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Good tunes for good food Rocking for a Cause concert a sophomore smash hit
Mikaela Warkentin, staff
F or the second year in a row, the U of M community has come together to raise funds and awareness for the UM food bank. Rocking With A Cause fell on Valentine’s Day this year.
UMSU president Prabhnoor Singh expressed gratitude for the food bank- “oftentimes when we’re pursuing postsecondary education, we have to worry about tuition costs, textbook costs, making rent. Because of that, food oftentimes is something that we don’t prioritize.” Through the foodbank, Singh shared, many U of M students get fed.
Jane Lastra has been running the food bank since the early 1990s, and has been able to see the community
service grow into what it is today. “When I started” shared Lastra, “my vision was this.”
With the concert in its sophomore year, making the event happen was no small feat but Lastra expressed that the wider Winnipeg community has stepped up, even to the point where the annual concert is outgrowing the John J. Conklin Theatre on campus. “It’s never ending, and we’re gonna go bigger. We need a bigger place” shared Lastra.
The U M Food Bank is located in room 518 in University Centre , and is open to all UM and ICM students. For more information, visit https:// umanitoba.ca/financial-aidand-awards/u-m-food-bank
PHOTOS BY ANTHONY NARDELLA / VOLUNTEER STAFF
LINZLE
HAMMY AND EMILY
UMSU presidential candidates
Incumbent executive and returning candidate vie to become 102nd president
Roy Albright Obah & Nafisah Al Lilo, staff
T
wo candidates are vying to succeed UMSU president Prabhnoor Singh, who is not seeking another term. This year’s presidential hopefuls are familiar faces in UMSU politics.
Heaven Kaur
Fourth-year biological sciences student Heaven Kaur is running to be the next UMSU president. Kaur currently serves as vicepresident, university affairs, and previously held the role of women’s representative.
Kaur said she is seeking the presidency to continue projects she began during her time in office. “Being elected as the next UMSU president would allow me that opportunity to finish the work that is in progress,” she said, pointing to her experience in “different leadership positions” and “different advocacy roles” as preparation for the role.
Transparency, she noted, is central to her approach. “I want to ensure that students know what work I’m doing,” Kaur said, referencing advocacy updates she shared this year and her plan to host “monthly townhalls” to give students the opportunity to connect directly with elected
officials.
Kaur raised the idea of a central database for course syllabi to help students make informed decisions and emphasized campus safety as a priority.
Kaur envisions her tenure to be “empowered, informed and connected.”
Fatima Shabir
Fatima Shabir is a science student running for UMSU
president.
Entering the presidential race for the second consecutive year, Shabir said her campaign is driven by growing frustration among students over rising fees and a perceived lack of visible results.
One of the main reasons she is running is that “students are paying more in fees than ever and they still do not feel like there are any visible results,” she said,
Shabir noted that conversations with students across campus often centre on the same concerns, including daily costs, access to study spaces and lounges, affordable textbooks and food prices. Shabir said many students feel disconnected from the union and want to see tangible change. “When we say a union, it’s supposed to unite us all rather than just being an organization sitting there,” she said.
Should she be voted into office, she hopes students will feel they can turn to UMSU with their concerns and “actually feel like there’s something changing there.”
Shabir added that her focus is not the title of the position itself, but ensuring that changes benefit “all students, not just a few.”
Shabir said she wants “to fix UMSU itself, and put more of the funding itself into student life.”
FATIMA SHABIR
HEAVEN KAUR
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKE
UMSU vice president university affairs candidates
Candidates outline priorities on policy, access and advocacy
Roy Albright Obah & Nafisa Al Lilo, staff
Harishan Kaur Bahara
Harishan Kaur Bahara is aspiring toward the global political economy program and is running for the position of vice president, university affairs.
Bahara is “passionate about governance, policy and overall diplomacy.” She believes everyone wants to see change and whether at minor or major scales, “if you want to see these [changes], you should be the one making them happen.”
She believes she is fit for the position due to her accumulated experiences. “I have specifically had a focus in education and policy […] I worked with our ministers of education to look at how policies are shaping our classrooms,” Bahara said.
She plans to achieve in
five major areas. The areas range from AI integrations in academics to re-strengthening student housing to campus security and to “decompression spaces”. Overall, her intended policies will be centered around “a physically and emotionally safe and welcoming environment” for students.
