W W W .W E STERNGAZETTE.C A • @UW OGAZETTE
thegazette
University Students’ Council Report Card TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2014
CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906
>> Council’s grade:
Pat Whelan President
This was a successful year for Pat Whelan. Councillors were largely supportive in their feedback, saying he was approachable and an effective leader. In feedback received by The Gazette, councillors were appreciative of his respect for council and due process. While there were a handful of councillors who found him unapproachable and criticized his accessibility, council’s feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Quotes from council: “Maintained his sense of humour and, more importantly, his sense of self over ther course of the year. When there is every opportunity to become tired of the unrelenting weight of bureaucracy, Pat avoided Atlas syndrome and, despite the weight, managed to keep things light.” “Fair at providing multiple perspectives to inform council before voting on issues.” “Empowering and motivating, a pleasure to work with.” “Pat has been an enthusiastic and brilliant leader. His ideas and detailed explanations to council show his ability to lead well. He is very personable and approachable for ideas.” “Talks a big game but largely misses the mark.” “Always in office, should have come out more and be more personable.”
>> Council’s grade:
Amir Eftekarpour Vice-President External
A
Amir Eftekarpour had one of the most successful years in the external portfolio in recent memory, and it showed in council’s feedback. Comments received by The Gazette were glowing, with only a couple offering any criticism at all. Quotes from council: “Amir took a portfolio that can feel extremely disconnected and is often unbelievably dull and made it palatable for the USC councillors and students-at-large while doing a kick-ass job.” “Delivered on many of his platform points while being present and accessible to council.” “Great advocacy success on all levels, poor e-mails and communication.” “Amir was often absent, which comes with being OUSA [Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance] president. I did not appreciate the ‘let’s not fuck this up’ campaign but overall he did a good job.” “Most involved VP. Did a lot for the concerns of students and was very transparent with his platform.” “Great job with OUSA, Project LEARN, Good Neighbour campaign.”
>> Council’s grade:
Sam Krishnapillai Vice-President Internal
A-
C
Krishnapillai was the most polarizing member of the executive this year. Most councillors who responded to The Gazette’s survey were critical. Quotes from council: “Confrontational when addressing the concerns of councillors and their constituents.” “Always prompt and helpful.” “Sam did a good job but at times she was not available for council, coordinators and others who relied on her. She lacked in communication and also was an instigator of frustration and conflict.” “She is difficult to get a hold of, does not provide support for her coordinators, and has micromanaged many of the coordinators or forced them into events they didn’t have time for or weren’t capable of running on their own.” “Despite the drama, she would have been a great CI [vice-president Campus Issues]. Internal advocacy side is lacking, but picked it up a lot. But she honestly is much better than people perceive her to be.” “Sam went through a few circles of Hell this year. The fault lies in the fact that you could tell.”
VOLUME 107, ISSUE 97
>> Gazette’s grade:
A
The USC executive accomplished a lot this year, and much of it can be attributed to Whelan’s leadership. Though he may not have had the tangible accomplishments of past presidents, like the bus shelter on concrete beach or the 12-month bus pass, Whelan made it clear in his voluminous platform that he was more concerned with advocacy, improving students’ quality of living in less obvious ways. Whelan’s advocacy focus paid off in the university finally creating the associate vice-president students position, a post specifically meant to improve the student experience and which can be directly traced to USC advocacy. Perhaps the USC’s highest-profile success was London police’s reform of Project LEARN, the zero-tolerance antiparty police blitz that has targeted students every fall for years. In many ways this was due to the police’s own mistakes, but Whelan and the USC saw their chance and took it. The USC stumbled on One Love, the handling of elections, and Whelan was slow to respond to criticism of his handling of student discontent with the university’s strategic plan. But overall Whelan provided effective leadership and had some big accomplishments.
>> Gazette’s grade:
A+
The problem with Amir Eftekarpour is it’s difficult to name anything that he really did wrong in his term. In fact, he aced his portfolio. He struck a good balance between municipal and provincial advocacy, and somehow was able to accomplish things even The Gazette thought weren’t possible. On the municipal side, Project LEARN was rolled back and he started the good neighbour campaign, an initiative with a lot of potential. On the provincial side, he positioned OUSA as the go-to organization for national media on unpaid student internships, provided input on legislation and met with cabinet ministers on a regular basis. He also oversaw a review of the federal advocacy group CASA. He broke new ground in all three of his portfolio areas and was not shy to share that fact. Sure, not everything was completely his doing — the de-clawing of Project LEARN is largely attributable to the police’s own blunders. But, he was prepared for the situation when it came up and had a plan of attack, which was a successful strategy he used many times. When it comes down to it, Eftekarpour was an ideal USC executive: smart, active, opportunistic and just a touch boastful. It’s a deadly mix and that’s why he deserves the coveted A+.
>> Gazette’s grade:
C
Sam Krishnapillai’s year got off to a rocky start in July, when one of the Peer Support Network coordinators resigned publicly with an open letter accusing Krishnapillai of restricting transparency between herself and her coordinators. The internal portfolio was plagued by controversy throughout the first semester, when Krishnapillai sought to give the Peer Support Centre a more professional atmosphere. Though her intentions were good, many former PSC volunteers slammed the changes as exclusionary. The semester was capped off by a One Love event that, while a nice idea, failed to attract significant interest from students. Krishnapillai’s second semester was more successful, with the announcement of Western’s new associate vice-president students position — a big win for her and the USC — and the successful Laverne Cox event. And to her credit, the internal portfolio is arguably one of the most challenging, with so many diverse and opposing interests at stake. But on the whole, the internal portfolio appeared to spend most of the year in a state of confusion and disorganization. Krishnapillai is passionate and knowledgeable about her portfolio, but this didn’t always translate into successful policy or programming. >> report cards continue on page 3