2022 SU general election: Faculty representatives — Science
Along with the responsibilities outlined for all Students’ Legislative Council (SLC) members, faculty representatives are accountable for responsibilities particular to their role including: Reporting to students of their faculty the policies, positions and programs of the Students’ Union (SU), reporting to their faculty itself (like Dean’s Council) the policies, positions and programs of the SU, representing student constituents of their faculty at SLC, representing student constituents of their faculty on university committees and reporting to the VP Academic on matters of academic importance within their faculty.
SANDRA AMIN
Sandra Amin is a passionate third-year hoping to be elected as one of the Faculty of Science representatives. She promises that if elected, she will implement improved communication, accountability and transparency.
Her past experience in advocating for mental health resources for students became a catalyst to her wanting to run. Amin wants to not only get involved but also be an outlet for students.
In one of the few contested races this year, Amin believes that she stands out from her competitors because she’s not afraid to stand up for injustice and hold professors and the university accountable.
She spoke about how these injustices concern everything from tuition increases to how each student experiences science courses — although these issues are wide-ranging, and require vastly different solutions.
Amin hopes to help students become involved in their education and have their voices heard.
To do so, she wants to ensure that communication between students and their faculty is improved. She hopes to utilize in-person interactions, D2L shells and social media to gauge how students are feeling and receive feedback.
Once she receives this feedback, Amin notes that she will be persistent in demanding changes from the faculty, and notes that she is not afraid to speak up for her fellow students.
Amin said that she plans to grow her campaign as she receives feedback. While we don’t exactly know what this means and can only anticipate what she might add to her campaign as a result, she ultimately wants to ensure students have their voices heard.
PRAGYA CHOPRA
Pragya Chopra is back and running for a third term as a Faculty of Science representative. Chopra — being an international student herself — wants to continue advocating for science students and international students as she has been for the last two years.
In her past terms, she was able to accomplish an on-campus enhancement to provide students with another place to study in the Earth Sciences building.
She aims to keep these study spaces available for students to use as they make the transition from online to in-person learing.
Chopra plans to continue her Quality Money project to create a scholarship for international students and a general scholarship through the Faculty of Science.
Moreover, she’s looking to promote external scholarships that students may not be aware of.
Chopra plans on working collaboratively with SU executives to ensure that her plans are sucessful, and has been in conversation with other science students, as well as the Faculty of Science administration to solidify these scholarship opportuniteis.
Through implementing these scholarships, Chopra hopes that she can help students’ academics as well by relieving any financial stress they may be facing.
Chopra hopes to continue her term for the last year of her degree and finish the work she has already begun this term.
She’s a reliable choice for Faculty of Science representative and has extensive knowledge of the inner-workings of SLC.
NAVID GHADER
Running to be one of three Faculty of Science representatives, Navid Ghaderi outlines predictable, but achievable goals in his platform.
Although new to the role, he mentioned that he insured to research what past science reps had done and how he could build off of their momentum.
His first point consists of creating more awards and scholarships for students in the faculty, and said that he wishes to make these scholarships available to a broader range of students.
From his own personal experience, Ghaderi said that he has seen outstanding research-based work and volunteer commitments by students across the faculty.
However, he consistently saw how high-achieving students still didn’t receive recognition for their work, stating that differentiating these students’ applications becomes challenging and sometimes arbitrary.
Ghaderi wishes to give more scholarship opportunities for students, intended to reach more students in the faculty with a specific focus on reaching out to underrepresented groups.
Career development opportunities and mental health supports are typical of a faculty representative’s platform, and Ghaderi plans to collaborate both with the university and wellness services to give students more accessibility to things like workshops and forums.
He says that he plans on promoting this information so that students know exactly where to go to get the help that they need and how to get more involved.
Ghaderi has confident and realistic goals as a faculty representative, and would make a solid choice for science students next year.
HAROLD ZHU
Harold Zhu is an eager third-year Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial Biology student looking to help provide a smooth transition back to campus for students as a Faculty of Science representative.
While in-person learning is now resuming, Zhu wants to see a more adaptable approach to learning by continuing to support students who wish to continue their studies online — this includes advocating for both virtual and in-person study spaces for students.
Zhu’s platform is jam-packed with items he wants to accomplish over the course of one term. Some of the ideas he would like to address specifically surrounds mental health with regard to networking and socialization.
He plans to connect students and expand their social networks to build the science mentorship program, which would see more community building than career building, like some of the other workshops hosted by the university.
While Zhu mentioned that this is unique to his platform, he is building off of infrastructure that already exists.
Zhu wants to also increase accountability by being available for students on social media, ensuring voices are being heard and concerns are being addressed.
Overall, Zhu heavily emphasized on the need for social events to engage and connect students, but most importantly to listen to them.
Through his experience in programs such as the science mentorship program to even starting his own club, Zhu explained how these opportunities have allowed him to gain an insight into how students have been doing and what areas within the Faculty of Science need improvement.
Zhu has concrete platform points that are achieveable, and would ensure he regularly collects student feedback.
All undergraduate students in the Faculty of Science may vote on their ballot for three of four available candidates as FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE or ABSTAIN from voting.