Bahara said her tenure would be characterized by “clarity, productivity and energy.”
She added, “I am really passionate about keeping students at the centre of every single thing that’s being discussed in the university.”
One fun thing about Bahara is that she bakes and loves to do art.
Grace Elendu
Grace Elendu is a thirdyear criminology student with
a minor in psychology who currently serves as president of the Pre-Law Society.
Elendu is running for vice president university affairs because she “strongly believes in advocacy, one that has a genuine connection with students.”
She emphasized that such leadership should not be “just a face,” but rooted in “an actual genuine attachment with students.”
A key priority for Elendu is expanding access to highdemand summer courses.
“I think we can all relate to wanting the courses that we need,” she said, adding that she hopes to work with the administration to improve course availability.
In three words, she envisions her term to be characterized by “results, connection and advocacy.”
Describing herself as “an action person” she added, “I want to show you results at the end of my tenure.”
Outside of student government, Elendu plans to attend law school after completing her degree. She enjoys writing poetry and reading and co-hosts The Black Experience podcast, which she described as “a virtual safe space for Black students on campus.”
Caris Pittman
Caris Pittman is a thirdyear political science student minoring in economics and running for vice-president university affairs. Inspired by peers involved in student governance, including the judicial board and faculty associations, she views the role as a continuation of her
campus involvement. Her campaign focuses on accessibility, transparency and advocacy. “I want to make operations [clearer] and concise for students, I believe students shouldn’t have to do hundreds of documents like I have,” she added. Pittman wants to review accessibility policies and work toward clearer processes for students accessing services. She hopes to simplify operational documents and explore translating materials into other languages. Pittman aims to work with administration to adjust polices she believes could have meaningful impact. She described her envisioned term as, “actionable, busy and fun.” Pitman also loves reading and writing.
HARISHAN KAUR BAHARA GRACE ELENDU
CARIS PITTMAN
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
Vice-president external affairs candidates
Peters and Pinheiro detail external affairs priorities
Roy Albright Obah & Arifah Gheesah, staff
Aiden Peters
Aiden Peters is a secondyear student studying economics. Peters is running for vice president, external affairs.
“I’m very involved on campus, or at least I try to be,” Peters said. He is the vice president of the economics society and is involved with the Indigenous Students Association.
Peters is running for this position because he believes there are two ways of approaching government in the position of external affairs – as a really good friend or from an angle of pressuring them.
“Poke wherever you can to get your policies through [...] that’s sort of what I believe are ideal method for dealing with the government should be,” he explained.
Peters has also been part of organizations like the Youth Parliament of Manitoba, and he believes he knows how to navigate political systems quite well.
Peters has three main things he hopes to accomplish. Provincially, he wants to achieve a tuition freeze. Municipally, he wants to advocate for bus routes that are convenient for students. “I think that [...] especially late at night at the campus too [...] there’s not really much bus service.”
Federally, he wants to continue working with
Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) to deal with student aid and grant programs.
Peters envisions his tenure as “protest, consistence and collaborative.” He said, “I’d like to work a lot with other student unions, especially across Manitoba.”
Peters enjoys debating, biking and music.
Vivian Pinheiro
Vivian Pinheiro is a secondyear global political economy student running for vicepresident external affairs.
She currently serves
as a student senator and previously worked in an MLA’s office, where she gained experience in policy development and community engagement.
“Over the past year, I’ve gained a lot of experience in policy, in student government and understanding politics as a whole,” Pinheiro said. She believes the role would allow her to “bridge the gap between what students face […] and public decision-making.”
Transit reliability is a key focus of her campaign. Pinheiro said she has heard from students who miss classes, labs and exams due
to overcrowded or cancelled buses.
She hopes to strengthen collaboration with city partners to address the issue. “Thousands of U of M students use […] bus transit every day,” she said, adding that it is a concern that affects both students and the broader community.
Pinheiro also plans to advocate for the restoration of international student healthcare, which was cut in 2018. She said coordinated provincial advocacy and collaboration with other postsecondary institutions would be essential to keeping the
issue on the government’s agenda. “It is very important to always highlight and […] show real data, show real reasons why this is very important,” she said.
Beyond these priorities, Pinheiro cited cost-ofliving concerns, tuition predictability and renter protections as important issues.
She described her leadership approach in three words, “experience, strategy and momentum,” and emphasized that “continuity is very important.”
