Thanks for the quick reply and good luck with your campaign. I'll post if I have any other questions.

Originally Posted by ash0000

I am just wondering what strategies you plan on using to motivate SRA representatives to be open and visible. Would you be working with the House Leader or how would you go about it?

I dont have many discrete strategies written down as to how I plan to motivate them, but by building relationships with the faculty societies, by pointing out guidelines, providing some sort of incentives, and by leading by example, I will make it easier for the reps to to be open and visible. I would definitely seek help from the house leader, but I think I would have it more along the lines of me paving the way for the reps, and the house leader reminding them to take the path.

Also, when you said that office hours are not inviting enough, what are some things you think could be done to make them more inviting?

There are a couple things I have been pondering since I was on SRA. The name itself isn't terribly inviting, and the physical location could be changed as well, making it more relevant to the individual faculties. For example, there is no point in engineering office hours being held in MUSC when majority of engineering traffic does not pass through there. In general I plan rethinking how they're conducted and the purpose they're meant to serve. Some reps dont even go to their office hours and that can't happen. Some don't show because no one comes by. When I was on SRA, I maybe missed one or two office hour, but I only had visits three times. Office hours need to be re-invented.

Well I'm confused as to whether you have done research about your first point up there about building relationships between faculty societies and SRA. Being in the SRA SocSci caucus I can say atleast our Caucus leader at a minimum has visited faculty society meetings(I myself had class at that time otherwise would have attended all of them too); I believe from what I heard SRA reps in Commerce, Humanities, Science & Engineering have been doing that as well. I know you haven't been in the SRA for a long time now but things have improved these days to a small extent, its not idea but there appears to be progress compared to previous years from what I heard.

What guidelines will you point out to us(Bylaws?)? What incentives? I am totally confused by those words in there. And by you paving the way do you mean you will attend all faculty society meetings?

As for changing physical locations, the house leader this year has tried Open Air office hours in locations where their constituents have been most present. A number of SRA members I talked to have said that it is a very awkward thing to do, to go upto random students and ask them about issues. Even personally(My open air hours were in MUSC) I felt very awkward and was even straight up said "I'm busy/I have to go" when I tried them out this year.

Also I believe all that you are mentioning is already under the jurisdiction/duty of a house leader who is paid 8 hours a week. Quite why you will want to go in and micromanage 31 SRA members and reprimand(Which you have no right to technically) those who don't show up for office hours is a very confusing point.

But that's just the way I see it as an SRA member.

Originally Posted by ash0000

[b][i]
You'd be surprised what a small team of fresh eyes with even a little bit of business background can catch when they evaluate a business.

I would have agreed with this a while ago, but after the continued loss at some services that has spanned several Board of Directors I'm beginning to lose hope in that thought. I hope whoever is elected can prove me wrong!

Also to Huzaifa - I hope that the SRA re-evaluates the need for the House Leader as it has been a failed position for quite some time, especially the past two years. The responsibilities were carried out much more effectively when dealt with by the VP Admin. I hope that's something that is considered in the next couple of months.

Well I'm confused as to whether you have done research about your first point up there about building relationships between faculty societies and SRA. Being in the SRA SocSci caucus I can say atleast our Caucus leader at a minimum has visited faculty society meetings(I myself had class at that time otherwise would have attended all of them too); I believe from what I heard SRA reps in Commerce, Humanities, Science & Engineering have been doing that as well. I know you haven't been in the SRA for a long time now but things have improved these days to a small extent, its not idea but there appears to be progress compared to previous years from what I heard.

First I want to say that within my own faculty, Greg Volshenko is doing a good job with his updates and attendance at meetings.

When I say build relationships with faculty societies, I mean far more than simply having SRA reps show up to meetings. There needs to be more of a relationship, beyond simply attending meetings and providing updates. These organizations can benefit each other a great deal more, and I am aiming to further develop beyond having some faculties have face to face updates with the MSU.

Yes things have improved since my time (they were dismal, it was one of my caucus' goals to develop that connection with engineering, and we succeeded), but I plan on building on whats there and doing better, like creating a "Success Showcase" (as named by the DCS President when I answered his question), the endowment fund, and just generally understanding each other. There is a near infinite list of opportunities we could be exploring that we can't because faculties do not speak to each-other much beyond Academic Council, Welcome Week Planning, and the occasional inter faculty social events.


