Arthur attended the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA)’s March 12^th Meet the Candidates event for their Spring General Elections so you, dear reader, didn’t have to. Inside a packed Student Centre Event Space, over sixteen candidates shared competing visions for the Association’s future, marked by rising awareness of many of its shortcomings.

The spring elections, which are happening from March 14^th to 21^st, will decide the positions of TCSA President, Vice President Campaigns & Equity, Vice President Student Health & Wellness, Vice President University & College Affairs, and Racialized Students Commissioner by membership vote.

At the Wednesday event, all sixteen candidates were given three minutes (plus a 30 second grace period) to deliver a speech about their candidacy. After all candidates had spoken, they answered audience questions in a scrum-style Q&A period alongside their competitors.

Racialized Students Commissioner

Janessa Nkubito is running unopposed for the position of Racialized Students Commissioner.

“I’m running for this position because I believe in the power of advocacy, representation, and solidarity,”Nkubito said. “Our voices matter, our experiences deserve recognition, and our community needs a strong, committed leader who will ensure that racialized students not only feel heard but also empowered.”

Nkubito spoke about her experience growing up as a young Black girl in a predominantly white school in London, ON. 

“It was during these formative years where I realized what microaggressions were and how impacted my sense of identity,” she explained. “However, I refuse to let these challenges define me.” 

Starting off as the Social Justice Minister of her high school, Nkubito narrated her history of advocacy work, which took her from her school board all the way to a Black History Month ceremony where she gave a speech addressing the Mayor and Police Chief of London.

In London, she took part in the Youth In Policing Initiative which let her “gain critical insights into how authority structures operate.” Since moving to Peterborough, she has helped raise $25,000 for the Children’s Health Foundation.

With this experience, Nkubito hopes to act as a “bridge” between racialized students and their representatives at the TCSA, ensuring that decisions are made in collaboration with these students. 

VP Campaigns & Equity

The first disputed position of the evening was that of VP Campaigns & Equity (VPCE), an executive position being contested between Almeena Manal, Mickayla Simpson Carty, and the incumbent Anshika Gaur.

Mickayla Simpson Carty was the first to deliver her speech, where she promised to address issues such as food insecurity, club and group engagement, and “building inclusive spaces.”

Simpson Carty described herself as a “proud Black Caribbean student,” and highlighted her experience as the President of the Trent African and Caribbean Student Union (TACSU) and a co-facilitator to Trent’s Black Student Support initiative.

As VPCE, Simpson Carty claimed she would address five key issues: fighting food insecurity, boosting community engagement, building inclusive spaces,” representation and advocacy, and action against depression.

Among many examples of how she would address these issues, Simpson Carty cited “greater funding for the One Stop Shop food pantry,” hosting regular forums on inclusivity on campus, and advocating for accessible education with the Canadian Federation of Students, through policies like tuition freezes.

“Together we can create a campus where equity isn’t a goal, but it’s a reality,” she declared.

Next came Anshika Gaur, who went over her record as current VPCE, and articulated promises for a second term.

“I have been deeply committed to advocating for marginalized, racialized, and underrepresented students on campus,” she said. Much like Simpson Carty, Gaur expressed her commitment to “free and accessible education for all.”

Gaur says this work “is already in progress” under her mandate, but she “[wants] to take it further.” 

Policies she would push for during a second mandate include a subsidized textbook program, scholarships and financial literacy workshops for marginalized students, and anti-racism training for leaders, staff and students alike.

She highlighted her work “building interfaith solidarity” at Trent, and organizing the TCSA’s trip to Canada’s Wonderland for students, and restated her commitment to working with the First People’s House of Learning “improve access to culturally relevant resources” and “funding opportunities.”

In closing, she quoted human rights activist Nadia Murad’s famous aphorism, “the world only has one border, and it is humanity.”

Last up was Almeena Manal, a member of Champlain college cabinet who also works with the Trent Business Students Association, Traill college’s Trend kitchen, Trent Finance and Investments Club, and Trent International.

“We live in a time where students are struggling under the weight of rising tuition,” Manal said. “We’re struggling with crushing through the debt and a lack of accessible campus resources, but I want to be clear, we’re not powerless.”

