On Tuesday February 8th, the voting period for the Federation of Students (FedS) election will begin. All UW undergraduate students will have the opportunity to vote for a President, a VP Administration and Finance, a VP Internal, a VP Education, and a Senator at Large. Additionally, all engineering undergraduate students will have the opportunity to vote for an Engineering Senator and three Engineering Councillors.
The voting period will begin on Tuesday February 8th and will last for 60 hours. Voting will take place online at www.votes.feds.ca. Information about the election, the duties and positions, and the candidates can also be found at www.vote.feds.ca.
All candidates running for the Engineering Senator position, or the Engineering Councillor position were contacted by The Iron Warrior, and given the opportunity to submit a write-up summarizing their experiences and their platform. The following candidates choose to submit a write-up.
Engineering Senator Candidates
The Senator is responsible for attending monthly University of Waterloo Senate meetings, and voting on behalf of students.
Trevor Jenkins, Candidate for Engineering Senator
I’m Trevor Jenkins and I’m currently in 3A Management Engineering and running to be your Engineering Senator.
As the highest academic body of the university, Senate is the final place where students can ensure policies and changes that affect their undergraduate careers are in their best interest. Over the past two years, major issues that have come up include Frosh Week changes, the Student Transition Plan, and changes to 1A engineering promotion rules. Having someone who knows what’s happening, gets feedback, and who is a strong voice for students is imperative. I can be that person.
During the past year I’ve been an Engineering Councillor on the Federation of Students’ council. Council elected me to sit on the Education Advisory Committee. I’ve been kept up-to-date on a number of educational issues that are affecting us, and students in other faculties, and provided feedback to top administrators on numerous issues, including the way that the academic integrity on-line tutorial is run. Additionally, I was Editor-in-chief of The Iron Warrior where I was highly involved of knowing what was going on around campus.
If you choose to elect me, I can make five guarantees to you:
1) Get student feedback on issues that impact their education;
2) Be the voice of engineering students;
3) Provide updates from the Senate at EngSoc meetings and in The Iron Warrior;
4) Build a collaborative relationship with EngSoc executive to propel student concerns to the forefront;
5) Be approachable to hear your concerns about the quality of your undergraduate education, whether in person or through e-mail.
If you have any questions or concerns about any point of my five guarantees, feel free to give me a shout at t.ek.jenkins@gmail.com.
Cheers!
Trevor
Jordan Lui, Candidate for Engineering Senator
Hi there, Jordan Lui here!
I want to be your Engineering Senator because I have always been interested in the university administration’s decisions and how they affect the lives of students.
I started out as an academic rep for my class and found that I interacted more with profs than I initially thought I would. Particularly rewarding parts of that experience was being able to voice the concerns of the class and knowing that I was “in the loop” with what is going on in the Chem Eng department. I found particular satisfaction in talking to profs which the class had trouble learning from, and trying to provide solutions so the professor could confidently teach and so the students could learn.
In my second year I became a FEDS Engineering councilor and entered the full breadth of student politics. I served on the Internal Funding Committee which is responsible for discussing and distributing funds to clubs and services that apply for it. While I enjoyed this experience immensely, I didn’t feel that I fundamentally affected the academic lives of students with the decisions I made or the things I learned. I felt that clubs and social events are important things to students, but I want to be involved in the bread and butter of student academia; course offerings and professor hirings that affect student classes.
I feel that Senate will bring me into this and that I am motivated and qualified to serve as your Engineering Senator.
Jordan Lui
PS Vote on Feb 8,9, and 10! Be there or be a square and a rhombus at the same time
Ben Selby, Candidate for Engineering Senator
Hello UW Engineers! My name is Ben Selby and I am running for the position of Undergraduate Engineering Senator. I am currently on work term having finished 2B Systems Design.
The number one reason to vote for me is my vision of expansion. Current Senator Jay Shah has done an outstanding job of making this role more visible to the student body and therefore more accountable for its responsibilities. Given the magnitude of some of the issues Senate deals with, this is something that certainly needs to continue.
I want to make the position of Senator better informed so that issues concerning engineering students can be more easily caught and advocated. I think that the answer to this really lies in networking. The Senator should have as many connections as possible so he/she can better understand what is going on in the school. One way I plan to do this is to attend and/or receive updates from other governing bodies such as FUGS and SUC. This will allow for greater examination of the issues which are eventually presented to Senate and therefore greater preparation in their advocacy.
I will investigate the possibility of developing a new council which is made up of one undergraduate member of each engineering department. The goal behind this council is to remain informed on department changes so that these issues can be addressed directly. In addition I plan to work closely with both VP Educations so that I can remain informed on engineering-specific developments.
As Senator Shah has done in the past, I will provide updates in the Iron Warrior and at each EngSoc meeting.
I have the vision, the passion, and the knowledge that would make a good senator. So please, vote Ben Selby as your Engineering Senator at www.vote.feds.ca between February 8th-10th!
Adhiran Thirmal, Candidate for Engineering Senator
Tired of Confusion?
Decisions affecting engineers are made every month by FEDS, but how many did you hear about during the decision process?
As Senator, I want to keep Engineers posted about the decisions affecting them. I will have a few town hall meetings and focus groups but the tool I will use most often is Facebook and Twitter. Allowing students to contribute whenever they want will ensure major decisions won’t blind side students.
Ready to get it done?
With a proven track record of putting my plans into action and getting positive results, I will extend my dedication to this senator position.
