[huzaifa47]

Unfinished Business

Hey Everyone!

My name is Huzaifa Saeed and I am a 2nd year Economics & Sociology double major running for re-election to the SRA Social Sciences Position.I was successfully elected to the SRA in October 09's By-Election based on a platform that above all promised "constructive change and progress" as well as ambitious and progressive research based solutions to issues both the MSU as an origination and McMaster students face.

I sincerely believe I have managed to complete most of those goals while at the same time being a very vigilant, informed and active representative of the best interests of my constituents at the assembly. I hit the ground running and never had any issues with "learning curves" and as of last meeting am statistically one of the more vocal & critical SRA members during Bi-Weekly Meetings.

Unfortunately though my term has run out and I hence am here humbly seeking re-election with the promise of completing my current projects, my long term initiatives & a host of new Social Science Faculty Specific Academic Plans.

I have also proven that I was in the position for the utilitarian good of students and the notion of public service rather then any selfish pursuit, frequently I have gone above my call of duty to ensure I am doing the best job possible both for the students as well as the long term organizational future of the MSU.

With YOUR vote next week I can hopefully continue more of the same next year!

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Just in case you guys were wondering "So what is the SRA?"

"The Student Representative Assembly (SRA), the highest governing body of the MSU, is composed of 35 undergraduate students elected by their peers. Together, they work to provide the best possible MSU services and departments, address undergraduate students’ concerns, and lobby the university to improve McMaster’s academic quality.
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Voting is Next Wednesday(9:30AM-7:00P) & Thursday (9:30AM-5:00PM) in the Student Center near Williams Coffee Pub.

Please come out and vote not for me as a person but what I represent via my work, my innovative research based initiatives as well as my pure desire to serve the best interests of my constituents and McMaster students in general! All it takes is 2 minutes of your day to vote.

ALSO: The voting is preferential, you can and are supposed to elect up to SIX members to the assembly. Hence even if I am not your first choice, you can put me somewhere on the preferential list.
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I would HIGHLY suggest everyone to read through the three facebook discussion topics that separately list in detail

(YES This time around I've avoided a wall of text on the first page )

-My Experiences & Involvement within the McMaster Community: (http://snipurl.com/um08s)

-A Short Term Detailed Assessment of my accomplishments so far as an SRA member.
I would definitely suggest comparing this to other incumbent/returning SRA members before you decide who to vote for; even though they actually have been in the position for much longer then me : (http://snipurl.com/um08h)

-A Preliminary detailed First draft for my 2010/2011 SRA term Platform(Including more SocSci specific points this time): http://snipurl.com/um08d

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Must read SRA Blog Updates by myself: http://php.orbiscommunications.com/srablog/?p=173
http://php.orbiscommunications.com/?p=105

I also recently got chosen as one of the delegates representing MSU at the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance Spring General Assembly (March 18th-21st 2010). It will be a great learning experience being a room with Ontario's best student union leaders discussing issues with post secondary eduction & provincial lobbying policies. I hope to bring some of that experience back to the SRA!

Also check out MSU GA on the 17th Of March www.tinyurl.com/msuga

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On a last note please feel free to join my facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gi...4578770&ref=mf & also invite your friends to check out my accomplishments, experiences, ideas and make an informed decision next Wednesday& Thursday!

[healthsci1]

to be honest, you shouldn't even have to campaign at all, your obviously passionate about the SRA and you update us more then most members. You got my vote

[huzaifa47]

Originally Posted by healthsci1

to be honest, you shouldn't even have to campaign at all, your obviously passionate about the SRA and you update us more then most members. You got my vote

Hey thanks for the vote of confidence!

But this is a tough tough race for me! There are 12 people running for 6 spots; but what compounds this problem is the fact that alot of people don't realize the fact that the voting is preferential and you can and should elect upto 6 representatives for SocSci via numeric ranking.

Alot of people are deciding on "one" person based on popularity etc! :S

[danallan]

if your platform is more graffiti, then your poster does the trick! :p

[huzaifa47]

Originally Posted by danallan

if your platform is more graffiti, then your poster does the trick! :p

Well that is the actual platform up there for people to read, it is a similar concept to the one used in October(minus the graffiti) and weirdly enough I had two people tell me that they actually stood there and read the entire thing in October.

My rationale for why I like these posters is that I totally hate seeing buzzwords like "vote for so and so FOR: accountability, representation, experience, synergy, change, relevance, communication, passion yada yada yada" It makes absolutely no sense at all, anyone might as well google a list of these and throw them on there!

Same goes for One line platform points on posters that are potentially too misleading and often inaccurate.

So hence I love the idea of having the entire spiel on there, it makes people wonder is that text in there or what? What is he trying to do? Hence version posters #2 have a tinyurl link for the fb group.

In terms of my platform you are free to view it here http://snipurl.com/um08d

Mind you it is still in construction phase, Your actual YearPlan isn't due till the Summer(After May) and I need to figure out whether my priorities should be towards: more faculty specific, large scale projects(Like I am doing right now) or more of a policy/bylaw role. Even then I often have a tendency of opportunistically taking up opportunities as they come along. The Google Apps Suite policy for example was never directly part of my platform, it was something that I randomly decided to pursue as high priority in late January.

