Looking forward: What the incoming UTMSU executive team hopes to bring to UTM
Some key issues which the InnovateUTM team discussed included food affordability, transit, academic policy, and the student experience on campus.
After two weeks of intensive campaigning, the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Students’ Union (UTMSU) Spring Election ended. InnovateUTM emerged as the victorious party, obtaining all five executive positions with a significant lead. The Medium spoke with the InnovateUTM team to learn more about their party, campaign, and goals for the upcoming school year.
When asked what their main priorities and goals are for the UTMSU, food, transit, and academic policies were the core issues InnovateUTM raised.
President-elect Andrew Park, a fourth-year student specializing in criminology, law and society, stated that these goals are based on the feedback from UTM students on what issues they face in university.
Park said that their “campaign has been carefully crafted to take these considerations and set actionable, measurable goals that we can advocate for during our term.” Their goals for the year regarding these issues are to improve the availability and quality of transit, create affordable food options for students, and make academic policy changes.
Other goals for the InnovateUTM team include creating more study and social spaces on campus for students, improving accessibility and inclusivity for students, supporting student clubs, and increasing UTMSU’s transparency and engagement.
InnovateUTM also hopes to build off the initiatives of the preceding UTMSU executive team, such as those concerning extending the deadline for CR/NCR and transit advocacy, in addition to their activism on global issues. “[The] previous UTMSU executive team did well in establishing a platform we needed in order to talk about global issues,” said Miatah McCallum, a third-year philosophy and sociology student, and UTMSU’s next VP Equity. She stated that InnovateUTM plans to continue advocating for students whose families have been affected by these crises.
Rajas Dhamija, a second-year commerce and economics student who was elected as the next VP External, said that “increased communication with the student body” on UTMSU’s progress and decisions is something which could have been improved by the current executive team.
In terms of why they decided to participate, InnovateUTM was driven by numerous inspirations and motivations to run in the Spring Election.
VP Internal-elect Rui (Owen) Zhang, a second-year student specializing in digital enterprise management, pointed out the importance of “communication and structure” in a student union and how a lack of it can “create distance between the students and their union.” Zhang previously served as UTMSU’s VP Internal Associate, something which inspired him to “contribute meaningfully to the student body.”
McCallum, on the other hand, says that what inspired her to run in this election had to do with her experience at UTM as a queer woman of colour who is also an accessibility student.
“I wanted to be the representation that our campus was in need of… there are various areas on campus that need improvement.” According to McCallum, these include, a disconnect felt by queer students on campus, a lack of quality and consistent notes for students, and the support and community for racialized students.
Despite their impressive electoral victory of InnovateUTM, their campaign did face a few challenges, the most impactful of them being the illnesses faced by two of their team members during the campaign period. McCallum, who was one of the two, said that “the team pushed through,” and after their recovery, they “put in twice the effort to make up for the loss of campaign time we had.”
Moreover, engaging students and addressing misinformation was another challenge. Dhamija suggested that a disconnect between students and student governance is a cause of this, and because of it, InnovateUTM focused greatly on student engagement and open communication.
Regarding student leadership, Manaal Fatima, a third-year political science and criminology student and VP University Affairs-elect, described student governance “as the backbone of an engaged and secure student community.” Fatima also added that selecting a new executive team each year ensures responsive and accountable leadership.
“The students’ union is something bigger than just one person, team, or school; it is a movement that has been in motion for decades.” Park said, “It is a privilege and honour for us to be able to contribute to this movement and leave our mark in UTMSU history.”
