RRCSA Elections start, candidates provide statements

Traditionally, The Projector ran advertisements in the paper with statements from candidates for positions on the Red River College Students’ Association.

Now that the publication is online-only, we’ve decided to run the statements from the candidates on our website:

Lauren Slegers — re-running for president

“If re-elected as President of the Red River College Students’ Association, I hope to continue to apply my motivation, dedication, and experience to all student matters, ensuring that every student will get the most out of their time at Red River College. I am very proud of what I have accomplished during my past year as President, and I plan to continue to build on that strong foundation in the coming year.

The relationships and connections that I have made throughout Red River College and the community will allow me to continue to enhance and improve not only the student experience but the organization of the RRCSA as a whole. Whether it be through a seat on the Board of Governors, sitting on various college committees, or relationships that I have made outside of my presidency, I have the network that I need to continue to make change for Red River College Students. I will ensure that the voices of the students are constantly being brought forward and heard by the appropriate parties.

I have a number of internal projects and initiatives that I plan to accomplish during my time in office, many of which being partially completed during this past year. These include bringing back wellness kits, getting a new RRC mascot, creating an orientation video for new and prospective students, as well as countless others. I would also like to work with the college to establish better communication to students, with the goal of having one place where students can find the information that they need and that matters to them.

In addition to internal projects, I will work to strengthen and expand on the advocacy efforts that the RRCSA is involved in. Be it federally, provincially, or municipally, it is time that the voices of Red River College students are heard across all levels. I plan to take an even more active role within the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), running for re-election as Secretary for the Board of Directors. I also plan to participate actively on the Trades and Technology Committee, which works specifically on topics concerning students in colleges and polytechnics such as Red River College.

What makes me capable of achieving my ambitious objectives is my experience and commitment to the role. I spent a large sum of the past year working to understand the role of President and streamline processes to free up time for projects and initiatives such as the ones listed above. It is with this time that I will be able to complete my objectives in this coming year, allowing for more time to give students what they really want.

If re-elected as President of the Students’ Association, I will continue to make meaningful change for the better. I will continue to work tirelessly to make sure that as many students as possible have a positive and unforgettable college experience. For these reasons, I hope that you will re-elect me, Lauren Slegers, as your President, so that I can continue to help you make the most out of your college experience.”

Kelsey Gillespie — re-running for vice president, academic

“I am so excited to be participating in this year’s election process by re-running for your Vice President Academic and I hope you are excited too! I currently love representing my fellow Red River College Students as this year’s Vice President Academic. I am looking forward to the wonderful opportunity of once again working hard to support the student body. I will bring my creativity, empathetic nature and experience to this position. Some of the initiatives that I am passionate about continuing to enhance at Red River College include wellness, sustainability, safety, and inclusivity. I will continue to promote the RRCSA on social media to increase awareness of the association’s benefits to the student body. I will make decisions by keeping in mind the future of the association, its mission, vision, and values, and after carefully collecting information from our diverse student demographic.

During my first year in office I have loved being able to support students through their appeal process. I am confident in my ability to think critically and advise students on how to complete strong appeals. I am well versed in the student appeal process, and college polices including all five of the Student Matters policies; specifically the S1 policy on student rights and responsibilities and the S3 policy on student appeals. I am committed to providing representation and advocacy to students at all of our campuses. I currently take all student concerns very seriously and do my best to support students with extreme care in achieving their desired outcome towards academic success. Properly providing information in an appeal can be very stressful for students; however I believe that through advanced appeal support this can be alleviated to help them in reaching their goals and dreams.

I would like to continue supporting the RRCSA with elaborating on the current enhancement of events. As a second year business administration student, over the last two years I have attended the majority of events at the Notre Dame, Exchange District, and regional campuses. I know which events are well attended, which ones can be enhanced, and which events students are asking for. I would like to provide more multicultural events to properly satisfy Red River College’s diverse demographic. I will carefully consult with students to ensure that these events are well planned.

