Selection committee approves team of hopeful directors, includes SA president
Students’ Association president Deijanelle Simon will be seeking re-election for president for the upcoming academic year, but not before her and the other recommended directors receive confirmation of appointment from voting results.
Simon made her way around campus on March 7 to make students aware of her intent to stay on with the SA, as well as to promote the six other board hopefuls who have been recommended through a selection process facilitated by the director of the SA, Paige Nicks.
The recommended students for the board have somewhat of an advantage, as running as a group appears more organized to student voters who are approached.
The proxy voting took place from March 7 until March 8 at noon, with the results set to be announced at the annual general meeting on Wednesday, March 13. Any other students who were hoping to get through the proxy voting would have been required to make the rounds of campus in hope of gaining more votes than any of the members on the recommended list.
The recommended students are; May Ghadban, business administration-marketing; Shanti Cosentino, public relations; Chelsea Moses-Blackned, business administration; Katrina Medina, bachelor of science; Greg Jeffreys, heritage carpentry; Deijanelle Simon, advertising and marketing communications management and Michael Wolff, bachelor of early learning and community development.
“We’re running as a group, that’s why we ask for all the votes; to be unanimously chosen. So then there is no chance that one person could have less votes than another,” said Ghadban, second-year student representative for business marketing.
The current SA president was quick to calm any worries about the nature of the selection committee, assuring students that she feels it is a legitimate process.
“Honestly, how the selection committee works, it’s a lot stronger than I thought it was going to be,” Simon told the Times. “Our platform hasn’t necessarily been set yet; we were all chosen because we’re passionate about student experience and student life and success. And that relates directly to the Students’ Association mission.”
Students interested in being recommended for an SA board position were required to submit a package with their CV detailing their relevant accomplishments to the committee. The committee performed interviews to ensure that the group of candidates selected would work well as a team.
One of the recommended students for director is a second-timer along with Simon. Michael Wolff served as director last year after narrowly losing the presidential race to the current president.
Although this preliminary round of voting does not impact who will be running for officer positions in the next round of elections, Simon looks to continue what she has viewed to be a very positive tenure as SA president.
“The accomplishment I am most proud of is the fact that we have progressed so much more in our priorities. I know there are seven, but still I would have to pick class representative number one. When we first came into the system there were three people on our board that were class reps, and we didn’t even know it was related to the Students’ Association. I’ve been lucky enough to see the value that comes out of speaking with the class reps, and a lot of our relationships have been built that way.”
The first priority details the 2017-2018 Students’ Association’s intent to facilitate, “the operation of an effective and thriving class rep system,” according to the Students’ Association website.
The officer positions are president and vice-president, and campaigning for these positions begins on March 14. The campaign will be open until after midnight on April 1, after which students will be allowed to vote until April 5.
