Why You Should Think Twice Before Voting for Community Action

LettersAgunik Mamikonyan — Published March 24, 2015

Don’t get me wrong—I’m proud to have SCPA representation at the CSU level, yet I find myself perplexed at some of the decisions that have been made in the passing year.

As you’ve already heard, Community Matters (CM) is running this year under a new name, Community Action (CA). We all voted for CM last year, who promised us transparency and the prioritization of students.

Sounds great, but in practice this ceased to exist with the passing of the BDS motion earlier this year, which continues to hinder the CSU’s legitimacy and intentions.

I attended the CSU candidate debates, only to be disappointed at the turn out. CA and CM councillors, senators and executives past and present, as well as their friends and supporters, dominated one side of the room.

The three independent candidates and their two friends took the opposite side. It was, undoubtedly, an intimidating social situation.

During the debates Jonathan Mamane expressed his feelings towards the BDS motion, feelings that primarily encompassed shame, which was greeted rudely by the CA supporters.

Furthermore, Terry Wilkings stated that he is not in favour of being financially transparent this year. This raises many questions. Considering the financial deficits that keep re-appearing, is this the right action to take?

In addition, it’s no secret that CA candidates are pro-strike and will not only be supporting but also facilitating them. As Carla Marrouche pointed out, there’s nothing wrong with striking and showing solidarity, but many of Concordia’s attendees are international students who pay three times more than local students and whose Canadian visas depend on their attendance of university.

As a result, I begin to question whether or not CA actually has a hidden agenda that we aren’t aware of.

Ultimately, I’m not criticizing CA or CM per se. If anything, I have the utmost respect for students who dare run for these positions. I’m only sharing my concerns with the large apathetic majority who are letting a vocal, active, minority make decisions on their behalf. Get involved, do your research and make a vote that represents your beliefs.