As VPCE, Manal proclaimed her wish to engage students with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). 

“It's about ensuring that Trent students are benefiting from the advocacy, the services, and the collective bargaining power that comes with being part of the national and provincial student movements.”

Manal’s vision of student political engagement doesn’t stop there—she listed the expansion of OSAP grants, broader funding for Indigenous students, and debt forgiveness programs as crucial topics for students to mobilize around.

The central project of Manal’s campaign is a campus-wide survey gathering data on racism and discrimination at Trent, culminating in the development of policies that would address the university’s “systematic barriers” to equity.

Manal’s final promise was to expand the One Stop Chop, and use her connections with the business sector to bring a student-friendly cafe to campus, taking inspiration from downtown’s Cork & Bean. Symons campus has not had a cafe since the closure of the Athletic Centre’s 76 Sips cafe in 2023.

The move to a Q&A with all three candidates saw them reiterating many campaign resolutions and egalitarian sentiments. When asked what distinguished her from her fellow candidates, Simpson Carty claimed that “I actually attend a lot of different events that go on on campus,” citing the University’s Native Association (TUNA)’s recent Powwow and TACSU’s Black History Month events as examples.

“Unfortunately, some people were not in attendance,” she commented. 

VP Health & Wellness

The next three candidates to speak were incumbent  Kyra Myderwyk, Tatjana Buczynskyj, and Kosii Seimode, competing for the role of VP Health & Wellness (VPHW). A fourth candidate, Piper Etheridge, sought to put her hat in the race at the start of the campaign period, but she was not able to for reasons which will become clear later.

Myderwyk spoke first, arguing for the renewal of her mandate. 

“Some of the highlights of [her] term have been implementing the student parking bursary and founding the Food Security Subcommittee,” which ensures access to free breakfasts everywhere on campus, as well as continuing to host Sexy Bingo.

Next year, Myderwyk wishes to further expand orientation week programming, create a map of all student resources available on campus, and bring a food pantry like the One Stop Chop to Symons Campus’ East bank.

While she is satisfied with her accomplishments this year, Myderwyk doesn’t “feel like [her] work is finished yet.”

Kosii Seimode gave the next speech, introducing himself as an international student who wishes to create stronger supports for those like him. Affordable tuition, expanding the food pantry, and promoting nutritious and culturally diverse food options on campus were some of his main promises.

Seimode asserted that Trent’s existing peer support services were “poorly publicized” and that as VPHW, he would ensure that all students are aware of the mental health resources available to them.

The last candidate to speak was Tatjana Buczynskyj, who proclaimed that “Trent should be more than just lectures and deadlines, it should be a place where people feel connected and supported.”

Buczynskyj’s vision of Trent is full of “guided nature walks,” “game nights,” and talking cafes. She recognized that these “might sound pretty silly, but they can fit into a student’s schedule and make a real difference in combating loneliness and stress.”

Beyond just mental health, she promised measures to make physical health more accessible to all Trent students. To do this, Buczynskyj would promote gym tutorials for newcomers, increase the Athletic Centre’s existing women and gender diverse-only hours, and implement sensory safe hours where “the lights are dimmed, the music is softer, and there are less people around to create a more welcoming environment for neurodivergent people.”

She spoke about bettering student safety through measures which include faster response times from campus security and an expansion of Trent’s Walkhome service, and implementing greater food accessibility by discounting food in Trent’s cafeterias.

On the topic of food accessibility, she promised to create “smart eating seminars” which she called “Eating on a Budget,” where students could learn how to shop for their budget, read food labels. 

During the Q&A period, Seimode announced that he was working on an “active living rewards program,” where students would earn points for “attending fitness classes, using the gym,” or “joining intramural teams.” 

These points could be exchanged for “free fitness gear, healthier snacks, discounts on campus food vendors, and on-campus dining.”

Myderwyk asked Seimode if this program “would unfairly penalize students who have accessibility issues or mobility issues,” claiming that“If you’re rewarding students for being active, you’re penalizing students who aren’t able to participate in fitness programs.” 

To this, Seimode clarified that “it doesn’t have to be exactly physical, you could do, like, do yoga, stuff like that if you’re not into physical stuff.”

