AUS elections

Posted by: | March 26, 2007 | 13 Comments

So, apparently the AUS Elections are happening. Apparently there are candidates.
The AUS website has no information about candidates or voting. But we do!

So here’s what we know of the elections:
Campaiging March 16-23. Voting takes place at 3 separate polling booths in the SUB and Buchanan Buildings between March 25-30

We’re probably the only place you can publicly find the candidates list. Thanks to Patrick Meehan for providing us with what should be readily available public information, which is found behind the jump.

President
Stephanie Ryan (Incumbent)
AJ (Avneet) Johal (Current VP External)

(Very interesting. A President running for re-election against a member of her own executive. Must be some fun personality dynamics at play. Any Artsies wanna let us know what’s up?)

VP Internal
Helaine Boyd
Vicki Lindström

VP External
Tyler Allison
Chris Anderson

(Hmm… two experienced, knowledgeable, veteran candidates. Same race.)

VP Finance
Michelle Yuen

Academic Coordinator
Stash Bylick
Lauren Mills

Social Coordinator
Angela Boscariol
Jeremy McElroy

Student Services
Michael Serebriakov

Promotions
Ashley Pritchard

AMS Reps (elect 7)
Amy Boultbee
Jessica Hannon
Nathan Crompton
Ryan Corbett??
Andrew Forshner
Jessica Hannon
Sam Heppell
Kate Power
Joel Koczwarski
Patrick Meehan

(Good to see Joel Koz running. Very good.)

Senator
Erin Rennie
Daniel Lin
Adela Babarova

General Officer
Lots!!!
(Kat McGill
Ranu Saroha
Mike Jerowski
Chris Chapman
Aletha Utley
Samatha Bihis
Sarah Howe
Tom Lamb
Calry Wenner)


Comments

13 Comments so far

  1. Patrick on March 20, 2007 6:11 am

    Thats right, I’ve decided to finally get involved! Running for AMS rep position, its going to be rather radtabular.

    So I’m running on a combination of experience, gumption and the sheer power of awesomeness. Also, I have a few ideas floating around that I wouldn’t mind working on.

    Idea’s like VANSA, the Vancouver Area Network of Student Associations. Me and Matthew have floated the idea past our contacts at a number of other student unions, and I see it having possibly an amazing impact on not just UBC but all of the lower mainland.

    Think about it, it would be a coalition made up of something on the order of +70,000 students, off the top of my head, UBC has 43,000, SFU has something in the mid 20,000’s, Kwantlen as of 2003 was sitting at just under 11,000…. Thats not even counting Langara, Capilano and possibly others.

    What could we do? We could trade ideas, we would be able to bulk buy in greater quantities, if one student union had an idea that worked, they could share it with the rest.

    It would be a fantastic organisation, and just think of the lobbying potential. I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with the then president of Le FEUQ a number of years ago, and just last year with one of the organisers of the major Montreal protests. What did they both tell me about making people listen? Get organised. Right now, were not.

    And just think about it… Meetings would be free. You just jump on transit to head over to wherever the meetings could be.

    But thats enough ranting for now, I stand for a number of other issues, but I think ive used up enough of this space for now.

  2. Gerald on March 20, 2007 8:41 pm

    just a couple things:

    I’m pretty sure Ryan Corbett is running for AMS rep.

    Also, Chris Anderson is planning on graduating and is only really running to give Tyler Allison an opponent.

    Stash Bylicki is the incumbent Academic Coordinator.

  3. Patrick on March 20, 2007 8:52 pm

    1) According to everything ive seen Ryan Corbett is NOT running, as he was not included in the candidate list distributed to all candidates.

    2) Chris Anderson has been making waves with statements like “I may be sticking around another year,” I have no idea if he’s staying or not, as he’s not giving a straight answer.

  4. Stephanie Ryan on March 20, 2007 10:01 pm

    Chris Anderson is intending to attend grad school next year. His candidacy is a tongue-in-cheek challenge to democracy.

    Big ups to Elections Insider for covering the AUS Elections. Admittedly, the AUS Website needs to be updated much more often- the problem is, we’ve been finding it hard to find people who can put together and update a decent website on a regular basis.

    We’re planning to budget for an honorarium for two website managers for next year; that way, if one is busy we can always ask the second one to update the site. We also realize it’s a lot to ask from one person to dedicate hours upon hours of their time to the website.

  5. Gerald on March 21, 2007 1:13 am

    well, shit. consider my Corbett comment retracted.

  6. Gina Eom on March 21, 2007 4:13 am

    Latest update to the list: the Umlaut around Vicki’s last name.

    Yesssssss

  7. angela on March 21, 2007 8:10 pm

    yeah, the aus has done what id call a shit-tacular job promoting this election. a free ipod draw is a great idea, but it seems some of the *candidates* arent even aware of the gimmick as i have interjected at the end of two classroom announcements to add that fact. i think the gimmick is a great idea and should be promoted more widely. it should have been news when candidates were creating posters. id have put it on mine – anything that lures people into the snares of democracy.

    free cookies in MASS with a little “vote in the elections” reminder is a great idea, but theyre being handed out by the incumbents. nobody informed the candidates on the outside that this would be happening. ok, incumbents have paid their dues and earned the advantages of incumbency. my beef is that this is just another example of how candidate debate or exposure is not being organized by the AUS at all. my emails from the elections officer are about postering restrictions. there are no attempts to organize a ‘meet the candidates’ or a debate or anything of the sort. a billboard in mass with all the candidates’ posters and the aus elections url would have been a great attempt at reaching out into the sea of apathy.

    the beer garden they are organizing for the results is a family affair as well. ok, so rcmp constraints affect the number of people that can attend the event… move it to another location? a campus bar or something?

    and when i reference student apathy, im not trying to be cheap. i was apathetic at this school for about 4 years. im a commuter. i could give a shit about campus half the time. i decided to get involved when i started studying in MASS and saw the AUS people wasting a lot of time, being pretty inconsiderate and unaccomodating during office hours, and promoting the hell out of themselves by including ‘microwave provider’ in their list of achievements (something my grade 9 student council managed to pull off on a budget one thourand times smaller than that of the aus).

    im not trying to be a know-it-all, im just some bum from campus getting involved and acting based on what ive seen… this is what they want, right?

    i may not win but i have the best fucking posters… so there, bitches.