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
AIDEN PETERS
VIVIAN PINHEIRO
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN STAFF
UMSU vice president, student life candidates
Adeoti, Chokr, Rajesh vie for student life representative position
Roy Albright Obah & Arifah Gheesah, staff
Deborah Adeoti
Third-year Deborah Adeoti is a computer science student who described herself as a candidate with “limitless potential.”
Adeoti said the quest to see change and the need to take on that task motivated her to run for this position.
Adeoti’s main goal is to enhance the student experience at the university. “I hope to accomplish creating the best university student life that the students could possibly wish for,” she said.
When asked to describe her envisioned term in three words, Adeoti said “inspiring, different and limitless.”
Hussein Chokr
Hussein Chokr is a secondyear student hoping to study
business and is an executive member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Chokr said he wants “to create […] a community where voices of the students are heard and actionable items are taken for.” He added that his campaign slogan is “your voice, our campus” but mentions that “it goes beyond […] just listening to people, actionable items have to happen.”
A key priority for Chokr is reforming the student group reimbursement process.
He said he understands “how difficult it could be for students to get their reimbursements back,” citing concerns about long wait times and lack of clarity.
He also pointed to instances where student groups have faced funding challenges, calling such situations
“completely unacceptable.”
If elected, Chokr said he would work to simplify reimbursement procedures and prioritize one-on-one meetings with community and faculty representatives so they “feel supported”. He described his envisioned tenure as: “fun, busy, and accomplishing.”
Chokr expressed his readiness to support students so they “feel welcomed on their campus.”
Manasa Rajesh
Manasa Rajesh is an English major and an aspiring teacher who is running for vice president student life. Rajesh is running for this position as she has witnessed the lack of consistent support that students receive.
“As someone who’s been
part of faculty associations, community groups and student clubs, I’ve seen how differently each of them operate and the kind of support they need in order to succeed,” she said.
“I think I’m the best candidate for this because I can advocate for all the student groups and not just one.”
If she gets voted into office, her main focus would be faculty-based networking. “I aim to create networking events in collaboration with various faculties so students can connect with professors, professionals and mentors, and they can also carry these connections well into their future.”
Additionally, she wants to create monthly student townhalls, and push for a stronger mental health
campaign. This is to close the noticed gap between students and student leadership, according to Rajesh.
In three words, she envisions her term as being accountable, approachable and following through with my wants.
Rajesh enjoys dancing. She has been learning Bharatanatyam since she was three and a half years old. She likes to practice once in a while as it reminds her of home.
DEBORAH ADEOTI
HUSSEIN CHOKR
MANASA RAJESH
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF
UMSU vice president, finance and operations candidates
Most-contested race focuses on finance, transparency and support
Roy Albright Obah, Arifah Gheesah & Nafisa Al Lilo, staff
This year’s UMSU vicepresident, finance and operations (VPFO) race has the most candidates of any executive position, with four students competing for the role. Each has outlined distinct priorities focused on transparency, revenue growth and student financial support.
Ameenat Arogundade
Ameenat Arogundade is a finance student from Asper school of business, vying for the VPFO position.
Arogundade is the current VPFO of the Black Students Community and she believes she helped make solid impacts by joining the community. “I believe I’m ready for a bigger role to impact the students more positively,” she said.
Arogundade hopes to accomplish more transparency should she be voted into office. “Not everyone is financially savvy, so [my goals are] making sure everyone truly understands exactly where the money
is going to and focusing on also student groups and communities who tend to be less advantageous on the financial side.”
In three words, she described her term as “responsible, student-voiced and capable.”
Arogundade enjoys swimming, watching movies and is interested in startup businesses and numbers.
Kai Jassal
Kai Jassal is an economics and econometrics honours student, also running for the position of VPFO.
According to Jassal, he has gained experience working on provincial and federal political campaigns. He has also been “an executive on two different U of M student clubs as well as an executive at a different university”
Jassal is campaigning on an eight-point platform, divided between finance and operations. His priorities include increasing UMSU
revenue, lowering student costs and expanding services available to students.
His proposals include creating a strategic plan to own University Centre, expanding MSC criteria to include subscriptions and introducing a free lunch program.
Neha Saru Magar
Neha Saru Magar, another candidate for this position, is a student at the Asper school of business studying finance. She takes delight in “connecting with people and building community.”
