Editor-in-Chief Iman Janmohamed eic@ubyssey.ca
Managing Editor Mahin E Alam managing@ubyssey.ca
News Editor Aisha Chaudhry news@ubyssey.ca
News Editor Viyan Handley news@ubyssey.ca
Culture Editor Elena Massing culture@ubyssey.ca
Features Editor Fiona Sjaus features@ubyssey.ca
Opinion Editor Spencer Izen opinion@ubyssey.ca
Humour Editor Elita Menezes humour@ubyssey.ca
Sports + Rec Editor Lauren Kasowski sports@ubyssey.ca
Science Editor Gloria Klein science@ubyssey.ca
Visuals Editor Emilīja V Harrison visuals@ubyssey.ca
Photo Editor Saumya Kamra photo@ubyssey.ca
Business Manager Douglas Baird business@ubyssey.ca
Account Manager Scott Atkinson advertising@ubyssey.ca
Web Developer Sam Low samuellow@ubyssey.ca
Web Developer Nishim Singhi nishimsinghi@ubyssey.ca
Abbie Lee, Adriel Yusgiantoro, Annaliese Gumboc, Ayla Cilliers, Bernice Wong, Caleb Peterson, Corwin Davidson, Emilia Onar, Guntas Kaur, Himanaya Bajaj, Isabella Ma, Ishan Choudhury, Joyce Park, Julian Forst, JungJoo Kim, Katja Radovic-Jonsson, Kyla Flynn, Luiza Teixeira, Maia Cesario, Maya Tommasi, Marie Erikson, Micah Sébastien Zhang, Mrinali Ghosh, Navya Chadha, Natalie Vakulin, Nikhail Thakker, Olivia Vos, Paloma Green, Rhea Krishna, Sam Low, Shubhreet Dadrao, Sidney Shaw, Sofia Campanholo, Sophia Russo, Sophia Samilski, Stella Griffin, Thea Turner, Tiana Khandelwal, Vicky Nguyen, Yomna Bedaiwy, Zoe Wagner
While we may say it every year, we still believe it’s important students make their voices heard during AMS Elections.
The elected executives, senators and governors will sometimes be the only people in a room willing to advocate for student needs in the face of UBC administration or different levels of government.
In recent years, the amount of executive turnover, and now allegations of a poor workplace culture, show how vital it is for you to choose who sets the tone of your student union and who you trust to represent you. Student politicians have the ability to advocate for real change if they don’t let workplace politics get in the way.
This year’s ballot also includes referenda items like the creation of another executive position in the AMS, a possible fee increase and the chance to have the AMS support a two-day student strike to demand UBC divest from companies students say are complicit in human rights violations against Palestinians.
(Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)
EMILIJA V HARRISON
1. Attend three general meetings (Fridays at 4 p.m. in room 2208 in the Nest).
2. Contribute three times to The Ubyssey ! This can mean writing three articles, taking three photos or videos, making three illustrations or helping copyedit three times. Or you can mix and match!
3. Attend your third general meeting with those three contributions, and The Ubyssey ’s staff members will vote you in! U
We know it can be hard to keep up with everything that happens at UBC between classes and life, and it can feel like student politicians promise the same things every year without much change. But student politicians can make lasting positive impacts and have gotten wins for students in the past.
We hope you’re able to take a second to read up on this year’s elections and cast your vote — because it matters. U
— Aisha Chaudhry & Viyan Handley News Editors
Students can vote to fill five seats on the Ubyssey Publications Society Board of Directors in this year's AMS election.
The Ubyssey Publications Society Board of Directors positions are not editor or staff reporter positions. The Board oversees the business and financial side of The Ubyssey. Board members have no say over editorial decisions at the paper such as what we report on and how we cover stories.
I’m running to be on The Ubyssey’s Board of Directors out of my sincere admiration for the newspaper’s impact on our campus! My passion for being a voice to my community has only grown during my time at UBC — I had the privilege of working as student senator-at-large on UBC Senate Library and Awards Committees to extend library hours and more awards for students. My platform is to foster an environment for The Ubyssey to sustain financially and strategically, expand reach and resources and champion in our efforts to represent the diverse voices, frustrations and experiences of all UBC students. U
I am a fourth-year student studying international relations and economics, and I’m running a campaign in support of global awareness, transparency and accountability. I plan to utilize my various professional experiences in the international relations field to ensure that Ubyssey publications are more aware of global issues; increase student awareness of Board activities through statements and spotlights from/on Board directors; and increase administrative accountability, adding checks and balances to the president and directors to ensure that journalistic works are not tampered with U
I'm a fourth-year international relations student at UBC with previous experience in student leadership, having served as an executive in multiple organizations, including leadership roles. I'm running for The Ubyssey’s Board of Directors to ensure financial transparency and responsibility and act as a responsible steward of the organization. I am committed to maintaining journalistic integrity and protecting The Ubyssey’s independence from AMS influence. I believe the newspaper should continue to serve as a platform for honest, critical and diverse storytelling that holds power accountable and represents the voices of the UBC community. U
My name is Jasper and I am running for the Ubyssey Board of Directors. I’m a fourth-year international student from Austria majoring in sociology and am excited to contribute to the newspaper that has been accompanying me throughout my studies here at UBC. My goal is to ensure that The Ubyssey can flourish via competent management and a solid financial strategy, empowering the amazing community behind the newspaper to reach their full potential. By working together, I hope to create a future in which The Ubyssey can continue to inform, inspire and thrive! U
Now more than ever, effective management of The Ubyssey is crucial in safeguarding freedom of the press. I’m Jason Wong, a former staff writer at The Ubyssey who has covered groundbreaking news stories such as the federal government’s actions against international students in late 2023. In being elected to the board, I hope to promote the continued presence of online campus press despite restrictions from Bill C-18 whilst upholding integrity of the publication’s financial activities. I plan to leverage stakeholders and community partnerships to garner greater attention to the paper on a national level. U
I’m running for the board because I believe in the power of university journalism to inform students and hold our institutions accountable. I won’t pretend to know much about how The Ubyssey operates — but I’m eager to learn and bring a perspective guided by the following values: upholding ethical journalistic standards such as unbiased reporting; raising the level of dialogue on campus, for all sides; championing long-form investigative journalism to hold those in power accountable. Above all, I’m committed to ensuring The Ubyssey is a strong, independent voice for students. U
I am a third-year international relations student. I’m involved on campus and currently serve as a student-at-large on the Governance Committee of the AMS. I have also served on the Human Resources Committee and a Presidential Advisory Committee, which oversaw the hiring of the Deputy Provost. I am running for director to help maintain the strong foundation of The Ubyssey, which I believe is an important source of public coverage on issues for many students. I will bring an approach to the board which will help to steer The Ubyssey in a smart and proactive way for a stronger newspaper. U
As a member of The Ubyssey’s Board, I intend to work to reinstate a culture of journalistic professionalism and integrity so that the issues most dear to UBC students are given the unapologetic coverage that they deserve. I am especially interested in broadening the conversation to include more of some of the marginalized voices that together characterize the diversity of our campus. Installing a regime of fiscal responsibility, so that every dollar of student fees directed toward the newspaper is spent with nothing other than the best interest of students in mind, is also a key priority. U
The president is responsible for the broad strategic direction and alignment of the AMS. They represent the society to the public, manage and aid the vice-presidents in their duties and ensure AMS Council committees are meeting their goals. They are also typically appointed to fill vacant executive positions before a by-election can be called or an interim hired.
Candidates
• /u/sasamats (Eve Sankar)
• Riley Huntley
• Barry "Bee" Buzzword (Quyen Solace Schroeder)
• Nobody (Tony Kulenovic)
• Drédyn Fontana
The VP academic and university affairs (AUA) is responsible for advocating student interests to UBC. This involves communicating with UBC administration, the Board of Governors and the UBC Vancouver Senate. Common concerns for the VP AUA are the safety and wellbeing of students, availability and affordability of student housing, funding for programs that address student needs and sexual violence prevention. Their office also operates the AMS Academic Experience Survey to understand student priorities.
Candidates
• Ananya Gupta
• Zarifa Nawar
The VP administration is responsible for managing and communicating with AMS clubs, running Clubs Fair and creating and implementing the society's sustainability policies. The Admin Office also oversees bookings policy, space allocation and the security of the Nest.
Candidate
• Dylan Evans
The VP finance prepares the society's budget before it is approved by AMS Council. Their office also oversees the finances of the AMS and is responsible for ensuring AMS clubs are reimbursed and that clubs and constituencies submit annual finance reports.
Candidate
• Gagan Parmar
The Board of Governors (BoG) essentially runs UBC — it approves the annual budget, decides funding and approves strategic goals for the institution. It also votes on tuition increases. There are 21 board members and 2 are elected student governors from UBC Vancouver.
