The Official University of Manitoba Students’ Newspaper
No runoff election to follow emergency meeting A
Gillian Brown, staff
fter an UMSU Chief Returning Officer’s (CRO) motion to hold a runoff presidential election was ruled out of order at an emergency board of directors meeting last Monday, a new UMSU president was announced. This meeting was held following the disqualification of
one of the four presidential candidates, Justin Langan, who received over 20 per cent of the popular vote. His disqualification was announced to the student body 45 minutes before the polls closed on March 10. The 912 votes for Langan were counted as abstentions, despite the March 10 email
announcing that the votes would be voided. The president-elect, Tracy Ayebare Karuhogo, won by 16 votes. Langan’s appearance on the ballot was in accordance with UMSU’s rules. Because the candidate appealed his disqualification within 48 hours of the CRO’s decision, the union’s election manual
required that his name remain on the ballot while he awaited a decision on the appeal from the UMSU judicial board. The motion for a runoff election put forward by the CRO was based on two pieces from the election manual. The first concerned instances where “a serious contravention of the election occurs,
such that the results of the election could not reasonably be deemed to indicate the actual preference of the voters,” and another concerned procedures in the case of a tie.
Cont’d p. 4 / ‘There were’ >
Women’s volleyball team finishes fourth at nationals CanWest bronze, fourth in U-Sports a great season for young Bisons squad Over this past weekend, the U of M women’s volleyball team participated in the U-Sports volleyball championship in Vancouver, B.C. To get to nationals, the herd beat its local rival University of Winnipeg Wesmen in a tightly contested bronzemedal game to secure the third and final Canada West conference (CanWest) spot at nationals. Typically, CanWest sends four teams, meaning the Wesmen would have also made nationals. However, because the University of British Columbia (UBC) hosted nationals, the Thunderbird’s women’s team received a complimentary spot. The herd’s first game at nationals was a quarterfinal matchup against the Mount Royal University Cougars (MRU) on Friday, March 17. The last time the Bisons played the Cougars was in the CanWest championship semifinals — sets that the Cougars won handily. Therefore, the herd was looking for redemption. Out of the gate, Manitoba lost an extremely close first set 26-24 but rallied in the second set to take it 25-20. The third set went to the Cougars. However, as the team has shown all year, when its back is against the wall, it comes through. The relentless Bisons thundered back in the fourth set, taking it 25-22 to force a decisive fifth set. In the fifth, the herd showed a clinical and clutch resolu-
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photo / Matthew Merkel / volunteer staff
Joshua Brandt, staff
tion, taking the set 15-10 and pulling off a major upset over the three-seed Cougars. A big factor in the win was Manitoba’s serving prowess, as the team aced the Cougars 14 times — eight of which came from national rookie of the year Raya Surinx, who added a team-high 21 kills as well. Ella Gray, who grew up in Surrey, B.C., also spurred on the herd’s offence, finishing with 14 kills and a team-high .382 kill percentage. With the upset victory over MRU, the Bisons secured a semi-final match on Saturday, March 18, against the host UBC Thunderbirds, who upset the second seed Brock University Badgers in the quarterfinals. It would be a rematch of the CanWest quarterfinal series between these two schools,
Research & 4 Technology
in which the herd swept the Thunderbirds on their home floor. The semi-final match started excellently for the herd, as it took the first set 25-20. The team looked spry and played loose and confidently. However, UBC turned things arounds quickly, taking the next two sets 25-20 and 25-16 in convincing fashion, which seemed to rattle the young Bisons team. In the fourth, the herd, who looked elated in the first set, now looked completely deflated. And UBC, energized by a home gym full of their fans, used the swing in momentum to close out the game, winning the fifth set 25-14. Manitoba’s best player against the Thunderbirds was
6 Editorial
libero Julia Arnold, who got a game high 22 digs. The Thunderbirds went on to win nationals on their home floor. Nevertheless, despite the loss, the Bisons still had something to play for on Sunday, March 19, against the Dalhousie University Tigers — a U-Sports national bronze medal. Looking to add a national bronze medal to their CanWest bronze, the herd thundered out to a one set lead, taking the first set 25-16. The Tigers slashed back in the second set, however, taking it 25-21. But the Bisons were undeterred, romping the Tigers in the third set 25-11, needing only one more set to win the bronze. Yet, once again, the Tigers fought back, winning the
8 Comment
fourth set 25-21 to force a fifth and final set. In the fifth, the Bisons were up 14-12, needing just one more point to win the medal. However, it wasn’t to be, as the Tigers clawed their way back into the set and ultimately won it 18-16 on a block. Overall, it was still a very successful year for this young Bisons team, and the disappointing loss to end the season shouldn’t overshadow all the magnificent things accomplished and the experience the team gained this year as it competed in numerous championship level games. All eyes will be on this promising team next season.
sports@themanitoban.com
Arts & 10 Culture
Creating 2S safe spaces
From U of M to the moon
Escape the ‘burbs
Cringe is cool
Shounen off
Indigenous Student Centre hosts sharing circles
Planetarium university’s “best kept secret”
Explore the wonders of Winnipeg
Embrace your interests, it’s what makes you — you
Why you shou-join the UMAnime manga club
March 22, 2023
SINCE 1914
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VOL. 109, NO. 26