VP academic and university affairs (VP AUA) candidates Drédyn Fontana and Taushifa Shaikh shared similar platforms and stances on policy, but showed differences on specifics during the Great Debate.
When asked about language in UBC Housing contracts around illicit substance use in residence, Fontana said he would destigmatize substance by advocating UBC Housing to make policy language clearer to students. He also said UBC administrators said no one has been evicted because of substance use. This Magazine reported one student has been effected.
Fontana also said he will promote harm reduction by collaborating with Get Your Drugs Tested and by hosting naloxone training events.
Shaikh said UBC policy language has improved. She said students experiment with substances in first year and said students must be educated on the “harms and benefits,” adding she would advocate for more substance use education for first year students.
She also said she will advocate for naloxone kits in residence, something that already exists.
On student engagement and the AMS Academic Experience Survey (AES), Shaikh and Fontana agreed that it’s a useful tool for advocacy.
Shaikh criticized the 2023 response rate — which was in the highest in AES history — saying it does not reflect the student body. She said she would fix survey engagement by promoting it through social media and email.
Fontana said he would engage with constituencies more to promote the survey.
Both candidates agreed on Indigenous consultation regarding their lobbying priorities. Shaikh said this consultation must be trauma-informed and that she wants to implement equity, diversity and inclusion training for faculty and students to reduce discrimination against Indigenous students.
Fontana said paying Indigenous students for their time “would give them more opportunity to participate in advocacy.”
On fossil fuel divestment and advocating for UBC to follow ESG-informed investment and divestment, Fontana said sustainability education is lacking at UBC.
He said he will ensure students understand UBC’s progress on its committed divestment from fossil fuels. Fontana did not specifically mention how he will advocate UBC to be more ESG-informed.
Shaikh said her commitment to sustainability is shown through her campaign giving out metal straws instead of paper flyers and posters “to create a more sustainable and equitable environment for our students and also our working staff.” She did not mention fossil fuel divestment.
Fontana disagreed with Shaikh, saying life-cycle analyses show “metal straws are actually more detrimental to the environment … than paper or plastic straws,” since individuals would have to use a single metal straw for their entire life to recoup the cost of mental production for the product.
Shaikh said distributing mental straws is more ethical than distributing paper campaigning products because people will use them.
“It's still better than wasting paper and lots of plastic giving out things with your name on it just for promotion,” said Shaikh.
Voting opens March 1 at 8 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. on March 8.
This article is part of our 2024 AMS Elections coverage. Follow us at @UbysseyNews on X (formerly Twitter) and follow our election coverage starting February 27.
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