Response to ‘Assigned and Undemocratic’

LettersHeather Lucas — Published September 7, 2010

Allow me to say that I hear you loud and clear. It is certainly not an easy task to speak for Concordia students, manage the finances, and balance the whole with studies. I personally thank you for your message, from which we understand that you take student representation at heart.

With regards to your article, allow me to reiterate the message you passed on in last week’s newspaper with minor rectifications: If any previous members of our executive resigned thus far, it was due to reasons that affected them personally. W­­­hat we did was to verify the by-laws that have been set in place to ensure a reasonable procedure in finding a replacement.

Bylaw 7.2.5 clearly mentions the directives a CSU president/executive must follow in a similar situation. The CSU abided by these rules, and for the vacancy created we will also follow the rules.

Section 11.4 that you refer to is applicable to individual members of the Council of Representatives who had the choice to run independently or slated.

In contrast, the two executive choices on the ballot ran as teams. Both slates had candidates, policies and promises. Hence, our bylaws reflect the latter statements rationally.

With respect to your views on how our VP Finance got the position, the fact of the matter still remains that during the selection process, Zhuo Ling stood out as the candidate who knew best about the goals and objectives of the CSU and was the most qualified to fill in the shoes of a finance VP.

The bylaws don’t state the necessity to have any political precedent for the position, yet Ling ran and was voted in—by students—for John Molson School of Business Senate during the last elections. Some may criticize the circumstances surrounding the elections, but he didn’t run unopposed; No and Abstain were part of that ballot as well.

To every single one of us here at the CSU, this is our vocation, a service we commit to give to students. We were the slate that was voted in democratically. Our main goal is to serve students. No one here avoided the democratic process.

If you have any other concerns and further questions, I always invite you to our offices; the door is wide open to any student who wishes to be heard.

—Heather Lucas,
CSU President

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 04, published September 7, 2010.