2021-2022 Candidates

Presidential Candidates

Hello Science and ArtSci! My name is Rohan Bhutkar (he/him) and I am running to be your next SUS President! I have ample experience within SUS, first as VP external of FUSS then, SSMU rep and now VP Finance. I work closely with many SUS Executive portfolios and see the nitty gritty of McGill student representation (spending the last two years on SSMU Board of Directors). I know how to best use them to make actionable change. I want to use my experience from #SamosaGate2020, updating our financial systems to completely paperless, and advocating for abolishment of forward only testing, to further the interests of science students. 

If elected I plan on implementing a 3-part plan to further the SUS:

1.     Governance Reform and Accessibility

The SUS governing documents are simply not accessible for the majority of people. I plan on overhauling the constitution and bylaws and create easily digestible versions which keep in the important stuff while getting rid of all the fluff.

2.     Strengthen Ties with Admin 

The Faculty of Science is surprisingly open to new ideas from students. I will create an open lines of and provide more opportunities for science students to have an active role in our own McGill experience. 

3.     Streamline Communication and Integration of Departments

Departmental councils and the SUS have historically been disjointed. I want to change how we interact with each other, to pool our collective resources and experience to achieve faculty wide goals.

Vice-President Academic Candidates

Hey! My name is Alexandra Mircescu and I am excited to announce that I am running for SUS VP Academic for the 2021-2022 academic year. I am a second year student in Microbiology and Immunology minoring in Management and I have been highly involved in student advocacy for the last three years. My relevant experience at McGill includes my position as President of the Microbiology and Immunology Student Association (MISA) this year, where I first started as a U1 representative last year. I was also actively involved as a student representative at the Faculty of Science, the MIMM Undergraduate Committee, and MIMM faculty meetings. Some of the things I have worked on recently include an event with the world-renowned virologist Dr. Vincent Racaniello, creating an event series known as Cooking with Staph, and planning for the MISA Wine and Cheese and Gala. From a student advocacy aspect, the initiatives I have been involved with include blocking forward testing in my own department and advocating against it at the Faculty of Science, pushing for professors to be more transparent about laboratory positions available (which should yield results very soon, so stay tuned MIMM students), and addressing major academic concerns at our department meetings. In terms of my platform, I focus on updating academic policies for the in-person format, implementing lecture recordings in departments that lack them for when we return to campus, and increasing collaboration with departments. You can read my full platform here if you are interested: https://tinyurl.com/w2z972v2 

Thank you for reading through, and I hope you can have a great week :)

Hi everyone, I am Michael (Mike is fine!) and I am super thrilled to announce my candidacy for the VP Academic position. My campaign focuses on 4 main pillars/clauses: “communication and collaboration”, “representation”, “accessibility” and finally “academic events” – you can read more about my campaign on my platform: https://fb.me/e/bLkEX1wAJ. As a VP Academic, my plan is to work closely with students and faculty to ensure a smooth transition into the 2021- 2022 academic year but also bring exciting academic events throughout the year!

Vice-President Internal Candidates

Hi Science and ArtSci!! I’m Sarita, I use she/her pronouns and I’m a U3 Biology and Physics undergrad. I’m running for the position of Vice President Internal for the 2021-2022 year. The main points of my platform include increasing accessibility of events, being open to all constituents for any questions or comments, and fostering a positive environment for SUS events to occur in. I also have a wide variety of event experience on campus which will be a great asset for this position whether things are taking place virtually or in person. If you have any questions feel free to message me on Facebook or email me at sarita.campbell@mail.mcgill.ca!

Vice-President External Candidates

Hi Science and ArtSci! My name is Lorna Fernandez Ciruela (she/her) and I am running to be your SUS VP External for the 2021-2022 academic year!

I’m a third year U2 Math and Computer Science student from Barcelona, but I have been living in Canada for 5 years now. I am currently one of the three SUS representatives to SSMU. Through my position at SUS this year I have been able to learn how things work and I am ready to help clubs grow, keep after hours running and maintain sponsorships. 

This year has been exceptionally difficult in many ways and has greatly impacted social activities. Clubs are a fundamental part of student life, and I believe it is particularly important to not only preserve but help grow them during these times. They have been forced to adapt to a virtual environment (including new ways of getting sponsorships and exposure to students). If elected, I plan to strengthen and support sponsorship, improve the clubs & services and sponsorship website implemented by the outgoing VP External, and work closely to support clubs in any other ways they may need.

Like many other students, I enjoy after hours and similar opportunities to meet new faces. I will continue working to make after hours happen (either online or in-person as restrictions permit).