Another question was posed to the candidates, about how the TCSA could further collaborate with Greek life at Trent. All candidates responded with concern for sexual education and alcohol safety, in keeping with popular conceptions of fraternity and sorority houses as centers of sexual violence and alcohol abuse. 

Each of them recognized that they had not been aware of Greek life until very recently.

Tau Kappa Epsilon’s Ronan Bosch spoke to Arthur after the event, and expressed frustration over this perception of Greek life. “We want people to see us as we really are [...] we do consent training, as well as sororities, from what I hear [...] we have a ban on hard alcohol in our residences and in our parties,” he explained.

“At the end of the day,” Bosch said, his fraternity are "people who want to help the community.”

VP University & College Affairs

Four candidates presented candidacies for the role of VP University & College Affairs (VPUC). The first among them to present her platform was the TCSA’s current Off-Campus Commissioner, Diamond Akinbaleye.

Akinbaleye highlighted her leadership experience with the TCSA, while recognizing that the Association is still struggling with key issues such as student engagement, housing, and food accessibility.

She identified one of the root causes behind low student engagement with events like Orientation week as transportation. As VPUC, she claimed she would ensure better transportation and a more inclusive array of events during Orientation week.

Akinableye further promised to better communication between the colleges and the TCSA, by offering more of the TCSA’s common space (presumably referring to the Student Centre) up to each College’s Cabinet, and raising awareness of their respective scholarships among students. 

Next was Gold Jegede, who introduced himself as the Vice President of TACSU.

However, Jegede told the crowd that “today is not about me or my qualifications. It’s about every single person in these seats; it’s about the issues that we face.”

“The reality is that student voices are not being heard,” he said. “Students are disengaging from the University experience.” 

Jegede hopes to be a voice for these students, cutting past the “red tape” to directly engage with student concerns.

While Jegede said “I could sit here and tell you about what I plan to do,” what matters most to him is to bring back student engagement with the TCSA. 

Angad Bedi followed Jegede, presenting his candidacy as “a promise to the students.” Bedi’s promise revolved around “ensuring that every single event, like Orientation week and Frost week, are sparkling with excitement and give the students a sense of belonging.”

Bedi made the moving of Trent’s 2025 convocation from Bata podium—which has been made the subject of two separate Change.org petitions from students demanding Trent reschedule convocations or find an alternate outdoor location—one of his pet issues, promising to speak to Trent Administration and “make sure that your voices are being heard.

He also promised to hold intercollegiate sports competitions over the course of Orientation week for first year students, and also during Frost week for the rest of the student body. Like most other candidates, Bedi promised to look into expanding the Association’s One Stop Chop initiative, as well as the Student Emergency Relief Fund (SERF).

The final VPUC candidate to speak was Jereni Jeyakaran, who currently works with the TCSA as the Association’s Finance Management Assistant. Thanks to this experience, Jeyakaran believes she is “the best person who would know about what frustrations and financial stress people have.”

She recognized that “most of the time [the TCSA’s financial relief] budget is not fully used for students who are in need of support.” Because of this, Jeyakaran stressed the importance of widening eligibility criteria for the TCSA’s relief funds.

Jeyakaran promised that as VPUC, she would make sure that “all of the money that’s allocated for funding makes its way to help students.” She also promised to increase support for the University’s clubs and groups, and to transform the TCSA’s current “passive” approach to student outreach by launching frequent surveys of the Association’s membership.

The first question posed to all candidates concerned the use of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) in education and in the creation of their own platforms.

In response, Jegede revealed that he had put his competitors’ platforms through AI checkers, and that “you will be surprised” by the results. As for student AI use, he stated his belief that LLMs like ChatGPT could only help students “regurgitate” information.

“If I’m a student leader, and I’m actively regurgitating information that AI is putting out without filtering through it myself, what example do I set for students?” he asked.

In a stark change of tone, none of Jegede’s competitors flat-out condemned the use of AI by students, instead towing the party line by focusing on its use as a “tool,” in a strictly assistive capacity.