  8. Patrick on March 21, 2007 10:11 pm

    Angela was pretty bang on on just about everything. Except for the posters… Havent seen them yet to confirm.

    Gerald, I could be wrong. Rumour has it that Corbett IS running, however, when asked on Tuesday if he was by another candidate, the elections office reportedly replied “Im still trying to figure out exactly who is running in the election.”

    Take that how you will.

  9. Michael on March 23, 2007 7:03 am

    Just a few clarifications on some of Angela’s points.

    The cookie event in MASS was not planned as an “election promotion”, but was one of the “random acts of kindness” set up by the Student Services Committee, one of the many many services the AUS provides for Arts Students. So it wasn’t run by “incumbents” but by members of said committee. Using this event as in impromptu election promotion was an ad hoc decision made by a quick thinking council member.

    As far as beer gardens in MASS. MASS was built to be a social space for Arts Students, and that’s where we’re going to provide our social event services. This way we can keep Arts events close to Arts students.

    We have been “incosiderate” to people studying in MASS when we put on music; however, I do believe there is a reason I put up a giant poster that says “MASS is a Social Space”.

    Oh, and trogdor so pwns cascade of clipart!

    Seriously though, the posters are nice.

  10. Samantha on March 26, 2007 5:53 am

    I have always been under the impression that complaining should go hand-in-hand with solutions to the problems and knowledge about the issues.

    There is nothing easier in the world than criticizing without research. You said it best yourself, you’re making these assumptions based on “what you’ve seen.” Everything I’ve ever learned in university and life in general is to not base my opinions on what I’ve seen, but more importantly, what is not seen. A few examples of this point:
    1) Assuming that because candidates have not mentioned the ipod shuffle draw in their election is the same as not knowing of its existence. Talking in front of a large group of people can be nerve-wracking, and I think it is highly likely the candidate may have just forgotten. This is not the fault of poor advertising…this is being human.
    2) Assuming that because it is currently quiet in MASS doesn’t mean that it is supposed to be that way and that any attempts to change it is a sign of being inconsiderate. In my opinion, to not use the space (or at least to make no attempt) as it was intended by the donor is far more inconsiderate. Moving the elections beer garden to the pub is another example of being disrespectful to the donors.
    3) Assuming that information found out after the All-Candidates meeting is information found out too late. As someone who claims to want to do “anything to lure people into the snares of democracy”, you did not do “anything” because there was nothing preventing you from changing your poster later on or going back and adding in pen the ipod shuffle draw information to your posters.
    4) Assuming that the onus of promoting the election falls on the AUS and that it is not the responsibility of ALL candidates. As far as I know, if you wanted to have a board with everyone’s posters (which I think is a fabulous idea) there is nothing preventing you from talking to the Elections Administrator.
    5) Assuming that in order to get involved, you need to have a position on the AUS, as if it was some exclusive club. There are many ex-AUS councillors, as well as never-have-been councillors who are so dedicated to the students that they help in many AUS events and even come up with ideas and put them into action instead of just criticizing.
    6) Assuming that the free cookie event in MASS was purposefully giving an unfair advantage to incumbents. Since you knew about the event, I’m going to make the inference that you were present and may have received a cookie. If you thought this was giving undue advantage, there was nothing preventing you from getting involved and handing out cookies, or about letting us know that you thought it was unfair. Once again, anyone can criticize from far away. I do not consider it a good sign that someone running for a position is too afraid to voice her opinions in the face of the problem.
    7) Assuming that it is okay to use terms like “AUS mafia” and, if elected, assume that you’re going to get anything done. There are far more effective ways to implement change without making enemies in the process. I think you would be hard pressed to get anything accomplished as a coordinator if you’ve made enemies before you were even elected.
    8) Assuming that people in the AUS need to work 24/7.
    9) Assuming that because someone is proud of getting a microwave in MASS is unimportant because your high school got it done faster.
    10) Assuming you have the best posters. As far as I know, the best posters have information about qualifications and platforms. This, however, is just a matter of preference.
    11) Assuming that the elections beer garden is a “family affair”. I attended last year’s election beer garden without running/holding/winning a position on council and knowing only 1 person there and still had fun.
    12) Assuming that saying “I’m not trying to be a know-it-all” counters everything that was said that suggests otherwise.

  11. angela on March 26, 2007 8:42 am

    samantha also emailed this to me on facebook to really drive the point home!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!11!!!!

    GO INTERNET!

  12. Anonymous on March 27, 2007 4:45 am

    Critisizing =/= “making enemies.” Most involvement types can cheerfully take a bit of flak (moreover, most people can take a joke).

    also, “respecting donors”? “assuming your posters are the best”? “assuming it’s ok to use terms like…”? Boy, Samantha, you have a bloody chip on your shoulder.

  13. Michael on March 27, 2007 4:57 am

    Let me remind you, this is real life, the people involved have met you in real life, and the issues are regarding things that occur in your real life. This is not “teh internets flame war” that some of us have gotten too accustomed to. That being said, hiding behind an “Anonymous” moniker, is, dare I say, cowardly. Especially during the elections, which makes it obvious that the author of said post fears some sort of reprival, again, in the *real* world.

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