Quote:
Originally Posted by deadpool
This is politics. It's about push and pull, and promising the world, and delivering the country. No politician ever has delivered on their points. Not Bush, not Obama, not Tiwari, and not Koziol. Everything is a compromise. I don't buy the shit people say. Take it, and cut it in half, that might be what they will achieve, at best.
|
I have to disagree. Mostly because this goes against a large part of the philosophy of why I wanted to run in the first place. My platform was specifically based on things I knew I could achieve, through careful research and talking to the necessary people. Of course, some points have been altered as I came to understand more pressing priorities of the organization, but all in all, I strongly believe I did what I said I would do.
The reason I'm taking the time to write this post is because I think it is important for students to feel like politics isn't all broken promises, and that candidates are capable of putting forth realistic platforms and following through on them. I know there will be those who don't like the projects I undertook, and that's fair. This post isn't meant to argue why I think the issues I addressed are relevant (that's what the State of the Union is for) but to show that I followed through on my word.
I'm not really trying to be argumentative, I think this was actually a good accountability measure. I think you're certainly right in that a few of my ideas were not achieved and others changed form slightly, but in all, I feel confident that I have delivered what I said I would.
I of course recognize that there will be those who disagree, but I figured it was worth the detailed breakdown anyway
Here's my platform from 2010 (you can still find it on
www.imaginemoremary.c om):
SUSTAINABILITY
More bike racks -
Yes. Installed in August 2010
Biweekly farmer's market -
Yes. A weekly farm stand ran from late August to mid-October and will be returning next summer.
A Greener Campus -
Yes. This point was left intentionally vague, essentially stating that sustainability would be a key component of my platform and that I would work closely with the office of sustainability. The manager of the office of sustainability (Kate Whalen) and I meet bi-weekly and are working/worked on a number of projects including plastic bottle free MSU, sustainable procurement guidelines and smart commute week
A 5-year plan that addresses the issues unearthed by the Internal Review (2008/2009) -
Yes. As I got to understand the position better, my original expectations for this changed and the final form it took is the State of the Union 2010/2011 which is available through the MSU website
COMMUNICATION
Presidential blog with feedback enabled, regularly used Twitter account -
Yes. To read my blog posts, please visit:
http://php.orbiscommunicatio ns.com...terblog/?cat=6
Daily logs -
Yes. My Board and I were publishing our schedules online in the summer in order to log our time, but it seemed time consuming and there wasn't a lot of interest. I'd be interested to see if students would like me to re-start this.
Weekly open air office hours that rotate locations -
No. I found this was an ineffective way of communicating with students as it requires them to come to you. What I found much more effective was attending student events and meetings (clubs, faculty societies, MacInsiders social etc.) and being an active participant.
Bimonthly polls on the MSU website -
Yes. This idea morphed into 'myIdeas' which will be coming out with the re-designed website within the next month. myIdeas is an ideas forum where similar to reddit, students can vote on ideas as a means to providing direct feedback to the MSU. I got the idea from doing some research on social media and visiting
'my Starbucks idea'. I'm particularly excited for this part of the new website to launch.
Introduction of Communications Director student opportunity position -
No. This wasn't financially feasible this year. Rather, the Student Life Development Coordinator, the PR assistant and I recruited a volunteer to help with our public relations. As well, Joe (the VP Education) and I have been producing a lot of news articles for the website in order to ensure continually fresh content.
NETWORKING
Rebirth of the MSU website-
Yes. This project suffered major delays because of the complexities with integrating MacID, however it will still be launched within my term. I'm anticipating the new site will be launched in the next month or so.
MacsList (McMaster-only version of craigslist)
www.macs-list.com -
Yes. This will be a feature of the new site (only now it is
www.macslist.com)
Updated and Enhanced Events Calendar -
Yes. This will also be a feature of the new website and also includes a new academic section
Bimonthly MUSC documentaries in collaboration with clubs -
No. This is something I found to be outside the purview of the President, though I still think it is a neat idea.
MSU Vision Conference + Apathy is Boring awareness week -
Yes. Vision Conference was held on October 3, 2010 as a part of 'Go Beyond: A week of Engagement' in collaboration with the Student Success Centre and ResLife
SERVICES
Express line at the Union Market -
Yes.
Mass Notification Text Updates -
No. After meeting with representatives from different companies, the Campus Events director and I decided to pursue more cost effective ways of advertising. We could achieve a very similar service through Twitter (free of cost!)
Community kitchen -
Yes. The farm stand director took this project on and turned it into a cooking club through OPIRG under the name of 'Food for Life'
More vegetarian and halal options at 1280 -
Yes. TwelvEighty introduced halal chicken to their menu as well as several new vegetarian options, such as the vegetable wrap and vegetable tower.
