By David Dyck
Board of governors election turns up four nominees
Last week, nominations were announced for students running for this year’s student member position. The elected candidate will serve in the upcoming year on SFU’s highest decision-making body, the board of governors. Of the four candidates, Jeff McCann, Angie Hall, and John Koo responded to The Peak’s request for an interview. Koo, however, was not able to speak with The Peak due to a scheduling conflict.
McCann is previous SFSS president and current university relations officer. “As president of the student society I became very acquainted with some of the policies and procedures of the university as a whole, and I think that in order to be more effective in advocating for students’ interests as URO as well as a student on campus,” said McCann.
McCann is running on a platform of engaging students, invoking the university’s new slogan. “It’s great to have a vision that’s lofty, advertised on buses and posters, but let’s talk about what really matters. Let’s talk about library hours, let’s talk about things like study space, and washrooms, and continuing to push on developing how we really engage students.”
Hall is a graduate student, but also did her undergraduate degree at SFU. During that time, she worked in Rez Life as a community advisor, worked in student central, went on field schools, and was on the varsity soccer team. Currently, Hall is a graduate student in international development and recently won a seat on senate. “I think for me it’s that — this sounds really nerdy, I know — I love SFU. It’s so much a part of who I am,” Hall told The Peak.
Hall sees two important issues that could be addressed: a lack of a standardized grading system, and a review of the scholarship system. She stated that in her experience some professors refuse to give A+ grades in their classes. “When you look at the way our GPA is converted in schools like UBC, basically we end up with a massive disadvantage because there’s an assumption that the top whatever per cent of every class is receiving an A+.” She also hopes to shift some funding from scholarships to hiring students as research assistants for professors, particularly in the arts.
Marc Fontaine, the outgoing board of governors representative who was also the university relations officer, endorsed McCann. He explained to The Peak that the two positions — URO and student representative on the board of governors — compliment each other. “Having both roles puts you in front of the right people so much more frequently that you end up doing a lot more for students,” said Fontaine. “You can achieve a lot more on a daily basis through the student society but the overall direction of the university falls to the board of governors, and in that way you reach the most powerful people in the university.” Fontaine had his last board of governors meeting last week, where outgoing chair Robert Elton thanked him for his service to the board in the past year, particularly for his “nuanced ability to express both his own perspective as a student, and the overall perspective.”
The election will take place online this week, from June 4 to 6.
