punditry.ca — uncovering DSU elections

Well, it’s that time again. There’s nothing left for candidates to do but hope that their years of work on campus and a frantic week of campaigning will be enough to cause some faint glimmer of recognition as voters skim over the photos on the ballot before they click on buttons randomly in hopes of winning a Samsung Captivate on which to play Angry Birds.

It’s also time to listen to some music from a simpler place and time -  Dalhousie, circa 1947.

Finish the following phrase. Limit it to one sentence. People who write run-on sentences will receive scowls and scorn.

“I’m voting for _____ because…”

Feel free to be anonymous. Also, feel free to substitute “would vote for” if you can’t, or “voted for” if you already did. Let’s be inclusive.

Polls are open.

After the frenetic activity of campaign week, these three days always feel calm, and peaceful.  ”Election? Really? Oh, right, I dimly recall hearing something about that.”  Sure, for somewhere between 20-100 people (depending on the number of people personally invested in the results) it’s a time of anxious waiting.  For the Elections Committee, there’s a whole new level of busy-ness.

But for pundits, it’s just idle time.

Luckily for us, we have a time-honoured pastime: predicting the winners.  Head to the comments to offer your best prediction, prophecy, or prognostication.  A Preeminent Punditry Prognosticator will be named.

Remember, blind monkeys can pick winners – we like to predict the point spread, excluding spoiled ballots.  But we’ll take input from blind monkeys if that’s all you’ve got.  If you don’t predict a majority for an executive candidate on the first ballot, just note who will win and on which round.  Feel free to take a stab at voter turnout, too.

Odds-making is also a welcomed activity.

So – go predict! Fame and glory await you!

So, near the beginning of the campaign, I offered my initial impressions of the candidates and asked them each a critical question.  I feel the ones who have responded deserve a bit more recognition than the comments offer them, so I’m going to include the responses here. I’ve also included the questions below for easier reference.

If anyone has not yet answered, it’s not too late: I’ll update the post and make a note of it at the beginning.  I’ve received them in comments, by email and even in writing, so I’ll accept any format. There is also a distinct possibility that I missed an answer buried in comments on another post. If I did, someone please inform me.

UPDATE 1: Hillman has now been included. I’m quite devastated about it.
UPDATE 2: Price has now been included.
UPDATE 3: Saulnier has now been included. Additionally, both Price and Saulnier have pointed out that they answered my questions orally. My apologies for not including them earlier.
UPDATE 4: Scrimgeour has now been included.
UPDATE 5: Connors has now been included. Should also note that the absence of a response should be taken only for what it is. It isn’t necessarily a bad sign if the candidate is wise enough to stay away from Punditry.

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I got a tip from a student who emailed the DSU President and the Loaded Ladle to request copies of their business plan.  No one replied. (The loaded ladle DID add him to their mailing list and send him a campaign email.  He was not impressed.)  I appluaded his efforts, and was able to provide a copy. If you want The Real Document, the only online source I know is a Scribd Document.  Since there does appear to be at least some interest in knowing the plan beyond “feed students”, I summarize the plan below.

To put my biases on the table, I am a believer in local food.  One of my favorite parts of going home to my family is access to vegetables grown in our garden, fresh eggs, fresh milk, meat from animals grown on the farm (pork, beef, chicken, and maybe mutton soon), and more.  It’s a luxury not available to most people and almost never to students.  I think providing it to students is a Good Idea – if they want it.  I’m not wild about the idea of paying a society an annual fee to promote a political view, but recognize that this is already done for a number of student organizations. I don’t agree that I am unethical because I eat meat. I believe that organic farming is 95% PR. The Loaded Ladle Levy will not affect me in any way, so I have no particular passion one way or another.

I tried to keep my biases, and any opinions about the contents, out.  But sometimes I just can’t help myself, so you’ll see an opinion about science and another about governance.  Nothing major.

It should be noted that this is a plan and is subject to change.  In particular, the DSU has not endorsed this plan, and discussion elsewhere on this page indicates that the Society Review Committee may make some modifications.  Still, the goals and intent of the organization are of interest, regardless of whether or not they can be carried out.

• Mission is “providing an ethically-sourced food service”, “public forum available for all students to join and participate”, “educate the public on the food politics on campus and social and environmental issues which surround food”, and “use food to build a greater sense of community”.
• Students will support directly (via $2 levy) and indirectly through the DSU ($500 grant and an unvalued in-kind donation to provide space in SUB. A table in the lobby isn’t that substantial; a dedicated kiosk is quite substantial. Since I can’t fairly assess the value of this expected donation, it is not included in budget figures).
• Total start-up costs: $11,900.00, basically all equipment, but that includes “$40,250 of short and long-term assets” which are unspecified.
• “At least” one food serving per week [edited Mar 7 to add 'at least']
• “At least” 200 students expected per serving. (Anyone know attendance now?)
  • Doing the math for you: if the minimum is achieved exactly (it could be more, it could be less…), that’s 6400 meals a year, at $5.31 a meal (based on total expected revenue).
• $1 per meal for non-students
• A market analysis is provided, but it’s based on a “study” which isn’t cited and I can’t find using Google. No methodology is described. Poorly labeled graphs are shown. I won’t dignify them by including them here; scientifically, they aren’t worth the bytes they consume on my hard drive.  I was so annoyed after reading about this “Research” that I had to go do something else for a while.
• Three coordinators: Outreach, Operations, and Events.
• Revenue mostly from levy
• Budgeting for a $12,000 surplus, with a $2500 emergency fund (“unallocated”). Given the dominance of the word “Food” in the word cloud, it is a bit surprising to see it only make up 30% of the budget.  Figure to the right; categorization of the expenses is mine, but I stand by it.
• Budgeting for 25 opt-outs
• Salaries are actually “Honoraria” [ugh, hate that word], earmarked for “Speakers and presenters”. [added Mar 7]
• Surplus to be used to “enhance the organization’s operations.”
• Future plans included permanent space in the SUB.
• Details on bulk food prices.
• Sample menu. I personally would eat 7 of the 17 proposed dishes. (I don’t like most beans. Or tofu.).
• Actual name is Dalhousie Food-Cooperative.
• Although Dal students all pay a levy, they are not automatically members (huh?) and cannot vote in AGM, elections, or… anything.  (My comment: I think it’s pretty bitchy to ask every Dal student to pay an annual levy to support you, but not automatically give them voting privileges.)
• You can be a member if you sign up for the mailing list (“Ally List”), which is open to anyone in the world who wants to do so.  You’ll get periodic mail updates. You can also volunteer.
• Only members of the “Ally List” or volunteers can vote.
• Governed by an 8-member board that will have minimum three Dal student members.  Other 5 can be from anywhere. (You must be a volunteer and have volunteered twice to serve on the board.) Board elected at AGM.
• Quorum is 2/3rds; decisions made by consensus or by agreement of 80% of board members.
• AGM decisions made by consensus or 2/3rds vote; only “Ally members” and volunteers can vote.
• Board members must subscribe to the ideology of the Loaded Ladle.

If you think I missed something crucial, let me know in the comments.  Finally, the word cloud:

As some of you may know one of the biggest days of the year for an engineering grad is Iron Ring day. It’s pretty awesome and special and is possibly the biggest party on Sexton Campus all year. Although I can’t comment on the SEKRIT ceremonies that preceded the party but I can tell you which candidates attended Iron Ring afterparty  2011.

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