Election Bio: Richard Clark

Running for: VP (academic and external)

Name: Richard Clark

Age: 19

Program: Second-year political science

Hometown: Barrington Passage, NS

Interesting tidbit: Worked as an intern in Ottawa this past summer with the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, Diane Finley.

To become a DSU candidate, nominees must hand in a petition with 25 signatures. For Richard Clark, 25 names was not good enough, he wanted 1,000.

“I want a strong mandate going into the campaign, and this is a good opportunity to meet people, for sure.”

Clark, however, ended his goal at about 350 signatures three days into the nomination period when some DSU insiders worried that Clark’s ambition would be perceived as pre-campaigning, which was not allowed before Feb. 6. His initiative was actually not against any rules, but Clark felt it was better not to risk it.

Although his signature plan fell short, meeting voters should not be an issue to Clark as the 19-year-old is already well-connected with Dalhousie’s student body. The present Howe Hall president and DSU Arts and Social Sciences councillor hopes the connections he has already established will work to his advantage.

He refers to this past summer, when he was working for the federal government department in charge of student loans, as evidence that he has the skills students need.

“I think I have the experience to do this job, and I’m focused on achieving attainable results that are really going to make education more affordable. Students are hopefully going to see a real difference.”

Today’s financial realities of a post-secondary education are a big concern to Clark. He had a first-hand look earlier this year while assisting some first-year Howe Hall students struggling to pay their fees.

“It gave me a renewed sense of urgency to try and help address some of these issues around affordability,” Clark recalled. “It gives me a unique perspective on the issue.”

Clark’s platform also includes greater promotion of Tiger Books, the DSU’s online book exchange program that can help students save money and working with the university to encourage private businesses to contribute to a financial assistance program, connecting companies with students who share the same goals and interests.

Clark says he intends to share his vision during the first week of campaigning to 60 classes.