Candidates
• Yi Chen
• Cade Desjarlais
• Jasper Lorien
• Mohkam Singh Malik (ਮੋਹਕਮ)
• Bardia Mohammadizadeh
• Alexander Wong
The Vancouver Senate is UBCV’s chief academic governing body and makes rules on everything from textbook costs to academic misconduct. The Senate also approves new courses and majors. There are 18 student senators, who work as an informal voting bloc called the Student Senate Caucus. Of these student senators, five are representatives of students at-large and the rest represent individual faculties, schools or graduate students.
The VP external affairs is a student lobbyist, responsible for advocating student priorities to all levels of government outside of UBC as well as residence associations like University Neighbourhood Association. Common concerns for the VP external are transportation to campus (including the Skytrain to UBC project), availability and affordability of student housing, grants for programs supporting students and policies affecting student safety. They also run get out the vote campaigns during municipal, provincial, and federal government elections.
Candidate
• Solomon Yi-Kieran
Candidates
• Daniel Aminbakhsh
• Keanu Chan
• Drédyn Fontana
• Dianya Gao
• Shorya Goyal
• Ananya Gupta
• Kareem Hassib
• Jasper Lorien
• Mohkam Singh Malik (ਮੋਹਕਮ)
• Bardia Mohammadizadeh
• Zarifa Nawar
• Veeru Vaidesh Seethanaboyina
• Mankanwar Singh
• Solomon Yi-Kieran
President
/u/sasamats is running to be your next AMS president on a platform promising to end situationships, turn Main Mall into the longest bowling alley in the world and get more people swimming — literally.
It also said Workday Student is “trash” and students should go back to picking and paying for classes in-person — with swivel iPads at every check out with a tip option.
On struggles facing the role in the upcoming year, /u/sasamats acknowledged the fame that comes with being president could be tiring.
When it comes to what it thinks of its predecessor President Christian ‘CK’ Kyle, while /u/sasamats said Kyle had created some school spirit, it claimed it could do better and would get the Pope to come to the AMS Block Party.
The Reddit account also said less experience for the presidential role is better.
“I think this year has proven that relevant experience could make you worse at the role.”
Student engagement is often a large component of most candidates’ campaigns — not /u/sasamats though.
“I won't engage with the students. I know what's best for them,” said /u/sasamats, explaining that students don’t want to be asked “stupid questions” like how much to spend on clubs.
This past year, one vice-president was removed while two other vice-presidents resigned, calling on the AMS to reconsider its workplace culture. On how /u/sasamats would ensure their vice-presidents felt supported, it referenced how soldiers in the military can be imprisoned if they go absent without leave.
“My retention rate will be very high with the threat of imprisonment.”
It also plans to replace all the chairs in the Michael Kingsmill Forum — where AMS Council meets bi-weekly — with bicycle generators so the executives can “generate something.”
On other promises, the Reddit account said it will make the UBC Aquatic Centre open 24/7.
“I think everybody would have been less pissed off at each other if they all went for a swim,” said /u/sasamats U
/u/sasamats’s platform, while specific and detailed — like turning Main Mall into a bowling alley and imprisoning AMS VPs that attempt to leave the society — may not be what students need. The Reddit account did have decent points on wanting to improve food security and promised to donate $400 to the AMS Food Bank as a start. While /u/sasamats did put on quite the show at debates, it also openly admitted to not wanting to engage with students and said it would leave the job after two weeks. This candidate may be funny, but /u/sasamats ultimately doesn’t have students' best interests in mind. U
President
Riley Huntley is running for president on a platform centred on affordability, improving students’ academic experience and advocacy that “lay[s] the groundwork” for long-term structural improvements.
Huntley is a fourth-year nursing student who served as a student union president and student senator at the Royal Roads University's Students Association and as an AMS councillor and the Nursing Undergraduate Society president at UBC.
On affordability, Huntley said he wants to “renew and expand” UBC’s $2.4 million funding for food security initiatives and push UBC to go beyond its Campus Vision 2050 commitment to deliver 3,300 new student beds. He also plans to lead a textbook audit to eliminate unnecessary course materials and increase open educational resources, which will help cut down textbook costs for students.
Huntley plans to improve academic experience by hiring more advisors at the Centre for Accessibility to reduce wait times, as well as push for past syllabi to be available during course registration so students can “make informed decisions about their classes.”
Huntley emphasized his focus on “results-driven advocacy” that will translate into “real, tangible outcomes.”
Huntley wants to “establish and return to a culture of engagement we haven't seen in recent years” by visiting constituencies during the summer term to learn who “need[s] more attention and support.” He also wants to schedule monthly meetings with groups like the Graduate Student Society to build “genuine, lasting relationships.”
Huntley also wants to ensure AMS executives engage in “meaningful consultation” with AMS councillors, constituency presidents and VP caucuses before bringing goals to Council for approval.
When asked how he would address the high rate of executive turnover, Huntley said his priority is “ensuring the AMS remains stable, responsible and focused on improving the student experience.”
He said executives are warned going into elections as these are “demanding roles requiring upwards of 50, 60 hours a week of productive work,” but he is “optimistic” that the potential addition of a VP student life position through this year's referendum will help redistribute workload across executives. U
Huntley brings a lot of experience to the race as the Nursing Undergraduate Society president and AMS councillor. Huntley was also chair of the Executive Performance and Accountability Committee during the inquiry into then-VP AUA Drédyn Fontana which resulted in his removal. He made many jabs at Fontana across his debates, calling into question Huntley’s ability to play nice. Huntley has the backing of smaller constituencies and has spoken about wanting to do better engagement with constituencies, clubs and resource groups. While he has an ambitious platform, a lot of it dips into the VPs portfolios. If elected, it may be a challenge for Huntley to manage VPs without stepping on their toes. U
President
Barry "Bee" Buzzword is hoping to be your next AMS president — campaigning on a platform promoting authoritarianism, engagement and transparency, to name a few.
Buzzword listed off 18 priorities when asked for his top 3 and has many ideas for how to get those goals done.
To promote sustainability, Buzzword said he would rename everything to David Suzuki, (like David Suzuki Pit Nights and David Suzuki toilet flush) claiming the renaming alone would create a positive environmental impact.
The insect was also keen on collaboration within the AMS offices — especially since this year two vice-presidents resigned and one was removed from office. To promote this, Buzzword said he would bully his vice-presidents out within the first week to avoid it happening later in the term.
“I'll just pelt them with pens until they decide to leave, and then I'll probably just replace them with my best friends, my romantic partners, that kind of thing.”
On relevant experience for the position, Buzzword noted he was a representative in the lawsuit where bees sued all of humanity and helped work on the case.
“The AMS [has been] calling lots of lawyers these days. So I'd really be able to interface with that when we are removing people, when we are trying to shut down referendums … I'd really be able to talk to the lawyers in a way that I think most other people wouldn't.”
Buzzword believes past presidents have not leaned into authoritarianism enough, something he plans to change.
The bee said his predecessor, Christian ‘CK’ Kyle, did a good job of furthering student engagement, something Buzzword said he aims to continue.
“I plan to continue the tradition of sending 60,000 students emails at 10:30 p.m. simply every night,” said Buzzword. “I think that sets a really good precedent for engaging with students about what really matters to them.” U
Nobody is running to be president to help students, unite the AMS and because they thought running would be funny.
“In my first year when I voted in the AMS elections, I saw there was an option for abstain, and I really, really wanted to run as abstain,” Nobody said. “They didn't let me, but instead, I'm running as Nobody. It's not the same, but it's good enough.”
Nobody doesn't have any specific plans in mind for the role, but said they would work to collaborate with others within the society, if elected.
When asked about perceived successes and failures of their predecessor Christian ‘CK’ Kyle, Nobody said they strongly agreed with Kyle showing up to and supporting the Pea Man event in September 2024.
On the biggest challenge the position faces, Nobody said it seemed like the AMS needs to change its culture to make sure it's helping students first and foremost.
This past year, one vice-president was removed while two other vice-presidents resigned, calling on the AMS to reconsider its workplace culture.
“There's been a lot of people leaving, a lot of controversy, a lot of infighting,” Nobody said. “I think the biggest challenge would be uniting everyone.”
Nobody also said they don’t have much relevant experience, but said they were a part of their high school’s student council.
“I didn't run for it. I was appointed to it when my friend became president and essentially made a dictatorship,” they said. “To be honest … our student council kind of sucked.”
Nobody said they would engage with students by walking around, meeting new people and asking for input.
“I just want to hear from others, about their experiences and what they feel that they need or that should be implemented,” they said. U
Buzzword perhaps has one of the most in-depth platforms, which covers 18 themes. He has shown knowledge about how the AMS works and its overall structure and seems committed to student engagement in the form of daily nightly newsletters. However, the bee would also want to bring authoritarianism to the AMS and has promised to bully his VPs out of office within the first week. His outspokenness on not wanting to play nice brings into question whether he’d be an effective president, as a lot of the job entails managing the other portfolios. U Nobody ran on a campaign that was forgettable. While they acknowledged recent turmoil in the AMS and said they would work on creating a better environment, their platform lacked any specifics on goals. At the debates, Nobody seemed uninformed on policies and issues pertaining to students. Instead, Nobody mainly echoed what their opponents said and had philosophical crises on stage. While they did say they would be able to handle student criticism the president sometimes faces, Nobody does not appear to be prepared for the position if elected. U
Drédyn Fontana is running for president on a platform focused on decentralizing power within the AMS and listening to the student body on which issues the society should prioritize.