President

Four candidates presented platforms for the TCSA’s Presidency. Shreya Gautam, Mustafa Amin, Shihab Hardy, and the current VPUC, Iyiola Alade each shared competing visions of the TCSA’s future.

Alade was the first to speak, presenting himself both as current VPUC, and as an international student who also worked with Trent as an international recruiter.

Alade addressed his previous campaign promises when running for VPUC, particularly around housing accessibility for students. During the past year, he claimed that the TCSA did “a lot” to raise awareness of tenants’ rights, on top of “integrating cost-efficient tenant’s insurance to our benefits.”

Alade also pointed to his creation of need-based scholarships for students during his term as VPUC, as well as his work as the Treasurer of CFS’ Ontario branch. 

In closing, he told the audience “what is right may not be fair, but what is fair will always be right.”

Shihab Hardy, Champlain College Cabinet’s President for the last two years, followed Alade. For Hardy, Trent’s offer of free food and comprehensive support during Orientation week is misleading. As President, he wishes to extend these kinds of supports to the entirety of a student’s university experience.

This vision includes organizing on-campus events during the summer, expanding student participation in TCSA meetings, “bringing [students’] concerns to the correct people in order to take action,” and starting a university-wide volunteering initiative called “Trent Helping Hands.”

“This event will provide the opportunity to get back to the Peterborough community and not only will it strengthen our relationship with the city, but it will also allow students to gain meaningful experiences and make a real impact during their time here,” he explained.

Shreya Gautam presented her own platform, revolving mostly around food accessibility, the cost of living, and transparency within the TCSA.

Gautam promised to work with Trent to improve food quality on campus and assure that food continues to be available to students staying in residence over the holidays.

She pledged to expand the scope of the TCSA’s financial aid, especially for international students. This would also mean working with the university, towards “discounted pricing on parking passes, textbook subsidiaries and affordable campus services available to all.”

Gautam's commitment towards transparency would materialize through monthly update meetings, both informing students of the TCSA’s goings on and receiving feedback, so that students might feel included in its decision-making.

Last but not least came Mustafa Amin, who opened by describing student life at Trent as “okay,” but “far from great.”

One of Amin’s main campaign promises was to make student bus passes replaceable with a parking pass. During the Q&A period, Lead Electoral Officer Wendy Walker clarified that the TCSA grants students bus passes on the basis of a contract with the city of Peterborough. Bus passes cannot be individually refunded, and parking passes are bought from Trent, not the TCSA.

In order to combat sexual violence on campus, Amin stated his intention to “educate” students about consent, hold perpetrators accountable, and give students the option to choose their roommates.

Further proposed measures to combat the traumatic consequences of this violence include the creation of a “Mental Health Resource Club” and providing one hour free therapy sessions to students.

The Q&A session saw more debate about Amin’s bus pass exchange policy, with Iyiola Alade urging all students to “be grateful for the bus passes.”

With this, the event came to a close, notably missing one person whose candidacy was never accepted by the TCSA.

On February 4^th, 2025, Piper Etheridge, a first-year student, submitted a Letter to the Editors to Arthur, complaining about being made to share a room with a transgender woman. 

This letter continually refers to the presence of this woman as a significant source of distress for Etheridge, and seeks to create outrage about the inclusion of transgender women in “female-only housing.”

While Arthur elected not to initially publish Etheridge’s letter, she continued pushing her agenda elsewhere—after setting up a Change.org petition about transgender women’s inclusion in female-only housing, she announced her candidacy for the role of VPHW in this election.

The Change.org petition was taken down shortly thereafter.

After discovering this information through Etheridge’s promotional Instagram, Arthur contacted Lead Electoral Officer Walker to inform her of the letter. In an email, Walker explained that while she had yet to receive an official platform from Etheridge, “from what you have sent, the Elections Committee would flag this, and Piper’s registration wouldn't be accepted.”

Etheridge’s Instagram remains the last vestige of her campaign, and the chilling mark of an aborted attack on transgender women’s very existence at Trent. Unmarred by her presence, the TCSA’s Meet the Candidates event gave voice to some of the most pressing issues facing the Association, from student engagement to chronic under-spending. Whether the recognition of these problems will lead to real action remains to be seen.