Candidate Profiles: Rep to SSMU

The SSMU representatives sit on the SSMU Legislative Council along with councillors from every other faculty and represent the interests of every MUS member in SSMU governance. The representatives coordinate with the President of the MUS to maintain relations, communications and representation of the general membership of the MUS to the SSMU while communicating with the Council and the general MUS membership about SSMU affairs. Their goal is to educate B.Com students on the issues discussed at the SSMU Legislative Council and seek relevant feedback and support for issues concerning the MUS and the University as a whole. As full-fledged members of the Board of Directors, the SSMU Representatives also participate in the Finance committee reviewing the MUS’ financial situation as well as the Governance committee where the MUS Policies and Constitution are reviewed.

[bootstrap_tab name=”Niall Carolan” link=”tab1-slug” active=”active” ]

Name: Niall Carolan

Year: U1 (second year)

Campaign slogan:

Describe your platform:
Encourage more relevant interaction between the MUS and SSMU.

I want to dispel any ambiguity surrounding SSMU’s involvement with the MUS. As a liaison, I will clearly define the relationship between these two bodies, and concisely relay this information to management students. I will ensure to keep students informed on issues pertinent to the MUS, and encourage student participation in these key discussions.

Create a more dynamic connection with students.

Students should be aware of topics, discussions, and events happening in SSMU. With the aid of social media and VP Communications, I will keep MUS students informed. I believe that if students are given a more direct channel to voice their concerns and ideas then they will become more involved, and in turn the MUS can have a more productive relationship with SSMU.

Increase transparency between the SSMU and the MUS, with a focus on fund and service allocation.

Increased transparency will not only develop a more efficient relationship between MUS and SSMU, but it will also ensure that management students are aware of services available to them. I will also focus on raising awareness about where SSMU is allocating funds collected from MUS students.

“I will enrich MUS and SMMU’s relationship by dynamically connecting with students while promoting relevant and transparent interaction between the two societies, always holding the management student’s concern at heart.”

I am deeply invested in our faculty, and could think of no better way to represent my fellow students than by being the MUS representative to SSMU. I understand that management students feel disengaged with McGill’s student council, and I want to change this. In high school, I was very involved with my debate team and set up a small start-up company for an entrepreneurship competition, these experiences armed me with the necessary verbal and written communication skills to bridge the gap between the MUS and SSMU. In university being involved with Bull & Bear, allowed me to gain insight on management student’s opinions regarding campus wide issues. Further, as the publication began to expand, taking on a campus wide scope, I gained insight where management students fit within the wider McGill community. These experiences will better allow me to represent MUS student interest to SSMU.

Describe your qualifications:

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[bootstrap_tab name=”Ryan Kates” link=”tab2-slug” ]

Name: Ryan Kates

Year: U0

Campaign slogan: Collaboration is best achieved through transparent communication.

Describe your platform:
My hopes for the advancement of the MUS can best be described as collaboration is best achieved through transparent communication.  If elected, I hope to enhance communication with SSMU executives about social and academic events within the management faculty. MUS is a very active organization with many events occurring throughout each semester.  I hope to bring awareness of these events to the SSMU council and create a partnership in the execution of these events.  At the same time, I will serve as a volunteer to help with SSMU events and promote SSMU events in Bronfman. In doing so, I hope to bring a new Management Faculty perspective to the activities relating to SSMU events and promotion.

I also hope to best facilitate MUS-SSMU collaboration through participation in legislative council meetings, as well as participating on the operations management committee.  The Student Society of McGill University operates in many branches.  I hope to join the financial branch of this organization and contribute to its decisions that not only effect management, but the school as a whole.

My third mission is to condense SSMU council minutes into brief, concise updates, e-mailed bi-monthly to the faculty.  This increases the transparency of communication between the faculties.  The SSMU Legislative Council meeting often last a few hours, which results in minutes that are extensive and often go unseen or skimmed.  If elected, I hope to condense these minutes into a concise document that will allow for the management faculty, or even the school as a whole, to be more informed of the student government process and its plans for this great university.

Describe your qualifications:
As far as my experiences that qualify me for this position, this year I was a Carnival Captain and I have 4 years of student government experience.  These leadership positions have allowed me to gain various skills and experiences that I can bring to the MUS Board of Directors.  Through my experiences as a Carnival Captain, I experienced the leadership side of one of the various events that MUS brings to the McGill population.  This experience allowed me to interact with this year’s members of the planning committee.  This view will assist me in my duty of selecting members of this year’s executive board.  I also have 4 years of student government experience.  I participated on a committee of 25 members planning various student events and philanthropic activities.  I hope to bring these skills to the SSMU Legislative Council in order to improve the communication between the MUS and SSMU, while at the same time adding constructive input to the activities of SSMU.