Fontana is a fifth-year international relations and electrical engineering student whose previous experience includes having served as a student senator, the Engineering Undergraduate Society’s VP academic and AMS VP academic and university affairs.
Fontana was removed from office after an inquiry into his performance in fall 2024, but has since claimed he is planning to sue for wrongful termination, alleging he was removed out of retaliation.
One of his priorities would be connecting clubs and constituencies with resources available to the AMS. This includes supporting groups organizing food pantries by placing bulk orders through the AMS Food Bank, which would get a larger volume of food out to students at a lower cost.
Canvassing, as well as creating more working groups and caucuses, is part of Fontana’s plan to increase communication.
“We should be actively going out and listening,” he said.
Fontana also said he would ensure better checks and balances are implemented to hold AMS executives accountable.
According to Fontana, executives were previously held accountable through the Student Court, which “balanced the authority of council with the authority of the executives.” It was abolished in 2020, but Fontana proposed bringing it back.
He said executives can “stretch their authority” to get what they want. “If we can create systems which balance those pressures, I think we can create a more fair system for our students,” he said.
Fontana also wants his executive team to feel heard. He believes the president should be willing to support executives in achieving goals outlined in the platform they were elected on — this is part of his plan to address the high rate of executive turnover and fix the “issue of stability and toxicity.”
If elected, Fontana believes the best way to support his team would be to sit down with each VP, understand their goals and “create one cohesive vision as an executive team.” U
Ananya Gupta is running for AMS VP academic and university affairs (AUA) on a platform focused on student constituency engagement, food security initiatives and the implementation of universal design for learning (UDL) principles at UBC.
The fourth-year psychology and family studies student currently serves as the VP academic for the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS). Gupta said her experience in student government, including three years in the AUS and work with other undergraduate organizations like the Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference, makes her well-equipped for the role.
Gupta said her first priority would be to increase engagement with UBC’s various student constituencies, building on work started by previous VP AUAs.
If elected, Gupta’s second priority would be advocating for food security by building connections between food banks, community kitchens and campus dining services to reduce food waste and ensure student access to affordable food.
“This will help students who are registered with the CfA [Centre for Accessibility], in turn, lessening the load on CfA advisors … [since] the ratio of students to advisors shows a huge gap between the two,” she said.
Each CfA advisor currently supervises 380-400 cases, and UBC communities have reported issues related to the CfA’s lack of capacity.
When asked which endeavours she would continue from the current VP AUA office, Gupta highlighted meetings with the VP academic caucus — a group of VP academics from campus constituencies — as a valuable initiative. However, she criticized the allocation of funding for the AMS Textbook Broke campaign, saying some constituencies contributed far more than others.
On housing affordability, Gupta said she would advocate for increased bursaries, and said a large portion of UBC’s land is being developed for housing that is not student-oriented.
UBC’s Housing Action Plan aims to increase the portion of future below market faculty and staff rental housing to up to 25 per cent (from 20) and market rent to up to 15 per cent (from 10). U
Zarifa Nawar is seeking re-election as AMS VP academic and university affairs (AUA) on a platform of affordability, academic policy career development, and equity and accessibility.
A third-year gender, race, sexuality and social justice student, Nawar has held the VP AUA role since November 2024 following the removal of former VP AUA Drédyn Fontana. Prior to that, Nawar served as the associate VP academic from May to November 2024.
Since assuming office, Nawar said she has secured $250,000 for undergraduate research and $150,000 for accessible and hybrid learning through the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Fellows Program.
Nawar wants to push for a month-to-month off-campus rental bursary and advocate for capping on-campus housing rent increases.
In addition to housing affordability, Nawar said she wants to secure a renewal of UBC’s $800,000 multi-year commitment to food security initiatives, ensuring AMS Food Bank funding and additional affordability measures continue.
Nawar said she will advocate for changes to UBC’s academic policies, including a review of the Principles and Guidelines for Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Teaching and Learning. She said students should be encouraged to use generative AI tools in coursework, rather than face prohibitive restrictions.
Nawar is also advocating for a university-wide review of exam policies to prevent exams from being scheduled in the two weeks before the formal exam period and plans to push for the add/drop deadline to be extended until the last day of classes.
Additionally, Nawar plans to push for changes to UBC’s disability accommodations policy LR7.
Nawar said she also wants to prioritize harm reduction on campus in addition to expanding funding for sexual violence prevention initiatives.
“I want to ensure that UBC continues to prioritize sexual violence prevention through … services like SVPRO, which is a sexual violence prevention office, and work with the AMS SASC, which is a sexual assault support centre.” U
Dylan Evans is the sole candidate in an uncontested VP administration race, running on a platform of sustainability, positive AMS clubs relations and installing printers in the Nest.
The natural resources conservation student is the current president of UBC’s Forestry Undergraduate Society (FUS) and the VP of policy for UBC’s Environmental Policy Association. As FUS president, Evans regularly sits on AMS Council as the Forestry representative.
If elected, one of his first objectives in office would be to streamline the AMS’s system for club room bookings. At the moment, Evans said the system is “pretty inefficient.”
Evans wants to focus on making life easy for clubs by prioritizing quick communication with them from inside the AMS. He cited his own experience as a club VP, struggling with AMS responsiveness when trying to organize events, as a reason he is motivated to advocate for clubs.
Evans also said his background in sustainability has led to his interest in potentially expanding the AMS’s Sustainable Action Plan (ASAP) 2026, but he told The Ubyssey he understands how projects like ASAP can be financially constraining.
“Working on AMS Council, there's always the ever-present, looming threat of the fiscal stability of the AMS,” Evans said.
Evans praised current VP Administration Amy Liao’s work on student engagement, and said he plans to continue the AMS’s public-facing communications with students through the AMS’s social media accounts and events like the Clubs Fair.
“I think she's been really good for having a stable, productive office,” Evans said.
Liao is the only VP elected last year who will have completed their term.
Evans said he will want to feature clubs on the AMS’s social media accounts more often though, with the hope that broadening the reach of individual clubs will help more people “find their community” in such a large university.
Ultimately, Evans attributes much of his motivation to run for office to his experience as FUS president, stating his experience has given him a strong sense of responsibility to his constituents and acknowledges that representing them is a privilege he hopes to continue having. U
Solomon Yi-Kieran, a second-year history and linguistics student, is running for VP external in both the by-election and general election because they think they can “get those advocacy wins that students want and need.”
As a current student senator and VP academic of the UBC Disabilities United Collective, Yi-Kieran is excited to bring their previous experience to the AMS. They have also worked with the BC NDP on projects like pushing the provincial government to provide funding for affordable sexual health clinics and advocating for aid for those affected by war in Ukraine and Gaza.
If elected, Yi-Kieran said they would prioritize housing issues, including advocating for the BC Residential Tenancy Act to be applied to on-campus residence housing since it currently isn't.
Yi-Kieran also wants to work with the BC Ministry of Housing to ensure “all new densification and new development [in Area D of the University Endowment Lands prioritizes] is rent-controlled, low-income, below-market and student housing” as a transit-oriented area.
On improving affordability, Yi-Kieran plans to advocate for a $100,000 increase in AMS Food Bank funding from provincial and municipal governments — this could be a step toward restoring staff access to the food bank.
Yi-Kieran commended former VP External Ayesha Irfan’s progress on pushing for the SkyTrain extension to UBC and plans to continue work on this project. Yi-Kieran also wants to work with TransLink to streamline and increase bus lines frequented by UBC students and push for a direct bus line from UBC to Richmond.
When asked about challenges facing the position, Yi-Kieran said they are “unsatisfied” with how the AMS has operated in the past few years, and that “having a good external image … towards students [and] the university, as well as towards external partners like the government” is something they will prioritize if elected.
“I definitely want to make sure that I'm building a good reputation so that my successors also have a good place to work from, to make sure that student advocacy is able to be done for a long time.” U
Yi-Kieran has made it clear they want to steer clear of any internal AMS conflict and prioritize maintaining a positive external image. They have experience doing advocacy work with the BC NDP, raising questions around how they will react when forced to lobby against people they have previously worked with, but Yi-Kieran said that won’t be an issue and that they want to seriously advocate for students. Yi-Kieran maintains a good balance between more ambitious and achievable goals, although they haven’t been very specific about what steps they will be taking to make them happen, and could have done more research on specific facts about their priorities coming into the first debate. U
Fifth-year economics and finance student Gagan Parmar is running in both the by-election and general election to be the next VP finance on a platform of seamless operations, increasing transparency and supporting clubs and constituencies.
