Notes: Veronika Potylitsina is currently the co-editor-in-chief of Her Campus UToronto and only contributed to this article as an interviewee. Jessica Leung is currently running independently of Reboot UofT, but she has not requested her answers be changed.
In previous years, the U of T Student Union elections have been dominated by only two slates. But after the 2016 election in the United States, we all know it is probably best to have a few different options. This year, there are several collectives running in hopes of a change for U of T’s (sometimes infamous) student union. Her Campus sat down with several UTSU candidates from the differerent teams to get a better feel for their platforms and who they are, as politics can be both exciting and stressful! Our Chapter encourages students to check out all of the slates and their candidates to make an informed decision on their votes.
What is your major here at U of T?
Shivani Nathoo(Demand Better- ProFac VP): Engineering Science and Energy Systems, third year.
Anne Boucher (Independent candidate- VP External): Double major in Environmental Studies and Political Science, fourth year.
Sam McCulloch (We The Students: ProFac Director): Mineral Engineering, first year.
Veronika Potylitsina (Whomst’d’ve- ProFac VP): 3rd year with a double major in Architecture History and Design and Minor in Environmental Geography.
Jessica Leung (Formerly on Reboot UofT VP Internal & Services): I study Engineering Science with a specialization in statistics and finance; in my fourth year.
What made you decide to run for the upcoming elections?
Shivani: This position is specifically for professional faculty students, which often don’t have a connection to the UTSU. My goal is to bridge the gap between both ProFac students and the UTSU. I believe the UTSU has the potential to do a lot of good, as it will not only benefit ProFac students, but overall.
Anne: I’ve been a U of T student for the past 4 years, and I’ve decided that after noticing and realizing the issues present, it was time to do something about it.
Sam: I’ve always been interested in the UTSU, even before beginning at U of T. I learned about it from my sister and uncles, who attended U of T prior to me, and often expressed their concerns about the structure and actions of the union. After becoming a U of T student myself, I decided to be a part of it to see the changes that need to be made.
Veronika: I was frustrated with the idea of “slate politics” and “slate cliques”. It’s really easy to start seeing people as a specific political platform or under a specific slate, and that’s kind of annoying. Originally, I decided to run with my slate, Whomst’d’ve UofT to kind of make fun of the whole idea of slates in UTSU elections as a whole, but as of recently I realized that I’ve been running because I’m not only giving a voice to a professional faculty that is usually not as talked about on the UTSU level, I’m also giving voice to professional faculties at UofT.
Jessica: Throughout my years as a student, it came to my attention that the UTSU is quite partisan: it often supports a stance or cause without ever really taking students opinions and outlooks into consideration. The union often picks up on small issues, and neglects the ones that truly need attention. After witnessing this, I decided to run for the elections.
Do you think that student elections place an importance on our student body?
Shivani: I feel like student elections are not given enough importance for what they are worth and what they bring to our campus. Perhaps a way to bring about more student political action would be to ban slates which sometimes turn people away from politics. But most importantly, elections are essential because they bring focus onto issues already present.
Anne: I certainly believe that they do. The CFS, wish is a student union, that we pay money to, is not seen within U of T. There are so many issues and platforms that need to be addressed, and as students we should make informed choices on what we want, as well as what is needed.
Sam: Yes! Every student pays the UTSU fee each year with our tuition, so we should definitely care about the elections and what goes into them. It is also quite important to make informed choices, like controlling how much money is being spent within the union and throughout our campus. Students are the most leading, progressive advocates in the world right now: look at the impact students had in the democratic election with Bernie Sanders. If students are given the opportunity to make things happen, we take it.
Veronika: Of course! They decide a lot of important things like what resources are provided for students (shoutout to health and dental plan) and what policies get enacted for an entire year. Last year, the voter turnout was less than ten percent, and yet people have the nerve to complain that the student union isn’t doing x y z for them. This being said, because there’s four slates running with different ideas and policies I feel like this election can determine a lot of things for next year, i.e. whether we defederate from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), whether specific student organizations can divest their fees from UTSU, whether the UTSU decides to advocate/take a stance on things.
