Muhammad Usman, incoming director of education & equity, made many vows to students on the campaign trail.
The elections are over, and a new Board of Directors is on the horizon.
The recent General Election saw more than 45 students run for 10 positions on the Student Association (SA) board. This included three executive positions and all seven educational centre representatives.
The race for the director of education & equity was a tight one, with just 17 votes separating the winner and second place, and 152 votes separating first from third.
Muhammad Usman won with 809 votes, beating Meha Modi (second), and Parth Dave (third). In total, 3,685 students voted in the elections this year.
A student in the second semester of the bachelor program for Construction Management, Usman actively volunteers in the community with the YMCA Youth Leadership Program and for various political parties during elections.
The campaign trail, while mostly quiet, offered students a chance to see executive candidates in action during debates run on March. 22. Usman, who attended the debate for director of education & equity, used the chance to talk about the concerns he saw through the school before taking his promises to the rest of the voters.
One of the bigger promises he made was that students would receive a “free Presto” card to cover their transit costs each month.
“There are a lot of people who are suffering because after paying a lot of tuition fees, they have to pay for Presto passes each month. Some colleges are giving it [here] they gave some discount on it,” said Usman. “How can the people enjoy the event… because everyday they must spend $6 or six-something for transportation. It gives kind of security to the students.”
While most, if not all, students would appreciate a “U-Pass” for transit – something which is provided to students at every major college and university outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) – getting one is not an easy feat.
No students at post-secondary institutions within TTC coverage areas, currently receive a transit pass with their fees. This means that it’s not just George Brown College (GBC) students who are unable to have more affordable transit coverage, but every college and university student within the area falls in the same boat.
The TTC needs to be willing to come to the table and talk with SA’s based out of GTA schools and after years of inaction, it doesn’t seem like it’s an easy mountain to climb.
Other promises made by Usman include changing the Student Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) to give students gift cards instead of hampers, giving students more scholarships, finding tuition relief for students who pay too much, and better parties.
To those who voted for him, Usman has a simple message as he gets ready to take office.
“I am very thankful. And I will do everything in my power to make things reality that I promised them,” he said. “These are the things that I want to change and will bring the changings and again, if I don’t provide these changes, I won’t be in this position anymore. Because of course I’m not here for the power, I’m here to bring the change. If I cannot bring the change, me being in this position is waste of my time waste of the SA’s time. So I promise that the changes will be visible and can be seen in very small period of time.”
Race for Director of Education & Equity:
- Mohammad Usman 809
- Meha Modi 792
- Parth Dave 657
- Parsa Majdol Hosseini 248
- Rudraa Khatvase 240
- Ajay Dhillon 218
- Rhutik Thakor 61
- Vartul Rai 43
- Abstain (Did not Vote) 617
