More action on the announcement front as Councilor Matt MacGillivary and Lane sr.RA Julia Clarke launched their facebook group and campaign website today to much fanfare. Their facebook presence already has over 120 members.
Their website, available by clicking here, features bios and a campaign platform that is quite extensive. Karl Alzner, Captain of Team Canada for the 2008 World Juniors is apparently a supporter of Matt and Julia's bid, their site features a picture of the captain in Calgary holding a sign that endorses the candidates.
This candidates platform focuses on transparency and accessibility to union staff and services and urges the use of the union website to keep students up-to date. Interestingly, as a union councilor, MacGilivary never pushed these ideas at the council table.
12 comments:
"Interestingly, as a union councilor, MacGilivary never pushed these ideas at the council table."
I'm curious. Is this a blog or a report? 'Reporter' indicates unbiased reporting. But this seems to be a Union board and the author is anonymous. How can one possibly consider this unbiased if the author hasn't signed their name and it is coming from the very group holding the election and thus is likely to have a clear vision of what platforms they would like to see furthered.
This seems to give credence to the platforms desire for more union transparency, doesn't it?
Kudos to the author.
While this is a well written article, there are blatant, and unnecessary, negative biases left toward the candidates. Perhaps the author should check his facts (like how MacGillivray and Clarke actually launched their campaign ahead of anyone else) and check his biases at the door.
Interesting choice of words: "This candidates platform focuses on transparency and accessibility to union staff and services and urges the use of the union website to keep students up-to date. Interestingly, as a union councilor, MacGillivary never pushed these ideas at the council table".
Isn't that a pretty heavy burden to place on one person's shoulders? Namely, a non-executive member of the union's shoulders?
Wouldn't you think it would be Adam and Marc's responsibilities to keep up with their promise of transparency and accessibility?
I wonder, how many students on average go to the student union and demand these kinds of things? It seems to be an awful lot to put on one person's shoulders, just because they're a member of council. There are many, MANY other important facets to the duties of being a councillor.
Also, I strongly disagree with having a member of the student union executive covering the presidential elections, as this opinion is most likely biased. From now on, I'd like to see unbiased, third parties writing these presidential updates.
wow, this is fantastic. Opinion and discussion about a union election!
To note: I won't be writing much for this blog, we are just getting the writers up and going. Danille Webb will be following the MaGillvary campaign, she is a reporter for the weekly. I’ve got someone about ready to commit to covering the other squad.
However, this blog will present important information and critique candidates where appropriate. The sentence I happened to write is not untrue and is the same level of criticism each slate will be held to. So to say it is biased I believe is a little premature.
However, the Mac Gillvary team is the first to have a platform for people to view. When other slates introduce their's they will be covered similarly. Keep up the discussion and keep checking the blog, I think you’ll find it fair and balanced and not in a FOX news sort of way!
Take care,
Neil
Just a note,
The platform on macgillvrayandclark is not really a platform, it is two promises that can be done in a matter of moments.
Putting minutes and documents online is all well and good, but honestly, who wants to read them week after week? That doesn't make a union more accountable.
The second platform piece of being more accessible used in campaigns every year. Every year the candidates come on and go: "We're gonna have an open door policy with our team".
To me, this is the same 2 ideas that candidates come up with every year. It doesn't take a lot of thought, and it doesn't show a real connection with the issues.
Macgillvray and Clarke, you need to have a platform that deals with real student issues, you need to have things that can't be fixed over night, if you want to run the Union you actually have to look for the shit storms and walk right into them.
This platform seems to have been developed over a cup of coffee. And I have watched this platform be presented for 7 years straight, and it's the same every year.
The people in charge of the Union need to have clear vision about what must be done in order to advance the Union as an organization and they also have to show that they are willing to work their butts off for change.
Your website does not show this yet, I hope you can go out and meet with students and talk to them about their real problems, learn about the national crisis the government imposes on students every year. You need to look at the terms of reference for President and VP find out how they operate in the change-making committees they sit on, learn the issues within those venues and find solutions to the big problems therin.
