As for my controversial statement, I stand by it. What I explicitly said is that my main concern is the opinions of the students first, council second. What I meant by that (and I admit that I should have made that clear) is that I would try as hard as possible (depending on what tools that I may have) to get feedback from the students. If the students want something that the AMS council does not like, then I will have to go with the students. It’s more of a direct democracy kind of thing.

Also, I am not really that polarizing. I have very good relations with university and I have spoken to them on the most controversial international issue. If you ask around about my interactions with the university (and if you ask the university administration itself) you will find that I am considered as the “middle ground” on most issues (including the one that I am very passionate about).

The only thing that I am going to agree with is the fact that I do not have as much experience as the average AMS councillor. And unlike Michael Moll, I am not going to pull a “CEO interview” stunt and say that I am going to learn everything that needs to be known over the summer. However, I do wish to say that I have made the effort to learn all about the AMS and how it works and how decisions are made. I also made the effort to examine the attitudes of the various councillors and what their views are on various issues. If you ask any councillor (including the ones who vehemently oppose my point of view), they can tell you how accommodating and amicable I am (even though they might tell you that they will not vote for me).

Finally, if I lose this election, I am not going to give up. Instead I am going to attend all AMS council meetings (or at least try as much as I can) and I am going to run for council in the next election. I am still dedicated to students and will continue to work for their benefit.