Cord endorsements
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February 3, 2010 7:30 AM
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President: Kyle Walker
Selecting a presidential candidate to endorse is difficult as there are two that stand out as capable for the role. Though Kory Preston is perhaps the most knowledgeable about post-secondary student issues and passionate about advocacy, where Preston lacks Kyle Walker comes to the forefront.
Walker comes across as a straightforward approachable guy, in touch with the student population. With his experience in residence life, he has had the opportunity to make personal connections with students on campus, and can identify with them on their level. He doesn’t speak above the average student, and is willing to admit when he is unsure of an answer.
He is honest, up-front, well-spoken and avoids playing the role of politician, which unfortunately many candidates do.
He performed well in Sunday’s debate, and excelled in both the Waterloo and Brantford open forums. Walker answered questions to the best of his ability and admitted when he didn’t have the answers, as opposed to throwing around buzzwords and stumbling through his words – something that fellow candidate Lawrence Maclin has struggled with during this campaign period and in his position as assistant vice-president of campus clubs.
In this management role Lawrence has demonstrated that he is not capable of excelling in an important leadership positions, and the re-occuring problems of campus clubs have come to the forefront over the course of the year. While passionate, Maclin comes across as emotional and has a vision of the students union that doesn’t seem in touch with what students need.
Along these lines Sunny Chan also seems to lack the connection with student need. And despite his grasp of policy, he does not seem grounded in reality and would not be an appropriate choice.
While Preston has the right mentality of what a students’ union should do – specifically regarding advocacy – unfortunately within the current structure of the union many of his goals do not seem feasible.
Walker is the best choice for a candidate, as he is aware of where he wants to take the role and stands out as the best leader to operate within the current structure of the union.
Board of Directors
Greg Evans Having delivered a strong performance this past year, Greg Evans will continue to be an asset to the board as he brings a humorous and lighthearted voice to the table, but displays a genuine concern for students. A well-rounded director, he has never shied away from offering his opinion or challenging the perspective of his peers and management. Over the past year he has proven his dedication and commitment to the board and deserves to be re-elected.
Michael Onabolu Michael Onabolu has become an articulate and well-respected member of the board. He stands up for the concerns and opinions of the student body in discussions and is well-versed in policy governance. Charismatic and clear, Onabolu has earned a place of high regard among fellow directors. Despite his depth of knowledge, Onabolu has also been able to identify where he feels that he can improve and continue working, further enhancing his worth on the board.
Chris Walker Also running for senate, which demonstrates his dedication to student politics, Chris Walker had a commendable performance at yesterday’s open forum. He answered questions with conviction and was knowledgeable regarding policy governance and other major issues affecting the board of directors. His confidence and knowledge will be useful in next year’s boardroom and he will surely emerge as a leader among the first-time board members.
Seth Warren Seth Warren’s impressive platform and performance at the open forum yesterday have set him apart from the majority of the first-time candidates. Advocating for accessibility, action and accountability, Warren’s platform appears in tune with the needs of Laurier students. His charisma, exemplified in his candid introduction at the open forum shows a positive attitude which will guide his actions in the boardroom and make him easy to work with.
Chair
Kyle Hocking
Kyle Hocking should be re-elected to the board in the hopes that he will become chair of the board of directors in 2010-2011.
Hocking is not only confident and well-versed in policy, he also comes across as a leader and provides a great example for fellow directors. He seems genuinely interested in student politics and will serve as an impartial voice in the boardroom.
Hocking has proven that he is a critical voice among many who choose to stay silent. His questioning of the way that the union operates and healthy skepticism will help himkeep the board on track in doing their job – representing students and holding management accountable to their actions.
Hocking remains open and honest in the boardroom, which translated in yesterday’s open forum, where he did not hesitate to divulge his plans of running for chair to those in attendance.
Next year’s board, potentially full of first-year directors, would benefit from being led by Hocking’s experience, confidence and critical voice.
Comments
Only mention of three BOD? What about Chris Oberle? He's been a strong experience candidate who's been extremely effective in that role this year.
I mean four
This endorsement nails it on the head. Yes Kory and Kyle are clearly the most qualified for the position, but Kyle is in many eyes the best for the job. He is experienced in student issues, he is honest, well spoken, down to earth and the candidate with the best and most realistic platform.