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[bootstrap_tab name=”Deven Sanon” link=”tab3-slug” ]

Name: Deven Sanon

Year: U1 (first year)

Campaign slogan: Deven will champion innovation and communication in the MUS by channeling his experience and creativity

Describe your platform:
There is a great deal that can be improved upon when it comes to SSMU and how it relates to the MUS. Many students don’t know enough about what SSMU is doing and how it affects them. Students also find it hard to access this information, and this is a problem that needs to be fixed. Communication of SSMU initiatives to the MUS population needs to be better.  I will make summaries of the SSMU minutes and mold it specifically to what concerns management students, so nobody has to go looking through minutes of a very long meeting to find a topic that concerns them. I also plan on creating an easily accessible monthly blog to summarize the main SSMU initiatives during the current period.

I also feel that first years need to be more involved in Bronfman, and as a member of the Board of Directors I would want to make that change happen. Though I was fortunate enough to get involved in the MUS my first year, I know many, many first years who want to get involved and don’t know how. I suggest this be improved through multiple initiatives. Firstly, I want to make a more detailed First Year Involvement Package that has more on the clubs available to students, and specific ways that first years can get involved in them. This package also needs to be distributed better- many first years do not even know that exists, and therefore did not even get the chance to read it. By the time activities night came about, they were only just beginning to know how to get involved. Incorporation into orientation week, and/or the release of the involvement package before the craziness of late August, would be more effective. I also believe an Activities night just for first year students should be created. Each club and activity present would be able to specifically focus on telling students what exactly they can offer to first years. This would allow for a less clustered, more specific activities night that would give first years a better opportunity to learn how to get involved.

As SSMU rep, prioritizing management students’ desires is essential. I will make sure that the MUS’s voice is heard and that MUS ideals and values are being promoted at SSMU meetings. I also want to see an increase in management students attending SSMU General Assemblies. Many people want to voice their concerns, but some do not know how. Our students need to make their voices heard, and participating in a GA is a great way to do so. Approachability is a main value of mine, and I am willing to listen listen to any student about concerns they may have. I’d also like to improve first year awareness about SSMU in general, something which information sessions or other meetings may accomplish with students.

Describe your qualifications:
Throughout my first year at McGill, I have amassed quality experience that qualifies me for this position. I have been involved in Bronfman since September, through the MUS First Year Involvement Team (FIT), the Desautels Engagement Committee (DEC), and Case League. As a member of FIT, I gained experience in working with the MUS executives and learned how the MUS runs. In DEC, I learned what it takes to put on events that can engage all Desautels students. I have experience in Bronfman now, and not only know the needs of my fellow students, but how I can make it happen.

As MUS Representative to SSMU, I will be required not only be part of two councils, but liaise between the two. As the current VP External of New Residence Hall, and member of the Inter-Residence Council, I already have experience at doing this in McGill. I know what it takes to split time between two councils while still maintaining a meaningful presence in both. Such experience makes me very qualified to become the MUS Representative to SSMU.

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[bootstrap_tab name=”Jamie Wilson” link=”tab4-slug” ]

Name: Jamie Wilson
Year: U1

Campaign slogan: A pragmatic approach to student politics.

Describe your platform:
My platform is can be summed up in one word, “pragmatism”. There is a feeling amongst management students that SSMU policy does not represent their views. SSMU often gets caught up in bureaucracy, red tape and hysteria which prevent effective government. My aim is to be as analytical as possible when tackling issues on SSMU council, in the way that you would analyse a management case, rather than buying into the conventional wisdom that SSMU falls prey to. I want to put more emphasis on meeting deadlines, setting attainable goals and seeing these through to completion.

Should I be successful I would aim to be on the committees where I can use my skill set to make a difference for students, namely the ones dealing with the finances and operations of the Society. One of my main aims would be to increase faculty attendance at SSMU general assemblies, which has been poor recently. The main channels through which I could do this are communication and accountability. I would like to remain accountable to MUS as well as keeping SSMU accountable. I would do this by submitting reports to council, attending council meetings consistently and keeping up communication with constituents.

I would like to continue the already excellent bilateral relationship between SSMU and MUS by ensuring that MUS students have full access to and awareness of the opportunities given to them by SSMU. This would be done through exploring the portfolios of individual SSMU execs for new opportunities for co-operation. As well as this I aim to keep SSMU accountable to MUS students through consistently communicating with the Desautels student body as well as protecting the privileges that MUS enjoy. We often take for granted things such as 4a7 and Carnival, maintaining these institutions which keep MUS unique is at the top of my agenda.

Describe your qualifications:
This year I have been on the residence council for Molson Hall. I worked on the budget committee as well as organising a very successful ‘Movember’ campaign and helping out with planning and operating numerous events.

Experience from 2 month long internship working in London high-end property market. I learnt many relevant business skills, most importantly how to work with excessively bureaucratic planning applications.

High level of involvement in Bronfman life, I spend most of my time in Sinfully or on the 2nd floor. I am now on the 4a7 committee. I intend to run for MUS executive council in 2015.

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Other Candidate Profiles

President | 2nd Year Rep3rd Year Rep | 4th Year Rep | Ombudsperson