Editor’s note: This interview was edited for length and clarity. 

Why are you running for this position? 

There’s a bunch of different reasons why I’m running. But I guess the more specific one is since we’ve transitioned to online, I’ve noticed that nothing is really streamlined for students and it’s really frustrating to figure out how to navigate just the online space in general. Also, navigating university is just really hard.  

But throughout this transition, I’ve had a few, I guess, incidents where I felt like my voice wasn’t heard.  

My accommodations were completely messed up in the first semester and it wasn’t until the midway point that I realized this. When I reached out to the accommodation’s office, they essentially said that it was my fault that I didn’t fill out the forms properly. But they’re forms that I filled out for the past three years. My file just kept getting thrown around from like advisor to advisor. It was really confusing because one, I didn’t know who to reach out to, and two, I felt like my entire semester up until that point was wrong. I just didn’t trust the grades that I was getting because obviously I knew just the way that I work, I knew that my grades were going to drop going online. But I didn’t know to the extent that my grades were going to drop.  

So, it was kind of well, is this because of my accommodations? Or is this because of online class? And I just kind of felt like I was stuck in a corner and literally couldn’t turn anywhere because there were no resources for me. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like that on numerous occasions especially since transitioning to online.  

I don’t think it’s fair to students to have to feel that way. I know that this is very based on my own personal experience. But I know that I’m not alone in this. I know people, like students specifically, need more transparency and I feel like that comes from the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU), which is an organization that is supposed to advocate for students. 

What kind of things are you thinking about with regards to online learning? Do you have any plans at the moment you would hope to implement in that space? 

It’s hard because we’re used to being able to just walk into the Killam Library and sit down, or walk into the Student Union Building (SUB), and eat at the Grawood and go to those events. But in terms of concrete changes, a lot of my platform surrounds the need for transparency and the need to feel heard. I actually reached out to Reddit like, the Dal subreddit. I wanted to reach out to Reddit because it’s been a place that I’ve turned to on multiple occasions for advice, but also because it’s so anonymous. It also allows the ability to have a conversation with students outside of your faculty or outside of your classes.  

Specifically, the people that have responded to my post in the Dal subreddit have been students from the Sexton campus and what has been repeatedly stressed to me is there is a need for representation for that specific campus.  

In your candidate profile you talked about being a graffiti artist. How do you think the skills you learned as a graffiti artist will help you as an academic leader? 

The people that I’ve met in the graffiti community in Toronto really opened my eyes to [how] it’s not just painting on a wall. I got more involved in community projects and writing grants. What I loved about this process of creating art –– especially because I was very involved in the Indigenous community as a Métis and Trinidadian –– was building community pieces. [During] this process we would facilitate workshops, and in these workshops, we talk about: “What do you love about your community? What do you enjoy? What are memories that you have?” And in return for your knowledge and your stories that you’re sharing with myself and my team, we build this rendering of a mural.  

Then we go back to the community and say: “Hey, do you see yourself in this? Do you like it? Is there anything that you’d like to change?” And there’s this dialogue, going back and forth. Yes, at the end of the day I’m the one that’s getting paid and I’m painting this mural. But at the same time, it’s your voice and your story that’s weaved in between. What we give back to these participants is not only the mural itself, but also how to do art.  

It was that experience of really giving back to the community that really pushed me to say, “OK, well, what can I do one step forward?” So, I guess that like transition between art and kind of back into politics, if you want to even call it that, is me just really seeing this need to have people’s voices heard. 

What do you think the biggest issue on campus is? 

I mean, for one, definitely the tuition increase. That one hit very hard for me specifically. I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to come back to school. . . Thankfully, I have the Ontario Student Assistance Program and I’m able to make those ends meet. But I couldn’t imagine having to pay tuition out of my pocket. 

The second thing is really with the accommodation’s office, to really have those services promoted across campus. Not just that you can get a note taker, or you can get extra time on your exams because that’s not it. That’s not all the accommodations that are offered. So, really just promoting that transparency for services on campus.  