This is where Kory fails spectacularly - his platform. Sure he may know policy, and can recite the ends for the position, but his platform and his "big ideas" are not feasible (for State of Disbelief, this means that the postion of President and CEO of WLUSU does not have the power to 1. Eliminate OneCard money seizure 2. cap enrollment at Waterloo campus, which is a terrible idea and against administration plans for growth and 3. allowing all ages on bar nights at the Turret, which would endanger the Turret and Wilf's liquor license. All of these policies have been put in place by administration and will not be removed, no matter how passionate Kory is at "advocating").
As a first year, the only candidate I can relate to is Kory Preston. One would think that as a Don, Kyle Walker would be more sympathetic towards 1st year issues but his fierce opposition to Preston's 1st year friendly policies tells a different story. Students' money is being stolen from them because of the inability of the dinning hall to effectively manage its operations and Preston is the only candidate willing to stand up to this injustice. As someone who is under age, I have no where to go on the weekends and opening up the Turret would be a great and safe venue where I can go with friends. After all, my student fees pay for it to so why should I be discriminated against because of my age. When I heard about the potential of a strike next year, my immediate response was "what is the student union going to do to counter this?" To my surprise Preston is the only candidate with a game plan to address this. I don't want to loose my semester. Finally, I feel Preston is the only one with the experience, knowledge, and ability to truly stand up for students and what matters to them. I just don't see the effective leader in Walker that I see in Preston.
Sincerely,
disappointed
This endorsement does do one thing right. It, as mentioned in the first comment, says that Kory and Kyle are the main contending candidates despite the good intentions and passion of the other two candidates. However, where this endorsement lacks is in how it rationalizes its endorsement of Kyle.
Yes, Kyle is a great guy. Yes, Kyle is down-to-earth and honest. And yes, Kyle has contributed great things to this campus and I hope he continues to do so whether or not he is successful in the election tomorrow. However, Kory is those things as well. You could maybe give the "edge" to Kyle in these respects but it is not a clear differentiator.
The clear differentiator is platforms. For those who are not clear, the purpose of a Union is advocacy. Our services, activities, etc are important and make the Laurier experience arguably that much better than that of other schools, but ultimately the President will hire VP's who are competent in this roles to ensure that services and activities are constantly improved/maintained. Where we need the President (and VP: UA--which is what Kory currently is) is in the room with Administration with a strong and competent voice that will not simply leave the status quo "because it is that way for a reason"...human progress has never occurred when we just settle for status quo. And despite the credentials and strong candidacy that Kyle no doubt brings, Kory understands that pushing the envelope is his role and he has the experience and competence to be successful at just that.
All this pathetic talk about how Kory's platform lacks feasibility goes out the window when you talk to anyone within WLUSU and not WLUSP.
The Cord Editors lead a spectacularly removed life, their knowledge of the structure and operations and procedures of the union falls way short compared to any of the WLUSU Executives such as
2008-2009 President Colin Le Fevre 2008-2009 VP: UA Trevor Mayoh 2008-2009 VP: HR Dan Preston 2008-2009 VP: Finances Shady Hussein
Who ALL endorsed Kory, emphatically, this morning. Le Fevre himself spoke eloquently on how Kory's platform is both FEASIBLE and TANGIBLE.
These opinions individually i believe hold much more weight than the Cord Editorial's Board, let alone as a collaborative endorsement.
Those four gentlemen were in the offices with the administration, with the students, they ran our Union for a year, and they did a great job. The Cord doesnt shape events, they comment on them, these guys shaped them, and they ALL believe Kory is the best one to follow the lead they set forth.
Very disappointed to they only provided a single endorsement, from years past there would be 4 or 5 individual endorsements, but i cant help notice you gave the BOD multiple endorsements, hypocrisy at its finest.
The problem I have with Kory pushing the envelope with "big issues", is that some of his ideas just aren't that good! Capping enrollment at the Waterloo campus, for example, is a bad idea! The only way our school is going to stay anywhere close to budget involves increaing enrollment year after year. The 5 and ten year plans include significant enrollment growth - administration is planning new residence buildings with much higher (+500!)student capacities and new academic buildings to increase classroom and study space. I sincerely hope Kory isn't elected to push that agenda, it will drive the school even further into debt!
