SU general election: Cumming School of Medicine representative
Laiba Nasir
Laiba Nasir is a Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies (CRDS) student, and current SU Senator. She is running uncontested for Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) Faculty Representative. Nasir did not interview with the Gauntlet, so here is what you can expect based on her platform.
Nasir’s platform focuses on “practical, visible change through three priorities: fair representation, meaningful integration and accessibility through understanding.”
Her platform includes advocating for smaller programs, such as CRDS and Health and Society (HSOC), as they can be overlooked in faculty conversations. Nasir states that she will host program-specific listening hours each term, so students are able to voice concerns early on. She also states that when advocating at the SLC and with faculty leadership, she will clearly identify affected programs so that smaller programs are not grouped with the majority narratives. After these meetings, she says she will provide plain-language updates that state what topics students raised, what actions were taken and what will come next. She says she will also maintain an ongoing feedback channel where students can raise concerns if they are not comfortable speaking at large forums.
Nasir wants to advocate for opening under-enrolled courses across CSM to reduce waitlists and maximize access. She will organize targeted “pathways” panels that showcase the diverse futures of CRDS, BHSc and MD students. She believes that casual meetups on campus will help students feel connected to the faculty, while a centralized collaboration hub will highlight research roles, placements and student initiatives. Overall, she believes that collaboration should expand opportunities without forcing students into a single narrative.
Nasir also advocates for clearer course expectations, the encouragement of plain-language faculty communication and the promotion of accessibility checklists for events. She will also push for proactive structures such as flexible participation options and many ways to engage, so students don’t always have to explain their circumstances. Her platform also states that “a student-informed feedback loop will ensure barriers are addressed transparently.”
Overall, Nasir’s platform is organized and student-centred, with a clear emphasis on representation and accessibility. Its strength lies in building communication and inclusion, but its success will depend on turning these frameworks into concrete, trackable outcomes that students can feel over time.
Nikhil Srivalsan
Nikhil Srivalsan is a third year Biomedical Sciences student running uncontested to be re-elected for the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) Representative position. His platform is based on continuing to push clearer communication for CSM students as well as expand fair transportation and wellness programming for CSM’s Foothills Campus.
Srivalsan did not sign up for an interview with the Gauntlet, so this is what students can expect based on his platform.
Srivalsan’s platform is split into two segments, with half of it sharing the work he did last year as the CSM Faculty Representative and the other half focusing on what he wishes to accomplish if he is able to revisit the role this term.
He states that he established a CSM, faculty-level D2L communication channel that created “a direct and reliable line of communication between faculty representatives and students.”
He also advocated for clearer assignment instructions and rubric transparency, elevated student concerns at faculty decision-making tables and spearheaded the inaugural Med Rep–led Foothills Wellness Week.
The results and/or benefits of these accomplishments remain unclear, and his lack of an interview with the Gauntlet resulted in an inability to further explore these actions in depth.
As for what he would work towards this term, his goals are mainly to continue building on what he has already started: expanding the D2L communication channel and accountable assessment feedback loop, and institutionalizing the Foothills-based wellness program.
Srivalsan also wants to lessen financial barriers for CSM students. Last term, he began working on getting a summer UPass for CSM students as well as general advocacy for fair transportation and parking at the foothills campus — work he plans to continue if re-elected.
His platform also discusses working towards generally improved financial support during rural clinical placements, such as housing equity.
Srivalsan provides insightful and grounded plans for change, but is vague in terms of the direct impact of his previous and future initiatives.