September 23 marks the beginning of the campaign period for candidates and referenda questions registered in the Association’s Fall By-Elections. It is going to be another exciting year with six candidates hoping to be elected to equity roles on the Board of Directors of the Association. As a whole the TCSA’s Board of Directors works year-round to address student issues and enhance the student experience. Each elected representative takes on the responsibility of helping govern the Association through its Board of Directors. Through our Executive positions the Board is kept informed on the operations and services the Association provides, while our Equity roles ensure support for Trent’s diverse student constituencies that contribute to campus life.

If you would like to vote, please look for your ballot in your Trent University email account from October 1 to October 4. Keep in mind that once you open your ballot you need to be sure that you take the time to submit it – don’t close it before completing the survey, otherwise it may be spoilt. If you have any questions about our elections, please contact us at elections@trentcentral.ca. Included below and on page 4 are your candidates and their platforms for the TCSA’s 2019 Fall By-Elections.

Candidates for Ethical Standards Commissioner

Asma Ahmed

Hi! I’m Asma Ahmed, and I’m a first-year Nursing student running for the position of Ethical Standards Commissioner for TCSA.

As an undergraduate student at Trent, TCSA is an organization that I believe protects the interests of students through various platforms. Fairness, ethical standards, and transparency of goods and services for the students at Trent are qualities that I value and am passionate about because I believe everyone deserves to be treated fairly and should be given the proper recognition for the work that they do. While it may seem difficult to use items that are fair trade, I believe we should all collectively try our best to help to give others the recognition that they deserve, both financially and ethically.

Prior to this election, I have sat on previous college leadership committees and have also been involved with social justice and charity campaigns. If I am elected, joining the TCSA as Ethical Standards Commissioner will offer me the opportunity to excel as a leader as well as a team player. Working in a team and communicating effectively will not only help my personal development to meet new people, but also allow me to learn how to successfully work with others and represent my own and others views: by communicating their experiences and interests to the TCSA board, such as promoting solidarity campaigns that support labor unions and fair work. As an aspiring nurse, my passion for helping others is not only a privilege but also a responsibility to help those who are in need. Thus, my goal of this position is to create a consumption conscious community and a positive impact at Trent that will operate, practice and acknowledge issues of economic and social justice.

Faiza Sheikh

I would like start by saying, to be able to run for Ethical Standards Commissioner is a great privilege. I would be honoured to learn from this experience and pass my knowledge to my peers and the greater Peterborough population.

As Ethical Standards Commissioner, I would like to ensure that the food products and items that are sold within school properties are obtained through proper measures and are from non-sweatshop apparel and fair -trade certified products.

Through this position, it will be an honour of mine to be able to promote and advocate for gender equality in the workforce for both students in the university and the population of the city as a whole.

As the Ethical Standards Commissioner I will strive to support the existing labour unions and help the students and the residents of Peterborough to understand the importance of these unions and educate them about it.

To promote social and economic justice within the society is something I intend to have as a priority in my time as Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Sincerely,

Faiza Sheikh

Candidates for Racialized Students Commissioner

Amran Ahmed

As a nominee for this position, I want to first express my gratitude for receiving the opportunity to run for Student Commissioner for Racialized Students and the chance to represent enthic students here at Trent.

As an advocate for human rights and equality, I am more than privileged to have the chance to create an environment of acceptance and diversity here at Trent University. As Student Commissioner for Racialized Students, I intend to work in consistently raising awareness for and addressing issues of discrimination both on and off campus.

With this position, I will persistently strive to assist racialized students and all students in pursuing a barrier-free education through representation and advocacy to make sure that we all receive the best education possible.

Sincerely,

Amran Ahmed

Eniola Ajayi

As an international student, I have come face to face with a racial conflict where I did not know what to do. After speaking to my supervisor, the situation was quickly swept under the rug to save face, but I still have to live with the stigma of what was said to me that day. After that day, I started to speak up for my friends and people who cannot speak up as a way of fighting back what I had to deal with, which is I am running for the TCSA’s 2019-2020 Racialized Students Commissioner.

My name is Eniola Ajayi (Most people know me as Eny). In my past three years as a Biology and Sociology student, I have solely studied issues of the body and the mind while relating them to societal issues. I am very aware of Peterborough’s situations with race and I am of the opinion that actions have to be taken as soon as possible before the situations escalate.

Trent University, as we all know, is located in Peterborough, and Peterborough itself is a developing city with people of different ethnicities/race, ages and socioeconomic status with different beliefs and purposes. My goals if I’m elected would be to improve Trent University and Peterborough’s awareness of issues of racism; assist racialized students in pursuing a barrier-free education; and increased representation for all Trent students (domestic and international).

I aim to achieve these goals with three tangible ideas:

1. Working with on-campus groups and off-campus groups: I will work with groups such as OPIRG Peterborough and the Community Race Relations Committee of Peterborough to create fun and informative events about racism, as well as aid in contending with issues relating to racism.
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2. Peterborough Policy: The TCSA Racialized Student Commissioner’s role is not limited to Trent University’s policies, which is why I will sit down with the Peterborough City Council to review policies to make sure that racialized students of Trent University and Peterborough are always at an advantage.
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3. I will act as a liaison between the Board of Directors, the Office of Student Affairs, the Human Rights Advisor, OPIRG Peterborough, and Trent University students to make sure that the concerns of racialized students are heard and addressed.

Candidates for First Year On-Campus Representative

Chanel Bowen

I am Chanel Bowen and I will be running for First Year On-Campus Representative.

I am from South Africa but have lived in Canada for the past year, giving me valuable perspective on both the domestic and international experience. One of my goals as Representative would be to organize ways in which international and Canadian students could share their time at Trent together, rather than be filtered in between two groups.

I am keen to be involved in all that Trent has to offer, and I want the same for my fellow first-years. Making sure new university students have access to announcements and information about events put on by Trent and the Peterborough community at large is vital to creating a culture of involvement and participation from the first months of our university career right up to graduation.

As Representative, I will keep my door and inbox open to welcome any input from other first-years so I can liaison between their requests and concerns and the TCSA at large. My position on this student union would be to convey the messages of the voices I represent, and I intend to do that through every way possible. I also hope to be able to turn that process around and be able to share messages from the TCSA to the first-years, so that the Association’s work can be noticed and appreciated by their newest members.

Overall, I am advocating for community and conversation: two very important qualities in our momentous transition to Trent.

Candidates for First Year Off-Campus Representative

Evan McLeod

Hi Trent!

My name is Evan McLeod, I am a first-year student studying Business Administation and running for the position of Off-Residence First-Year Commissioner in the upcoming Students’ Union elections. As a Business student I am looking forward to bringing a new voice and lots of energy to the TCSA office. As well as running for the TCSA I am a member of the Varsity soccer team.

Even though I am less than a month into my time here at Trent I have lived in Peterborough for four years, so I know a lot about Trent University and the great city of Peterborough that surrounds it. Being an off-campus student, I strive to bring all of the students living on campus in their first year with a representative to communicate to. However, running for the position of the Off-Campus Representative, my role calls for me to take an extra interest in the students who are living off campus in their first years or beyond.

My goal for this year is to make sure the students living off campus are as informed and involved as the students living on campus. In order to accomplish this task, I will aim to meet many first-year students who like me live off campus.

As a first-year student new to Trent I am eager to learn what being a part of the TCSA is all about and learn from the great upper year students.

Thank you for considering me as your Off-Residence First-Year Commissioner.