I would like to see OneCard money remain year after year, although I don't really think it'll change considering we have it pretty good -at most universities (Queens for ex.) they don't get to keep any of their money after their year is over.
I'm undecided on allowing of agers in the Turret. It would be nice to see it more full on Saturday's, but I certainly don't want their license taken away, then none of us will have a place on campus to go. Sorry to "Dissapointed", but I was in first year too and I bit the bullet and wasn't allowed to go, but I found ways to stay entertained (campus clubs provide good programming).
underagers in the turret*!
I do not think enough students truly understand the issue student over-enrolment. Growth is important to a university but I hope people look at how Laurier came into debt and then really think of the most responsible way of bringing us out of it. I do not think jeopardizing a quality education is very responsible.
I think the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance briefing on Funding explains this best:
‘A decade of cuts and under-funding has left universities with decaying facilities, over-crowded classrooms and ill-equipped laboratories. Students now have less access to fewer staff, faculty and library books. The university system will face even further strain in the years to come with enrolment at record levels.’
Other universities are taking action to protect the quality of their institutions; McMaster held their acceptance levels last year. Students should not have to pay for university budget issues by sacrificing a quality education. When we over-enroll, beyond what the government will support, students are paying more and getting much less. This is not what I want for Laurier, not for my university experience.
I am thankful that Kory Preston understands this and has a plan to move forward. There are some real issues on the table that take real experience and leadership and enrolment is one that Kory is equipped and ready to handle.
First point--RE: One Card Monies The point of this proposal is to demand changes to what is a very faulty business model in the Dining Hall. Although he has mentioned that a student-run dining hall may be better, he is not saying that is what he will do. Frankly, all that matters to him is that the labour costs for staff in the dining hall come under control so that monies can be focussed on better food and lower prices. This is the main reason why the school seizes the One card funds--because they already have a short-fall with this business so they need to ensure it doesnt get worse. Kory advocates that we demand a revamping of this business to ensure that students are not left to pay the tab of a faulty business model.
Second Point--RE: Turret/Underage Policy Let this point be clear: "As WLUSU President I(Kory) will not jeopardize the organization or the liquor license of the organization, however I will explore all possible options to ensure that all students have access to the businesses they own." He acknowledges the challenges that exist here with respect to the liquor license. However, he knows that there are models out there that WLUSU should actively explore to ensure that all students are served by the turret (and ultimately the business could benefit).
Third Point--RE: Enrollment No where in his platform did Kory use the word "cap"... "To combat this, as WLUSU President I would demand that the University meet their enrollment targets, and also pursue official involvement in the creation and monitoring of the Universities Multi-Year Accountability Agreement with the Provincial Government." The focus of this proposal is the student to faculty ratio that is currently 25:1 and should be according to provincial agreements 23:1. Kory wants the school to meet its enrollment targets instead of abandoning the quality educational experience that comes with a better student to faculty ratio.
My apologies...he does mention the word "cap", however, not in the sense that many people are construing it as...(read my post above)
I was originally planning on staying out of this race entirely, but the past few days have made me jump in and speak up.
I wholeheartedly disagree with The Cord's endorsement for WLUSU president, and moreover, their reasoning for being critical of Kory's platform.
Personally, I do fully endorse Kory's bid for WLUSU president. Despite what The Cord's ed board is saying in this endorsement piece, his platform is indeed strong and within his reach, specifically the "unfortunately within the current structure of the union many of his goals do not seem feasible" comment.
This statement is unequivocally untrue. Yes, Kory does not have the ability to make the call personally on a few of the issues discussed, he does have the ability to lobby the university on these causes - and these are VERY IMPORTANT issues, which are being essentially ignored by all of the other candidates.
WLUSU, and the students of Laurier specifically, need a president who is willing to go toe-to-toe with the administration on important student issues. Kory is willing and able to do this. The university is often unable to see the students' point of view (trust me, I have been in many frustrating conversations before) and they need a student president to keep them on their toes - this should be a huge priority of the president, and Kory in his platform has shown that this will be a huge priority for him. If the students don't have a president who will advocate for them, then what is the point? Yes, things may not always go the way you are pushing them (trust me, sometimes you try and just can't get them to change their minds) but no matter what the 1st priority of a student president should be advocacy. Kory will do this.