Parmar previously held the position of VP finance for the Commerce Undergraduate Society and is the current financial coordinator of the AMS. He said his experience on both the user and constituent-provider ends of the AMS’s financial services has provided him with “a unique perspective … to really change and strengthen the things that we currently use within the AMS.”
A top priority for Parmar is creating a more efficient document submission system for club treasurers. He said the current system relies on a variety of processes while Parmar wants to implement a “one-stop shop” to send all submissions through one portal.
Parmar also intends to release semi-annual fund reports and “provide more spending insight” into the AMS’s quarterly budget reports. The AMS currently publishes fund reports on an annual basis, and Parmar wants to ensure the budgets and financial reports of constituencies and fee-receiving groups are published more frequently.
“A big emphasis will be on displaying to the students exactly how their funds are benefiting them, how their student fees are being put to use,” said Parmar.
When asked about student group opt-outs, Parmar said he understands the concerns of students and resource groups. In 2023, then-VP Finance Abhi Mishra’s office promoted opt-outs via social media, citing student affordability. Parmar plans to employ a more “collaborative approach.”
“Before any of the marketing material … increasing awareness of opt-outs is sent out … I'd like to work with the affected resource groups [and] take those different viewpoints into consideration,” said Parmar.
Having worked in the previous VP finance office, Parmar plans to focus on stabilizing and strengthening the newly adopted systems and operations.
“I think we've been able to set up a lot of things for success for the upcoming years,” said Parmar. “What I’d like to do differently is more so just expanding upon what has already been done.” U
Parmar has experience working within the AMS Finance Office and he plans to continue the work of his predecessor. Some of his goals — from wanting to simplify the club reimbursement process, to publishing budget reports more frequently — are neither ambitious nor original, but it may be necessary given the AMS’s financial deficits in previous years and recent statements that the AMS may have to limit some services without more funding. Parmar also uniquely performed at the great debate without using his computer, and he professionally answered all questions. He is the establishment candidate, but that could be what the AMS needs right now. U
Yi Chen is running to join UBC’s Board of Governors (BoG) on a platform of affordability, increased funding for graduate students and financial transparency.
The second-year UBC master's of finance student said if elected, she plans to advocate to increase both the capacity and food options of the AMS Food Bank, noting the importance of having a balanced diet.
UBC staff have been unable to access the AMS Food Bank since May 2023. While Chen could advocate for UBC to allocate more funding to the AMS for food insecurity, the service’s hours and food options aren’t in the purview of the Board.
Chen also said she would advocate for UBC to increase the PhD student stipend it offers to match the University of Toronto’s (UofT) PhD stipend model, and she claimed many UBC PhD students use up the majority of their stipends paying for rent and food.
UBC currently offers each PhD student a $24,000 stipend, while $26,000 is the poverty line in Canada. UofT offers their PhD students $40,000. UBC said in September 2023 that it is advocating to the federal government for higher funding.
On governance accountability, Chen said she realized the importance of financial transparency while she was working as the chair of the Graduate Student Society’s (GSS) House Finance Committee. Chen acknowledged that the BoG does publish an annual report of its monetary allocations, but said many students are largely unaware of this fact and don’t know where to find it. As a finance student, Chen said she would also be able to simplify difficult terms.
When asked further about her plans for student engagement, Chen said she would want BoG’s annual report to be in multiple languages over Instagram, Messenger and possibly WeChat.
In addition to her committee work for the GSS, Chen said she has been volunteering as an event organizer since completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Calgary.
Cade Desjarlais is a first-year law student running to be a student representative on UBC’s Board of Governors (BoG) on a platform of accountability, affordability and stability.
Desjarlais said he intends to improve Board accountability by hosting office hours to give students direct opportunities to address him.
“I feel like when it comes to the Board of Governors, specifically, there's a real lack of communication directly to students,” he said.
Desjarlais completed his undergraduate studies in political science and English at UBCO, during which he was also president of UBCO’s Student Union. Desjarlais said as president he worked on the student affordability task force to secure funding to address food insecurity and pushed for UBCO to implement a multi-year tuition framework. If elected to the BoG, he intends to continue this work.
Desjarlais added that tuition will inevitably increase over time, but he said he would try to sway UBC to build frameworks which would help students know how much tuition would cost across their entire degree.
Desjarlais stressed his former position gave him many years of experience working directly with the BoG, experience he called necessary given Canada's uncertain political climate.
“I've been a part of the student union at UBC Okanagan for three years. I was really successful at engaging students and communicating directly with students,” he said.
Desjarlais mentioned that Queen's University is set to drain their reserves by 2026, UBC Okanagan is operating at a major deficit this year and UBC is also set to struggle with its budget next year.
“We really need to have stability in mind for students, because … without stability, there's no security for students.”
Working on her master’s degree, Chen is knowledgeable about issues (such as PhD stipends) relevant to UBC graduate students. Chen additionally has relevant financial experience given her current position as chair of the Graduate Student Society’s House Finance Committee — she additionally might have unique reach in terms of student engagement once on the Board given her multilingualism and promise to translate governance jargon into different languages. Of the seven student governor candidates however, Chen was one of the least qualified on undergraduate issues, didn’t fully understand the purview of a student governor and her debate performance lacked persuasion and specificity. U
Desjarlais acknowledged it can be difficult to understand how UBC works, but suggested that his experience has allowed him to “come with the perspective of knowing which levers to pull and which people to advocate to.”
Desjarlais said he wants to sit on the Board to ensure UBC doesn’t cut spending in places it shouldn’t, or, if they do, to ensure those funds get redistributed to students. U
is a thoroughly experienced candidate with a focus on financial stability and security. From his time as president of the UBC
Union, he likely already has connections within the Board that could prove useful. While his goals are not ambitious, he seemed to be focused on increasing the university’s transparency to students, such as through the multi-year tuition framework, allowing students to plan ahead for tuition increases. Being a law student, he is in a unique position of understanding of both undergraduate and graduate student issues. Desjarlais is a well-spoken candidate with a reserved approach, likely to play nice with the university while also working for students. U
Political science student Jasper Lorien is running to be part of UBC’s Board of Governors (BoG) on a platform of “affordability, housing and ethical treatment.”
Lorien is currently an elected representative on the UBC Senate, an experience they said has allowed them to build the necessary connections and knowledge needed to provide “tangible wins for students.”
Lorien is also co-president of UBC’s Disabilities United Collective, where they said they’ve advocated for funding and significant policy changes to UBC’s Centre for Accessibility. Lorien also sits on AMS Council as the Senate representative and said this has given them connections with AMS executives which would help them coordinate advocacy on behalf of students, if elected to the BoG.
“I know how to accomplish things. I am accomplishing things,” Lorien said.
Other than advocating for funding and building connections, Lorien did not provide other examples of their accomplishments.
Lorien’s top priority is affordability, and they said an important part of this is fighting for a tuition freeze.
Other affordability issues Lorien intends to address include increasing needs-based aid, supporting student workers and addressing food insecurity.
The AMS secured food insecurity funding from UBC, totalling $2.4 million over three years in 2024. However, AMS Food Bank usage continues to grow and food insecurity remains a pervasive issue.
With regards to housing, Lorien intends to work on implementing off-campus housing bursaries and increase the number of student beds in residence at the university. Lorien also said they are committed to fighting for UBC’s compliance with the BC Residential Tenancy Act, making sure UBC residence rent does not increase at a rate greater than allowed provincially.
Lorien also said they would advocate for “divestment from companies complicit in human rights violations,” if elected.
Lorien added UBC’s budget is tight and that they would fight to prevent student services, such as regular library hours, from being cut.
“We have to … be in that room [to] tell them they're not allowed to cut these things that are vital to students' success.” U
Mohkam Singh Malik (ਮੋਹਕਮ), a second-year Arts student, is hoping to join the Board of Governors (BoG). Malik is campaigning with a platform centred on affordability, student support and reconciliation.
One of Malik’s first goals as a member of BoG would be to allow UBC parking tickets to be payable via donations to the AMS Food Bank. Malik said this would be an easy goal given the university occasionally runs this promotion. UBC sometimes runs a promotion allowing students to pay half of their parking fines with the rest waived and UBC donates the money to the AMS Food Bank, but students cannot pay their parking fines directly through food bank donations.
To address student support, Malik said his focus would be to get UBC to increase the amount of funding available for undergraduate research positions, co-op programs, research labs and engineering design teams.
Malik was motivated to run for BoG after he felt like student feedback was not considered in the Land Use Plan. He is also concerned about the lack of campus green space left in the plan. Malik said, if implemented, there would be less green space in the community than what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends.
WHO recommends 0.9 to 5 hectares of green space per 1,000 people and the Land Use Plan allocates 1.1 hectares per 1,000 people.
In the past few years, students have been advocating for UBC to divest from companies they say are complicit in Palestinian human rights violations.
Malik did not specify what divestment initiative he was referring to, but said he does not believe divestment can be accomplished.
Instead, he said he would encourage BoG to focus on making future investments in the local community.