There have been many highlights of my year in office so far. Launching an online suggestion box has given students a platform to anonymously share their ideas, requests, and concerns. Getting an overwhelming amount of more than one hundred students to sign up as class reps has helped increase communication between the student body and the RRCSA. Working on the consultation process for the college’s new Sexual Violence policy is something that I have been so grateful to be a part of. This is something that has been close to my heart so I have been passionate about developing it and would welcome the opportunity to continue this effort. Accessing mental health and self-care supports is a crucial part of having a safe and positive college experience. This is why I was thrilled to take part in planning THRIVE week, sitting on the Healthy Minds Healthy College advisory board, and developing wellness kits.

I was excited to add an additional ping-pong table to the Lockers lounge which students have loved and enjoyed. I would like to continue working on developing our spaces and promoting the use of the Club Hub and The Den to students. With my fellow executive team, we have worked very hard on the proposal and planning for RRCSA’s new LGBTTQ* safe space. Now that it is being renovated it is extremely important for students to see this space properly finished and to be able to start accessing it. All students should have the right to access a safe and comfortable place with proper resources. I am determined to contribute to this crucial initiative.

I will continue increasing class representative participation by putting more incentives in place. I greatly value the importance of class representative meetings, as they are essential to creating a dialogue between the student body and their elected representatives. I would like to have different food options available for each meeting to satisfy the needs of vegetarians, vegans, and those who are gluten free. I am prepared to actively promote the benefits of being a class representative to students to increase engagement.

This year I would like to represent the Red River College Students’ Association at the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Association (CASA) conferences. I understand the importance of advocating for students and I know that CASA provides a platform for student advocates to directly speak to federal, provincial, and municipal leaders. I believe that my year of experience with the RRCSA has given me a great understanding of student concerns that I am committed to bringing forward and making meaningful change on.

It is my vision to get as many of you to vote in this election as possible. I believe you hold the power over your own school experience. I encourage you to stop me in the halls anytime or reach out to me through my campaigning social media. Tell me firsthand how you can be assisted! You can find me at the NDC campus or on Instagram @kelsey4vpa. I can promise and I will promise, to positively represent you by actively listening to your ideas and concerns. You will not just be voting for me, but you will be voting for your positive academic future.”

Joshua Roopchand — running for vice president, internal

“Hello everyone, my name is Joshua Roopchand and I will be running to represent you as Vice-President Internal. I am currently finishing my first year at Red River while enrolled in the Business Administration program. My goal is to play an active role in the ongoing improvement of our College and its many opportunities. The position of a VP Internal as an excellent way to be a part of a team that is involved not only in the current student’s lives, but also the bigger picture of providing a better place for future students. Being involved and representing my fellow students while enabling them to have the best experience possible is the foundation of this campaign.

My Focus will be the current RRCSA strategic plan with emphasis on the past work for raising awareness for mental illness and stress. Stress affects students in multiple ways, which affects physical health, psychological health, and affect the cognitive requirements for academic success. While we have been able to raise awareness, we need to work on how to deal with stress and illness. A positive step towards self-actualization requires a sense of connection with staff, students across the campus and the extended community. We need to make a move to creating that sense of connection between staff and students across all campuses. I will work to try and increase stress releasing activities including our present social activities, supplemented with Whole Health networking workshops, dealing with life & time management and other skills.

As a representative for students, I believe we have a responsibility to hear students and engage with them on a regular basis in order to build a positive support system, and to listen to what ever issues they may feel need remediation. I would encourage students to talk to an SA Representative or other students so that we can build a positive space to talk, seek help, or share critical life management skills. One of our most concerning stresses occur when we have issues in our classrooms, be it from fellow students or our instructors. Although instructors are approachable, it can feel intimidating. I can be there to aid you through the process of conflict resolution.

In addition, I will look to the possibility of enhancing or adding to existing student facilities and resources. My promise to the student body is to be your voice and advocate to the administration, but I won’t be able to do that without hearing from you all. Please feel welcome to approach me with any issues that you feel should be brought to attention or if you have any questions for me. I am open to new ideas and views. I would love to hear from students whether I am elected to represent or not, and feel free to give me a shout in the halls or drop me an email.”