With voting set to take place in less than a week, the student union candidates took to the floor to debate their platforms, but the turnout proved less than stellar. Jessica Murray reports
Dropping fees, knocking down residences to make parking lots, and separating from the Canadian Federation of Students were only some of the ideas discussed during Tuesday’s Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) election debate.
During the debate all seven candidates were given the opportunity to discuss who they are and present their respective platforms.
Following their speeches, each candidate answered various questions that were submitted from the audience.
Although there were queries for every candidate, it’s no surprise that there was an overwhelming amount of questions for the three candidates running for president.
The three presidential candidates discussed their very different intentions for Ryerson if elected.
While Rodney Diverlus’ passionate address focused on the importance of the RSU and advocated for equity, Mark Single lobbied for more perks for students rather than campaigning for their rights like the current RSU.
Candidate Suraj Singh’s platform provided comic relief between these two polar opposites as he advocated for napping areas and a petting zoo on campus.
As they are all running uncontested, the four remaining vicepresidential candidates focused their speeches around uniting Ryerson’s student body and building a more stable and supportive campus community.
Most apparent was the small turnout outnumbered by the amount of media persons present.
“None of my friends are here but I told all of them to come, it’s all just student press,” said Singh.
Singh was not the only candidate to notice the lack of audience. Single questioned if the average student even knows what the RSU is.
Most of the positions seemed to be decided, with four out of the five positions available running unopposed.
To some the election appears to be taken less than seriously.
Diverlus addressed those who felt that this election was a joke, saying that is was “disheartening and quite infuriating.”
With Singh’s wild card campaign and Single playing devil’s advocate against the student’s union, Single feels that this election is a one-horse race. “There is really only one applicant for president — Suraj and me are jokers,” says Single. “I would like to congratulate Rodney on winning the presidency.”
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