What guidelines will you point out to us(Bylaws?)? What incentives? I am totally confused by those words in there. And by you paving the way do you mean you will attend all faculty society meetings?

I think you're taking my words too literally. If I need to be present at important meetings, I will be. I definitely will be keeping track of whats going on with all of them, and I will want to ensure that all the faculties are getting a similar experience from the MSU. But in general, I think if the SRA reps see that the MSU president is actively speaking with their faculty society and being visible at meetings or other events, they will want to do so as well.

The guidelines will probably be advice I would give at the summer meetings/retreats on how to build a good relationship with their faculty societies. It is my intention that is more important right now, rather than the means I choose to implement it.

I haven't decided on any incentives specifically, and there is no way to know what will work until we try it out, but there are ways of providing positive motivation for them to attend their office hours. Im speaking specifically that my intentions are to provide SRA reps with a good reason to be present at their office hours, other than the fact that it's part of their job.

As for changing physical locations, the house leader this year has tried Open Air office hours in locations where their constituents have been most present. A number of SRA members I talked to have said that it is a very awkward thing to do, to go upto random students and ask them about issues. Even personally(My open air hours were in MUSC) I felt very awkward and was even straight up said "I'm busy/I have to go" when I tried them out this year.

Firstly, I'd like to thank you on your feedback about this, some of which I am aware of, but you are also stressing my point. They need to be redesigned. I definitely don't want to have out in the open office hours where reps awkwardly approach students and try to extract things out of them. There needs to be a new way to use this outreach tool and have it work.

Also I believe all that you are mentioning is already under the jurisdiction/duty of a house leader who is paid 8 hours a week. Quite why you will want to go in and micromanage 31 SRA members and reprimand(Which you have no right to technically) those who don't show up for office hours is a very confusing point.

I never mentioned anything about reprimanding them in my posts or information. There will be levels of accountability that will be maintained (as per the by-laws) but I am mostly seeking to get them to want to show up to their office hours.

I do not intend to micromanage, I don't know how you interpret this from my posts. I will have far too much work to do to keep tabs on every individual rep. The SRA House leader has a job to do, and I will not be getting in their way, but as president, I will be striving to achieve a certain standard from the reps that sit on the SRA of my year. The House Leader will be part of my plan to achieve that, but the president is the elected leader of the MSU, and will need to set the direction of various elements of the organization. That includes the operations of the SRA.

Thank you for your feedback and comments Huzaifa.

Originally Posted by McIntyre

I would have agreed with this a while ago, but after the continued loss at some services that has spanned several Board of Directors I'm beginning to lose hope in that thought. I hope whoever is elected can prove me wrong!

Also to Huzaifa - I hope that the SRA re-evaluates the need for the House Leader as it has been a failed position for quite some time, especially the past two years. The responsibilities were carried out much more effectively when dealt with by the VP Admin. I hope that's something that is considered in the next couple of months.

The house leader wasn't particularly useful when I was on SRA either. It was minor help, but I found that we preferred to speak to the VPA and Prez a lot more about things back then. The position was only 2-3 years old at that point and it was still developing.

John, elect me and I will prove you wrong . I know you're on someone else's team haha.

I will try evaluating with the BoD, if that doesn't work, I will try evaluating with groups of students who know about business. If that doesn't work, I will try asking for advice from our favourite commerce profs. If that doesn't work I will seek another means... Eventually I will seek external consulting if necessary. The point I am trying to make is if I don't think what I am trying is working I will move on to something else.

Given some of the projects I've seen students successfully tackle in my commerce or management courses, fixing/upgrading some of these services will be a very feasible task.

Originally Posted by J-Met

Anyone who has done as many extra-curriculars as Ash has while still making it through engineering physics deserves the job. I think the idea for an endowment fund is great.

He's got my vote.

Wouldn't engineering physics and a lot of extra curriculars hinder his ability to be the best person for the job since he won't have the time to concentrate on all of them?

The MSU presidents takes a year away from school to focus on the position.

Thanks Temara. That point aside though, I have no intention to do anything else during my term as president; all my obligations with the MES are completed and at the end of this semester I will have completed all of the requirements for my degree and will be a candidate for graduation. Therefore, I will be in a position to fully dedicate myself to the students of McMaster without the impedances of meeting degree requirements or activities not related to the MSU presidency.