[huzaifa47]

Hey Everyone! Please check out my latest post on this thread http://snipurl.com/uor4b in case you were wondering more about the 1280 consumer preference model survey platform point!


I have replied to a query by President Elect Mary Koziol there.

[huzaifa47]

So I guess I'll join in on the President-Elect Mary Koziol asked me a question bandwagon and copy paste!

Mary: Hi Huzaifa,

I am asking questions to all of the candidates; I find it provides an excellent opportunity for clarification and elaboration.

Could you elaborate on/is there somewhere where I could find more information on the 1280 Consumer preference survey? I'd be interested to know the logistics of how this would be conducted and the type of questions that would be included. I think it's a attention-worthy endeavor.

Hey Mary,

Thanks for the question, I will admit that in all honesty 1280 Consumer preference is a very fringe/crazy idea that I came up with while procrastinating over my Econ Research Methods Midterm! The prof I would say was biased towards Experiment based research not just in the field of Economics but a number of areas of life(As the Mega hit book Freakonomics & its Successor Super Freakonomics explain).

Essentially what the notes said If I recall correctly was how/why experiments despite their con's are more accurate and superior to more traditional surveys(that fast food outlets for eg have and was something the MSU was considering) and I somehow combined that with general economic theory regarding how people apply "rational" value to everything.

To elaborate, our department has one of the more advanced Experimental Economics Labs in the country. To elaborate in variable terms I intend to quantify the monetary value students place on for eg: Location on Campus VS Walking/Bussing to Charlie West/West End; Prices they are willing to pay for the 1280 Menu, Opportunity Costs etc.; The Value placed on service quality and timings; The "Magic Box" Menu experiment and so on. This might sound complicated and probably is but it has been used in the past for Casinos and Restaurants successfully according to my stats prof. It can help quantify a rough pattern of consumer behavior instead of relying on Hearsay for gauging 1280's issues.

I briefly talked to VP Finance Andrew Caterine about it in October and he seemed open to the idea and put forward his support should I need any help talking to 1280 about it.

The Biggest issue however is I'm not sure how complicated/how much in depth I want to go into the theory of this, it can be a very simple design done online or a more complicated one which will be housed at the Econ Experimental Lab in KTH.

Here are a couple of random readings that introduce some of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice_Modelling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjoin...28marketing%29

http://www.bls.gov/cex/

Another good one I've been reading is "Quantifying Consumer Preference" by Daniel Slottje that I have briefly read (And is available online via lib catalog at Mac Lib website)

The biggest obstacle however is the fact that I have no theoretical experience in Econometrics(which is only introduced to Economics Majors in 3rd year at Mac) nor am I the biggest fan of it academically. So In other words If elected I will see what I can do over the summer and then decided whether it should be pursued!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

Huzaifa Saeed

[Alvand]

Huzaifa is a great student leader, always providing insight and knowledge that is of top importance to the MSU. His ability to research and find solutions to the major problems facing students is a great skill he has. Sitting on the SRA with him, I have witnissed first-hand the positive energy he brings to the organization. If you ever want to know where Huzaifa is, look no further than the SRA office as this is his home away from home (away from home), where his in constant analysis of ways to improve this organization.

Huzaifa, if I were in Soc Sci, you would have my vote. Since I'm not, you still have my support, 100%.

[huzaifa47]

For Moar Justice!

[huzaifa47]

The Voting for SRA Social Sciences is TODAY Wednesday the10th and Thursday the 11th!

Timings for poll stations are: 9:30AM-7:00PM today & 9:30AM-5:00PM on Thursday!

The SRA is the highest student government body at McMaster and one of the more important ones for you as a social science student. Hence it is essential that you come out and take the few minutes to vote!

I know everyone has had valid complaints about the relevance of what the SRA does, the accountability in terms of what they promise as well as their communication.

I believe in the past 4 months since getting elected in October I have tried to fulfill all 3 to the best of my abilities.

However sadly I have run out of time and there was only so much I could do in 4 months! :(

That is why I need YOUR help to give me a full year to continue my innovative social policy & change based work! Please also check out additional platform points I have that are more faculty specific.

**Important Note: The SocSci caucus has SIX seats, meaning tomorrow you can vote from one to six people! Hence even if I am say your second choice you can still vote for me and your 1st choice since you are electing 6 members!*** I have viewed all other candidate platforms and I definitely think a few of them are people I would love to have with myself next year on the SRA; but your decision is upto you; make an informed choice!

In the end I would also like to thank every single individual who joined my group as a show of support! Reaaaallly appreciate it.

Thank you for your time,

Sincerely,

Huzaifa SAEED
SRA Social Sciences 09/10
SRA Social Sciences Candidate '10/11

p.s: There is also a concurrent fee increase referendum, check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=352746151800&ref=ts

p.p.s: Group Link http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=341244578770