VARSITY EDITORIAL: LEGAL INFIGHTING SERVES NO ONE PG 9
THE VARSITY
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 20
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
18 March, 2013
Team Renew victory tarnished by withdrawal
Team Renew acclaimed, sweeping board and executive positions Crystal Chin VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
All of Team Renew’s executive candidates were successfully acclaimed to their seats in this year’s utsu election Current vice-president, university affairs Munib Sajjad will succeed Shaun Shepherd as president of the union in the coming year. Joining him will be current vice-president, campus life Yolen Bollo-Kamara in the equity portfolio; current Innis College director Agnes So as vice-president, university affairs; and newly-elected vice-president internal & services Cameron Wathey. The executive team candidates each received slightly more than 2,000 “yes” votes and approximately 900 “no” votes. Chief returning officer Eric Luong confirmed that ballots for the vice-president, external would not be counted. The seat will remain vacant until further notice. Renew’s candidate for the position, Sana Ali, withdrew from the race late last week. The tightest race in this election period was for Arts & Science At-Large Director. Following a friendly but competitive campaign against current vice-president equity Noor Baig, independent Ben Coleman took the seat with 1097 votes, surpassing Baig’s 801 votes. Ben Crase was elected Trinity’s director with 165 votes, surpassing Umer Saeed’s 85 votes.
“Whether they are the college councils, clubs or levy groups… We all serve students, we all have a role in building a greater university experience.” —Munib Sajjad, president-elect, UTSU Most Board of Director positions were filled by members of Team Renew, with Aimee Quenneville and Vinoj Suthakaran in the uc and Engineering director positions respectively, being the only independents acclaimed. Only one slate ran in this year’s election period. The majority of the campaign period was uneventful. Ali’s forfeiture on the second day of voting caused a major stir among students who followed the election. Sajjad said that his goal for the utsu is to solidify its relationships with student groups. “Whether they are the college councils, clubs or levy groups… We all serve students, and we all have a role to play in building a greater university experience,” he said. The statement comes following many colleges and faculty student unions’ wish to defederate from the utsu. When questioned at the All Candidates’ Debate, Sajjad and his team did not express any concrete plan to address this issue. As one of a handful of independent directors on the board, Coleman said that he in-
tended to develop a strong relationship with the rest of the bod. “I want to be able to speak my mind and ask critical questions without the other board members feeling attacked, and it takes strong personal relationships for that to work,” says Coleman. Coleman plans to hold himself accountable to students through a website or Facebook page, where he will keep students updated on the progress of his platform goals. He hopes to outline the steps to achieving his goals to students through this medium. Unlike previous years, there was no controversy regarding the chief returning officer’s rulings. Official election results have not been published, but unofficial results are unlikely to change. For now, says Sajjad, his chief priority is planning for the year ahead. “We need to get to work. We need to be working effectively, reaching out to all our campus partners. “It is going to be a very interesting year, to say the least.”
York, Ryerson union execs managed Renew’s campaign: Sana Ali goes public Simon Bredin NEWS EDITOR
Sana Ali, the vice-president, external candidate for the Renew slate, withdrew from the utsu election late last week in an open letter posted on Facebook that detailed her grievances with the campaign’s conduct and internal dynamics. The letter quickly found traction, with more than 300 shares, 1,500 likes, and dozens of supportive comments. In an exclusive interview with The Varsity, Ali described a tightlyorchestrated campaign characterized by a level of secrecy and micro-management that “put [her] on edge.” Late Sunday afternoon, Renew released a lengthy, emotional, two-part video responding to several of Ali’s claims and casting doubt on her version of events. “I was very disappointed,” said Sajjad, of Ali’s public departure. “Things seemed fine, and our team was very shocked.” Ali claimed in her letter that Renew’s platform was a “laundry list of points that have changed almost imperceptibly from past incumbent
CONTINUED PG 3