Also, his platform is indeed feasible...to say otherwise either means that you do not understand how WLUSU and WLU operate (which from much of my experience with The Cord last year I wouldn't be entirely shocked) or you are spinning the message to get the candidate in which you prefer for some odd reason. But yes, it is feasible - to say otherwise is complete BS, why else would four former WLUSU Management Group members endorse him - I think we know what can and can't be accomplished a little better than The Cord ed board...
Add 2008-2009 Vice President for Marketing Jackie Donald to the list of former WLUSU Executives to endorse Kory Preston. Read her endorsement at www.korypreston.ca
That makes 5 of the former top WLUSU Executives who support Kory in his bid for WLUSU President.
Considering these VP's were all HIRED and not elected by a president who won by default (Punambolam won by a landslide) and was widely seen as a mediocre head of WLUSU, their endorsements do not hold much influence over the informed students at this school. Most of them are alumni and the problems they faced are not the same we face today. Also considering they know Kory on a personal level and are using their previous titles to advance Kory's campaign does not sit well with me. I'm sure if I were running for president, I could get a bunch of my friends with fancy titles to endorse me too...
Getting an endorsement from an independant source like the Cord, however, should and does influence voters on campus. They see that a group unassociated with any candidate came to a conclusion about which candidate they feel would be best. This conclusion was based on candidate platforms and personality, not based on the fact they worked with them on OUSA years before, or have worked with them in WLUSU before...
The Cord as an independent source? That's laughable. There is no greater bastion of embittered students the Student Publications.
The Cord in particular has taken upon itself some misguided notion that it serves as some sort of "loyal opposition" and the only organization that advocates the interests of the students to the big baddies of WLUSU and WLU. Which is, frankly, nothing but nonsense. This opinion exists because the "leaders" within the Cord have never once understood how to find pragmatic solutions to students problems and instead buries itself in moronic ideology.
WLUSU is a student organization: Not a Government, and as much as it has money to compare it to a "multi-million dollar corporation" is out of place. It is one of many excellent opportunities to get some experience on-campus. That's all.
So long as the cord carries this bitter attitude towards WLUSU it will only endorse presidential candidates and directors for the wrong reasons: It wants the people who will align with--or worse, remain complicit with--its arrogant approach towards student advocacy that for some reason vilifies Administrations.
This paper is a pathetic rag that wraps itself up in some nonsense of "journalistic integrity" that must make WLUSU and WLU Admin some kind of villains. The cord has no understand of what integrity is, let alone journalism.
I know who I'm voting for tomorrow, some of those names are on this list, others are not. I will not be voting for Kyle Walker though because, unfortunately, I do not think he is ready to be President. Most importantly though, do not think this article or this paper is somehow benevolent in its views. It is pathetically ignorant of how WLUSU and Student Advocacy should operate.
Whenever I see posts under fake names I always get paranoid that the reader is going to assume that it is me responding.
I would just like to state for the record that I have only ever posted under my real name.
Further, while I have watched over the past couple of days the debate on the cord website really come alive, I would encourage everyone posting to tone it down a little. While the entire purpose of my campaign was to start discussions on campus, I think it is important to remember to keep these responses professional and about the topic.
I truly appreciate the criticisms of my platform that have been offered by many through this forum and I think that this has been an amazing opportunity to start a conversation on campus that I hope lasts well into next year.
Also for the record, I want to congratulate Kyle on receiving the 1 and only cord endorsement this year. To offer my opinion, I was of course disappointed not to receive the endorsement, and more so I was also a little disappointed with the way in which endorsements were done this year as well as some of the other coverage in the cord as well. I think that there is a question here for the cord's EIC to consider for next year, and I think that question is what is the value of offering endorsements?
As a candidate who has taken this election very seriously and has attempted to provide one option to students for a better students' union, I will conclude by stating that I wish the cord had stated which parts of my platform they interpreted to not be feasible under the current structure of WLUSU and also I wish that they would have elaborated on what they think that I "lack" as a candidate. I am sure that there is some basis for this conclusion, however the articles written seem to instead just try to paint me as a dreamer without reason.