To engage with students, Malik proposed a semi-annual town hall. He also said he would set up a Calendly link so students could schedule times to come and talk to him about issues they want him to bring to BoG. U
Lorien is a candidate with a thoroughly researched platform and highly specific goals. Despite extensive student advocacy experience, they have not indicated that they have finance and budget-specific experience beyond sitting on AMS Council. Lorien advocated strongly for improving affordability for students and supporting divestment on ethical grounds. Though they mentioned that they intend to advocate for housing bursaries for students, they did not provide a plan to finance these within a budget they acknowledged is tight. Lorien is a candidate with a comparatively progressive platform and who performed confidently in debate. U Although a confident and clear speaker, Malik is a rather abrasive candidate who, given his debate performance, may struggle to play nice with others. Malik has also dedicated a large portion of his platform to scolding the AMS for its poor workplace allegations despite the fact that AMS culture would not be in his purview as a student governor — this perceived lack of understanding of his potential role has been reinforced by the candidate’s lack of specificity in how he would achieve his goals. Also of note is that Malik was the only debating BoG candidate who actively opposed divestment and ethical investments, that many students have been extremely vocal about supporting. U
Bardia Mohammadizadeh is running for one of two student seats available on UBC’s Board of Governors (BoG) on a platform promoting representation for UBC’s Faculty of Science, addressing UBC’s generative AI guidelines and increasing undergraduate research funding.
While the second-year neuroscience student acknowledged he doesn't have much university government experience, he said he has taken on leadership roles at UBC by tutoring for the Science Undergraduate Society and being an Imagine UBC orientation leader.
However, Mohammadizadeh said his closest experience managing budgets was when he was the head editor of his yearbook team back in high school.
Mohammadizadeh decided to run because only one out of the last six student governors on BoG have been from the Faculty of Science — that was biology student Georgia Yee in 2021.
“I think [that] is disappointing, and so I would like to see my faculty represented more.”
On generative AI, Mohammadizadeh called UBC’s current guidelines “too vague and too generalized,” and said UBC should move toward better utilization of AI as a tool. He also added UBC should provide AI tools like ChatGPT premium for free as part of the resources students already receive through UBC Library.
Regarding undergraduate research funding, Mohammadizadeh said UBC needs to provide more funding to raise the number of research positions available for its pool of “motivated students.”
The AMS recently secured an additional funding of $250,000 for undergraduate research to be distributed across three faculties. When asked if funding or the number of opportunities is the issue, Mohammadizadeh said the funding UBC has already secured needs to be better distributed across more positions.
In response to The Ubyssey’s question on continuous student calls for divestment, Mohammadizadeh said members of the BoG should “absolutely take into consideration human rights violations.”
"If the vast majority of the student body wants us to cut funding into something or cut investment into something, I think we should listen to them." U
Mohammadizadeh is approaching the student governor role passionate about shaping UBC’s AI guidelines, increasing undergraduate research funding and earning more representation for UBC’s Faculty of Science. He seems like a confident and genuine person, however, in his interview, Bardia lacked specifics on how he would achieve his goals, seemed unclear about the difference between BoG and Senate as governing bodies and did not elaborate much on any of the questions he was asked. The candidate was also absent from his first debate, and in his second he could not speak to any relevant budgetary experience. Mohammadizadeh’s lack of involvement in governance may also make joining UBC’s Board a steep task. U
Alexander Wong is running for a position on UBC’s Board of Governors (BoG) on a platform of increasing affordability and accessibility, expanding career supports for undergraduates and financing training for generative AI usage.
The UBC master's of business administration student spoke of his budgetary experience having worked for three years at the consulting firm Evidinno Outcomes Research Incorporated. During this time, Wong said he worked for some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, tracking costs and completing financial forecasts.
From graduating from UBC’s Sauder School of Business to becoming the president of UBC’s Master of Business Administration Society, Wong said his experience extends from budgetary exposure to leadership knowledge. He added that his consulting background has also given him the “soft skills” needed for the student governor role.
On accessibility and affordability, Wong plans to make UBC more wheelchair-accessible by introducing a recurring wheelchair audit.
Wong also acknowledged affordable housing as a challenge for students and said he would advocate for the release of more granular financial data — like the average cost of on-campus student rent — from the Board.
UBC, however, does currently have a published range for first-year and year-round on-campus residence fees.
Wong also said he would advocate for stronger career support for students, potentially in the form of additional mentorship programs, industry partnerships and by expanding the UBC Career Centre’s consulting availability.
“A major component of why students are coming to the university [is] to get credentialed [for] … the jobs that they are interested in,” Wong said. “Not having a strong career focus or career angle to the entire educational experience [is] a disservice.”
During his undergraduate degree, Wong said he was mostly in his own bubble — that changed when he left UBC and came back.
“I wanted to do something that would give back and also be one of the people that have influenced so many others through their actions positively," said Wong. U
Of the BoG candidates, Wong seems the most qualified — the master’s of business administration (and formerly Sauder) student has clear budgetary experience, and given the professionalism of his interview he would be easily respected by the adults of the Board. Wong also had specific, unique goals, from financing a wheelchair audit to better supporting UBC’s Career Centre, which he was able to convincingly articulate. He also seemed very passionate about the job. However, as he was working abroad, Wong was unable to attend either of his debates and he did not appear particularly interested in student outreach, giving students little insight into his platform, goals and desires. U
Daniel Aminbakhsh is running for one of five student senator-at-large positions, with a platform centred on improving transparency, increasing community outreach and advocating for affordability.
A third-year pharmacology student, Aminbakhsh would be new to Senate, but said he has held leadership roles in various organizations. Aminbakhsh cited being part of Model UN and becoming a treasurer for a Model UN conference in Canada.
Aminbakhsh said he is concerned with how many students are unaware of policies made within Senate that impact them.
“I plan to do that by increasing a lot of the communication of the Senate, because right now there isn't much the broader student body isn't as aware of what goes down in the Senate,” he said.
To address this, he plans to share Senate updates through social media and posters — however, this is not necessarily a new idea as some student senators already do this.
Aminbakhsh also raised concern about affordability and availability of student housing, citing rising off-campus rent costs as a growing concern.
As a senator, Aminbakhsh wants to advocate for more student housing developments rather than commercial developments, which he believes could help address affordability challenges.
While senators can advocate for affordability by pushing for more open educational resources to reduce textbook costs, advocating for housing would be outside Aminbakhsh's role as a senator.
Aminbakhsh acknowledged being one senator among many, so the challenge he will face is working with people who may disagree with him. “You have to respect everyone's position, and I think that's a very important thing, because people want to be heard at the end of the day.”
Aminbakhsh’s motivation for running is shaped by personal experience. He said in his first year, he became a caretaker and remembers advisors, professors and policies around accommodations being essential.
“I realized that these positions, these policies, are there for a reason. They were there because of people that were motivated to help protect the students in general. And I'm incredibly grateful.” U
Although he has held leadership roles in the past, Aminbakhsh lacks experience that can be directly applied to being a senator, and would need to spend more time developing the details of his goals. However, he is well-spoken and clearly passionate about wanting to help students become well-informed on how Senate policies impact them. Being a total newcomer, the start of the position would pose a steep learning curve for Aminbakhsh — but he does already seem to have some understanding of the Senate's responsibilities. U
Keanu Chan, a first-year student in the Science One program, is running to become one of five student senators-at-large.
Chan said he is not running “to get a position that looks good on a resume” but because he believes “that everybody at UBC deserves to have their voice heard ... [and] also acted upon.”
His platform focuses on student engagement and representation in decision-making.
“I will prioritize acting on the students’ behalf by using their feedback to actively make changes.”
Chan plans to achieve this by implementing faculty and class-wide surveys and personally reviewing student comments and concerns.
Acknowledging that the student body is diverse, he plans to tailor surveys to different faculties and classes to gather specific feedback.
However, UBC already runs the student experience of instruction survey and Chan did not specify how he would implement this or how his survey would differ.
On prior experience, Chan said he represented Canada at the world’s largest science fair, where he engaged in discussions on entrepreneurship and community engagement, which taught him valuable skills. Reflecting on the experience, he said, “I took a problem, broke it down to its bare little bits and created a solution … I found that I was able to be a leader.”
He acknowledged other barriers students face are financial challenges. Chan said limiting the cost of online resources for students was a step in making UBC more accessible. He emphasizes the need for similar initiatives to ease financial burdens on both current and prospective students.
Recognizing not every decision will please everyone, Chan said many student issues are complex and require thorough analysis to find effective solutions.
Chan said his approach is not just about advocacy, but about enacting real change and believes this sets him apart from his opponents.
