Candidate profile: Rebecca Eldridge

Name: Rebecca Eldridge
Age: 19
Program: Sustainability and environmental science

Relevant experience:

R: My most relevant experience is probably my involvement in student politics throughout high school. I was an active member of student council throughout all my years and more recently I’ve been involved with DSU Action, which is a group that is lobbying to the government about reducing tuition fees and all other relevant issues of that nature which is I guess what inspired me to run for the position in the first place.

G: Why are you running for the Senate position?

R: There are a lot of things that students face that are unfair issues and I’d like to try to change that. I feel that I could do a good job at providing a more accurate representation of all the students on campus. I think that’s something that is not done well enough with the council right now. I guess a big part of it is just seeing how many white European males are involved in politics in general and more specifically in the DSU itself so that inspired me to try to be a role model and make a difference.

G: What do you think the role of the Senate representative is?

R: So Senate is largely concerned with academics, which is very important to me. I feel like there are a lot of things at Dalhousie that are unfair to the students. For me it goes back to budget issues, because if we could fix our budget then we could look at things like smaller class sizes and more TAs to mark tests and exams. So instead of having a bunch of multiple choice questions that don’t test you fairly you can actually be tested on your knowledge. I guess the most important role of the Senate rep is being able to vote and have a say in these big issues and decisions.

G: If you were on the Senate this year, what issue would you have brought to the table?

R: Probably, I would say specific requirements about different programs. Like for example, I am in the sustainability program and I feel like there are a lot of things that in hindsight I wish I knew about before taking certain courses. So definitely something to do with pre-requisites or background information. Also the budget issues: I know the Senate is mostly concerned with academics, but for me, that all comes back to the budget.

G: What is your stance on NSCAD University being absorbed by Dal? 

R: I do not think that is a good decision at all. I think that NSCAD needs to keep its independence intact. I think it’s kind of a good example of a corporate buyout on a smaller scale because Dal is huge and it’s not saying something very good about the school if we are taking all these independent universities that have their own unique creative things going on and try to absorb it into a bigger picture because I think it will lose its identity and I think that’s the opposite of how people see NSCAD now.

G: What changes, if any, would you make to Dal’s plagiarism software/policies?

R: From a personal standpoint, I’m not really sure because I haven’t got a lot of experience with plagiarism with people I know. Most of what I know is from word on the street. In my personal experience it’s done a pretty good job. I don’t know a lot of people who plagiarize and don’t get caught. It’s something I would like to learn more about so I can make a more informed decision.

G: What committees would you hope to serve on if elected and why?

R: I am very undecided.

Other candidates for Senate are: Alexandra Killham, Jay Fradette, and Ryan Hartigan.