SU general election: Kinesiology representative
Esther Famurewa
Esther Famurewa is a third-year Exercise and Health Physiology major who is running for Faculty of Kinesiology Representative. Famurewa did not interview with the Gauntlet, so this is what you can expect solely based on her platform.
Famurewa has served as Student Discussion Leader on the Faculty of Kinesiology’s EDIA committee, hearing many student voices in the process, and looks forward to continuing being a part of this committee if she is elected faculty representative.
As faculty representative, Famurewa plans to utilize SU opportunities to support the EDIA committee on a scholarship initiative for Kinesiology students. The faculty currently does not have many scholarship opportunities for its students, and Famurewa wants to combat this, though exactly how she plans to do this is unclear.
Famurewa claims that the faculty has some gaps in representation, which prompted her to recently facilitate a discussion surrounding Indigenous Sport and a new course.
“One thing that stood out was how we can better support Indigenous athletes and sport within our faculty. This is something I look forward to taking on with Indigenous student athletes if elected,” she states on her platform. Famurewa clearly strives for an inclusive and representative faculty, and wants to create spaces where everyone can feel safe, comfortable and included.
While Famurewa’s goals are admirable, it is unclear exactly how she aims to achieve them. Ultimately, particularly through her stated desire to support Indigenous athletes, her platform reads more as a statement of values rather than a detailed action plan.
Noah Karmali
Noah Karmali is one of the strongest candidates to look out for in this coming election. An active member and leader of the Kinesiology Student Society, Karmali plans to take the next step to better represent students as the Faculty of Kinesiology Student Representative.
“I’ve had the opportunity to interact with students all over the faculty,” said Karmali in his interview with the Gauntlet. “In talking to them, I’ve been able to get an understanding of a lot of the issues and a lot of the things that are worth advocating for, not only in the Student’s Union, but in the faculty itself.”
Karmali has three primary goals: to create more opportunities for Kinesiology students, to advocate for fair course weighting and exam spacing, and to create initiatives to improve student experiences on campus.
As a leader within his own faculty, he’s already formed a mentorship program that allows current students to connect with UofC alumni and get one-to-one advice on how to translate their learning to the job industry. Not only has he worked with the faculty liaison to create this initiative, but he also plans to include more networking events like “Kindustry” to get students meeting with industry professionals, and he’s worked alongside the Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology, Dr. Nick Holt, to round out the mentorship program and promote jobs in the industry.
With his experience as the VP Academic for KSS, Karmali has broken ground by working with current faculty representatives and members to restructure academic schedules and introduce better course weighting procedures. After garnering feedback and working with the current Faculty of Kinesiology Student Representative, Amanat Panech, to communicate with students on a social media platform with all the opportunities, he also started working directly with the school to address exams and grade weighting.
“So with next year being a review year for the Teaching and Learning Committee, we are working directly not only with the Taylor Institute, but as a faculty to try and address changes in our curriculums,” said Karmali. “We will be able to bring these issues and actually have them addressed.”
One primary issue that Karmali found with the Kinesiology grading and exam schedule was the lack of time students have to rest in between assignments and midterms. He believes that flexibility allows for students to implement better mental health practices, which gives them the chance to do their best work: not only to succeed, but participate in external opportunities that give them the chance to network.
“I’m gonna be fighting for more equal distribution,” said Karmali. “All of these initiatives are kind of building off of the feedback of professionals, of faculty, of students.”
While networking and academics were strong pillars that Karmali emphasized, he also outlined his plan to improve student life on campus. He pushed for a Giving Day initiative to fund scholarships through his partnership with the Senate and Chancellor Ambassadors club: an initiative which also helps fight food insecurity on campus and promotes university resources such as mental health services.
“I’m already taking the steps that are gonna help me lay the groundwork for next year so I can hit the ground running,” said Karmali, refreshingly confident in his platform.
Noah Karmali is proving that student advocacy starts on the inside and that change can be made through achievable means, making him one of the most outstanding candidates this general election.
Vicky Iyalomhe
Vicky Iyalomhe is a second-year Kinesiology student running for the Kinesiology Faculty Representative position. Lyalomhe is focused on increasing measures to support Black and POC students in Kinesiology through improved mentorship and EDIA initiatives. She also plans to use her time as Faculty Representative to advocate for larger classes to help prevent graduation delays.
Iyalomhe wants to create more professional growth opportunities in the Faculty of Kinesiology, specifically for Black and POC individuals. Rather than starting programs from scratch, she hopes to work with the already established career-focused programs on campus. Specifically, Iyalomhe wants to work with the annual networking event, Kindustry, to develop year-round events specialized for professionals of colour.
According to Iyalomhe, there is a visible lack of diversity within the Kinesiology Faculty. Students are “alienated right off the jump,” she said in an interview with the Gauntlet. The goal is that with more POC-focused events, students will feel less alone in future prospects and more encouraged to explore various post-degree careers.
Iyalomhe plans to work with previously started mentorship opportunities from the faculties EDIA committee. Her main focus is on recruiting mentors with a wider range of cultural backgrounds, and providing those students the opportunity to connect with a mentor of a similar or shared identity.
When asked how she would turn these plans from words into actions, Iyalomhe said, “Obviously, [this] requires money, looking into things [like] the SU’s Quality Money Fund […] or looking to collaborate with other faculties or cultural groups that have overlap with Kinesiology, such as Faculty of Nursing, Cumming School of Medicine [and] Sciences.”
Iyalomhe also says she would pull skills from her previous experience working with marginalized communities, such as the African Studies Task Force scholarship panel and when she was a youth coordinator primarily for Black youth in Calgary.
Outside of advocating for those underrepresented in the faculty, Iyalomhe also plans to fight to increase class size and overall availability. She understands that there are barriers to fighting these issues, especially since Kinesiology is a smaller faculty and as such has fewer resources, classes, TAs and professors. However, she hopes to navigate this by building on top of already-active SU initiatives and talking to professors about what needs must be met before class sizes can be increased.
Iyalomhe states that the faculty is growing, and that the University is promoting the faculty as the number one Sports Science university in North America while failing to make appropriate changes to account for this. “People need those […] prerequisite courses […] It’s important that we make room and space for all students who are going to be in this university, whether they are here now or going to be here in the future,” said Iyalomhe.
Iyalomhe is certainly dedicated to specific, actionable goals. If she’s able to set aside a proper, thought-out plan, she’ll have the ability to thrive as a Faculty Representative.