VP External candidates kick off SU Forums
By Jill Reeves, February 28 2025—
The University of Calgary’s Students’ Union (SU) kicked off general election forums this week, opening with Vice-President External candidates Julia Law and Sheroog Kubur.
The forums provide an opportunity for candidates to elaborate on their platforms, engage in discussion with opposition, and demonstrate general knowledge of governance at the university and city of Calgary.
Both candidates were given the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves and their platforms. Kubur, a fourth-year political science student, began the opening remarks.
“I’m running for VP External because I care. I think at the very least, you always have candidates who are kind of running for these positions for their resumes or to make themselves look good,” Kubur stated in her opening remarks. “But I’m running for this position because I genuinely care so much about the students,” she continued.
Kubur’s platform aims to tackle student issues by targeted initiatives to the federal, provincial and local governments. Specifically, she mentions the Summer Temporary Employment program (STEP) as a key priority.
In her introduction, Law, the first SAPL representative in SU history, highlighted her ambition to promote affordability for students.
“As your next Vice-President External I want to do a few things,” Law began. “I want to make sure students have economic stability across campus and out of campus so they can afford to think of other issues, such as their education,” she continued.
In addition to advocating for funding, Law’s platform uniquely aims to advocate for an increase in the minimum wage.
A fundamental component of many candidates’ platforms this year is student mental health. The candidates were asked, beyond blanket funding initiatives, what could be done by either the government or the university to address the growing student wellness crisis.
Law’s platform discusses using representational non-profit organizations to evaluate students’ feeling of belonging on campus.
“I think that all levels of government need to meet students where they’re at and talk to students about the issues that matter to them,” Law stated in response.
Following the first round of position-based questions, Kubur and Law demonstrated general knowledge beneficial to the position of VP External by answering objective rapid-fire questions. Kubur showcased a notably well-rounded understanding of relevant politics and university inner-workings.
Both candidates were offered an opportunity to provide constructive critique of a platform point of their opponents. Law highlighted Kubur’s ambition to work with the municipal government to improve transit access across campus.
“I think it’s important to understand where we need to encourage students and encourage the city to get involved in this, and understand that the city isn’t going to be willing to increase transit access unless they have a proper reason, unless they have proper feedback,” Law stated.
Kubur was allocated one minute to refute.
“I believe the university is a place of constituency. And yes, the city is working on increasing transit access for select areas, but at the time, if students on campus are unable to get where they need to go, then that is something that the city needs to worry about,” Kubur said.
Kubur was also provided the same opportunity. She mentioned Law’s ambition to mobilize students to be more active in student affairs, specifically in community planning initiatives, however highlighted the lack of success seen in similar campaigns done in the past.
“I think it’s important to note that local area planning initiatives don’t just happen on campus,” Law began. “It also comes in the form of feedback forms online and also comes in the form of actual local area planning meetings that are hosted in communities across the city,” she continued.
In closing remarks, Kubur took the opportunity to showcase her commitment to the student body.
“I think you should vote for me because I’m not in it for the notoriety, I’m not in it because I want to look good, I’m not in it to satiate some kind of ego. I’m in it because I truly care about students and I truly care about making sure that we live better lives,” she said.
Voting will take place March 4-6, available online through myUofC Student Center, as well as in-person polling stations across campus.