Is there any positive thing you think the DSU did this year for students? 

To be completely honest, it felt as though my union fees went to waste this year. With the transition to online, I’m wondering, why I am paying more tuition to learn from my own computer that I paid for with my own money from my own job? 

It was amazing that FASS [faculty of arts and social sciences] had the discussion boards on Brightspace, which definitely went a couple ways. It was good to see they were wanting that feedback. But when you’re talking to such a large number of students, you’re not going to have one consensus. This is what we need to do because everybody’s different.  

That’s what’s so frustrating about the DSU this year. This is what I’m seeing from students commenting on discussion boards and whatever. It’s like, we’re paying fees. We don’t know what you’re doing. Sure, we see the budget and the annual report. But what does that mean? . . . Because we don’t know what we’re paying for, we don’t know what we’re getting into. 

Is there an issue you think the DSU handled poorly this year? If so, how would you handle it differently? 

More consultation: That’s the base of my platform. This isn’t, I’m not taking this as a game. It’s not me just playing politics to get into the DSU and get that nice salary. I’m tired of complaining to my advisors, and professors and friends. I want to channel that energy into trying to do something productive. I think at the very core of this, it’s not the whatever number of people that sit at the executive table. It’s not just those people. It’s who are we representing, whose voices should be intertwined in this. It’s not discussion boards on Brightspace. It’s face-to-face conversations with real people that need to happen. Because if we’re not doing this, how are we going to actually represent who we are supposed to?  

I guess, in terms of concrete things that I would do, it’s really that consultation. I can’t promise to make mountains move. I can’t promise to lower tuition, I can’t promise to make student debt disappear. But at the very least I can promise to the student body that I want to hear your stories and say, ‘Well, what do you want to move forward? The union fee that you’re charged on your tuition, what justifies that for you?’ 

You mentioned students feel like there’s not too much communication coming from the DSU and students don’t have the time or motivation to look through the few pieces of communication they receive, such as a budget report. What kind of tools would you use to increase transparency? 

Of course, social media. That’s a huge help. It’s frankly like one of the easiest ways to spread the mass information out there. Especially with like, being able to follow the DSU on Instagram, or even the Facebook page.  

Understanding your tuition. There should be at least like a pamphlet or something to explain, ‘Here’s your tuition costs broken down.’ Don’t just give me facilities for $100; what does that mean? Is that Wi-Fi? Is that the custodians that are cleaning the building? Is that the utilities, like what is that? DSU fee, what is that? 

In the bathrooms and stuff at Dal, there’s also like the sheets of where to go for help and like a bunch of phone numbers. That’s intimidating. Up until two years ago, I wasn’t able to order my own pizza on the phone because I was so anxious. You expect me to call the crisis hotline if I can barely order my own food? 

There has to be multiple channels. Even if it’s a submission box that’s completely anonymous, where all you need to do is put in your email, and you don’t need to even put in a name. So, even just having an anonymous submissions box, or creating pamphlets that we could have online as PDFs and in the SUB as free to take. It’s not me having to come out with my phone and take a picture of the poster in the bathroom stall and find another place to go call this number. It’s making it right there, ready and accessible for students. 

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a screen this year?  

Oh my god, probably the Christmas Zoom call with my family. My partner’s family is like 10 people total. But mine is like 40 people. So, there’s like 20 of us on the Zoom call and they’re all yelling at the same time, all having different conversations. I’m like, ‘Oh my god guys, just learn how to use the mute or something’ because nobody was taking turns and it was just a nightmare. So definitely the two Christmases, where like one was super quiet and one was really loud. 

Editor’s note: This interview was edited for length and style. 

Why are you running for this position? 

I am running because I’ve always wanted to be involved with the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) in a more in-depth role. I also really believe in vice-president (student life) [VSPL] being a position where you can impact how students experience their academic career at Dalhousie University. That’s something that I’m really passionate about, bringing forward student issues and reaching student goals. Really addressing those student issues through events that we can place at Dal. Through initiatives, and this is the role where I see that happening the most because you get to connect with students of all years, from their first day to even their last year of study. 

