2022 SU general election: Student-at-large — Senate

ARAFATUL MAMUR: SENATE

Running uncontested for Senate representative, Arafatul Mamur plans on using his experiences as an international student to better advocate for student services on campus. 

Mamur is also the president of the Bengali Students’ Association, and has experiences in leadership both within the university and his own community.  

Hitting on the major points that students are most concerned about, especially as a result of the pandemic, Mamur plans on increasing mental health resources, on-campus employment opportunities and bursaries and grants. 

Mamur plans on hosting and promoting mental health workshops that are specifically created to relieve student stress. While he also hopes to create more employment opportunities, he said he wants to encourage those opportunities with Mac Hall vendors and in the office spaces on campus like the Wellness Centre. 

He hopes to push to have a set number of student positions reserved at campus-run businesses to increase student employment. 

While this would in fact give more job opportunities to students, it is unclear how he will navigate the parameters for student employment at these establishments. This platform point was created in the hopes to reduce the time it takes to travel to a job off-campus back to class for students who need to balance their work life and their academic life. 

While Mamur might not have all the details worked out, through his experiences as an SU club executive and as an international student, Mamur will bring a unique perspective to the Senate.

All undergraduate students may vote on their ballot YES or NO for Arafatul Mamur as one of two SENATE REPRESENTATIVE or ABSTAIN from voting.

ARMAAN SIDHU: SENATE

The Gauntlet was not able to contact Armaan Sidhu in time for an interview, and so will be commenting on his online platform for Senate representative. 

Running in an uncontested race, this will be Sidhu’s second term as Senate rep. 

Sidhu managed to win a majority “yes” vote in the SU’s by-election in October, and has stated that he will be advocating for the same goals in the upcoming academic year. He plans to advocate for more funding opportunities for students, create more community engagement and work to address academic hardships at U of C. 

While most of his platform points read as vague, Sidhu’s main goals seem to reflect building a stronger community of students through leadership initiatives on campus. He hopes to create more opportunities for students through funding and research, and hopes to integrate a message of sustainability through the university’s teaching and learning initiatives. 

While the university is proud of its status as a top five research institute, we are unable to comment on what research opportunities Sidhu is talking about, and what types of funding he intends to make available. The global connection Sidhu wants to achieve for U of C students makes sense after almost two years of online learning. However, the ways these initiatives are to be developed remains to be seen.

We are curious as to what he managed to accomplish this year, and are unsure what he will change in order to achieve these goals for his second term.

All undergraduate students may vote on their ballot YES or NO for Armaan Sidhu as one of two SENATE REPRESENTATIVE or ABSTAIN from voting.