I have already increased communication in my current roles. A record number of participants attended Resume Critiques, which is a direct result of my effective advertising techniques. Course critiques this semester will be revolutionized as I increase communication mediums between academic representatives and their respective classes.
Got an Idea… I’m always available to listen!
I am constantly active on Twitter, Facebook and BBM. I always listen to ideas and try my best to implement them.
Lots of students at Resume Critiques wanted help with interviews, and many wanted to see an interview workshop. With the help of the VP Education, and dedicated volunteers we were able to put together the event within a few weeks.
If you don’t know me, ask someone around you?
With the Resume Critiques and Course Critiques directorships, I need to interact with every Engineering Class on campus.
With a widespread network, my goal of increasing communication can be achieved!
For those still wondering…
I am a 3rd year Mechatronics student that is dedicated to the success of my peers.
Vote Adhiran Thirmal as Engineering Senator at vote.feds.ca!
Engineering Councillor Candidates
The major duty of a Councillor is to attend and participate in council meetings. Councillors are expected to report to the Faculty of Engineering at EngSoc meetings as well as through updates in the Iron Warrior. Councillors must also solicit feedback from students on issues and promote interest in FedS. Councillors are expected to watch over the executive in the fulfillment of their job duties. Note that in addition to the below candidates Erika Janitz and Juzer Sharafal are also running.
Yousif Al-Khder, Candidate for Engineering Councillor
Hello Engineering,
My name is Yousif Al-Khder and I am running for the Federation of Students Council. I just finished 3B Management Engineering this past fall (oh wow I’m getting old!) and currently on my 5th work term in Toronto, which is the reason why I don’t have any posters up! I’m working with the Consulting division of Deloitte and my job entails me using the BlackBerry PlayBook!
But enough about me and more about this election. I want to represent you at the Federation because I believe that I have the right experience and skills that qualify me for this position. I’m heavily involved with the Engineering Society and therefore know what problems there are to bring up to Council. I have a good relationship with the executive and other members of the Society and I’m not afraid to consult them about any problems that they believe should be brought up to the Federation.
To add to that, I have been a director with the Engineering Society since fall 2008; my latest one being the PD rep, where I was a member on the PD 21 curriculum committee. I was also involved with the Iron Warrior and was the layout editor for a few terms last year and the year before.
In addition to my involvement within Engineering, I have been a FedS councilor for the past 8 months where I and my colleagues represented you on very critical decisions, such as the disbandment of CASA (Canadian Asian Student Association), approval of the $1,000,000+ budget, and on initiating a review to evaluate our relationship with external organizations. I am also a member on one of the committees of Senate.
Please visit vote.feds.ca to learn more about this election and don’t forget to vote on February 8th – 10th!
Syed Albiz, Candidate for Engineering Councillor
Fellow engineering students, I am Syed Albiz, and I am fascinated by machines. University of waterloo, it too is a machine. Crankshafts, a flywheel, an eccentric disk. Know the machine with workers, yet devoid of function, pure movement, rotating, thrusting, a machine of desire. The round shapes and jerking movements become one within the image of two clocks. Hourly shifts slowly mark the passing of the Waterloo working day. Eclectic groups of our workers, march in unison, the exhausted half as fast as the fresh. Painfully, they move their feet, but are not walking. Only shuffling through their shifts, waiting for them to end, for a small iron sigil to release them from bondage.
Looming ahead there will be a time when the operation of the machine becomes too odious. It will make you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part; you can’t even passively take part. Cry to yourself for what you’ve wrought, and realize that you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. Explain to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all, and don’t forget to submit your explanation at least twice.
Join the circus, vote Rhino!
Note: In accordance with party policy, Syed refused to sign the statement of understanding of the duties of a councilor. He is still eligible to run as signing this statement was optional. Weird, isn’t it?
Trevor Jenkins, Candidate for Engineering Councillor
Hey Everyone,
I’m Trevor Jenkins and I’m currently in 3A Management Engineering. I’ve been a FedS Councillor for the past year and have learned a lot from representing engineers on Council.
During the past year, I’ve been one of the most active members of council. During my tenure, fellow councillors have elected me onto the Board of Directors, Education Advisory Committee, Internal Funding Committee and Long-Range Planning. I have also had the opportunity to represent UW students at the Fall General Assembly of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance Meeting. To help get news out, I started the FEDS Councillor updates at EngSoc meetings and in The Iron Warrior, to help keep students informed about what’s going on in the Federation.
If you choose to re-elect me, I can make six guarantees to you:
1) Help you understand why FEDS matters and why you should care;
2) Be a strong voice for Engineering students;
3) Continue with Councillor updates at EngSoc meetings and in The Iron Warrior;
4) Investigate allocating Engineering Council seats based on A-Soc/B-Soc structure;
5) Establish a strong relationship with EngSoc executive to ensure student issues are heard at all levels;
6) Be approachable and act on any of your concerns.
I’ve also been heavily involved within the Engineering Society over my past three years as well. I’ve been the Editor-in-Chief for The Iron Warrior, and currently sit on its Advisory Board. I was also the Consulting Engineering Director at the Ontario Engineering Competition in 2010, and will represent Waterloo B in the same category this February at Western. I’ve also held numerous directorships within the society, including POETS Programmer.
I’m always around campus and am always just an e-mail away. If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to contact me at t.ek.jenkins@gmail.com.
Cheers,
Trevor
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