Vote for Community Matters
I’m writing to urge as many students as possible to vote for the future well-being of the Concordia community in the upcoming CSU elections on March 25, 26 and 27. The CSU does not have a history of accountability and transparency towards its membership, though the gears are turning towards the establishment of a student union that engages disparate corners of the Concordia community to create space for respectful debate that will strengthen checks and balances across faculty associations. This year, one team is running with the promise of nurturing relationships between the CSU and underrepresented student associations.
The Community Matters candidates have been hard to miss on campus, wearing teal dress shirts silk-screened by the Sidetracks collective, a fine arts club under FASA. Individually, each candidate has demonstrated their commitment to community organizing and public engagement on difficult topics such as the Quebec Charter and the recent fee-levy opt-out campaign at Concordia. They are the only group running to strongly vocalize their opinions as well as directly implicate themselves in organizing around these issues.
Anthony Garafoulas-Auger, running for VP External, has received the Sustainability Champion award for his work on the Divest Concordia campaign; Katherine Soad Bellini, running for VP Internal, is currently president of the National Society of Black Engineers and an outspoken defender of women’s rights within the ECA; Gabriel Velasco, running for VP Loyola, is among the founding members of the Hive Café; and Heather Nary, running for VP Finance, has balanced the budget books for both Le Frigo Vert and the People’s Potato. Benjamin Prunty, running for president, Terry Wilkings, running for VP Academic, Jessica Cabana, running for VP Sustainability, and Charles Bourassa, running for VP Student Life are all CSU veterans with an understanding of what it will take to put positive changes into place. However you vote at the end of March, make it a vote that will nourish the Concordia community.
