PRESIDENT’S PAGE
October 19, 2017 | thesil.ca
student leaders across campus gear As you prepare for this seaup to change the face of the MSU. son you must hold this truth in For students who would con- your gut - your identity, your resider taking on such a task, first lationships, and your experiences of all, I applaud you. Second, I are valid. Whatever community respectively suggest that there you come from, whatever your are two fundamental questions background, these are wells from to ask yourself. Are you interest- which you can pull, to claim your ed in serving McMaster students strength, and build resilience as through the presidency of the you take on this arduous task. student union? Are you quali- Campaigns are a public perforfied to do so? If you answer ‘yes’ mance of self, while the role of the to the former, than your answer politician is public service. The CHUKKY to the latter is inconsequential. point is not how well you can fake Dedication is the qualification for being a politician during a camIBE this role. Unfortunately, responses paign, or fake being a happy, perPresident to the question of qualification fect person with all the right anrange on a noticeably gendered swers. It really is a question of how president@msu.mcmaster.ca spectrum. Men and individuals comfortable you are being yourself 905.525.9140 x23885 who have lived most of their lives when more people are watching. with unacknowledged advantage It is less about putting on a show, As midterm season slowly fades are much quicker to respond and more of a demonstration of away like a bad dream, students affirmatively to this question. how prepared you are to be the knowingly or unknowingly enter into an unspoken season on campus. Though, that seasonal This is the season of the electoral cycle beginning change has nothing to do with to renew itself. Change is an obvious and inevitable the colour of leaves, nor the tem- song on the lips of several hundred Marauders. perature outside. No announcements are made and papers aren’t due. To those aware of the Frankly, I doubt any of us know best version of yourself. Which, I process, this season is known as a young twenty-something quali- believe, should include all of your presidentials. ’Tis the season of fied to oversee the affairs of a $16 awkwardness and your charm. coffee dates in MUSC and pri- million operation, boasting three Campaigns do not test your vate hikes in Cootes. It is the sea- dozen distinct service offerings, popularity, but they will test your son of unsolicited Facebook likes alongside and simultaneous to a relationships. They ask everyone and reconnecting with old ac- robust advocacy wing. For this, you have ever spoken to or interquaintances. The news will prob- there are thirty-seven seasoned acted with to give an account of ably drop about half way through full-time staff capable of running their experience with you. Peothe latté your friend bought you. such an operation. The questions ple remember how you treated This is the season of the elec- that deserve more exploring by them, how you make them feel, toral cycle beginning to renew potential candidates are: Why do and if they felt a genuine connecitself. Change is an obvious and you care about your communities? tion with you. When you ask for inevitable song on the lips of sev- What are you willing to do about help, how many of your friends eral hundred Marauders. Presi- it? How much are you willing to will leave their priorities to come dential aspirants begin to organize sacrifice to ensure the people you support you? What do the peostudents under their banners, as care about are supported? ple in your class think about the
way you ask and answer questions? These are fair indicators of whether or not people who do not yet know you, would put their trust in you. How strong
Consider engaging with the McMaster Students Union and contesting for the presidency. are your relationships, and will these people vouch for you in the public sphere? In any jurisdiction, resources are finite and priorities compete. Democracy is the political mechanism by which a populous engages in the process of decision making. Consider engaging with the McMaster Students Union and contesting for the presidency. Take on this responsibility, or support someone who will. In the same vein, be fully aware of the burden you choose for yourself. Campaigning and the subsequent leadership responsibility will prove arduous. But know this - you are qualified. The nomination period for MSU President typically begins in December. Campaigning and voting will take place in mid-to-late January. For those looking to engage in other aspects of the MSU’s democratic structure, there is a by-election currently underway for seats on the Student Representative Assembly for Social Science and Kinesiology students. Visit msumcmaster.ca for more information about this by-election and other opportunities.
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The President’s Page is a space sponsored and used by the McMaster Students Union (MSU) Board of Directors (BoD) to communicate with the student body. It functions to highlight the Board’s projects, goals, and agenda for the year, as well as the general happenings of the MSU.