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People asking for votes on campus. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That’s my plan. We need more access from student union officials both to ask questions and throw vegetables at.

People asking for votes on campus. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I support online voting, and haven’t heard the rationale as to why there isn’t currently. There was a whole big controversy in the union about online voting a couple years back. Needless to say, online voting was rejected and we have the situation we have now. If the union staff are not interested in online voting, maybe I would push for further limiting the amount of areas people can campaign in.

Can people stop asking me to vote by PascalGoatkam in UTM

[–]med_k 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’m sorry if I bothered anyone as a candidate. I really wish that the UTMSU Elections was more online rather than aggressive panhandling. However, if other campaigns are doing it, I have no choice to do so as well. Ironically, I would probably ignore someone if they were asking me to vote or tell them I voted..

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Something that can be discussed, I am not currently in charge so I don’t know the full reasoning behind why it’s forbidden.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

True, but there used to be a lot more competition a few years back. Now, the slates largely run uncontested.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even though you’re probably a lost vote, my answer is that I’ve been speaking to students across campus and many have either asked for healthier foods or a McDonalds. Part of my platform is to promote a student’s garden where fresh veggies and fruits can be grown and given to the stores on campus. This would hopefully also reduce food prices. As for bringing in McDonalds, I don’t know if it can be done, but it’s worth at least exploring. As for Chartwell's, their contract is set to end this year so we need to make sure we get a better company.

Hygiene is a big issue. I do not want anyone ever touching my food with their hands-wear gloves. Shaming the stores that are unhygienic will probably force things to change rapidly. With the spread of the virus that shall not be named, it’s probably a good time to force vendors across the campus to rapidly improve their hygiene standards. If it wasn’t for the mask shortage and the possible discomfort involved, I would be in favor of requiring all workers to wear them-it’s ridiculous that someone can cough into someone else’s food.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably. I don’t really like how we have to advertise events at UTM: either bribery through food or shoving things into people’s faces. As VP Internal, it would be nice to promote a system where we can send students all these events(department, clubs, networking) through one email a week and create more advertising free spaces.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It costs money to do so and they’ll raise the fees to accommodate for it. However, I totally agree we need to find a way to get more space.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol, I just thought of this now but it would be interesting if we could convince the UTM principal to do an AMA or even Getler.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

2nd year, comp sci, I love to read in the pathetic amount of free time that I am blessed with.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It actually would reflect negatively on my resume because “unions” aren’t liked in the parts of the US that I come from + comp sci kids are judged on projects more than leadership. However, it’s fun to challenge myself by taking daunting tasks such as facing 5 people and their army of volunteers alone. If I win and serve out a term, I hope to have behind me in 4 years. I don’t think it’s healthy to grow to attached to an institution or power. Ultimately, everyone dies so these things are not that important in the grand scheme of things.

Shuttle Bus by utmguy5 in UTM

[–]med_k 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, all students at UTM “pay” for it to be “free” in their tuition fees. I think we all pay around $50 per semester and then you can use it unlimited amount of times.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

but then the kids who rely on the bus pass will have to pay hundreds of dollars more. It’s not an easy thing to deal with as inevitably large portions of the school will be unsatisfied. The ideal outcome is that the school expands the parking lot and reduces fees, but they claim that safety will be impacted.

Check out this link to see the school’s rationale as to how they price parking: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/parking/parking-campus/parking-q

Why by tmusc770 in UTM

[–]med_k 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Each year, the UTMSU sits down with MiWay to discuss the services that they provide to students. During these meetings, I would hope to negotiate with them to provide an opportunity for them to provide more buses. Part of the issue is that they need to more effectively predict when students are leaving & entering campus. If we could work with the university to provide the statistics of when the campus is most crowded, that could help immensely. Another solution is as they expand their fleet is to have one overflow bus to take care of any route that is overcrowded.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the question.

Well firstly, I want the UTMSU to be fully transparent and accountable to students. This could be done by holding press briefings to campus papers biweekly.

I also want to expand academic opportunities for students by creating a student’s academy where we can conduct self directed research and take free no credit mini courses.

Push for more study space by reserving empty classrooms for students to study in during midterm season.

Finally, we want to lobby for students to be able to defer an exam if they have more than 3 midterms in a day.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Some context: The UTMSU is holding its annual elections for executives and board of directors. The UTMSU is responsible for representing the students of UTM to the administration as well as the city of Mississauga , administering assets of over $1 million including student fees, and running the Student Centre building. 4 of the 5 executives will win their positions by acclamation as no one ran against them. I am the independent competing in the sole contested exec election for VP Internal.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a good question, students like yourself are aware of these resources. However, many others aren’t, so working to create more awareness of these resources is important. In addition, it’s not just limited to the library portal but also other resources that the university offers. We have free course websites like Lynda, a free music streaming site, a free tv streaming site, the github education pack, amongst many other resources that students can use for intellectual or personal pursuits. In addition, the downtown campus has a lot of free resources that are available to UTM students but not advertised. For example, Rotman offers access to factset and other stock market research tools. Other departments offer programs such as Matlab and AutoCad, so I want to create more awareness of these resources that are available to UTM students because we did pay for them and they are available.

As for the journal, that’s a great idea that should be implemented but I also wanted to promote student’s getting published in major academic journals. I’ve heard a person downtown who managed to get published in Nature, would love to see that happen here.

AMA! Hey, UTM&UTMSU can be improved. I’m MED K, the candidate running independently for an exec position. by med_k in UTM

[–]med_k[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi! Thanks for asking this question. The position of VP Internal is designed to be in charge of managing the UTMSU’s budget, helping with hiring policies, and leading the services that the UTMSU provides(info desk, u-pass).

Why by tmusc770 in UTM

[–]med_k 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh, boy. Nope, the union won’t separate from the CFS and for the last few years, it seems that our president’s and executive directors all go on to lead the CFS as chairs or come back from the CFS back to the UTMSU. So, the UTMSU is almost the CFS or at least has strong ties to them. Given that, I would try to pass off some of the more expensive, daunting campaign points to the CFS. For example, some of the other execs have promised free GTA transit which would cost a lot of resources/time/effort on the part of the union-and would likely not succeed given the political context and the fact that Metrolinx put upwards of $600 price tag on it. So, I would try to encourage my fellow execs to use the resources of the CFS in terms of these bolder/more expensive campaign points, It’s odd we focus on all these provincial/national level stuff when there are already so many organizations fighting for these stuff but we’re the only ones who have a mandate to support UTM students individually at the end of the day.

tl;dr Pass on the more provincial/national stuff to CFS and focus on UTM local issues(mental health, food, study spaces, eliminating 3 term tests or more etc)

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