The Dalhousie Gazette: What makes you the right candidate for the role of VPI?
Thomais “Tammy” Maniou: I’ve been in student societies since my second year. This has been instrumental in my integration on campus, from making friends and connections to an overall sense of belonging. Having been through not only being a regular exec member for student societies, but also society president this year, I want to transfer this knowledge and those leadership skills to the VPI position and basically have inside knowledge of how I can help student societies.
What are some of the key points in your campaign?
I want to truly help societies regain a position of strength on campus. A lot of societies have been impacted by the fact that they haven’t been able to do in person meetings. So what we need to do is give them resources and access to ideas and avenues to increase their retention and recruitment.
I’m going to do a lot of listening and reach out to people from marginalized communities. Ask them specifically what it is that I can do to help them but also what it is that I can tell societies they can do in order to help them. For example, if a person with mobility issues came to me and said ‘hey, my society isn’t being very accessible,’ I can maybe suggest like different buildings that the society can use. Tangible solutions that would help people.
What is your favourite way of connecting with the Dalhousie community?
I like to read the Dal Gazette because I like learning more about issues on campus and what the student body thinks. Also, I like to be more involved on social media and find out if I can attend events and stuff like that. Basically, make sure that I have some ideas of what’s going on on campus and feeling more in the loop.
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