Thank you to everyone for engaging with this election, I wish all candidates for all positions the best of luck and I hope that everyone votes tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Kory Preston
I find it ironic that some parties are so bitter about the endorsement, yet if the endorsement had swung their way they wouldn't be questioning its "value" for next year.
The endorsment is an opinion, take it or leave it, or better yet just stop complaining about it.
Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to respond quickly to a couple things.
Jay: As a former WLUSU VP weighing in on a WLUSU election, I don't think my experience should be taken lightly, or disregarded as 'fancy titles'. I can also assure you that WLU and WLUSU are extremely cyclical, and many of the issues discussed now - Campus Clubs, WLU Growth, Underage Policies - have been discussed before, including during my time as a VP. The Cord is certainly a good resource for undecided voters, and I think they do a fair job of covering the various races in this article. However, they are only one source. For the record, Pun probably would have hired me too.
Underage Policies: While I support Kory's initiative to look into various options, most students have no idea what an easy decision it was to ban underagers from the Turret in the first place. When given the chance to attend the Turret, underagers were not taking advantage (we were almost always under our underage capacity) and had a very high rate of incidents. That being said, for Aaron: it is ABSOLUTELY within the President's power to change those policies, as those businesses are run by WLUSU.
Experience: The reason why I support Kory's bid for President comes down to experience. Students have no idea how quickly the President needs to start dealing with issues - not to mention, they hire their VPs almost right away. The learning curve will always be steep for Presidents who have not served as a VP (like it or not). This is not to say that Kyle can't rise to the challenge, just that Kory will be better suited to be an effective President on Day 1. And Day 1 matters.
The Cord/Endorsement: Really, all this bitterness needs to calm down. I have been frustrated with The Cord on MANY occassions, but this is NOT one of them. They do a good job of pointing out major concerns with Sunny and Lawrence, and are likely fair in their comparison between Kory and Kyle. This is, in fact, the same comparison (personality vs experience) that won the election for Dan Allison over Dan Hocking. Additionally, their online coverage of the election has made it easy for old alums like me to keep in touch with what is going on. I give them a thumbs up on this one.
I do think Kory is the best candidate for President, but I think Kyle is also a tremendous choice. Good luck to both of them.
DP
As someone who has both written endorsements and been the recipient of them, I'm not sure that there is a perfect solution for this. On the one hand, having only one endorsement makes you seem biased by not offering any different points of view; on the other hand, I know one of the reasons I was asked to endorse candidates in my final year at Laurier was because they knew my presidential pick was going to be different than the other people they had lined up. No matter how you shake it, a panel of a mere few is going to be biased based on whom the members of the Editorial Board know well enough to approach. While I may not agree with what they wrote (hmm, the social candidate over the vastly more experienced one... where have I heard this before? I kid, I kid), there is no perfect way to do endorsements, except to not do them.
As an individual who was heavily involved in the Union, I always would want the candidates with the most experience and knowledge to succeed, as that means the learning curve is removed, and far more gets accomplished in what often feels like I far too short term. I'd vote for Kory for those reasons. (And, really, platforms are always full of goals that the President never has 100% say on - each of the candidates is guilty of that, not just Kory.) Both Kory and Kyle are fine candidates on their own merits, and both offer lots of things that would make them very successful as President - I just think Kory would be more successful.
You should be looking at that for your board candidates as well - those who were willing to speak up candidly at the open forum, and those who have proven themselves with their previous experience are the ones you should be voting for, not the ones with the funniest posters. Just vote smart tomorrow, and everything will be just fine.
Dan Hocking Vice Chair of the Board, 2005-2006 Vice President: Marketing: 2006-2007 Presidential Candidate, 2007-2008
Oppinions are oppinions, take them with a grain of salt.
I honestly think Kory has the power to advocate, but anyone can say, I'm going to try to do this, I'm going to try to do that but at the end of the day I feel like if we took a look at Kory's resume as President and his platform now...they would be very different. Not to say Kory won't to great things, but it feels like his platform is full of words students want to hear, but will never get.
I think its fantastic Kory can counter Kyle's edorsement from the Cord with 5 of his own. Qualified oppinions or not, the only oppinions that matter are the ones of the minuet portion of the student body who have the gull to vote tomorrow.
Discussion is great but lets put it into action. Get out and vote tomorrow, get your friends to vote and let's get the participation rate up.
