The Board of Governors Great Debate seemed to be a repeat of the first forum — while candidates diverged on some specific policies, their broad goals remained the same.
Candidates Kareem Hassib, Onyekachukwu Odenigbo, Sultana Razia and AMS President Eshana Bhangu had much of the same to say on several key issues.
Leonard Wang was absent again. He was unable to attend as he is out of Vancouver on an internship.
When asked if UBC should put more money into student healthcare, all candidates said the university should.
Razia said she believed UBC has a broader role to play for students beyond classes.
“Academic life isn't just about school … It also depends on your well being,” she said.
Bhangu said UBC has invested significant funds into its own mental health services, but considering the high mental health claims the AMS/GSS Health & Dental Plan received this year, that the funds might be better placed in the plan directly.
“If what UBC was doing was really working, we wouldn't be seeing the additional millions of dollars in claims that we are. It's very clear that university is failing somewhere,” she said.
Responding to an audience question on how they would deal with issues students face finding on-campus housing, all candidates again agreed on increasing housing supply.
Hassib said he would push back on private development around UBC with a focus on building high-density student housing.
“We're increasing enrolment every year, but we're not building housing to keep up with the amount of students that are on this campus … we have way too much private development happening.”
Odenigbo said he believed the key issue was finding funding for increased student housing.
“I believe that the key issue is not the buildings, but the key area is financing. I believe you just want to do more for students, but where are the funds,” he said.
Candidates again showed varying levels of knowledge about Board policies.
When asked about what they would prioritize from the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force recommendations, Razia and Hassib faltered.
Razia did not have a specific recommendation in mind.
“The reason I don't remember the exact recommendation I would push for is because I found all of them quite important and equally important,” she said.
Hassib sidestepped the question, falling back on his platform position of divesting UBC funds away from companies who invest in funds that might contradict anti-racist initiatives.
“I think with regards to a financial body, like the Board of Governors, the best way we can take more steps towards fighting racism is by looking at who you're investing in,” he said.
Bhangu said she would prioritize the creation of a disability task force, which is one of the intersectional recommendations in the ARIE report. Her and Odenigbo also discussed creating specific spaces for marginalized students on campus.
Voting opens Monday, March 6 and closes on March 10.
Follow us at @UbysseyNews on Twitter and follow our election coverage starting February 27. This article is part of our 2023 AMS Elections coverage.
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