“As a student, I feel that my voice is not heard and that changes are not being made. I feel that my peers and I are unable to voice our concerns.” U
Chan wants to work on outreach to the student body and seems passionate about the job. However, he showed significant knowledge gaps and many of his debate answers did not reflect an understanding of Senate structure. He did not appear to recognize that the Senate and AMS are separate entities with different responsibilities. His platform centres on his ability to offer a first-year perspective, but first-years are not exactly a student demographic that needs specific representation as all student senators would have this knowledge. U
Student Senator-at-Large
Drédyn Fontana is running for re-election to UBC’s Senate on a platform centring governance collaboration, improved resourcing and more expansive accommodations for students across the board.
In addition to his former position on the Senate, the fifth-year electrical engineering and international relations student also previously occupied the role of AMS VP academic and university affairs (AUA), before being removed from office last November.
Fontana said his prior experience working in the AMS has provided him with valuable insights, and he said he would use that knowledge on Senate to advocate for increased collaboration across the two government bodies.
While Fontana emphasized student engagement as a key focus — stating that social media campaigns can help awareness of issues concerning UBC — he also said the most effective way to engage students is by having Senate work closely with the VP academics of UBC’s constituencies.
“One of the best ways [to disseminate information] is to engage with students who are engaged with students,” said Fontana. “If student leaders understand how Senate works, they can better communicate those insights to their constituencies.”
Fontana also said he would advocate for increasing both policy enforcement mechanisms and Senate Secretariat resources. The Senate Secretariat, also known as the Senate and Curriculum Services, is the staff that supports the UBC Senate.
Fontana also plans to promote disability accommodations, particularly for those who rely on UBC’s Centre for Accessibility (CfA) programs. Arguing that the current model is not equipped to accommodate the evolving student population, Fontana said he would push for a review of UBC’s disability accommodations policy LR7.
"We’re seeing a huge uptick in the number of students registered with the CfA, and our systems aren’t built to support that," said Fontana.
Fontana also said he would work to change UBC’s current deferred standing period, as some students who defer their April exams must wait until around fall to complete second-semester courses. Fontana said he would push to form either a second standing-deferred period or
As an incumbent, Fontana demonstrated a clear understanding of how the Senate works and passion for some of the specific goals he’d like to continue working on. Fontana additionally seemed comfortable professionally representing student voices even when they clashed with the university’s aims, and his idea to work with student leaders to disseminate Senate information was unique and practical. During debates, Fontana could have done more to convey the work he did last year instead of calling the Senate a slow-moving body and other candidates seemed dissatisfied with his inability to present a unified front in the past. U
Student Senator-at-Large
Dianya Gao, a third-year international relations and master's of management student, is running to be a student senator-at-large. She plans to represent Chinese student voices to the Senate, a group she believes is currently underrepresented.
Gao said in her experience, Chinese students are unengaged with the happenings of Senate and she hopes that she can encourage them to pay more attention.
According to Gao, the main challenge facing Chinese students at UBC is the cultural and language divide between Chinese and Canadian students.
To address this, Gao said she plans to hold events that bring the two communities together and celebrate Chinese culture.
As UBC’s Senate is responsible for all academic matters, it does not typically throw student events.
Another way Gao believes she could help advocate for Chinese students would be to encourage the Senate to increase scholarship opportunities for international students to help them pay “the huge fee increases.”
UBC’s Board of Governors voted to increase tuition by three per cent for returning international students and five per cent for incoming international students in December 2024.
Gao additionally suggested implementing some kind of academic competition that would allow international students to win prizes or scholarships to UBC.
She further mentioned helping commuter students by implementing nap pods in libraries, the Nest and the Life Building. However, Senate tends to focus on more academic matters than building operations, so this goal would not be within its purview. Additionally, the AMS oversees the operations of the Nest.
Gao believes her international relations major and being the president of UBC Face Drama are among the things that have prepared her for the role.
If elected, Gao said she would set up a social media account where students could engage with her to help her advocate for their needs. She also said she would want to set up a physical suggestion box on campus so students could submit suggestions. U
wants to better bridge the cultural and language divide between Chinese and domestic students, but in both her interview and debates, it seemed like she didn’t understand the purview of the job she is running for. Gao also misinterpreted a few questions, did not communicate her answers effectively and didn’t provide specifics on how she planned to achieve her goals. On the whole, Gao’s lack of knowledge and comparatively forgettable debate performances make her a less attractive candidate for Senate. U
Shorya Goyal, a third-year psychology student, is running to be a student senator-at-large on a platform of making the academic appeal process more transparent, implementing compassionate withdrawal and grade adjustment policies for mental health crises and expanding mental health services.
Goyal is currently a residence advisor and sits on the UBC Vancouver Presidential Committee for Non-Academic Misconduct. As a member, he has experience investigating cases of students accused of non-academic misconduct.
Goyal plans to make the academic appeal process more transparent and accessible for students accused of academic misconduct.
“There's a lot of anxiety surrounding the entire process, because sometimes [accusations] are not right. I just want to make sure that the appeal process is as transparent and as accessible to everybody on campus,” he said. However, Goyal did not provide specifics on how he would make the process more transparent.
His other priority is aimed at implementing compassionate withdrawal and grade adjustment policies for students suffering from mental health crises beyond the withdrawal date.
Goyal emphasized the need for expanded mental health services on campus due to the prevalent mental health issues among UBC students. He also did provide specific initiatives he would take to accomplish this goal.
Goyal said he differentiates his platform by being honest and realistic, avoiding unrealistic promises and focusing on achievable goals.
He noted he is only running for the Senate position, and states this highlights his commitment, unlike other candidates who are running for multiple positions.
Goyal has not decided on which of the 11 standing committees he hopes to sit on.
If elected, Goyal plans to engage with students by posting regular Senate updates on social media platforms like Instagram and Reddit, and making sure he is readily accessible to students on campus.
“If I encounter someone on campus, and if they want to have a discussion about Senate, and if I am not under a time crunch, then I’d love to have that discussion.” U
Goyal’s platform focuses on positive goals like academic appeal transparency, compassionate withdrawal and advocating for more mental health resources. As a member of UBC’s Non-Academic Misconduct Committee and as a residence advisor, he also brings experience representing student voices into the role. However, Goyal was not particularly specific on how he would attempt to accomplish his goals, he couldn’t comment on which standing committee he hoped to sit on and he was disturbingly unfamiliar with Senate 2026 — calling into question whether Goyal has the knowledge required for the role. Goyal was also absent for both of his debates, leaving us questioning who he is and what he stands for. U
Ananya Gupta is a fourth-year psychology student and the current Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) VP academic running for one of five student senator-at-large seats.
“I feel like this is the place that I can advocate for the most change for students, something that I have done in my role as AUS VP academic as well,” Gupta said.
Her three years of experience with the AUS include working with the equity department of the AUS as the equity commissioner and hosting events for student community building, mental health and academic development. Gupta also worked with AMS Textbook Broke and advocated for increased funding for AUS clubs.
Gupta said her sole reason for running is her desire to better student experiences and believes this sets her platform apart from other candidates.
Gupta wants to advocate for changes in policy V-102, exam hardship, which outlines that examination hardship occurs when students are faced with three or more formal examinations within a 24-hour period.
“I would prefer for it to have two exams back to back and not three … I want to work more on it and make it better and more inclusive for all students.”
Additional priorities include further adoption of the universal design of learning principles to make learning more accessible and inclusive for all students and promote equity, diversity and inclusion principles. This would include focusing more on the needs of students registered with the Centre for Accessibility (CfA) to reduce the work of the CfA office.
Gupta also plans to advocate for food security by reducing dining hall waste and working with culinary directors, but this would fall outside of her scope as a senator.
On what committees she’d like to sit on, Gupta said the Curriculum Committee and the Advocacy Committee — however, there is no Senate Advocacy Committee.
Gupta also hopes to work with other senators and constituencies to create an exam database to provide students with study resources. She acknowledged it would be a large initiative to undertake and wants to work on creating it as soon as possible. U
Gupta is the current AUS VP academic and brings three years of AUS working experience to her platform. She has worked on equity initiatives, academic development and club funding before. Her platform prioritizes improving UBC’s exam hardship policy and expanding accessibility supports, but in the debates she failed to clarify the specific steps she would take to complete these goals. Gupta also was one of the more repetitive candidates in her debate answers and seemed to sometimes rely on the answers of the candidates before her. Some of her goals for the Senate also fell outside the scope of the role. U
Student Senator-at-Large
Incumbent and newly-appointed vice-chair of the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee Kareem Hassib is running for the third consecutive year to be one of UBC’s student senators-at-large.
Hassib wants to run again to ensure continuity in student advocacy, maintain institutional memory in the Student Senate Caucus — an informal student representative voting bloc — and facilitate smooth senator turnover.
“When your student advocates are turning over every year, when there's people coming and going, it's often hard to remember what students were fighting for.”
In his current role as vice-chair, Hassib said he has introduced discussions of the Indigenous Strategic Plan into the committee and pushed for new dialogue on the possibility of extending UBC’s course add/drop deadline.
If elected to the Senate again, Hassib’s top priorities include revising policies that harm marginalized students, expanding student resources and addressing student financial relief.