In the real world, publications make endorsements for the candidate that they believe should be elected. That's how it works. Just because the Cord has used a panel in the past doesn't mean they are all of a sudden biased because they've decided to go with a single-candidate endorsement.
Even as a single-candidate endorsement, it seemed extremely fair to both Kyle and Kory. The outrage from Kory's camp seems a little ridiculous to me. If the Cord was so biased and wrong, then show them that with your vote rather than getting all cranky on a comment board that 95% of the student population won't read or care about.
If there's one thing I'm a little frustrated at the Cord about, it's that you actually felt the need to defend yourself on a blog post. If you're going to take a stand, then do it. Acting defensive about it is a cop out. You voiced your opinion, whoever doesn't like it can cry about it until they realize that like all things, this too shall pass.
Here's what happens: whichever presidential candidate gets elected will have an impossible yet admirable platform that will be quickly thwarted by the BOD, they'll renovate something barely in need of renovation, do something scandalous enough to make the front page of the cord, and in the end, keep the WLUSU engine silently chugging along.
I would just like to respond to the talk surrounding over-enrolment at the Waterloo campus. I would first like to point out to Aaron that the administration's plan is for the Waterloo campus to remain at its current size. Brantford is supposed to expand to approximately the number of students that Waterloo has now; however, the Waterloo campus is not supposed to grow any more. For those of you who think that we need to continue to grow to be a successful university, I find this to be an ill-thought about idea. We already do not have the space to handle the students we DO have. And while it is true that the university plans to build new residences for first years, it should also be noted that in the proposed master plan, all on-campus residences (ie; Mac house, Little house, Conrad, etc.) are no longer going to be residences. In fact, Mac House is to be turned into "green space". So the proposed new residences are to a) provide the room we are already lacking for 1st year spaces and to b) make up for the space we will be losing due to the removal of our current residences.
Come tomorrow, I'll be voting Kory Preston because of his experience and his desire and drive to fight for what matters to students. I personally like the fact that he is "the most knowledgeable about post-secondary student issues" because WHY would I want a president of the university's students' union to not be knowledgeable about the issues that affect me the most? Thanks for PRESsing my issues Kory, I sincerely appreciate it.
I think the Cord's coverage of the election and its analysis of the candidates is pretty fair, I'm just not as defeatist. If the current structure prevents proper advocacy change the structure, not the candidate.
Pres for Prez
Im voting Kyle Walker, this outcry is by the Preston camp is sad, its an endorsement get over it.. I hope if Kory get elected next year any time he gets a little bad press or the cord does not tell a story the way he wants it to be told, all his friends and supporters don't start crying all over the comment section on a university's paper web site..
After reading all the comments on this endorsement article it truly amazes me how people can be so passionate about something. Yes, a President will be elected tomorrow. There is no question that whomever has the honour to lead their fellow students has a tough road ahead of them. There will be issues that will arise and elections promises to fulfill. Students need to hold all their elected officials accountable. Let’s not just focus on the Presidential race but remember that all those elected represent students. There are much bigger thing to worry about than an endorsement from the campus newspaper. Students need to educate themselves on the election and make an informed decision that will best represent their needs as a Laurier student. There is no right or wrong choice here as long as people exercise their right to vote for the person that best represents what they need. If The Cord wants to endorse Mr. Walker and former WLUSU employees want to endorse Mr. Preston, that is their choice.
Instead of getting fired up on the comments section, show your passion tomorrow when you cast your vote. More importantly, continue that when there are student’s livelihoods and educations at stake. Hold them accountable. I expect that anyone that makes promises to their peers and colleagues would be held to the highest standards possible. Choose the person that you think will do the best job for you and for the Union of Students that we call WLUSU.
Just remember though, if you don’t exercise your right to vote, you have no right to complain.
Joel Robinson Vice President: Public Affairs 09-10
"Crying" would consist of saying it was not fair, or saying we were mistreated, our campaign hasn't said that. We have only said we disagree, respectfully.
Stop wasting your time complaining on a website. Your disrespect towards a free press student publication is childish. None of your complaints will matter when Kyle Walker is elected President and CEO of WLUSU.
My only issue with the above stated coverage is.......
There isn't any information on the Senate candidates or Board of Governors.
I have no idea who these people are or how to vote on them.