What do you think is the biggest issue the VPSL would be dealing with on campuses? 

I think right now the biggest issue that they’ll be dealing with is student engagement through our online platforms. Because everyone is feeling online fatigue, you don’t want to sit in front of a computer and do activities. You want to be out there doing things. So, I think right now looking at ways to engage students, but from their homes making it not fully sitting at a screen.  

I think that’s one of the biggest issues that is going to affect the role of the vice-president (student life) and what they intend to do. With that, also meeting student issues in this new digital world. So really finding ways to meet the student issues such as our mental health access. Finding ways that our students can actually access resources, but from a distance. 

What are your plans to create enjoyable online experiences when people are pretty Zoom fatigued? 

Something that I would like to do is create events that students can do online. So maybe we are doing a few things where you are at a screen. But more so doing events that students can do with their friends or with their bubble, not on the screen. Maybe we’re doing events like: an amazing race type thing where you’re with your bubble; you’re doing like a photo scavenger hunt sort of deal; then you’re competing against other bubbles at Dal. Really putting resources in place so that you can do events with the people you’re around and still feel connected through the community that we have at this school, but without being with each other.  

What’s one positive thing you think the DSU did this year for students? 

My favourite thing was actually the thing I most recently saw. I had a couple of favourite things before that, but the most recent one was seeing them put out that mental health bursary because of how accessible it was and applicable to all students. That was the one initiative where I was so excited to see them be able to put that out there, really at a key point where students are struggling financially and they need a resource that is going to meet their needs. Especially through mental health, everyone I’ve spoken to is struggling in some capacity with their mental health and could benefit from even a little bit of a bursary. So, that was one of my favourite things I saw very recently.  

But I also do want to highlight that seeing how they ran O-Week, how the vice-president (student life) this past year ran O-Week, I was really impressed. I saw great initiatives and activities be put in place for students that were distanced. They took time to use the space at Dal to make it distanced and still fun. They did movie nights; they were able to put on a really awesome concert. The dreaming in colour initiative was really placed at the forefront of part of their O-Week, which was amazing to see. So, there were some great things that they did, that I think we can keep doing going into this next year.  

Because we know that we’re going to be in this COVID-19 time, but it’s possible that we might get a transition back to campus. So, we might get to use a lot of those resources that they’ve put in place this past year, and just add on to them and keep them going. 

Is there any issue you think the DSU could have dealt with better? If so, how would you have dealt with it? 

I’ve talked to a couple of students actually specifically about this issue recently: mental health support access for international students. Dal did not really show up for them in the way that they needed this past year. I don’t think our DSU really had that as a focus. I don’t think that’s really on them too much because this is stuff we’re learning now. It’s possible that they actually didn’t know that was what was needed and that Dal was lacking in offering those. 

But knowing that now, that our international students are struggling the most with accessing mental health resources with not being in the country, that is something that I would like to make a focus and talk to them about, to see what they need. Talk to international students about, do you need more events and connectedness to help you feel like you’re not alone? Or do you need more one-on-one professional support that we can help with creating resources and access to? So really looking at these options for international students. I’d like to start that really in the fall. So that students know that those resources are there, that they are supported and that they really matter. 

At the DSU candidates debate you spoke about how you’ve already been helping students with advocacy around tuition hikes and speaking to them about what they can do. Could you talk about what you’ve been doing and how you would build on that in the executive role? 

Yeah, something that I was really happy I was able to do. So, we get funding for our campaigns. Some students know this. This year, they gave us funding to run ads on social media. I was really happy that they gave us that. The ad that I chose to run on my social media was the tuition hikes one. As much as it didn’t focus on my platform as some of the other posts could have. I really wanted that one to reach as many Dal students as it could because we need them to advocate and email bac@dal.ca [The Dalhousie Budget Advisory Committee]. We need them to join this group of students and learn what they can do. That was something I was actually really happy I got the chance to do, even just during the campaign. Because if I don’t get in, I still want to make that difference.  

