In this year’s Students’ Union (SU) general election, one candidate is running uncontested for the Board of Governors, student-at-large representative. The Board of Governors (BoG) manages the operations of the U of C. This role attends the BoG meetings and voices student concerns.
SIRAAJ SHAH
Siraaj Shah is a third-year student who served previously for two years as a Faculty of Arts representative. In an interview with the Gauntlet, Shah elaborated on his points and their importance.
His platform focuses in on affordability — specifically in terms of housing, food security and tuition — as well as campus improvement — such as faith-based spaces, the U of C website and student services.
When asked about food security and his proposition to implement food vouchers, Shah notes that it would entail collaboration with student services offices.
“Food vouchers can be distributed directly from certain university offices. For example, International Student Services,” said Shah. “If a student is in need of that they can stop by those offices and grab some of the vouchers. I think the way in which you can establish that is really establishing strong relationships with community partners outside of the university.”
When asked to expand more on improving faith-based spaces, Shah mentioned that the major faith-based spaces on campus are often over capacity. To mend this, he proposed the idea of hybrid spaces.
“For example, we can have a classroom that can be adjusted to a free space for certain times of the day,” he said. “Hybrid spaces can be used not only for prayers but for other varieties of events.”
In his final message, Shah encourages students to vote in this election to have their voices heard.
"First and foremost, vote in the election. Make sure you actually engage with your student representative in your student body."
With his previous experience, Shah is a strong and dependable candidate for this position.
All undergraduate students can vote YES or NO on their ballot for SIRAAJ SHAH or ABSTAIN from voting.