Jessica: Unions and student political organization can certainly play a role. They often give marginalized students a voice: I think that we should ultimately advocate for issues that are shared by the majority. Symbolically, we should represent the majority. It is important to get students aware of issues present through campaigning and voting. If you have not voted, them you can’t complain when something you don’t like occurs, because you didn’t take action.
Is this your first time running? If not, what has changed?
Shivani: First time running for the UTSU, but I am the current mental health and wellness director for the Engineering Society, which recognizes and promotes mental health awareness for students in this faculty.
Anne: Yes- this is my first time running for the union[…]Though I am running independently, I have received a lot of support from different slates and share the same outlooks and views as many candidates, which I believe will be beneficial if I am elected.
Sam: Yes, this is my first time running for the UTSU, but I am currently the Sponsorship Director on the ENG society, a member of the Applied Science Faculty Council, as well as the Finance Director of LGBTOUT.
Veronika: I ran with the slate who won most of their seats last year, Hello UofT, as the architecture director candidate. I didn’t win my seat (which is totally fine, as the current director, Marienka, has done a tremendous job representing us on the board), but since then have been involved with politics in my faculty by being the Treasurer of the Architecture and Visual Studies Student Union (AVSSU). I’m running for an executive position so obviously the people I’ll be representing is much broader. As well, because we’re such a small slate and doing most if not all of our campaign online, we’ve had more chance to have fun with it. Everyone’s had a good laugh and enjoy our presence, and we haven’t gotten any demerit points thus far, so I think we’re doing something right.
Jessica: Yes, this is my first time running for the UTSU, and my first time being involved with student politics.
Gender often plays an important role in politics: our current prime ministers’ cabinet is 50/50. In your opinion, has gender played a role in the current elections?
Shivani: The distribution is quite even this election: there are more girls running in some areas, which can be important for representation, in both ProFac and executive positions. I think that having a fairly even distribution provides the UTSU with a diverse set of opinions, which means that its actions are more representative and reflective of students.
Anne: A lot of slates have female candidates running this election, and it does not seem to be male dominated. I think its important to note that all candidates running are based on merit, rather than gender. This provides a stable outlook for those campaigning, as well as voters as they make their informed choices.
Sam: I think that there is an even distribution in our slate, but I am noticing a difference depending on the collective. For example, WTS has more women running on our exec teams. Some comments have also been made by other slates that have been trans-phobic, and our slate certainly cannot support that. There have also been instances of hostility towards gender. Our slate is constantly advocating for equality.
Veronika: Considering I’m the only female on my slate (granted there’s only three of us but still) it hasn’t too much. People see us as a collective, and I guess gender hasn’t really been in our narrative so much (e.g we’ve been called the ‘engineering slate’ more than anything). All three of us contribute to the campaign and that’s regardless of our gender. We just like to have fun with it, I guess.
Jessica: I think that some slates are very focused on identity politics, whether it is race, sexuality or gender. Our slate decided to not so much target demographics, but instead, merit and passion. It turned out well, because we do have a very diverse group representing our collective, all the while focusing on merit instead of identity.
What is it like running with a slate? Does it provide support? (For Anne: what’s it like running alone?)
Shivani: Slates can sometimes have biases, but there is a definitive support structure that they carry: campaigning can be quite physically and mentally demanding. But, having slates often make politics more inaccessible to students, because it can be like a popularity contest. So although having support does help in some ways, the presence of slates can be quite unproductive.
Anne: Running alone takes a lot of work, as there is so much that goes into campaigning. An advantage of going solo is that I don’t have to share the same views as the slates; mine can be entirely individual. I think that people appreciate this, because it is more personal and it gives a much-needed edge. So yes and no: independent running has many benefits, but the slates have more advertising and more collective support for campaigning.
Sam: Running with a slate is helpful, and it certainly does provide a lot of support, whether through campaigning, or taking a stance against the same issues. Though there are issues with slates in their structures, there is a large apparatus, and having a team alongside you can be quite beneficial, as we are all fighting and campaigning for the same cause.
Veronika: Definitely. Because our goal is more so to poke fun at the idea of slates and make everyone laugh in the process while being serious at the same time, the message amplifies because we’re running as a group. The general student body doesn’t know any of us as being involved with UTSU politics, and since then people have gotten to see us as a personality so that’s been fun. All three of us have contributed to the campaign differently, whether it’s talking to people online and establishing an online presence, eloquently talking about our points during debates, in general contributing to our slate image, etc so running as a group meant we could use our strengths and weaknesses to contribute to the campaign as a whole.