I think it's important to recognize how important this school and this presidency is to ash. Because he is going to be a graduated engineer in Engineering Physics and Management he is giving up serious financial incentives and other opportunities. I think that fact should not be ignored when considering the priorities of these candidates.

Originally Posted by ash0000

Even then, you know what I mean. Don't pick at things like that please, there are legitimate things we could be talking about rather than a minor slip like that.

See now I've wanted someone to say something like this for a long time. Picking on somebody's words in a forum is too easy. I like the way you dealt with it. You weren't sarcastic and you focused on the issue at hand. There are certainly others among us that could take notes on how you handled yourself.

You've done a great job of understanding the scope of your potential position and you've acknowledged that you won't be able to tackle everything you want to as you're only human. You've focused on tangible, achievable goals to assure that you stay accountable to what it is you're suggesting. Some of the things you've brought up are very, very small, but show an analytical understanding of things. For instance moving SRA office hours to JHE. Brilliant. I encourage you to continue putting yourself into the typical students shoes and understanding their perceived problems.

Now that said I've three more questions for you:

You've already provided some answers in response to potential criticism of the "short-term" mentality of your platform. For instance your endowment fund is entirely a long term idea and I completely agree. However, how do you plan to facilitate turnover to whomever may be your potential successor and what kinds of questions would you ask Vishal during your time as President-elect?

What frameworks or decision making processes (strategic or otherwise) will you be using to make your decisions? This question is intentionally ambiguous.

Parts of the "visibility" aspect of your platform are great, especially linking with faculty societies (As we've discussed) and changing the nature of "Office Hours". Now that said, aside from simply listening to students keep the MSU relevant and "getting your message out there" what do you think is the most important thing you can do to MAKE the activities of the MSU RELEVANT to students outside of telling them about what you're doing?

Now accept for my apologies for that being entirely too long.

Originally Posted by nick1988

I think it's important to recognize how important this school and this presidency is to ash. Because he is going to be a graduated engineer in Engineering Physics and Management he is giving up serious financial incentives and other opportunities. I think that fact should not be ignored when considering the priorities of these candidates.

lolz overreaction

Originally Posted by andrew22

are you being sarcastic?


we are supposed to liek this guy more because he is giving up the great job he is about to get? ****.

-.- are we supposed to care what this Ash guy is giving up just so he can be our president?

No, he is getting some more shit to put on his resume, so he can get that sweet job anways Nick.


(Ash, you need to hire better new account people to say stuff for you)

I don't expect you to care that he is giving up other jobs for this opportunity. What I expect for people to gather from my post is that Ash cares a tremendous amount for this school and wants to improve his future alma mater. This idea that he is doing this to pad his resume is outrageous if you know Ash AT ALL! If you take a look at his experience in this school and his involvement in extra-curriculars I think his resume is plenty lengthy. Lastly, I would encourage you to make constructive points/criticisms and your jaded opinions are not very helpful in any way.

Hi James, sorry I took a while to respond to this. I was busy working on some stuff for school, but I am back and ready to respond.

See now I've wanted someone to say something like this for a long time. Picking on somebody's words in a forum is too easy. I like the way you dealt with it. You weren't sarcastic and you focused on the issue at hand. There are certainly others among us that could take notes on how you handled yourself.

You've done a great job of understanding the scope of your potential position and you've acknowledged that you won't be able to tackle everything you want to as you're only human. You've focused on tangible, achievable goals to assure that you stay accountable to what it is you're suggesting. Some of the things you've brought up are very, very small, but show an analytical understanding of things. For instance moving SRA office hours to JHE. Brilliant. I encourage you to continue putting yourself into the typical students shoes and understanding their perceived problems.

Thanks for the comments, it is good to see that there are some who appreciate and understand my approach to this. I definitely plan to keep handing everything the way I have been, because we have been getting pretty good feedback.

Now that said I've three more questions for you:

You've already provided some answers in response to potential criticism of the "short-term" mentality of your platform. For instance your endowment fund is entirely a long term idea and I completely agree. However, how do you plan to facilitate turnover to whomever may be your potential successor and what kinds of questions would you ask Vishal during your time as President-elect?


There is a number of things I would seek to learn in the transition period, and I would also be asking Ryan Moran and John Popham, as they are both accessible as well.

The first question I would ask is "What do you know now, that you wish you knew on the first day?"

