Independent Candidate Advocating for Low-Income Students
Jane Lefebvre-Prevost Also Wants to Implement TRC Recommendations
The sole independent candidate in the Concordia Student Union elections says her primary goal is to support low-income students. Lefebvre-Prevost from Women’s Studies will be running for academic and advocacy coordinator alongside three other candidates.
She said she wants to support low-income students so they can be able to succeed as much as any other student. “They end up working twice as hard to get half as far,” she said.
That’s why she wants to create a subsidized tutoring system and create new bursaries for students who are trans, BIPOC, Indigenous and those who are sex workers.
“When I started here I was really low-income, I struggled and found some support in various fee-levy groups at Concordia and within the greater community,” she continued. “Now that I’m more stable financially, I really want to be able to help people who would otherwise struggle or even risk dropping out.”
Outside of that, she wants to pressure the university to implement more of the recommendations from Truth and Reconciliation Commission through senate, and says the union can also do more in that regard.
She knows there’s stiff competition moving ahead, but said she decided to make the jump to go against a culture of nepotism she says is rampant within the CSU.
“I’m not a fan of how we have this system in place,” she said. “Weaker politicians are supported by stronger candidates, and we don’t have the best possible union to really strengthen and help students.”
She mentioned how independent candidates can only get a campaigning budget of $200, whereas full slates get to work with $1,600 instead, since $200 is allocated to each student running for an executive position and most slates have a team of eight people.
“I want to show you can run as independent and you can make a difference.”
Before running for the executive team, Lefebvre-Prevost was involved with the Women’s Studies association as their general coordinator from 2016 to 2018, and also contributed with them as an Arts and Science Federation of Associations councillor. This year she also represented arts and science students on the CSU’s council.
Polling for the general elections begins on April 2 and runs until the 4.