Lastly, the VP External portfolio has room for new initiatives, so I would be more than happy to hear any suggestions that would benefit the student body.

Thank you for voting! 

Hi I’m Victor Chen, and I’m running for the position of VP External for the 2021-2022 year!

My main campaign goals include:

1. Ensuring in-person activities: 
   Transitioning back to in-person activities and classes will difficult for many of us, and I’ll be here to show my support for the clubs, services, and students when it happens to ensure that this transition is as smooth as possible

2. Lowering tuition, increasing opportunities:
   Classes are stressful enough without tuition hikes, and I know what it feels like to be a working class student. Let’s get tuition priced reasonably again. McGill produces many talented students every year. We’ll move production back to McGill, providing opportunities for students to work on McGillian projects (such as my next point). 

3. Building a better myCourses:

   Science students use a lot of external applications for their day-to-day lives, and this can be annoying or difficult to keep track of. What if all of those applications were integrated into myCourses for convenience? What if myCourses’s discussion had the ability to pin posts and threads like Piazza, but also the ability for easy group chats like Teams and Slack? What if myCourses could have homework sets as functionable as WebWork or Capa? And most importantly— fixing the PDF viewer. 

Vice-President Finance Candidates

Hi my name is Nikola Kukolj and I am running for VP Finance for the 2021-2022 academic year. I am a U1 microbiology and immunology student. This year, I have been working with the Freshman Undergraduate Student Society (FUSS) as their VP Finance. I also had financial responsibilities for a student committee during my time in CEGEP. Overall, I believe that I have acquired the necessary skills and qualities required for the role of SUS VP Finance.

If you have any questions feel free to message or email me @nikola.kukolj@mail.mcgill.ca. Don't forget to vote!

Thank you :) 

Bonjour, je m'appelle Nikola Kukolj et je suis candidat au poste de vice-président des finances pour SUS pour l'année universitaire 2021-2022. Je suis étudiant U1 en microbiologie et immunologie. Cette année, j'ai travaillé en tant que vice-président des finances pour le Freshman Undergraduate Student Society (FUSS). J'ai également eu des responsabilités financières pour un comité étudiant durant mon temps au cégep. Dans l'ensemble, je pense avoir acquis les compétences et qualités nécessaires pour le poste de VP Finance de SUS.

Si vous avez des questions, n'hésitez pas à m'envoyer un message ou un courriel à @ nikola.kukolj @ mail.mcgill.ca. N'oubliez pas de voter!

Merci :) 

Vice-President Communications Candidates

Hey there, Science and Arts & Science students! I am a second-year Biochemistry student born in New York City but raised in Toronto. Ever since I started studying at McGill, I have been involved with the SUS on committee and executive levels, as I am currently serving as one of your Science Representatives to the SSMU. Overall, my experience on the SUS has allowed me to become familiar with event planning, student advocacy, and how these pertain to communication between the SUS, committees, and constituents. I am excited to continue working on the SUS and serve you as the incoming VP Communications! Here are some of my ideas:

• Implement new additions to the website such as SUS Elections, where election bylaws and timeline can be found, and SUS Clubs, where information about affiliated clubs can be found. 

• Create a website for the Freshman Undergraduate Science Society (FUSS), a centralized platform for this departmental council. 

• Rebrand the First-Year Handbook as the SUS101, a guide to SUS committees, services, and resources targeted to all constituents. 

• Upkeep the social media platforms and engage constituents with interactive elements. 

• Ensure feedback forms are accessible through a variety of platforms (social media, website, listserv). Actively seek feedback through interactive polls and questionnaires on Instagram and Facebook. 

• Implement french translations of the Listserv and the website to strive for accessibility at the SUS. 

Thank you for reading my campaign for the 2021-2022 school year! If you want to see my vision put into action, please consider voting Joy Zhang for VP Communications.

Vice-President Sustainability Candidates

Hey everyone! I am Shivali, honoured to be running to be your next VP Sustainability. As your VP, I would try to raise awareness concerning our current mental health services (knowing that it really isn’t McGill forte), and would work to increasing our mental health support by planning small workshops (dog petting, hot chocolate on cold days, DIYs) and plant sales, all to recover from this stressful year and ensure a safe return back to in-person learning. I would mandate sustainability training for all SUS executives, in addition to equity training. I would also increase the long-term engagement of the SUS with charitable businesses, to help the disadvantaged in Montreal. Increasing accessibility and promotion of the suggestion box for all committees under the Sustainability portfolio is also one of my mandates. Part of my campaign also includes collaborating with the SSMU Mental Health Committee to share resources and ideas between each other, to actively engage our constituents. Inclusivity would also be carefully scrutinized in all SUS events. I would love to get the opportunity to work towards better the sustainability profile in all affairs SUS. Should you have any questions/concerns, feel free to contact me via Facebook, or by email. Thank you! 

