MSU Presidential Candidate Platform Critique: Jovan Popovic

Bela Davidson News Staff Writer

Jovan Popovic is the Sports Editor at the Silhouette for the 2022-2023 academic year. He has taken a leave of absence during his presidential campaign. The Silhouette is committed to impartiality and journalistic integrity in its coverage of the MSU presidential election. For more information, see the Silhouette Operating Policy.

or unique ideas for events, especially considering the emphasis he put on student engagement within his campaign.

Popovic’s frsthand experiences have led him to identify areas that are in genuine need of change. However, Popovic’s choice to keep his campaign close to his personal experiences caused his approach to some student issues to be narrow.

To broaden this horizon, Popovic could have explored student communities and issues outside his realm of expertise, to present a more holistic and representative picture of the McMaster student body.

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Popovic’s McMaster Student Union presidential campaign included strong advocacy pillars and relevant consultations. However, Popovic’s campaign lacks investigation into student communities outside of his own and does not present precise solutions to addressed issues.

Student Engagement

In his interview with the Silhouette, Popovic stated that engagement in campus events is concerningly low and that it is crucial for the MSU to focus on amending this. Popovic referenced his consultations with past and present MSU representatives and Campus Events staff as afrming these statements. The Silhouette reached out to these individuals for confrmation, but, as of the time of publication, has not received any responses.

To combat the lack of student involvement, Popovic proposed more transparency regarding MSU activity, increased club funding, an increase in campus events throughout the school year and a greater focus on improving Welcome Week.

The Silhouette reached out to the current MSU Vice President (Education) Elizabeth Wong whom Popovic consulted with prior to his campaign. Wong commented on Popovic’s initiative to increase events on campus, explaining that the feasibility of this is dependent on many factors, including the scale of the events and the planning processes.

Popovic proposed a few specifc transparency initiatives, including an MSU informational tab on AvenueToLearn. Beyond this, Popovic was unable to get specifc in his plans to ameliorate his remaining listed campaign points.

For example, Popovic proposed working with the rest of the MSU Board of Directors and Campus Events to produce more events throughout the year. When asked in interview to specify what kinds of events he had in mind, Popovic discussed more sporting events and continuing the on-campus holiday market, which frst occurred in Dec. 2022.

It would have strengthened Popovic’s campaign further if he had more specifc

Sports and Commuter Life

His campaign statement and leadership within the McMaster Sports Community indicate that Popovic is familiar with and passionate about McMaster athletics.

Popovic’s campaign discusses treatment of student-athletes and how to amend current athletic services, such as ensuring the athletic MSAF is honored, ironing out budget disparities and addressing the rocky transitional period from high school to university sports.

When asked to substantiate that these issues are indeed prominent and recognized within the McMaster sports community, Popovic referenced several consultations and testimonies from McMaster Athletics & Recreation executives and student-athletic leaders as well as his feld work as a sports reporter. The Silhouette reached out to these individuals for confrmation and received responses from Athletics & Recreation stating that while they did meet with Popovic, they did not discuss these specifc issues.

Popovic’s push for further advocacy for student-athletes is rooted in specifc and actionable plans. However, in centring his platform around student-athletics, Popovic is centring his own experiences, and he fails to bring this level of attention and detail to student groups outside of his own.

The same can be said for Popovic’s campaign pillar regarding commuter students. Popovic confrmed that he too is a commuter student in an interview with the Silhouette.

His platform points concerning commuters discuss the disorganized maintenance of temporary parking Lot M and the lack of commuter student engagement with campus activities. Thus, Popovic’s campaign points are geared towards commuters who drive to campus and they fail to acknowledge in the same capacity commuters who use transit.

Popovic described in his interview how the goal of his campaign is to shift the overarching campus culture towards greater student engagement., Popovic added that outlining specifcs before he’s in ofce may lead to unrealistic goals.

Popovic’s desire to be upfront in his campaign and avoid false promises is responsible and commendable. However, taking more of a risk by investigating less familiar student communities and developing more detailed action plans would have strengthened Popovic’s outlined campaign pillars.

Popovic’s

Voting for the MSU presidential election takes place from Jan. 24 to Jan. 26 using the Simply Voting platform and more information about the election can be found on the MSU elections website.