ASSU By-Election Candidate Statements
ASSU will be holding a by-election during the ASSU Council Meeting on November 20th. Course Unions will be able to send two representatives to this election. Here are the statements from the candidates.
Charles Dalrymple-Fraser
The academic components of student life have been widely downplayed: we slave over textbooks, our assignments are due at the same time, and the groupwork’s a pain. Yet, it has been my great fortune at UofT to be able to study what I love, and it’s been my passion to help others love what they study. As a third-term executive and former president of the PCU, I’ve had a number of amazing opportunities to help improve the quality of the academic experience of students; but, these opportunities and the growth of our CU would not have manifested without the assistance of everyone at ASSU, and the resources they provide.
My name is Charles, and I’m a fourth-year student running for an executive seat on ASSU, so I can continue to work to improve the academic aspects of student life (and not just those of students in my home department). Through my years at UofT, I’ve become intimate with the ASSU team, its procedures, and the many invaluable resources they provide, as well as its constituents and members, and I’ve naught but benefited from everything about those experiences. It is my hope that you will allow me to bring these experiences – as a student and as a CU executive – to the ASSU team, to help continue its ever-upward momentum, to help enrich your own pursuits, and to bring back to mind the value of the academic experience. If you have any questions at all, please do feel free to contact me.
Ben Coleman
Hello Course Unions! My name is Ben Coleman, and I’m running as a Candidate for the ASSU Executive.
Before I explain why I can do a good job serving course unions and arts and science students, I should introduce myself. I’m an Arts and Science student, from New College, in my third year of studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I have an odd, mixed accent, and I’m shockingly tall. In my spare time, I’m Arts and Science director for the UTSU.
I’m interested in Arts & Science issues. This summer, I made an ad-hoc twitter contest to see if anyone could make the course evaluations more pleasant to look through (shout-out to CSSU for joining in).
I take my responsibility seriously. The only time I’ve missed a UTSU meeting was when I was doing fieldwork in middle-of-nowhere Saskatchewan and didn’t have internet.
I think an ASSU exec needs good communication skills. Earlier in the year, I researched how much interest U of T was charging on late tuition payments, and landed on the radio being pitted against the University Registrar. I made sure to diplomatically follow up with him to put us on good terms. It worked.
I’ve met friends in class at an EEBU social, learned about banking from an ESA guest speaker, and have absorbed the history of Santa Claus parades from a HSA guest lecture. I really appreciate how course unions improve students’ academic and social lives, and would love the chance to serve all of you.
Celine Liu
Hi everyone, I am Celine Liu and I am a first year Economics student. In the past two months, I have seen many first –year students like me, who were experiencing academic stress and facing social activities anxiety.
After recognizing these common problems, I want to firstly, become a speaker who expresses our ongoing difficulties. Secondly, becoming a negotiator who tries to arrive corresponding solutions with relevant departments at UofT. Lastly, I want to be an advisor, letting more students know their concerns has been discussed, which they can now solve their problems with the support from UofT.
The desires of volunteering and helping other students in the UofT family have motivated me to run for the Arts and Science Student Union executive member. I believe my fluency in different languages and active involvement in diverse clubs will help me to hear and represent the voices from everyone. My skills of problem solving, which were developed from constant practices for debate and Model UN are also helpful when playing a role as a logical negotiator. Moreover, my previous facilitation experience is helpful for organizing campaigns and events that aim at providing students with more useful suggestions and new assistance as a product of negotiation.
As a passionate learner, I will become a better listener, a negotiator and a speaker. With your support, a sense of family will be achieved here at UofT.