SSMU Representative Candidates

Hello Science! My name is Andrés Pérez Tiniacos (he/him/il), or just Andy for short, and I am running to be your SUS representative to the SSMU Legislative Council!

I am a U1 student in Microbiology and Immunology from Caracas, Venezuela. I did my freshman year at McGill’s Macdonald Campus where I was actively involved with the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS). I was elected Member-at-Large for the MCSS, working closely with the University Affairs and Equity Executive portfolios. As such, I served as the MCSS representative to the SSMU Legislative Council and as one of the student representatives on the Advisory Committee on International Students (ACIS). I was also elected as Vice-president University Affairs at Mac, a position I held over the summer until I transferred to the Faculty of Science.

 My campaign is based on three main points: accessibility, advocacy, and sustainability. 

Accessibility

-Ensuring a smooth transition back to in-person teaching through remote accessible alternatives to required in-person activities 

-Mandatory lecture recordings across departments mindful of the barriers students might face. E.g. including subtitles

-Breaking the language barrier by having an accessible French course taught through the International Student Services

Advocacy

-Implementation of a strike policy to allow students to obtain support and resources from their faculty-level organization. Such resources include: community outreach, inter-faculty communication, and legal services

Sustainability

-Shortening the timeline of McGill’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2040 by pushing for fossil fuel divestment.

-Work closely with student advocacy groups to engage students in sustainable practices, as well as, increasing awareness and visibility

My name is Asma Khamis (she/her/elle) and I’m happy to be running for the position of your SUS SSMU Representative for the 2021-2022 school year. Originally from the GTA and currently a first year student in U1 Biochemistry, my involvement experience at McGill includes being the Co-President of the First Year Undergraduate Science Society (FUSS), where our team worked hard all year to provide meaningful resources and events for new science students. This includes the study group initiative in partnership with FrezCa, drop-in game nights and office hours, and this month’s Meet Your Major event. Open-minded, communicative, passionate, and dedicated, I would love to work with the SUS and across faculties through the SSMU to continue improving the McGill student experience, and am excited to represent your voice!

1. Involvement

I believe in encouraging student participation and input in important decision-making processes within the SUS and SSMU, allowing students to directly impact their experience and hold councils accountable. I also believe in promoting greater accessibility to council members to address student feedback. Measures: Regularly collecting student feedback, opinions, and ideas via anonymous forms, polls, and office hours, and communicating with students that their concerns are being acted upon, promoting voting on motions and attending SUS General Assembly, improving accessibility and approachability of SUS Executives, and improved coordination and communication between SUS and Departmental Councils.

2. Information

Facilitating greater student understanding of legislative processes and decisions is crucial to meaningful involvement, as is transparency and communication when it comes to progress being made by councils.

Measures: Introducing effective information campaigns on motions to better engage students in motion relevance and importance, more consistent updates on SUS and SSMU progress to outline what is being worked towards and what has been achieved, including concise summaries and timelines, and improved channels of communication, including regular social media upkeep.

3. Innovation

We need to continue building a more equitable and welcoming student community through working towards the best interests of students and providing innovative events and resources that meet students’s needs. Measures: Interfaculty collaboration efforts, a focus on mental health resources and student accommodations, transition resources for those new to aspects of student life due to COVID-19, science networking and mentorship opportunities across years, and thorough impact reports on current measures to motivate plan modifications.

My name is Emaan Qazi, and I am running to be one of your Representatives to SSMU next year! My platform focuses on easing the transition back to in-person classes, highlighting and working on improving SSMUs inequities, and providing more resources and opportunities for widespread communication of concerns. Check out my full platform: https://fb.me/e/1bhSPhUsi

Hey guys! I’m Monica Yin, one of the candidates running for Science Representative to SSMU! I’m a U0 international Science student raised in China! Check out my platform below! >3 

1. Improve International Students College Life Experience

[Action Plan]

- Regularly collecting students' feedback and opinions, and being available at office hours to communicate with international students their suggestions and concerns.

- Gather and provide more resources for international students, and improve the influence of the international students body.

- Promote easy accessibility of academic events and activities, internship opportunities and workshops to the international students body.

- Buddy Program within the Science Faculty: upper year students can provide mentorship for international students.

2. Facilitate In-Person Transition Academically AND Socially

[Action Plan]

- With regulations followed, promote within the Science Faulty to transit in-person SUS and departmental activities.

- Organize resources to help with better transition.

