By Al Downham
The Ryerson Communication and Design Society (RCDS) is holding its Board of Directors (BoD) election Feb. 10-12.
Since the RCDS’ BoD lifted its Jan. 21 motion to ban electoral slates, candidates can run with a team or individually. Fourteen candidates are running individually, while Engage FCAD — the only slate — is running with five.
“Our slate is more of a support system right now than it is a political, actual slate,” says RCDS vice-president marketing and communications candidate Sydney Wong.
Some topics commonly mentioned by candidates concern RCDS’ accessibility along with awareness and collaboration among Faculty of Communication and Design (FCAD) students.
Here are the RCDS 2016/2017 BoD candidates:
President
Tavia Bakowski
Bakowski, a third-year creative industries student, is the current VP events and a part of the Engage FCAD electoral team. Before her time at the RCDS, she was VP Events of the Creative Industries Course Union. She says she’s familiar with RCDS forms, bylaws, processes and policies and wants to run the society under three pillars: a unique FCAD, open RCDS and internal collaboration. Bakowski also wants to reference students to program directors that’ll effectively address issues unique to their schooling, keep RCDS operations transparent and unite FCAD programs and course unions.
VP operations and administration
Amanda Watson
Watson is a third-year professional communication student with three pillars to her campaign: transparency, transitioning support and accessibility. Watson says she wants to clear up “foggy” transparency in the society by ensuring office hours, town halls and administrative documents are published and easily attainable on the RCDS website. She says she would also pitch to clarify RCDS bylaws that “aren’t specific as would be ideal.”
Emma Dixon
Dixon is a second-year professional communication student that wants to connect the gap between students and faculty, along with academic and non-academic opportunities on campus. She says she wants to encourage FCAD and RCDS events at Ryerson to improve student life for members of the society.
Hillary Berrisford
Berrisford is a second-year professional communication student a part of the Engage FCAD electoral team. She’s looking to improve accessibility of information concerning RCDS operations, policies and more. Berrisford said she’d like to start a newsletter sent to FCAD students that will give them a brief overview of ongoing RCDS events.
VP marketing and communications
Antek Krystecki
Krystecki is the current school of graphic communications management director at the RCDS. As VP marketing and communications, Krystecki says he wants to increase transparency within the RCDS and promote a “students helping students” environment in the society.
Jessica Song
Song is a second-year photography student who is the head of photography at the Ryerson Entertainment Conference. She says marketing and communications is at the heart of reaching out to FCAD students. Instead of using posters to promote RCDS opportunities and events, Song wants to refine the RCDS’ social media presence to make its brand reach more students.
Sydney Wong
Wong is a second-year professional communication student part of the Engage FCAD electoral team. She is the current second-year representative on the ProCom Course Union. The VP marketing and communications candidate says she wants to focus on the communication aspect of her aspired role, fostering informative relationships between students, student groups and the RCDS. Wong also wants to develop a risk and crisis communication management plan which would respond to crises on campus.
VP events
John-Charles Vaughan
Vaughan is a third-year performance dance student on the Engage FCAD electoral team. Vaughan wants to mesh together the diverse skillsets of FCAD’s students by promoting collaboration between programs and course unions. He’s also looking to promote more student projects within FCAD.
VP corporate relations
Dylan Freeman-Grist
Freeman-Grist is a third-year journalism student and a part of the Engage FCAD electoral team. His campaign has three pillars: fighting unpaid internships, mentorship and bringing partners to campus. While Freeman-Grist wants to continue corporate sponsorships in the society, he also wants FCAD alumni to help students find a career path after graduation. The VP corporate relations candidate wants to find industry professionals as well that will join a mentor/mentee relationship with FCAD students.
VP finance
Vinh Tran
Tran is a third-year graphic communications management student who’s currently the VP finance for the Graphic Communications Management Course Union and account manager for TedxRyersonU. He said he wants to adjust the “loose” format of the RCDS funding process by having quicker turnaround times for forms, putting limits on student group and project funding and making internal RCDS staffers apply to a separate funding committee. Tran also wants to work with the RCDS VP marketing and communications to make sure RCDS resources are available to every FCAD student.
Creative industries school director
Laura Parent
As someone who remembers the introduction of RCDS, this first-year creative industries student says she’s passionate about connecting students within her program and the RCDS. Parent says creative industries is an amalgamation of various FCAD programs, making it easy for them to collaborate with others. She also wants to look at the issues of unpaid internships occurring within FCAD.
Emily Skublics
Skublics is a third-year creative industries student who’s been the president of the Creative Industries Course Union for two years. She says she wants to be a voice for the students in her program and address their unique needs. Skublics says she would seek to promote relationships between other course unions and particularly the Ted Rogers School of Management since creative industries students take numerous courses there.
Fashion school director
Cassandra Daines
Graphic communications management school director
Jeremy Page
Image arts school director
Emmett Charuk
Charuk is a third-year photography student who is currently the president of the Ryerson Image Arts Course Union. He has been with the course union for two years.
Journalism school director
Madonna Dennis
Dennis is running for journalism school director to address her program’s needs to the RCDS. As the current president of the Journalism Course Union, Dennis says her involvement makes her qualified to tell other FCAD programs “what being a journalist is all about.” She also wants to spread awareness among journalism students about the RCDS and the resources it offers to them.
Professional communication school director
Karisanne Redwood
Redwood says she believes FCAD programs are at their optimal potential when everyone is engaged with the same vision. The first-year professional communication student says she will interact with students in order to accurately represent her program.
Will Fraser
Fraser says he’s passionate about promoting his program and uniting it with other schools within FCAD. As the current project funding liaison at the RCDS, Fraser says he knows the workings of the society. As the first professional communication class approaches graduation from the program, Fraser wants to focus on the fourth-year experience. Specifically, Fraser wants to help develop the upcoming year-end show for students in their final year.
RTA School of Media school director
Mikael Melo
The election occurs on D2L.
Leave a Reply