Jessica: My role on our slate is also similar to a campaign manager; I manage the social media accounts and other forms of marketing. This definitely adds more work, but as a collective, we support more candidates and provide them with the advertising and campaign tools that might otherwise not be available to them. I think the 2 slate system was fine for past years, when there was a common cause (such as uniting against the CFS). But recently, there are so many more issues, and I think that having more slates running is good in this sense.
What is your favourite place on campus:
Shivani: Green space. As well, the quads of all of the colleges, and Knox College. Plants are just so peaceful.
Anne: I have so many favourites; maybe Hart House, and all of the historic buildings, as well as the Graham Library in Trin.
Sam: The pit. (For non-engineers: the pit is a gathering ground for U of T’s most overworked students).
Veronika: I’ve been hanging out at Bahen and Sid Smith to study, but I like Innis Cafe’s vibe a lot.
Jessica: The finance lab in Rotman, where I work as a lab assistant.
If elected, what is one change you’d like to see within the UTSU?
Shivani: I would like to see the UTSU build bridges with the profacs. I’d also like to see more engagement and involvement within the UTSU, with the problems and issues being heard as opposed to being ignored. I want to see the UTSU talking to student governments as well as to all U of T students.
Anne: There are several changes I’d like to see within the union: first, addressing mental health students that have been placed on long waiting lists; students need to have better resources to mental health support. I would also like to see a mental health program for students struggling, as well as an attainable deal with the TTC for a realistic, doable fair that will benefit students without jeopardizing the transportation systems.
Sam: One change I’d like to see within the UTSU is under the concept of advocacy: a Upass for all attending students. For some students, it can cost over 4000$/ year just to get to campus. This needs to be addressed immediately. Also, I would like to see better funding provided for the professional faculties on campus. In addition, there needs to be more transparency within the union. When the UTSU is ciritized, they always say we are uninformed; but we know that the UTSU has secrets. If elected I would like to see more truthfulness, and better communication.
Veronika: Even though there’s been more push for representation of professional faculties (e.g the implementation of a Vice President Professional Faculties, getting a Profac seat on provincial government, lobbying for freezing tuition caps for profac students, etc), I feel like there’s still more work to be done for us. Being from a smaller faculty, I know that there’s more that the UTSU can do for us so if I do get elected I really hope to gain some insight from all the profacs on campus and continue fighting for resources and representation for profacs. Initially, I definitely want to look into resources for health and wellness that can be provided for profacs and things of similar nature.
Jessica: If elected I would like to see more outsourcing on activism events, so that the UTSU is not partial, as well as bringing advocacy to a larger audience. As we can already see, the system is partial to the very sensitive. I feel like there is a culture of being politically correct: our slate would like to ultimately do away with, and show that we don’t support this culture.
Describe your favourite day as a U of T student thus far:
Shivani: My best day was during Frosh week of first year. I walked out of res, and outside onto the street, seeing Con Hall and the rest of campus. Watching all of the other colleges walk by and chant with such spirit; as well as walking by UC and the rest of the main quad. It was so great to see the collective student body celebrate a new year and a new beginning.
Anne: My favourite day was in first year. The first day of my ENV100 class, with Professor Sharper: the coolest prof I’ve had so far. We all walked outside, and he told us to do a lap of campus, take in all that we saw, and then come back. I felt like I was finally at the right place. (Aw!)
Sam: Sorry, I’m not allowed to tell you! (Must be a secret)
Veronika: To be honest, going into the UTSU executive debate with tinfoil hats and running a political campaign based solely on memes has been pretty memorable thus far, haha.
Jessica: My favourite day was during frosh week. Engineers have a separate frosh week called Godiva week, and there is an event called Godiva Quest, which is like a scavenger hunt. I remember staying up really late with my friends, and being one of the first teams to finish all the quests.
We thank each of the candidates for partaking in this interview, and wish each slate the best of luck in the elections, which will take place on March 14th through 16th. You can vote now here .