Hassib also highlighted the importance of improving exam hardship policies, specifically policy V-102, which currently only allows students to move an exam if they have more than two on the same day.
Hassib also said he would advocate for a public exam database, expanded co-op and research opportunities, resources for affiliated college students and increased funding for the UBC Ombuds Office and the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund.
Hassib also expressed his commitment to the Senate and emphasized the importance of active participation, noting many student representatives have missed meetings due to external conflicts and priorities elsewhere.
“I read every Senate docket before Senate meetings ... In my two years of being on Senate, I've only missed one Senate meeting.”
Hassib also regularly posts Senate updates to his Instagram account and on the UBC subreddit, an act he said he does for transparency.
One of the biggest challenges Hassib named for the upcoming year is the departure of many long-serving Senate members, and said his
Student Senator-at-Large
Jasper Lorien is a second-year political science student running for re-election as one of five student senators-at-large. Lorien's platform prioritizes accessibility, learning, research and affordability.
“It's very clear that our systems around accessibility at UBC are fundamentally broken,” said Lorien.
To address this, Lorien wants to review policies LR7 and V-135, which focus on disability accommodation and academic concessions respectively. Lorien also believes all required classes should offer in-person, hybrid, online and recorded lecture options.
Lorien said they have been advocating to the Centre for Accessibility (CfA) and VP Students Office to improve accommadations for temporary health issues, eliminating letters of recommendation and streamlining the CfA registration process.
On learning and research, Lorien is working toward more undergraduate research opportunities and the implementation of an exam database. While sitting on the Academic Policy Committee, they brought forward a motion to create a working group for senate policies V-102 and V-103, which affect exams and hardship.
Lorien also wants to end UBC’s academic partnerships “with universities complicit with human rights abuses.”
Lorien brought forward a motion this summer calling on the Senate to recommend the Council of Senates and the Board of Governors to suspend academic agreements with Israeli universities, but the motion failed.
Reflecting on this, Lorien said they are still working on UBC cutting ties with Israeli universities, and will lobby for this in committees and working groups instead of raising the motion from the floor, a move they believe is more workable within the Senate's deliberative culture, which to them can be less receptive to motions from the floor.
When asked to reflect on the previous year, they said it was “very successful,” but much of the work that has been started still needs to be finished.
Lorien also mentioned their positions as co-president and former VP academic and university affairs of the Disability United Collective as giving them experience with lobbying. Lorien believes their incumbency is important as “the learning curve for the Senate is really steep.” U
Mohkam Singh Malik (ਮੋਹਕਮ) is a second-year student running for student senator-at-large on a platform centring support for commuter students, upgrading equipment students are provided and reducing the cost of textbooks.
Malik wants courses to better accommodate commuter students. He said all classes should be recorded to ensure commuter students don’t miss anything if they are unable to attend class if something goes wrong during the commute.
He wants to push for students to no longer pay for lab equipment. Malik also said a priority is to reduce textbook costs — according to him, some professors are mindful of textbook costs, but other classes include mandatory textbooks which can be expensive. Malik said open educational resources are a way to approach learning, especially in courses where the materials don’t change.
When talking about the current Senate’s performance, Malik said he supported the Student Senate Caucus’s goal to move add/drop deadlines for courses to the last day of classes. However, Malik also said “chaos” in the Caucus and lack of updates to the Student Caucus website are troubling.
“They changed co-chairs a couple of times, and there was lots of internal squabbles,” said Malik. “The fact that things are moving slowly now because [the student senators] are bickering, I think is a big issue.”
“[The Caucus] clearly aren’t doing what [it] should be doing, and [they] are obscuring it in darkness.”
To Malik, Caucus has prioritized “lofty ideas” instead of “reasonable” change. Malik referenced the motion to cut ties with Israeli universities, which to him “spectacularly failed.”
Malik said it was an “ideological goal that we knew wasn’t going to pass.” Instead, Malik believes the momentum for change could have been used for incremental change — like the lack of courses focusing on non-Western perspectives, or having more courses on religions and South Asian and Middle Eastern history.
However, Malik did not name specific ideas for new courses, and there are already courses on different religions and Asian and Middle Eastern history. U
Bardia Mohammadizadeh, a second-year neuroscience student, is running for one of five student senator-at-large positions.
Mohammadizadeh said he was motivated to run to address the imbalance in senators from the Faculty of Science. He specifically pointed out that science is underrepresented compared to the Faculty of Arts.
His other priorities include addressing UBC’s AI policy and securing more funding for research opportunities for undergraduates.
Mohammadizadeh believes generative AI should be seen as a tool for learning, and he thinks UBC should update its AI policy to be less vague, setting clear guidelines for AI use. The Senate has been working on draft guidelines for generative AI since 2024 and while principles and guidelines are available, there is no approved policy yet.
Mohammadizadeh opposes bans on generative AI, believing restricting such tools revokes one of the most powerful learning tools from students.
He believes generative AI, including paid services like ChatGPT premium, should be provided to students at no cost like Microsoft Office.
Mohammadizadeh also wants to advocate for more funding as well as additional undergraduate research positions.
He criticized what he sees as a “lazy response from everyone in the student government” to generate AI policies and lack of research opportunities.
Mohammadizadeh said despite “not having much university related experience,” he believes his experience running clubs in high school, tutoring students and being an orientation leader for Imagine Day will make him a good student senator.
When asked about which Senate committee he’d like to join, Mohammadizadeh said he hadn’t given it much thought, but will decide if elected.
When asked about the Senate’s role in geopolitics and Senate discussion on creating a policy on institutional neutrality, Mohammadizadeh said the university should attempt to be politically neutral, but not give up ethics and humanity.
“I do think that we shouldn't be afraid to … consider humanities in the decisions that we're making, even if that might come [at] the cost of money.” U
Zarifa Nawar is running to be a member of UBC’s Senate on a platform of enriching students’ academic experience, improving equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives and boosting Senate efficiency.
The third-year gender, race, sexuality and social justice student wants to solidify the Senate as a place to “improve the academic experience of students.” Nawar is currently the AMS VP academic and university affairs and noted her position has given her helpful experience in being able to make the Senate an effective body.
Regarding policy changes, Nawar wants to ensure no exams are held before formal exam periods and plans to advocate for a more compassionate policy regarding exam hardships. In addition, she aims to change UBC’s policy mandating final exams in lower-level courses.
On student academic support, Nawar plans to increase digital-based learning tools to cap textbook costs. She also wants to extend UBC’s course withdrawal deadline, standardize access to past course syllabi and develop an exam database. For student health and accessibility changes specifically, Nawar plans to advocate for the removal of vague language in UBC’s disability accommodation policy LR7.
Nawar also said she wants to better integrate generative AI into teaching and learning activities.
“With the transforming nature of gen AI, there's a lot of room to shift the current guidelines from its restrictive and limiting nature towards something that can … ethically and effectively leverage learning.”
Nawar additionally aims to ensure transparency and innovation in the Senate by emphasizing EDI training and by advocating for term limits for senators.
"Some senators are serving for extended periods of time, sometimes decades, and while that's commendable, it also results in an eventual lack of new ideas and diversity on the Senate," Nawar said.
Nawar did not specify which senators have served for decades. The University Act says that senators have to be re-elected every three years, but it does not list a maximum number of terms a senator may serve. U
Veeru Vaidesh Seethanaboyina is running for Senate on a platform of expanding student academic support, equity and experiential learning opportunities.
The now second-year science student said his previous position as the science representative for UBCO’s Student Union has provided him with the knowledge and skills to succeed on Senate.
Seethanaboyina plans to improve academic support by pushing back course withdrawal dates, advocating to make textbooks more affordable and increasing hybrid education options for students.
On equity, Seethanaboyina said he would focus on “the inclusion of all the relations and communities in the UBC,” but he did not explain how he would go about doing so.
Regarding experiential learning, Seethanaboyina plans to increase opportunities such as graduate supervision and undergraduate research opportunities, but he again did not provide specifications on how he would do so.
When asked how he would work with senior members in the Senate to advocate for student needs, Seethanaboyina replied, “it’s all about how you ask,” and said he will research other perspectives to convey student needs in an agreeable manner by cooperating with other members.
When asked about perceived challenges for the position, Seethanaboyina said he felt there was a lack of accountability among previous Senate members. To address this, he said he would focus on improving Senate transparency, particularly by publishing Senate’s meeting minutes faster to better update students on the work and actions of the Senate.
On improving mental health services, Seethanaboyina said he believes many students are unaware of the resources available on campus.
He said he would advocate for UBC’s Senate to approve professors displaying and explaining the mental health resources UBC offers at the beginning of each term.
