That was the first full SRA meeting I went to. It was lots of fun, congrats to all the new VPs, I'm looking forward to working with them next year!

Originally Posted by samd

But shouldn't this election be just as visible as the presidentials?
Why is the whole thing done in one SRA meeting at the end of term?
Why can't we have the chance to tell our rep which platforms we like and which we don't? How can the representatives represent us if they don't even know what we want?

I would understand this process if these were smaller positions, or positions that only related to the inner workings of the SRA, but that's simply not the case. The VPs have massive responsibilities that touch every person in the student union. If we're not going to actually have a vote in this we should at least be able to research and examine the candidates and then tell our reps what we want.

Originally Posted by lorend

I don't disagree with you; I think the VP elections should be done the same as the presidentials (campus-wide). However, I'm not entirely sure why the process is the way it is, and how or why it hasn't been changed so there is more involvement.

I used to think the same way , but then I looked further into it which if this issue does appeal to you that much I hope you do as well. I can tell you that when I did look into it , schools like Brock University , which is a prime example of a school that has Vice Presidents elected ( they run the elections for presidentials concurrently and their senators soon after whereas McMaster will have presidentials , student representatives, then vice presidents ) it is evident that the process is not effective based on the quality of candidates they have . The president is a face for the student's union , so regardless of their qualifications they could just smile , make small talk and survive with the help of great vice presidents .

Furthermore , an example which exemplifies why we need a process like this or better is seen in the VP Admin. The VP admin does a lot of behind the scenes work which is integral and must be done well. Yesterday the Student representative Assembly , along with observers who had seen the numerous posters around campus , the numerous tweets on #McSU (which you should follow if you want to know about anything in the future), sat through entire platforms . Some of these were even more solid then presidential platforms and some of the candidates at the table had more experience with the interworkings of the MSU than our President -Elect herself .


I do not feel that the student body would have listened to as much or read the booklets which contained the platforms instead they would have made an informed decision for three positions which are much more than a face to the organization .

If this process were to turn into a voting process with campaign teams of friends , with color coating and songs parodies of Miley Cyrus , we would not have listened to hours , yes hours of discussion on the candidates merits , their platforms , and their ability to answer relative questions pertinent specifically to the positions.

Although this process may have its flaws, it is still a better process for hiring the rest of the Board for the organization .

Bottom line:

This is a interview and hiring process, not an election. Thinking of it as anything else is irresponsible and inappropriate

fair enough

Originally Posted by james2255

Bottom line:

This is a interview and hiring process, not an election. Thinking of it as anything else is irresponsible and inappropriate

In all honesty , I hope this wasn't said in a harsh tone because I want to reiterate that it was open to all students who have paid fees into the MSU . With this said observers did speak , in fact one had a ten minute speech which was more impactful then what the majority of voting members said the whole night .

If you ever want to come out and have a say you can , all you would have to do is raise your hand and a member can allocate their speaking rights to you as an observer, which happened numerous times throughout the meeting .

Also if you did not get a say but would like to read the platforms of the Vice President Elects or the questions they were asked ( I sat and wrote out every question and response ) , please do not hesitate to ask me .