The other thing is, I have been so honoured to get to talk to students online about these tuition hikes because the tuition hikes affect international students the most. I’m personally not an international student. I don’t have that first-hand experience. I’ve had multiple international students reach out to me, and express how they feel and what advocacy can look like. So, that’s how I learned about this tuition hike Facebook group that was running. I was so honoured to get to hear from them and to have them share their stories. Then I got to use my platform to really help with that. So that’s just stuff I’ve been doing already, but I’d like to keep it going. I want to keep bringing student voices in front of the eyes of the university and make sure that students have that chance to be heard. 

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a screen this past year? 

I’ve had a lot of fun getting to do different games with my bubble when we weren’t a bubble. We found different games online that you can play where it tells you things to do in your house, but you’re separated. So, it was really strange at first, but we kind of loved it. That was probably the most fun. That was at the start of all the quarantine stuff. There’s a really great one called Space Team that I absolutely love to play with people.  

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and style. 

If re-elected president, what are some things you’ve learned over your term that will make you do things differently? 

I mean, there’s so much I’ve learned over the past year. It’s such a learning curve to step into this position especially from a mostly business background. I didn’t have a lot of student organizing experience from a social justice lens when I moved into this role. But the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) does take on a lot of that work. I think the most important skills I’ve learned are more soft skills, like how to foster a space where students feel like they can come to the DSU. I’m very happy we have seen an increase in students reaching out with their issues because they know that yes, you can help advocate for them.  

Things like learning how to listen. To listen, I think just more than I speak in spaces and learn what it means to be in my role. How even though I’m a student, this specific role has a relationship with students that deserves a little bit of nuance and respect. Learning how to interact with people who are my peers. But also, in a way where I have to recognize I am in a position that has resources and privileges attached to it. 

One of the things you spoke about last year in your candidate interview with the Dalhousie Gazette was how you’re a business student, and you look at everything kind of through a more analytical lens. You said you wanted to look at the DSU in more of a business sense, ensuring services were running well for students. How has the way you look at the DSU changed since then? 

I would say it’s probably a little less analytical. My idea of analytical last year was to look at things from an efficiency, productivity and numbers driven way. To me that meant I couldn’t include things like anecdotal experiences, feelings and opinions. But over this year, I’ve really learned when we’re talking about optimizing our services, or making sure our fees are being used in the most productive way, what actually helps bolster that work is using live student experiences. By listening to people’s feelings and thoughts about things in a way I didn’t think was possible last year. 

Last year, you were also a vocal advocate against the DSU. How does having experience being on both sides of DSU issues affect the way you deal with constituents’ issues? 

I think it gives me a good perspective to understand how students feel when they come with issues and say, “The DSU is doing this wrong” because I can remember a time where I also felt that way. So, I want the DSU to continue to be a safe space for students to come forward and say, “I don’t like what you’re doing, you need to address this issue, you need to change how it’s going.” To feel like the things they’re saying are actually being listened to and acted on. Because at the end of the day, if students aren’t happy with what we’re doing, then we need to change what we’re doing. That’s just the reality. The DSU shouldn’t be a reflection of the executives, it should be a reflection of the students. So, if folks are saying we’re doing something wrong, good. Tell me, I’m going to listen and we’re going to change things. It’s nice to have that background to be able to recognize that side.  

At the end of the day, the DSU is an institution. It’s not a grassroots organization. It takes longer for us to adapt to things just based on the way the organization is built. Having that perspective, I think provides some added flexibility. 

What are you most proud of after your term as president? 

I think I’m most proud of the reconnections the DSU has made, even just over the course of the year. Seeing how different student groups who were at odds with the DSU have since come and said like, ‘We really like what we’re seeing this year.’ They’re now more willing to come to the table to tell us what’s going on and how they need help. I think that’s a good reflection of how the work that this team has done this year has really met the goal a lot of us campaigned on, which was to reconnect the DSU with the student body. So, I’m not saying we’re completely done, I don’t think we’ll ever be completely done. But even just seeing those small steps, especially in a year where folks are just so overwhelmed with things. 