For all aspects of his platform, Seethanaboyina said he felt it is “key” to engage with students and ensure the inclusion of all communities across UBC, and said he would dedicate slots of personal time to reaching out to students, using social media platforms where “any student can text me, or
While she would be a newcomer to the Senate, Nawar is clearly prepared to take on the role. She demonstrated clear knowledge of the bounds of the Senate and how the body operates, has extensive connections within the AMS and seems passionate about the role and advocating for students. Nawar also has specific policies she’d want to tackle and has advocated for students as the current AMS VP AUA. Additionally, if Nawar wins her VP AUA election, she would have even more sway to support a student senator role. U
As the former science representative for UBCO’s Student Union, Seethanaboyina has clear experience representing student voices in a governance setting. The candidate also seemed knowledgeable during the debates and his goal of fostering more accountability is a good one. However, while Seethanaboyina seemed down-to-earth and approachable, he wasn’t a stand-out candidate at either debate, often not using the entirety of his allotted time, piggy-backing off of other candidates’ answers and not providing much specificity on how he intends to achieve his goals. Of the candidates, it’s unclear whether he is one of the more deserving for the limited seats. U
Mankanwar Singh is running for UBC’s Senate on a platform of enhancing open educational resources, strengthening mental health supports and boosting Senate transparency through effective communication with students.
The third-year integrated engineering student said his time as an advisor in first and upper-year residences has taught him what it means to be accountable to students.
“I have actively worked with the students to make sure that they can feel safe, they can feel included … and they can make UBC residence their home,” Singh said.
While Singh said he was “still researching” the best ways to advocate for student mental health, he said one of his initial ideas would be to create a survey to address the needs of students and then advocate to increase funds according to the results.
Singh seemed unaware that such a tool — the Academic Experience Survey — already exists. While not dedicated exclusively to mental health, the survey includes a section on health and wellbeing, and is an advocacy tool compiled annually by the AMS’s VP academic and university affairs, not student senators.
On promoting equity, Singh said he would create an inclusive academic environment by ensuring faculty members received equity, diversity and inclusion training and that he would present pertinent issues in meetings.
When asked what the biggest challenge for student senators would be this year, Singh said transparency, and stated that, if elected, he would focus on representing students’ concerns and opinions by holding community meetings and regularly interacting with them through platforms such as Instagram and Reddit.
Singh commended his predecessors' efforts to open up spaces for communication through frequent updates on social media, but added that further communication with students is needed to better address concerns.
When asked how he would advocate as a student representative among senior senators, Singh replied that knowing exactly what to advocate for on behalf of students is crucial. U
Solomon Yi-Kieran is running for re-election as a student senator-at-large, looking to centre academic support and accessibility for students, as well as transparency.
The second-year history and linguistics student, who is also running for AMS VP external, hopes to use his second term on Senate to have all lectures recorded as a way to better support students.
“I want to have Senate do an investigation into that so that they can assess the cost and time needed to make universally recorded lectures possible," Yi-Kieran said.
He also said he hopes to set up a system so past course syllabi are available, while also pushing for 24-hour library access.
In terms of accessibility, Yi-Kieran plans to review UBC’s Disability Accommodation policy, LR7, and update it to allow students to self-identify their concerns.
“I want to push to make sure that the [Centre for Accessibility] automatically books students for accommodated exams, which takes the pressure off students from sending their accommodation letters to professors and TAs,” he said.
Yi-Kieran also wants to use social channels to ensure Senate proceedings are known to the public.
“[I want] to make sure that there is a Student Senate Caucus social media page, preferably on Instagram, so that students can get direct and easy access to not only … Senate, but also the people on it.”
Equity, diversity and inclusion was a major pillar of Yi-Kieran’s previous campaign and he highlighted that, though unsuccessful last term, he is still advocating to make the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Academic Diversity and Inclusion a permanent committee.
Yi-Kieran hopes his current tenures as co-chair of the Student Senate Caucus and VP academic of UBC Disabilities United Collective, as well as his work with the BC NDP will grant him the experience necessary to perform in the role.
“I want to create a Student Senate Caucus that works very well, that actually is able to get the work done, and where people feel like they're being supported in trying to do advocacy work for students.” U
This year, the AMS is putting forth four referenda items for students to vote on. There is also a student-proposed referendum to ask the AMS to support a student strike for Palestine.
Voting for candidates is not the only way students can enact tangible change — voting on referendum questions is another way to influence what happens within the university. Below is each referendum question explained and our take.
This referendum question involves the creation of a sixth AMS executive position, VP student life. Currently, five students compose the paid AMS executive team. The approval of this item would open up a new election position for a designated VP to be focused on the mental health and wellbeing of students, events programming and extended support for clubs and constituencies.
Current AMS President proposed creating this position to AMS Council in January, where the first portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing the position's conceptualization.
According to the AMS's website, the student society has taken a yes-stance on this referendum item.
Our take: This job description seems to overlap with the current VP admin’s portfolio and could perhaps be better addressed by creating an associate VP within the Administration Office. Amid the AMS’s deficit, it is unclear where the funding for this position will come from. Further, nearly half of all AMS executives in the past three years have left the society, calling on the AMS to address poor workplace concerns, and adding another position without clear steps on addressing executive turnover may create more instability.
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS FOR NEW CONSTITUENCY CREATION
This referendum changes an aspect of constituency creation. Currently, separate constituencies, such as departmental clubs, are automatically recognized if its membership exceeds one per cent of the total enrolment of UBCV.
As mentioned in a February AMS Council meeting, AMS President Christian 'CK' Kyle said the current process is automatic. This change would require students to submit a request to be a constituency through procedures outlined by the AMS.
According to the AMS's website, the student society has taken a yes-stance on this referendum item.
Our take: This could avoid redundant constituencies and avoid bloat on AMS Council over time.
BUDGET DEADLINE EXTENSION FOR CLUBS, CONSTITUENCIES AND AMS RESOURCE GROUPS
This referendum proposes the approval of the AMS budget be moved from June 30 to August 31.
The referendum also requires all constituencies, clubs and fee-receiving groups, such as AMS resource groups, to submit a statement of revenues and expenditures from the previous fiscal year and a proposed financial statement for the current fiscal year by the end of every July. This could serve as one tool to combat the AMS’s deficit, but this year, the AMS projected a surplus.
According to the AMS's website, the student society has taken a yes-stance on this referendum item.
Our take: This referendum offers a solution to make the budget more comprehensive and could help the VP Finance Office and club treasurers work toward a more robust relationship.
This referendum involves two items, an increase of AMS student fees by $4.95 and the indexing of the Athletics and Intramural Benefit fee to the BC Consumer Price Index.
The total AMS fee, excluding constituency fees, currently stands at $626.95. The new fee would become $631.90.
The additional $4.95 would be allocated toward the AMS General Membership Fee, Clubs Benefit Fund, Capital Projects Fund and Constituency Aid Fund. Kyle said in a February AMS Council meeting that without this fee increase, significant operational and support aspects of the AMS would be unmaintainable. According to the AMS's website, the student society has taken a yes-stance on this referendum item.
Our take: While the AMS fee is already quite high. This year, students are continuing to use AMS services at high rates, which is a reason why this funding would be necessary to continue providing students with these resources.
REFERENDUM FOR THE AMS TO SUPPORT A STUDENT STRIKE FOR PALESTINE
A student-proposed referendum to ask the AMS to support a two-day student strike to demand UBC divest from companies students say are complicit in human rights violations against Palestinians will be put to student vote on a separate ballot from the AMS general election and by-election.
This ballot, according AMS Elections Administrator Sansian Tan, will be open on March 10 at midnight and will close on March 17 at 8 p.m. The result for this item will be announced on the AMS website.
Our take: This referendum is one of the more tangible and realistic steps the AMS can take to show its support for students striking for Palestine, without having to take an explicit stance or promise to advocate to UBC on the issue. U
WINNER IS DECIDED BY RAFFLE
STOMACH ACHE FROM CANDIDATE TREAT BRIBES
REDDIT GOES CRAZY
HYPERSPECIFIC PLATFORM
“YEAH, I WANT MORE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT THE AMS.”
CANDIDATES AGREE WITH EACH OTHER?
CANDIDATE JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE AMS
SOMEONE STARTS YELLING AT DEBATE
JOKE CANDIDATE FORGETS TO JOKE
DANCING AROUND... CERTAIN SUBJECTS "ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCESIBILITY, AFFORDABILITY”
GET SWARMED BY CANDIDATE STICKERS IN THE LIFE BUILDING
TABLE IS COVERED IN SPIT POSTDEBATE “THANK YOU, CANDIDATE.”
DISCOVER THE SLFS AND EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE GET ADDED BY A CANDIDATE ON LINKEDIN (AND INSTAGRAM AND DISCORD AND WHATSAPP...)
VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE BASED ON REDDIT PROWESS
CANDIDATE DROPS OUT ON MARCH 14
MASS CAMPAIGN SUSPENSION
@UBYSSEYHUMOUR BECAME YOUR ONLY INFO SOURCE
UBCSECURE CRASHES WHEN YOU TRY TO VOTE GO TO THE PIT FOR THE FIRST TIME (FOR ELECTIONS)
IMMEDIATE SKYTRAIN
CANDIDATE DOES A BACKFLIP