So...maybe you could endorse a couple? So I could vote for them?
Tomorrow I'm voting Appeals Committee and Charity Ball for President!!!
Sincerely,
Andrew Fryer
Luke:
"pathetic talk"
"The Cord Editors lead a spectacularly removed life"
"hypocrisy at its finest"
That's from your own post, earlier on Feb 3rd. Given that, either your definitions of "not crying" and "disagreeing respectfully" are a bit askew, or it is your second post that is "hypocrisy at its finest".
I wasn't going to get involved in this, however seems like everyone else has so why not....
If Colin (and some of the other "flashy titles") says that each of Kory’s initiatives are feasible and realistic then I have to take his word for it (b/c he/they are much smarter and more knowledgeable than me in this area) However I find it hard to believe that Kory (or anyone else) would actually be successful implementing ALL of those changes in one short term (in which a large part is dedicated solely to training, developing and transition). Furthermore after reading his platform several times I find it even less feasible due to the many counter producing measures and what seems to be an infinite budget.
I will start with my bread and butter, Athletics and Recreation… In his platform Kory outlines that he plans to expand hours of operation (even if it only during exams) which will raise costs to the department, however at the same time find a way to prevent all the current cuts the department has had to make in order to continue running a quality program (the cuts were estimated around a quarter of a million dollars over this year and next). Unless WLUSU plans on investing that type of money directly I don’t see any growth in recreational services.
From my experience if the incoming president (whoever that may be) and wlusu really want to help improve the service that the department of Athletics and Recreation provides to the students then it must align its events to support varsity sports. WLUSU programming must do what it can to bring people out to games, for example during Winter Carnival or dare I say it get behind the departments biggest cash cow, Laurier Football. Only then will we see an improvement of financial support through ticketing, concessions and more importantly sponsorship revenue.
Moving on…
Other spending includes providing higher quality food and locally grown also, which will fall onto the students directly, Unless once again WLUSU picks up the tab. The other major project is the expansion to the terrace which will no doubt be quite costly.
I have no doubt that those ideas are valuable and much needed however my point here is to challenge the financial feasibility which becomes even more unrealistic when everything is combined in addition to the plan of reducing/capping (or any other name) the student enrollment (and their fees) and at the same changing the one card policy (moral or not, it will no doubt affect money coming in).
On the last point, for the sake of not looking like a monster, I too am baffled at the legitimacy of holding on to students unspent money. I have no doubt that Kory will go to battle to do what he can to urge the administration for a change, however that does not guarantee the change. What can be done though, is to educate incoming students much more effectively on the one card policies so that they may choose some of the lighter meal options instead (because you can always add money later). I hope this is what was meant in “providing support” to residence life/services but somehow I doubt it.
PLEASE TAKE AN INTERMISSION BREAK
I would like to comment on experience of knowing and representing the students of Laurier. In spite of popular beliefs the BOD as a system and its members do not accurately represent to be the voice of student as they claim. It is neither balanced or representative of the different type of students and their issues that occur every year. Rather it relies on a small group of people who take the initiative to be part of it (for who I have nothing but respect), so to say someone will be an excellent/poor president because of the presence or lack of this experience is simply ignorant.
From my five years at Laurier there is only one position on campus that stand heads and shoulders above all else when it comes to recognizing and understanding the students and their issues. This position is a residence life don, it is not a job or the type of position that you can go home after and forget about rather it is a lifestyle that does not end or begin with certain hours, days or even whether you are on or off campus. As a don you do not have control who you share a living space with and that makes it the most diverse learning experience one may have as a student leader.
Having been a don for 3 years (same as kyle) I have been woken up at night by ERT and special constables escorting an intoxicated underage student who decided to drink at the campus bar and will now be banned from the same place for majority of his/her undergraduate career (this is one reason the current underage policy should remain as is).
I have walked in on and counseled a student-athlete who was unsure whether or not he/she would be able to afford to pay in order to be a varsity athlete anymore.
I have heard the outcry of music students feeling left out of O-week…and much much more…
However this familiarity with the student body does not stop there as dons often get a front row seat seeing first year students develop in leaders on campus as head ice, aw@l, or as annual writers/producers at the fringe festival and maybe even as future WLUSU presidents.
