexton student. Especially when I know every one of them is open to working with individual students to bring their ideas to fruition.
The programs in Sexton Gym are a perfect example of a student(who to my knowledge had never been involved with the DSU) coming to Andy with an idea and him making it a reality.
I think I’m an average Sexton student, and I agree with Zhindra’s comments regarding the Sexton students knowing their reps.
@Zhindra Gillis
I do not claim to speak to speak for engineers. KAR is a mutual acquaintance of ours- big deal. I know other engineers, as I am sure you do as well; this irrelevant to my point.
Last, I have been trying nothing more than awaken students to the possibilities of their union.
@Triegdb
The point of argument referring to the claim that students do not know their rep does not prove the conclusion of the message.
FOR EXAMPLE: Lets say the engineering faculty is well informed to the working of their representative. Does this mean that students do not beleive they have concerns that the union could solve. ie safety at night, expense of textbooks, too few food options, inadequate social events, etc. My proposal will still benefit engineering students; it is pareto optimal, because everyone increases their “voice” in the collective/corporation/union that is the Dalhousie Student Union.
@God Help Me I Agree With Debo
Nicely said.
@Eric Snow
WARNING! WARNING! Wall of text below.
“How can you possibly expect to engage anyone on this campus when this is the way you treat people who actually do care already? The only way anything I’ve heard from you would engage anyone would be if you actually tried to do some of the things you’ve said, and we’d see a swell of support to counter the insanity. And let’s not get the false impression that this would be a good thing; as soon as the crisis were averted, it would die down again, just like what happened after last year’s AGMs.”
I apologise if I hurt your feelings Snow. What happened to the scheduling of last year’s follow-up AGM was due to a lack of leadership ability on behalf of the executives? This led the example for council; there are exceptions.
“I’m a volunteer, Greg. Do you want to know what I’ve accomplished? I’ll give you an itemized list. There are tons more things that could and should be done, absolutely, but I’ve already put enough of myself into the DSU that both my grades and my bank account have suffered. Some people have put off entire years of their lives just to work for the DSU. Engaging more students is great, it should be a priority, but do you really want to do it by pissing on everyone who actually does care about improving the Union?”
I agree, and commend you. This does not have a thing to do with what I have spent speaking to council, without the power to even vote, two years prior, now the articles I have written. I hear you loud. The problem is that the minority population who care the most are the ones running the union in isolation from the other 13,000 students on campus.
I do not mean to intentionally insult people with my opinions or solutions, but there is always conflict when groups come together. You know this from Comm/Mgmt 1001- storming norming performing. If we are to aggregate the “will” of even a majority of students, there is bound to be conflict. Our union needs someone who can engage in conflict in a productive manner while protecting aggregate preferences. Look up the economic social choice definition of “almost decisive”. Look up the author Laffont. This is how our union’s social decision making mechanism operates; it is stated in a way that is devoid of value statements. The only people who appear “pissed off” are the people who hate on me here on punditry; I was getting high fives walking to school. Will these people actually vote for me? We will see.
None the less, I apologise if I insulted anyone; this is not my intention.
“And what exactly have you accomplished in four years and four campaigns? It doesn’t take a seat on Council to take action. If you spent even a fraction of the amount of time you spend yelling, whining and debasing others on actually engaging constructively with the DSU, maybe it would already be a better place. Just because you threw together a few ideas on a website by the end of campaigning doesn’t mean you get a prize.”
I have increased awareness of the elections yearly…if only by the couple hundred who voted. Call my behaviour what you want. We supposedly live in a free country. I have acted on my duty as a union member through proposing feasible solutions to administrative problems. I AM the example of a student who consistently has not been adhered the proper respect by my elected officials.
Insiders have hated on my ideas for four years. Not a single issue I have presented to council/execs, written in the gazette about, provided on my yearly platform, has ever been seriously addressed or assessed properly. Somebody keeps voting for me; someone must agree with at least most of my issues and solutions. I guess you could say I advocate for 200 or so students every year. I have been telling executives and councillors for years to assess our food option thoroughly. No one thinks the food at the Sub cannot be improved on, and the elected only seem able to pay the issue lip service.
Lastly, I don’t want a prize. I want students to feel welcome in their own union. I want greater effort by all stakeholders. Up to now I haven’t received what I want from my union. The union is producing negative utility for me. Am I the only one? I would say that this “nut” isn’t the only one dangling from the tree, or the DSU crowd have been fed an illusion this whole time by systemic self-justification or group think. We exist therefore we must be justified by our own existence. This is like a Rothschild saying, “I earned every dollar I possess”.
I wonder if Mr Smit has seen an increase in page hits since this article was first posted?
where is the sexton video debate
Must… Not… Feed… Troll…..
@Gregory Debogorski
I assert, as before, my view is that: Apathy -> Satisfaction
It’s just as valid as Eric’s view : Apathy -> Poor Communication
or Greg’s view: Apathy -> fear, disillusionment, or cynicism.
because we don’t have a rigorous study on the issue.
In my experience, the first assertion is true.
In Eric’s, the second term is true.
In Greg’s, the third term is true.
Why should Eric be expected to jump into your point of view? You’ve created just as much of an out-group of “DSU-insiders” as “DSU-insiders” have of anyone else, if not more so. Your perceptions are just as distorted by your preconceptions as mine or Eric’s, if not more so.
Either do a study, using rigorous methodology (i.e. don’t just stand somewhere and ask passers by rhetorical questions) to confirm your beliefs about whether students are happy with the DSU, or stop asserting that you’ve got any more information on the matter than the rest of us. It makes you sound silly and self-righteous.
Also, bluntly, if everyone else thinks your ideas are crazy, then you might be a genius. Or you might have crazy ideas. Statistically, the latter’s a lot more likely than the former. Just saying.
@John Doucette
I do not see the parallel in providing students with an organisational mechanism that provides greater voice, including incentive to increase their propensity to voice their opinion, and insanity.
I appreciate that you attacked the ideas, rather then the person.
I do not have an outgroup or clique. I am not part of crowd of thought. The speak for myself and no other student.
If students happen to agree with men, it has little to do with me as a person, but that they agree with the idea or proposal I put forward.
One vote. One voice. One student.
For the Union!
Excuse me while I cringe at the irony for awhile…
How is this ironic? There is a difference between holding elected reps accountable for their actions in office versus ideas put forward by a constituent.
Cringe as you may, but I don’t bite- as many are starting to realise.
I can’t help that the good Lord made me look ugly & mean. Haha!
Test of tags
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