This interview has been edited for clarity, grammar and length.
Why did you decide to run for DSU president?
The main reason is that I want to change the DSU as a whole. Out of the three possible positions, I feel like I would be best as VPI. Obviously, I lost that election, but I still think I can contribute beneficially if I become president. In terms of why I ran, transparency is a big issue. It’s no surprise that multiple candidates think we need to increase this. The council is small and I want to increase its size because three people can’t represent all of Dal. Between that and the fact that Dal doesn’t do a good job at promoting events and the election, it feels like the elections come down to a popularity contest as opposed to what candidates can do for students. If I could make those changes as well as my other campaign promises, then I have no problem stepping back as DSU [president] to let someone better than me take over.
Why didn’t you run in the last election?
The main thing that changed is that the VPI position was available. Respectfully, if I were elected president and had the opportunity to step down and take over the role of VPI, I think I would prefer to do that. While I feel like I can be good as president, I don’t necessarily think that I am the best at representing all the needs of students. I’m the best at representing what my friends need and what I know Dal needs. But I don’t have that connection to the people at Sexton, for example. I’ve talked to some engineering friends before; they told me things were bad, but I didn’t realize how bad it was until the engineering society reached out to me. I feel like I can make good changes here, but I would make better changes as the VPI, and that’s why I originally ran for that.
Based on your answers, it seems you would rather be the VPI. Why do you think students should vote for you to be president if you’d prefer a different role?
I still think students should vote for me because I firmly believe that my policies will benefit students as a whole. I don’t downplay the issues that the other candidates have brought up; there’s a good bit of overlap between our plans. But I feel my main things are the most beneficial to students right now. I would definitely be able to achieve those goals within the year, whereas the other students may be bogged down by policies and promising too much compared to what they actually can do.
Are you planning on continuing the current administration’s initiative of pushing the board of governors to divest from Israel?
One hundred per cent. Just about every friend I talked to is interested in divesting from Israeli companies, and I think it’s a very important issue that a lot of students want to see. I don’t understand why Dal is so against even opening the discussion of divesting a little bit. I would like to see more student-wide polls, and I think showing Dal the physical number of students who want this changed could push them to divest. I’d also like to incorporate more teachers into spreading the information. I think that it would be a good way to include more students and get more support for this petition.
What if the response that you get is a higher percentage of students who say no?
We are the DSU, we are the voice of students. If 50 per cent of students say they don’t want to divest from these companies, then it is the will of the students that we won’t divest. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but if that’s what students want, I’m not going to go against that.
What are some of the key points of your campaign?
We’ve already been over Palestine significantly, and I still stand by that. My first thing is transparency and promotion from the DSU. As things stand, both myself and other students don’t know what the DSU is trying to do right now. They release meeting minutes, but I don’t think many students put the time into reading them, where it would be much easier if we got a simple breakdown of what is discussed in meetings. Like just writing down “DSU accepts that we should divest from Gaza, read page 113 here.” Students who are interested in that issue can be accurately informed without having to look through this massive document, which I think would be better for transparency.
When I was campaigning for a VPI, a lot of students didn’t know about the society expo. It’s unfortunate that the DSU only promotes things through email or in the SUB. The society expo is all about integrating students into the Dal community, and yet they’re doing an insufficient job. I think if we had a format for Dal or the DSU to promote large-scale events that societies are putting on, it would increase community involvement and be better for students.
I want to increase the size of the DSU, because as things are now, there are only three students who are the heads of the DSU. If we had more people on the council — like I suggested bringing back the student life position — it would take the burden off the VPI to worry more about societies.
Another thing that was brought up to me was the issues at Sexton Campus. I suggested adding a Sexton representative, where Sexton would have a student sit on the board. The DSU seemingly leaves it up to the engineering society to host events and bring snacks during exam periods, and I think this would be an effective solution to change that and represent the students who go to Sexton.
Why do you think that you’re the best person for the job?
I think I’m the best for the role because I have some good policies. I’m more than willing to shift my focus depending on the needs of the students. I know how to organize people. I know issues at Dal and how to do them. My big downside is probably that I’m not super well connected with the political side of Dal; I’m connected with students on the society side of Dal. I feel I can effectively get the needs of students and societies to the leaders of Dal, but I don’t know how willing they’d be to listen to my voice since they don’t know who I am.
How will you support students amidst expected tuition increases and slashes to Dal’s budget?
I don’t know how much of an impact I would be able to make immediately. I would try to block tuition increases, but if we want to divest from Palestine, it may be a case of which bullet do we take? Do we divest from Palestine? Or do we block tuition increases? I would like to see both happen, but if we have to choose one, I think it would be better to increase tuition to make up the difference for what we divest. I’d like to look over the budget and see where we can cut funding from DSU programs that don’t need as much funding, like the executive salaries.
In terms of other things we can do, I think certain groups get more funding than they should. Again, I’m going to bring up Sexton Campus. The engineering undergrad society doesn’t think we put enough into their campus. Grad students are complaining right now that they’re being overlooked.
Why do you think it’s one or the other with focusing on divestment or blocking tuition increases?
At the end of the day, universities are businesses. If they feel they aren’t making enough money, they’re going to cut funding. While I would like to see divestment, I don’t know how much they actually have in these companies and how much that will affect Dal’s budget. I think it would be unfortunate if we had to divest from Israel but increase our tuition. I am fortunate enough to say that I am okay with paying a bit extra tuition if it means people have safer lives in Palestine. But I know that’s not something everyone can do. Maybe we have a special opt-in option where students pay more tuition to divest more, like how you opt into the healthcare program. If we want to cut funding, we have to make that funding up somewhere.
Do you know for a fact that Dal couldn’t afford to divest from Israel, or is that an inference?
It’s more speculation. I assume that Dal would be fully able to divest from Palestine and that it wouldn’t have significant impacts now, but three years down the line [is a different story]. I would prefer if we could divest from Palestine without having a significant lasting impact on the future people at Dal. I’m probably going to be out of Dal in three years. I won’t experience tuition hikes or any sort of cut from funding in the future.
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