This interview has been edited for clarity, grammar and length.
Why did you decide to run for DSU president?
I was encouraged by a few friends who said they thought I’d be a good choice for the job. They said, “You’re a good listener, you’re someone who knows how to get things done. You’ve got experience working with people from a lot of different backgrounds and a lot of different points on the constellation of political and personal ideologies.” They said, “I think you’d be a good advocate for people.”
I won’t lie. I was a little bit reluctant at first, but a friend told me sometimes the best leaders are reluctant. I think other people having faith in me is why I ran for the job. I want to bring back that idea of service to the DSU and politics at large. I think it’s an important thing to humble yourself, put yourself in other people’s shoes and work at the grassroots level, because that’s where change really happens. That’s where it affects the broadest swath of people.
Have you been involved with the DSU at all before?
I have not, not in any elected or appointed capacity.
Why didn’t you run in the last election?
Nominations opened in January, and the fall was pretty tough for me. I wasn’t my best self. I lacked discipline. I was in a tricky place in life — a coming of age phase where I felt I had to grow up. I think the last three months have been a real page turner.
I feel like I can relate to a lot of students, both those who are excelling academically and also students who are struggling, because I’ve been there too. I think that broad range of experience is what I bring to the table. I didn’t run in the spring because I didn’t feel I was ready to run. This is a second chance for me. I feel like second chances don’t come around a lot in life.
Why do you think that you’re the best person for this job?
I think I’m the best person for the job because I can relate to a wide variety of experiences and people. I have a lot of interests. I go to plays on campus. I go to games on campus. I am part of a bunch of different societies. I’m interested in what people are doing. I’m someone who’s an easy person to talk to, and I’m committed to getting things done. I think we need small policy wins before we can tackle big policies.
Could you talk about some of the key points of your campaign?
One of the things I really want to do is bring better community to campus. I think the DSU is poorly connected to the student body at large. I’d like to bring us closer to the students who walk through the halls every day. I feel like the DSU doesn’t have a presence. I don’t see them at events. I don’t see them boosting societies. I don’t see them engaging with the community in any sort of tangible, meaningful way. I think that we can do a better job of bringing people together. Something like organizing watch parties for the Olympics, which sounds small, but does build community — or festivals — like Sno-Fest, I want to expand that.
I think event and society funding needs to be reformed. There’s not enough transparency and ease of use. I want to give more autonomy to societies and student-led organizations, because I feel they know their constituents better than I do. I want to put power in the hands of people who have direct relationships with their constituents. I think it would be hubristic to say that I can build a better relationship in two months than someone who’s served the community for two years. I think delegating is a big part of that.
And small, pragmatic stuff as well, like expanding library hours during exam seasons. I’ve heard a lot of really good feedback on that policy point from students. It’s small, but it’s meaningful. A lot of change is incremental.
Another big point is the promotion of societies. I’d work to implement something that I’d call the society spotlight program. A society will take over the DSU account for a week, or an hour a week. The details have to be fleshed out, but they can advertise themselves and make themselves known to a broader group of students. I think that would help foster campus community.
I’d also like to have monthly summits at Dalhousie, across all four campuses. I think it’s important that these other campuses are valued, and we give them the respect they deserve. They’re an equally big part of campus life. These summits would include feedback from students and Q-and-A sessions about the DSU and how it can help better.
And are you planning on continuing the current administration’s initiative of pushing the board of governors to divest from Israel?
I am. I think we do have to modify how we approach and tackle this issue. I think pragmatism is an important part of this. It’s gone to board of governors votes before and they’ve lost. I think there needs to be a concerted effort to get small policy wins, so that we’re taken seriously at that table, and we know what we’re advocating for. I think it has to be done more incrementally. This is probably the first in a three year program that will be passed on along presidents.
It is something I’m committed to as we move towards being a more forward thinking and progressive campus; I think that’s a really important thing. But I think the current policy is probably not the best way forward. We have to be more mindful of things like soft power and using social and political relationships to enact change. I don’t want to over promise and under deliver. I think incremental divestment is a tangible and feasible goal.
Can you say more about your plan to divest incrementally?
I’ve seen it split up into three main buckets. So you’ve got weapons manufacturing, Israeli companies, and fossil fuels. I think the one that you’d attack first is probably fossil fuels. Fossil fuel companies, I think those are the easiest place to divest from, just because there seems to be a broad consensus on environmental policy. I think that’s something that the board of governors could be persuaded to do most effectively.
From there, once you get small policy wins — say divesting from fossil fuel companies — you can move on. Then you can tackle Israel and weapons manufacturing. I absolutely believe it would be amazing to get all three, like completely divest right away. But I think that there needs to be a hard truth that it’s going to be really hard on a practical level. You have to pull a lot of political levers, and I’m committed to putting in that legwork, but it’s a difficult process.
What do you think the current DSU administration could have done better?
I think being closer to students, a better sense of community. They could also be more transparent. Frankly, nobody knows when meetings are going on, and nobody knows what they’re voting for. Nobody knows what the DSU does, and expanding its presence on secondary campuses is a big part of that. Even stuff like supporting student-led organizations and businesses like the Beet Street Market is a part of that.
Why is it significant that a byelection was called and the bylaws weren’t just amended to make Matt Lawton president?
I think you need a mandate to govern effectively. That’s nothing against Matt. But I think the electorate spoke and said, “we want Bianca over you.” I think [making Lawton president] would have been rebuking the electorate and what they chose. I trust the electorate knows what they’re voting for. If I lose, I lose, and that won’t be the wrong decision. That’ll just be the choice they made. And if I win, it’ll be the choice they made.
I think it’s a big job on campus, the DSU presidency. There’s a lot of work and a lot of energy and commitment that goes into it. I think you want people running for the job to prove themselves among the candidates. I think that is valuable, having someone who can go out, meet the electorate and really gain a mandate of their trust.
How will you support students amid the expected tuition increases?
I don’t know how much the DSU can do. I think the DSU can be a very useful lobbyist group for lower tuition. But frankly, it’s an issue I wish we had more sway over. Students pay a lot of money, and I don’t think they’re getting the best bang for their buck.
For how I could change that as President, it would have to be small things. It would be removing the $25 enrollment request fee. Maybe we would provide more scholarships or bursaries in the DSU office. I’m committed to looking into and fleshing out those programs on a broader scale.
I think this is a really wicked problem. Dalhousie is hurting for money because of the cuts to the number of international students, and there’s a lot of austerity going on. I think it’s harmful to a lot of people who are midway through their degrees. We should respect students who have given so much to the university, physically, financially, spiritually and emotionally, and who are moving themselves forward to a better life.
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