Derek's Thoughts: Greek Forum for SU Elections

This past Friday at 4pm, members of the local Greek fraternities and sororities gathered at the Delta Upsilon chapter house for the first ever (to my knowledge) Greek forum with candidates for the upcoming University of Alberta Student's Union executive election. A wide range of people attended, with most of the Greek organizations being represented by at least a few of their members.

Three of the four presidential candidates attended; Kory Mathewson, Craig Turner, and Jesse Hahn. Both candidates for VP Student Life attended; Nick Dehod, and Ian Clarke. Also one of the three candidates for VP External was there, the incumbent Beverly Eastham.

There were several questions asked of candidates for SU President, but the main focus seemed to be in two main areas; how will the SU promote and help student groups including specifically the Greek community, and how can a non-Greek expect to represent our community as a part of university life? The answers ranged from specific examples of actions that could be taken to "I'd like to take more time to consider this..." which sounded more like "I don't know".

Before I get into what each of them said on specific issues, I'd like to relate my impressions of the candidates:

Kory was very well organized and was constantly jotting notes on a pad of paper. He was able to give very specific answers to his questions, and had concrete plans as opposed to lofty ideas.
At the beginning, Craig seemed very eager to please the Greeks by appealing to their ego. This seems to be a standard tactic for politicians, and the room breathed a sigh of relief when it ended. By the middle of the forum he seemed to have opened up and began sharing his views and ideas.
Jesse was another big contender, and some of his ideas were very impressive. He had charisma as he spoke which only faltered once, resulting in a long pause. Some of the questions he seemed unprepared to answer, and instead he urged people to re-submit them via email to allow him further contemplation.

All three presidential candidates had ideas, but some had plans to back them up. The plans Kory presented to connect with the Greek community and raise awareness were truly a new precedent. By co-programming at least one event per semester with a Greek society, revamping Orientation with new instructions for volunteer Orientation Leaders, and forging a partnership with the Greek community to hold a Greek information session at Orientation, he plans to raise awareness and get the student body involved in the philanthropy and services the Greek community already provides. He also would like to conduct a Business Services Review and an Undergraduate Student Survey to give the SU an understanding of what services students want and need.

The focus Craig conveyed was that students need to reconnect with the SU, and his plan to make that a reality is to work with student groups and look for feedback. He also advocates "exec-kiosks" where students could walk up and talk to their executives (a personal touch, I'll admit, but maybe not realistic with all the other forms of communication already available today).

While the other candidates focused on things we should be doing now, Jesse chose to focus on the long-term. His platform is based on holding the University and the SU accountable with a twist of environmental stewardship. With the loss of credit card tuition payments, Jesse would like to see the University show how the saved $1.3 Million in transaction fees is being applied to benefit students.

On the subject of non-Greeks represtenting the Greek community on campus, Kory had this to say:
"As an elected leader it is the president's responsibility to get educated and informed of all the issues of the students on this campus, including the Greek community."

The candidates for VP Student Life focused the majority of their time debating how to get more involvement and awareness for the Greek community from first year students attending Week of Welcome or Orientation. Nick advocated that there should be a strong Greek presence in Week of Welcome as well as Orientation, however Ian (President of Phi Gamma Delta "Fiji" and the only Greek running for an SU position) disagreed. He felt that the best course of action would be to take a "baby step" with Orientation first, which would allow the community to really focus and make the most of it. Discussion was back and forth on this topic, but both had valid points to raise. I guess it boils down to personal opinion. Is the Greek community ready and able to handle the added responsibilities of two additional events, or would it be better to focus on the more personal atmosphere of Orientation?

Beverly was met with few questions as she was the only candidate for VP External, but one issue that seemed fairly important was how she would become more visible in her position. A prominent criticism of her performance so far was that she didn't seem to be available to interact with students and get their input. Her rationale for this was that since she has already laid the groundwork in her previous term as VP External, she now can focus more time on interacting with the student body. Her involvement in this event may be just the kind of interaction she was talking about.

Personally, I couldn't help but notice that she would be a much more effective public speaker if she were able to adopt better posture. Her words were insightful, but her body language distracted from that.

It is the responsibility of a voter to be informed what the candidates stand for, and what they want to do. I personally urge everyone at the University of Alberta to check out the candidates' websites or email them if you were unable to attend any of the other public forums. Even checking out the information the SU is providing to voters. Jesse would be the first to agree that he wants this to be an informed vote.

That being said, please vote on March 4th or 5th.

Presidential Candidates

VP Academic