Hundreds of hours of campaigning, thousands of posters and rave cards, and countless class presentations later, the new SFUO executive has been elected. As a volunteer for some candidates, I can say just how much effort and time every single candidate put forth into the campaign. Over 3,800 votes later (almost 15% of the student population), the 2013 SFUO executive was won over by Student Action, the group taking five out six executive positions. As such, the executive stands as follows:
- President: Anne-Marie Roy with 2174 votes (Geoff Parent with 1661 votes)
- VP Equity: Nicole Desnoyers with 1734 votes (Maddy Orr with 1501 votes, and Marc Jan with 500 votes)
- VP Services and Communications: Brad Lafortune with 2994 yes’s and 664 no’s
- VP Finance: Dave Eaton with 2335 votes (Roy Younes with 1332 votes)
- VP University Affairs: Christopher Hynes with 1729 votes (Marilyn Tourangeau with 1510 votes, and Chris Clarke with 475 votes)
- VP Social: Pat Marquis with 2930 yes’s and 712 no’s
All of the races were quite tight. Pat Marquis is the only candidate elected not apart of Student Action. This year’s campaign was, undeniably, a campaign of slates, and even those elected to the Board of Administration and the Student Senate were largely apart of the Student Action Team. The results for the Board of Administration are as follows:
- Social Sciences:
573 votes: Ciara Roberts
506 votes: Cody Boast
489 votes: Ahmed Hussein
460 votes: Katya Moussatova
437 votes: Mike Randazzo
434 votes: John Davies
420 votes: Simon Gollish
415 votes: Joshua Parker
415 votes: Rukiya Mohamed
414 votes: Ikram Hamoud
379 votes: DJ Stinger
352 votes: Cameron Revington
229 votes: Ellen Whitehouse-Vaux
- Health Sciences:
337 votes: Sinthusan Sinnaduria
293 votes: Daniel Stojanovic
- Arts:
378 votes: Vicky Ransom
352 votes: Alex Boettger
279 votes: Zorga Quanaq
225 votes: Nicolette Addesa
182 votes: Daniel Arnold
- Telfer:
217 votes: Mahmoud Dief
147 votes: Othman Tmoulik
- Common Law:
63 votes: Emilie Beveridge
- Sciences:
300 votes: Sophie Cousineau
291 votes: Alexandre Giroux
224 votes: Chris Macmillan
142 votes: Isaac Gollish
- Engineering
181 votes: Ossob Hassan
173 votes: JP Dube
The results for Student Senate are as follows:
- Arts:
Adam Strombergsson-Denora (Acclaimed)
- Sciences:
Sabrina Rosemary Slade (Acclaimed)
- Health Sciences:
Daniel Stojanovic (Acclaimed)
- Law:
Nathan Boivin (Acclaimed)
- Medicine:
Emilie Meyers (Acclaimed)
- Social Sciences:
Christopher Hynes
Jason Findlay
More information pertaining the election results can be found at http://sfuo.ca/elections2013/.
Student Action intends to change the school for the better, and the elected executive has quite the pedigree on their shoulder. Anne-Marie Roy serves as the outgoing VP Communications for the SFUO, and sits as the BOA Faculty of Arts Director and on the Board of Governors. Nicole Desnoyers is an SFUO Campaigns organizer, sits on the Board of Governors and is a Faculty Director for the BOA of Social Sciences. Brad Lafortune is the SFUO Pride Center coordinator, a faculty director for the BOA of Sciences, and an ally and positive space trainer with CEHR. Dave Eaton sits on the Student Senate for the Social Sciences, sits on the SFUO Finance Committee and is the SFUO Services Coordinator. Christopher Hynes is the SFUO Food Bank Coordinator, a committee member of uOttawa Green Events, and is a year representative for Conflict Studies and Human Rights. Last but not least, Pat Marquis is the VP Social for Engineering, recipient of the best 101 week event award last year, and assists with National Engineering Week.
These candidates definitely have the experience necessary to do their job; however, whether this job will be accomplished remains the question. The mandate of each executive of the SFUO is very hefty, and the position practically serves as a full time job for these lucky winners. Each candidate has a vision in mind – with ideas such as extending library hours for midterms, gaining higher turnouts to social events and concerts, and putting a cork to hidden university fees in the works. However visionary these ideas are, the SFUO and the uOttawa administration indeed has many bureaucratic barriers in place that will act as obstacles to these visions. Hopefully, the new executive can surmount these boundaries, and any other unforeseen, to help each and every student on this campus and make this university a better place!
What remains the biggest victory in this election is the incredible voter turnout. While 15% is still quite a measly number, it is much higher than previous years. Hopefully this voting trend will continue to grow over the years. The SFUO is our federation, and our union of representatives. We used our voice this year to elect a new executive – one that will hopefully do everything in their power to better the university this year.
Photo credits: http://sfuo.ca/elections2013/