WUSA AMA – General Elections
With General elections right around the corner, WUSA hosted an informative AMA session on Reddit giving students the chance to ask questions and get to know the candidates a little better.
The session started with the candidates giving brief introductions as well as stating their campaign pillars. The candidates showed their enthusiasm by sharing numerous ideas on improving the housing system, making communication more transparent, the importance of mental health, reducing financial barriers, and much more. Check out the thread here, or read our AMA summary below!
The AMA progressed, with questions being asked throughout the day:
The first two questions asked how the governance system works and what are the duties of a director towards WUSA, the rest of the board, and undergrads. The common key points from all the candidates were that there has been a shift from how WUSA was governed before to how it is governed now. We are now following a more policy-based model where there is a more advising and advocating-based outlook. While most candidates were in support of the new model, some expressed their concerns and wanted more student involvement. In terms of responsibilities, all candidates mentioned how it is important to be devoted and work with full transparency to improve the student experience.
We also saw one direct question being asked to one of the candidates who has had experience with how municipalities are run, asking what the priorities of that candidate would be as a director. The candidate answered that their priorities would be continuing to better understand the needs of the greater student body, reducing financial barriers, along with creating a positive relationship with the WUSA staff!
Lastly, we saw some concerns from the students asking the candidates why not a lot of people have their information listed on vote.wusa.ca and how last term saw a lot of candidates dropping out after being selected, asking whether this would happen again. The candidates mentioned how most students dropped out because there was a shift in how WUSA was governed which required people to work full-time and manage their co-ops as well. All candidates also assured the students that they understand the requirements and are ready to devote their time to WUSA governance!