The point is that this type of experience is almost necessary for any president who speaks of advocacy as Colin pointed out. And it is exactly why I have ran for president myself and have always supported those who shared that experience such as Ross Fraser and now Kyle Walker.
Conclusion
It is now election day, so none of this really matters anymore however thank you cord for allowing me this opportunity to relieve my Laurier experience. Good luck to all the candidates today and wish I could be at wilfs tonight for the results.
cheers
Wow - this is really aggressive and I think very indicitive of what happens to university politics.
I will also add my name to the column of folks that could probably have some legitimate beefs with the Cord, but I decided some time ago to move on (though I still see my name popping up here and there haha!).
Do I think the Cord and Student Publications make the best decisions all the time? No. But no organization on this campus does. That's the point of student leadership experiences. You can't come on these boards and just trash these students because they're not cutting slack to WLUSU student leaders. It's just hypocritical. WLUSP is a legitimate student organization as well.
A lot of great points have been made, and I normally refuse to make any commentary--particularly on matters regarding Students' Union elections--but in this case I think the best thing that can be said is that it simply isn't that important folks. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't care or that students should vote in even less numbers or become less passionate. I am suggesting though that, for those that are engaged, take every opportunity to build relationships with those students that are engaged instead of attacking them because you don't see eye-to-eye. During my time at WLUSU I met many student politicians with differing opinions. I certainly wouldn't say we are the best of friends, but I am proud to say that we kept strong working relationships throughout and still keep in touch.
My apologies if this has been said several times over, but I got a little bored as I read through these responses.
Oh, and I don't intend to put my resume on the bottom here (take that hocking!!) but, if you want to know who I am, just do a quick search of my name in the Cord's searchbar up at the top there.
Cheers, Park
Mr. Park, I took your suggestion and tried you name in the search bar. All I got was "We're sorry, but something went wrong." I hope that's not indicative! I kid.
It's interesting to see so many former WLUSU leaders commenting. I guess despite comments about how this whole election doesn't matter a lot of people can't seem to take their eyes away!
It is election day so even commenting seems terribly irrelevant, it's too late, what's done is done... get over it people.
On a more serious note, to get this worked up over someone else's opinion is ridiculous. If you don't agree with the endorsement offered by The Cord then go out and vote for the person YOU think should have been endorsed. Also, maybe take a second and think about the fact that this was simply an endorsement, not a commandment.
-Asif Bacchus
Wow. The temperature in this thread just broke the thermometer.
Aside from a few bitter commenters, I think that we can all agree that the Cord endorsements are a relevant (just look at all the attention this page is getting) and important part of the election - the ed board knows this and takes their responsibility very seriously. They spend a lot of time making sure they get this stuff right, and any suggestion to the contrary is plain wrong.
As to the format this year, well, there is no one way to do endorsements and each method has it's drawbacks. And while it would be nice if they could write a full-blown research paper on each candidate's platform, time-constraints and in the case of the print edition, space constraints simply do not allow for that kind of content to be created. The Cord's job is not to spell everything out for everyone - it is to identify important points, provide informed insight on those points, and act as a jumping off point for debate in the broader Laurier community.
As a complete aside, this is by far the tamest election day that I have ever seen - it's like the teams are afraid to open their mouths. There needs to be some serious consideration put into how strictly these events are run - rules are necessary, and I'm sure a lot of students in the Atrium are thankful for the low-key campaigning, but seriously...I came all the way from Toronto to watch this? Where are the t-shirts (and scarves!)? Where's the buzz? How can WLUSU expect to get students engaged if they barely know that there's an election going on?
This is the sorriest endorsement I've ever seen.
You get off on the right foot elevating Kyle and Kory above the rest. You then state Kory is the most knowledgeable and passionate candidate, but you prefer Kyle anyway because of what Kory lacks.
Presumably, you would go on to state what Kory lacks... but no, your only criticism that his goals (which you never bother to state) don't seem feasible because of the union's "current structure" (which is not further elaborated). What does that even mean?
Anyone who watched any of the debates would see that Kyle is an impressive and personable public speaker, but so is Kory. Kory's knowledge of the the issues and his ability to lay out coherent arguments backed up by experience and evidence is what sets him apart from Kyle and the other candidates.
I expect better from the Cord. What a sorry example of an endorsement.