- Make regular networking with other fellow science students possible, and establish study groups for science students for 2021-2022.

- Organize and provide more resources available for students new to campus life to help with easier transition to in-person classes and college life.

- Requirement at the Faculty level for recordings of both lectures and labs, as well as free health kit.

3. Other Innovations and Plans

[Action Plan]

- Promote inter-departmental AND inter-faculty collaboration and involvement, to facilitate science students with interdisciplinary studies and research.

- Raise mental health awareness and organize info sessions and workshops.

Science Senator Candidates

Hello! My name is Cal (they/them) and I am running to be your Science Senator. I am a third year student in Microbiology and Immunology with a minor in Hispanic Studies, and I am originally from San Francisco. I am very passionate about creating accessibility and equity within scientific and academic spaces, and I know I can help move the faculty and university in this direction. Over the past three years, I have worked in equity and advocacy settings both on and off campus, including with SSMU, Residence Life, CCGHR, Midnight Kitchen, and community organizations in Montreal. As a science student, I love working in the lab and spending way too long getting a gram stain just right. 

My platform focuses on three key tenets: academic accessibility, consistency and communication, and advocacy. To increase accessibility, I hope to mandate lecture recordings, pay OSD notetakers, and include students in decisions as we (hopefully) begin to transition back to in-person learning. To keep students informed, I aim to clarify exam regulations and keep students up to date with the rapidly changing learning environment. As an advocate for the student body, I will work to update the Policy on Sexual Violence and pursue the creation of an action plan addressing the needs of trans students. If you are interested, my full platform can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/cal4senate. Thank you for reading and voting in the SUS elections!

Hello! My name is Kerry and I’m excited to run for Science Senator! I’m a third year student originally from Edmonton, majoring in neuroscience. I enjoy being a foodie, watching comedies on Netflix, scrolling through my phone complaining about the assignments I have due tomorrow, and student governance. During my time at McGill, I have participated in many amazing committees, and had the pleasure of being an Associate Senator, where I participated in Senate Caucus, sat in Senate Standing Committees, and met many of McGill’s key stakeholders. Through these experiences, I learned a lot about McGill’s inner workings, and developed the skills needed for Senator.

As Co-Director of the Mental Health Committee, somethingI noticed was that McGill’s current mental health infrastructure is completely inadequate in meeting the needs of Science Students. As a result, some mental health leaders, such as the SSMU Mental Health Commissioner and Advocacy Coordinator, and I have spent countless hours drafting the Academic Wellness Proposal. In this proposal, we plan on creating mental health training for teaching staff, enforcing the release of course grades at the promised date, creating a Senate Committee in charge of making a Comprehensive Mental Health Strategy, having professors be more accommodating, and many more. Currently, we’re working with the Student Senators to pass the Wellness Proposal through Senate, but it is an arduous process that won’t be completed this year. If elected Science Senator, I promise to get this Proposal passed so that we can create a university that prioritizes mental as well as academic wellbeing.

Salut à tous! Je m'appelle Kerry Yang et je suis ravi de présenter ma candidature au poste de  Science Senator! Originaire d’Edmonton, je suis présentement à ma 3e année en neurosciences. J'aime savourer de la bonne bouffe, regarder des comédies sur Netflix mais encore plus la gouvernance étudiante. Durant mon parcours à McGill, j'ai participé à de nombreux comités, tels que le SUS Mental Health, le Renegotiation et les Student Standing Committees. J’ai également été Associate Senator où j’ai siégé aux Senate Caucus Meetings et aux Senate Standing Committees, et rencontré des membres influents de l’administration mcgilloise. Ces expériences m’en ont appris davantage sur les rouages de McGill et je suis convaincu que j’ai acquis les compétences nécessaires pour apporter des changements positifs aux étudiants en sciences.

En tant que codirecteur de SUS Mental Health Committee, j'ai réalisé, comme vous, que l'infrastructure actuelle de santé mentale de McGill est inadéquate pour répondre aux besoins des étudiants en sciences dans un monde post-COVID-19. En conséquence, le SSMU Mental Health Commissioner, le SSMU Advocacy Coordinator et moi-même avons passé d'innombrables heures durant la dernière année à rédiger la proposition pour le bien-être académique. Nous y prévoyons entre autres la création d’une formation en santé mentale pour les enseignants, l’organisation de forums départementaux dédiés à l’échange d’idées pour de meilleures réponses aux besoins en santé mentale et la création d’un comité sénatorial chargé de créer une stratégie globale de santé mentale. Si je suis élu Science Senator, je ferai tout mon possible pour que cette proposition soit adoptée et mise en place par le sénat de McGill afin que notre université priorise le bien-être mental.