Can you give a few examples of some of those groups you’re happy to have that reconnection process started with? 

I think Sexton campus is a really good example. We’ve heard a lot of good feedback from students on Sexton feeling like the DSU is a bit more representative of that student body this year. We’ve heard from some folks on the Agricultural campus that they’re happy, that Truro seems to be more of a consideration this year. We even heard good feedback from the Dalhousie medical campus in New Brunswick, which was nice because they’re quite far out.  

The university as well, which is not necessarily a student group, but we’ve been able to mend quite a few fences with the university this year, and engage in partnerships that are new and old. Some that we’re restarting and some that are completely new, which is really nice. 

What do you think the DSU needs to improve on after this year? And why would you be the person able to improve it if re-elected? 

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the course of the year is how student advocacy works on our campus. This perspective was really brought to me by other students who I was working with. They recognized sometimes other students on campus who want to advocate for issues are excluded from the spaces they want to be in because the DSU is there. It’s taking up space. 

When we want to advocate for things, there’s very little time, and resources and space for that to happen. So naturally, these student groups are competing and the DSU hasn’t been there to support them. We’ve actually been standing in the way of some student groups having the conversations that they want to have with the university. So, I think it’s really important that we start looking at how the university, like the student body as a whole, gets involved with advocating for students.  

I think my perspective in being a student who wanted to get involved, and was told no last year and then found a way to do that, gives me some background to one, understand that issue. Two, I’ve had the opportunity to get in touch with a lot of these groups that have said, ‘We want to be at the table, this is an issue we want brought forward.’ Maybe it’s a smaller issue and there are less students on campus who care about it. But by building those relationships we have some sort of environmental awareness of what’s going on. I hope, just based on some of the stability that comes with having consistency in executives, students feel like there’s more of a structure they can come to find support with some of those smaller issues and not be cut out of discussions. 

Do you have any plans if you were to be president when students return to campus? 

Yes, it would be so exciting. It would be so exciting. Because I sit in my office all day long, every day and see so few students. Especially in September, there was this kind of sombreness around the office because usually that’s a time when you can feel the energy on campus and we were missing that this year. Something I’d really like the opportunity to do when students come back is to actually like go to student events. To be with students and hang out with them to really hear what’s going on in a more personable way. Instead of having folks just send me emails all the time, actually being able to meet face to face. To support fundraisers, and go to events and really actually engage with people in a way that’s not just over a screen. I think we’re all tired of that. 

What initiatives that you started this year would you like to see through by gaining another term? 

Specifically, things like our governing review, we started that this year. I had really high hopes to go through all of our governing documents, and amend them with the bylaws and policy review committee. That plan just quickly fell apart once COVID-19 became a never-ending issue on campus to address. So, we’ve actually gotten external support for that and now we have Wickwire Holm [a law firm] who’s helping us conduct that review. I’m really excited to see where that goes. Once they deliver the results of where they think we can improve, I want to consult with students and bring those amendments forward. This [is] something I’m really interested in because my academic interest is in policy analysis and development.  

As well as things like our strategic plan, which I think is something that the DSU is missing compared to other student unions of our size. A lot of them have a mission and an overarching vision with goals. That also addresses that issue of there [is] sometimes being a lack of stability in the DSU, because our executives turnover year to year. Folks come in with new great ideas, but sometimes some of those goals that got started earlier are lost. By having overarching goals for the next five, seven and 10 years, we can keep some of that momentum going, and making sure when we start on a student issue we follow through and come to a meaningful resolution. 

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a screen this year? 

You know, what I really like actually is watching the livestreams of sports games when they first started putting random people in the stands that were little screens because I came into that a little bit late, and turned on my computer to watch something and was so startled by the fact they had these things in the stands. That was like a memorable moment of like, wow, we really are living in a different world.