Question two would be "What would be the best way to hit the ground running once my term actually starts?"

Question three would be, "Over the year, what worked and what did not?"

There would be dozens of other questions as well obviously, but the main emphasis would be questions where I can make the most of the transition period. I do want to "hit the ground running" as I have mentioned many times, and while I have some experience with all of the activities and ideas I wish to put forward, I am also aware that I will face a learning curve in how the day-to-day operations work, both for the position itself, and for the MSU as a whole. The questions I will be asking will seek learn from the predecessors mistakes and their own lack of knowledge at the start. I think learning about these things will better prepare me for when I start.


What frameworks or decision making processes (strategic or otherwise) will you be using to make your decisions? This question is intentionally ambiguous.

If I said I would be using decision matrices and those types of tools, I would be lying, haha. I wont be making hasty decisions, thats for sure. In decisions where there is time to decide, I will likely bring them to the BoD for discussion, as I intend to work with them as a team, but the decisions I that are mine to make will be mine to make. I will do my best be aware of all related information before I actually make decisions, and I will do my best to choose the direction that is in the best interest of the students and the future of the MSU.

Parts of the "visibility" aspect of your platform are great, especially linking with faculty societies (As we've discussed) and changing the nature of "Office Hours". Now that said, aside from simply listening to students keep the MSU relevant and "getting your message out there" what do you think is the most important thing you can do to MAKE the activities of the MSU RELEVANT to students outside of telling them about what you're doing?

I do plan on doing quite a bit more than getting the message out there and listening, but that aside, in order to make the MSU more relevant to them, they need to feel like they are in control. Some years it seems that the MSU is just a distant body that acts without student input or guidance. While this isn't actually the case, students definitely feel this way. I hope to put more control in their hands (through my administration and listening to feedback), and by doing this, I hope that the distanced feeling will fade, and the MSU will be perceived as more relevant.


Now accept for my apologies for that being entirely too long.

No need, as I said before, I am enjoying the feedback and the opportunity to defend my platform. I can admit it isn't perfect, none are, but I have done my best to make it as feasible and realistic as I can.

Keep the questions coming by the way...

Originally Posted by andrew22

are you being sarcastic?


we are supposed to liek this guy more because he is giving up the great job he is about to get? ****.

-.- are we supposed to care what this Ash guy is giving up just so he can be our president?

No, he is getting some more shit to put on his resume, so he can get that sweet job anways Nick.


(Ash, you need to hire better new account people to say stuff for you)

you've said on most of the candidates threads that they just want the position to put on their resume. i don't know ash(and i'm guessing you don't either), but he seems to have genuine reasons for running and a good platform. i don't know why you feel the need to say stuff like that, but i think everyone would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself.

Originally Posted by andrew22

are you being sarcastic?


we are supposed to liek this guy more because he is giving up the great job he is about to get? ****.

-.- are we supposed to care what this Ash guy is giving up just so he can be our president?

No, he is getting some more shit to put on his resume, so he can get that sweet job anways Nick.


(Ash, you need to hire better new account people to say stuff for you)

Hi Andrew,

I do not intend to antagonize you for your post, so i'll say this stuff just once. Please accept my apology if it feels this way.

You are not supposed to care that I am giving up a great deal in order to do this position, or even run for it. It really isn't even something that is relevant.

But since it has been mentioned, I may as well explain. It is true, that I would be delaying my career and considerable income with this assignment. But i'd also like to note that with the career path I intend to pursue, this will not serve as a stepping stone to a "sweet job". I am not padding my resume, if you saw the actual work experience I have, you would see that I do not need to. In fact, serving as MSU president would not do me measurable good in my desired career path of engineering within the semiconductor industry. It might not even fit on that resume.

But I'll reiterate. I do not want you to care about what I am putting off. I want you to understand that I want whats best for McMaster, and that I feel that I am the one to help the MSU progress through the next year. My personal choices don't matter to the student body.

On a side note, Nick is a close friend who is in fourth year, who has also been deeply involved with many things at Mac. The length of time he has been posting on macinsiders is irrelevant to the discussion. He is not a troll, he is simply someone showing support. Please show him respect unless he has personally given you reason not to do so.

Again, my intention was not to antagonize you with this post. I merely wanted to clarify what he said.

Let me know if you have any questions about my platform or intentions, I will be glad to answer them.