Once you've done the research (which if you want to be effective takes at least 40+ hours), then come back with a platform that is indicative of real issues and designed out of a long, meaningful reflection on how to best serve students in the positions you're running for.
You have GOT to be kidding me. Ugh. You have a chance to be exemplary, and you fail.
We really appreciate all of the input from this blog. To alum, We are very sorry that you felt our platform was inadequate however our platform is much more extensive. We have done a considerable amount of research and discussion with fellow students and we have spent the last month preparing our initiatives. The portion you read was simply our main summary, at the bottom of the page is the link to the extended and full platform. We realize now that it may not have been easy to access and we are changing that immediately so that our platform will be more visible and available to all.
Thanks again!
Matt and Julia
No, I read the summary too, but my first message got a little long.
What I see is a "platform" that is a bit shallow, and just a rip off of the Union's strategic plan (which is already in effect no matter who wins.)
Let me elaborate...
"Improve House President/Vice-President & Residence Assistant relationships"
- It doesnt say how you will do it, it gives no plan, it just say's "we'll email, meet, and phone more"
"Introduction of a non-voting frosh representative to student council."
- I'll be honest, I actually like this idea. But I don't think it will work. How will 1 frosh who doesn't vote go out and bring the scope of all frosh issues to council?
"Frosh 101"
- Isn't this what frosh week already is? Any longer than a week and students will get bored. Students don't want to go to meetings all year, they want to have fun and earn a degree.
"Increased union support to societies that have a positive impact outside of the university"
- Which societies, what do you mean by support? Money? Then you have to reconfigure the socity budget and how do you deem a societiy's positive impact and place a value on that? More promotion? Easily done, the U already promotes useful things well. Again you're just saying "we'll keep rollin the ball"
"Strengthen ties with alumni"
- Already a part of the Union's long term strategic plan.
"Promote Anti-Go-Clean"
-Does the U not support this? I thought they did already.
"Bring back the Super Sub"
- Where did it go and why?
"Tutoring"
Tutoring at X, was invented as a free alternative to the tutoring offered through various faculties of the University. You might as well just abolish it if you're going to make people pay. The services are designed to be free for the most part in correlation with the cost of education. If you want to pay the money out of student dues you might as well just quadruple the SU budget.
"Drive Home"
- There is only one vehicle. Why not lobby to get a second one bought. Enough people know about it. Also this same one pops up every year, it is not new.
"Volunteering"
- Also a part of the Strategic Plan
"Environment"
- A part of the strategic plan.
Essentially, the platform is 2 things:
1- Easy, quick ideas without any real depth and examination into real student issues.
2- A glance at the Union's current strategic plan, and a simple reconfiguration of the words. Everything in the plan is already mandated to come, you can't just say you will do it, that's plagarism...I think.
"(like how MacGillivray and Clarke actually launched their campaign ahead of anyone else)"
The only reason this campaign started earlier than 'the Pat and Scott Campaign' was due to the fact that the Returning Officers who are responsible for approving the nomination forms "never got to Pat and Scotts nomination form in time for the weekend".
Some bias there? Time will tell.
I believe nominations were open for quite a while and could have been delivered to the returning officers long before Friday. Had said slate got their sheet in earlier in the week thee could have been ample time to begin their campaign on time.
The votepatandscott.com campaign started officially at 12:00am on Monday, although they've been consulting with students about the issues for weeks.
Expect to see a cohesive, well thought-out platform built on broad student consultation from the Connors-Matheson camp. These guys are the hardest working candidates and have the most skilled and dedicated team in years behind them.
Just because you haven't seen their entire platform yet, doesn't mean it doesn't exist...I suspect they're going to make sure every piece of their plan is clearly understood by the student body before election day.
STFX STUDENT UNION:
Where your vote matters;
But your voice doesn't.
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