Maayan’s Endorsements

Well, I figure there’s no point waiting any longer. If you care, here’s who I’ll be voting for, and briefly why. I haven’t included a scientific dissection of each candidate’s pros and cons, though I’m happy to discuss this in more detail in the comments.

President: Erin Rennie – I talked about this in an earlier post. Notwithstanding Jeff’s rebuke of Tim and I for endorsing her, Erin is the best person for the job. As posted on the Devil’s Advocate, she sent out a release today assuring students that she’s perfectly serious about taking the job and doing her best, if elected. She’s qualified, she’s a leader. Vote for your first choice – or else democracy’s a sham. My first choice is Erin.

(And by the way – if this situation (“this situation” being the one where people are afraid of voting Rennie for fear of “splitting the vote” for their second-favorite candidate) drives you crazy, make sure to support a sensible voting system that prevents vote-splitting next time someone suggests one. This will be occuring in a month or so. So don’t forget.)
The rest behind the jump.

VP Academic: Alex Lougheed – Alex’s platform is solid. He’s matured a lot in the last year. He’s shown that he can work as a team player, he’s conscientious, knowledgeable, and quite creative in his own way. I hope that Alex will continue to develop his internal sense of values, so that he can make decisions that are not only practical and beneficial for students, but also personally meaningful.

VP External: Stefanie Ratjen - Stef’s experience in the UBC community with grassroots activism will help her connect her the VPX portfolio with students. She has strong opinions, but it looks like she’ll ultimately be willing to take direction and be open. Stef’s commitment to lobby on a provincial level is a good thing; her unclear overtures about using CFS in some way to do so need to be clarified.

VP Academic: Sarah Naiman - Sarah has been working very hard this year on the SUB renew project. She planned a successful consultation strategy, and successfully renovated the Pit with VP Finance Brittany Tyson. Watching Sarah speak to the Board of Governors this fall about SUB Renew made me feel proud of the AMS, and proud to be a UBC student. She’s that convincing. Sarah will continue to do a good job on SUB renew, and she’s promised to devote more time to restructure SAC, which I look forward to seeing.

VP Finance: Andrew Forshner – I’ve had the pleasure of working with Andrew this year. He’s clever, practical, has financial experience, and is truly one of the best listeners I know. His commitment to sustainability in the businesses is appreciated.

BoG:
Andrew Carne – Andrew has demonstrated his knowledge of campus development issues. His commitment to communicating with students is important. This year, students have demonstrated an increased interest in BoG decisions – it’ll be great to capitalize on that momentum. I don’t know him personally, but I have it on several good authorities that he impressed in the debates and can be trusted.

Tim Blair – Tim will bring a level of maturity to the Board. As an experienced naturalist, community activist, and professional engineer, Tim has both the right priorities and the necessary credibility to be an effective Board member. He knows alot about sustainability, and a lot about UBC planning issues. He’ll be a credible champion of our open spaces and the Farm.

Senate: As others have mentioned, there’s a great calibre of candidates this year.
Blake Frederick – Blake knows the issues inside out, having worked as the AVP academic for the AMS this year. He’s already got important relationships that will be useful this year. He’s truly thoughtful, and won’t be a fair-weather senator.
Alex Lougheed – I agree with Brendon here. Alex is meticulous and detail oriented. He has some specific ideas about making student senators more effective and cohesive. While these might be a bit hard to achieve, the thought is a good one, and Alex himself will be a great senator.
Philip Edgcumbe – I am very impressed by Philip’s platform. His two main ideas – recording lectures, and allowing students to challege the exam for a course – are both good and practical. The rest of his platform reads like a what’s what of important academic issues. Philip has clearly done his homework, and done it well. He’s young and keen, and will hopefully get the ball rolling on his ideas early.
Alfie Lee – Alfie has woked hard this year both on AMS and senate. His enthusiasm is appreciated. His platform points are all right-on. Study space, timely exam schedules, library hours, teacher training – damn slow senate processes!!
Azim Wazeer – Azim’s platform looks good. The issue of the LPI and TOEFL is a new one, but the annoyance of having to take gazillions of standardized tests is not small for international students. I’m sceptical of Azim’s recommendation about having grad students study at UBC for a year before letting them TA. Many grad students need TA positions to finance their graduate work, especially in their first year.