2025 general election: Werklund School of Education

In this year’s Students’ Union (SU) general election, one candidate is running uncontested for the Werklund School of Education representative. 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.

Siena Yee

Siena Yee is a third-year education student running for reelection as Werklund’s Faculty Representative after winning the 2024 by-election. Her platform focuses on strengthening the sense of community within her faculty, improving student awareness and communication and ensuring student concerns are addressed.

Since being elected as a faculty representative in the 2024 by-election, she has learned much more about student concerns. She believes a pressing issue is a lack of awareness about the SU.

“After settling into my role, I was able to hear more student concerns because they became more aware of the Students’ Union and knew they had someone to bring their issues to. Before that, many students didn’t even know they could voice concerns or seek answers through a representative,” she said in an interview with the Gauntlet.

Yee believes that increasing the SU’s interaction with students across different modes is important in solving this issue, and she plans on using different methods to improve awareness in her role as a representative.

“Social media, class speeches, and word of mouth are key ways to increase awareness about the Students’ Union. If students have concerns, they should feel comfortable reaching out through email, Instagram or direct conversations,” Yee said.

Another goal of Yee’s platform is to build a stronger sense of community and improve student wellness. She emphasized the importance of not only communicating with students and creating engaging initiatives, but also ensuring students are aware of the resources already available to them.

“It’s about creating exciting initiatives while also asking students what they want, so their well-being is considered. Sometimes it’s as simple as letting them know about existing resources, like Student Accessibility Services or the Education Students’ Association, so they have multiple avenues to get the support they need,” said Yee. 

However, it was not specified  what kind of initiatives she would pursue.

Overall, Yee understands her role well and has a strong set of goals she is running on, but it is unclear what she will specifically do to pursue some of her platform goals.

All undergraduate students in the Werklund School of Education can vote YES or NO on their ballot for Siena Yee for FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE or ABSTAIN from voting.