Magar believes “student dollars should directly support student success.” She is convinced her experience in the financial field makes her the right candidate for the position.
“With experience in research, data analysis and student leadership, I understand budgets, assess long-term sustainability and make supportive financial
decisions for the community,” she said.
If voted into office, Magar said she plans “to protect and strengthen scholarships and bursaries, improve accessibility for hardship funding and club grants, advocate firmly for students in U-PASS and health and dental negotiations and prioritize food security initiatives such as the UM Food Bank.”
In three words, Magar envisions her term in office as “responsible, student-support and student first.”
She expressed her understanding of the financial pressures students face. Magar’s goal, she said, is “to ensure strong support for the students on those realities.”
Cameron Provost
Cameron Provost, also running for this position, is a commerce student majoring in finance and marketing. He would like to run for VPFO as he has “seen a lot of things he would like to change at
UMSU”. He was previously an UMSU board director on the finance committee.
Should he be voted into office, Provost would like to implement ESG reporting — sustainable accounting practices which account for positive and negative externalities of UMSU activities. He would also like to reinvest most of UMSU’s free cash into bursaries and scholarships, student organizations and risk-free investments.
Provost mentioned he wants to make UMSU’s investments more transparent and make information a lot more accessible and readable for the general public.
Provost envisions his term with the words “accountability, transparency and sustainability.”One fun thing about Provost is that he plays hockey and rides his motorcycle.
AMEENAT AROGUNDADE KAI JASSAL
NEHA SARU MAGAR
CAMERON PROVOST
PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NEHA SARU MAGAR
February 23 to March 4
Monday to Friday 1st Floor, UMSU University Centre
Are
If the ALUMO Plan is discontinued, are you in favour of UMSU implementing the UMSU Legal Program at a reduced total cost of $5 per student per year?
UMSU community representative candidates
Nine candidates vie for key community representative roles
Roy Albright Obah, Arifah Gheesah & Nafisah Al Lilo staff
BLACK STUDENTS’ REPRESENTATIVE
Shumirai Marangwanda
Marangwanda is a secondyear political science honours student running unopposed.
Having had “the opportunity to work in spaces that [...] uplift Black people,” Marangwanda hopes to “encourage Black intellectualism and academic thought,” through this position.
Maragwanda believes she is capable of serving in this position because of her goal getter attitude and highlighting she has her community’s interest at heart.
Marangwanda also intends to embark on the promotion of Black entrepreneurship and innovation.She further seeks to acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of the Black community. She said, “We exist in so many different ethnicities and cultures, and I want to celebrate that to the greatest extent that I can.”
Marangwanda added, “positions like this require people who are motivated not because they want to be seen [or] they’re looking to fulfil their resume but because they genuinely find the work fulfilling, and I find the work fulfilling.”
She foresees her term as one that will be “innovative, ambitious and communitydriven.”
ACCESSIBILITY COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
Audita Zaman
Audita Zaman is a thirdyear student majoring in physics.
Zaman said her lived experience within the accessibility community has shaped her decision to step forward and run for this position.
“I’ve been in this community for longer than a year now,” Zaman said. “I understand the importance of being seen, heard and [represented.]”
If elected, Zaman hopes to organize more events tailored specifically for students with disabilities, particularly those with invisible disabilities who she says are often overlooked in broader initiatives. She said inclusive programming is essential to building a stronger campus community.
Outside of student leadership, Zaman is a professional dancer who performs on and off campus. She previously studied engineering before switching to physics last year.
Kristen Nguyen
Kristen Nguyen is a secondyear labour studies major who hopes to become a legal luminary.
Nguyen said accessibility is “more than just a policy issue,” describing it as deeply personal.
“As a student with a mental disability and also
a neurological disability, I have experienced firsthand navigating the university accommodation and support,” Nguyen said. She explained that she understands where these systems are beneficial and where they fall short. Nguyen pointed to strict deadlines within accessibility services as one of the barriers students face. She noted that when students miss the twoweek sign-up requirement for exams with accommodations, they are often told, “It is the [procedure] and there’s nothing we can do.” She believes that approach is not supportive.
“Accessibility is not optional — it is an obligation […] for a university to uphold,” Nguyen said, emphasizing that accommodations should not be something students with disabilities “have to fight for.”“I want to create a community that makes students with [disabilities] feel that they [belong],” she said, and added that students should not feel like “a burden to the community or the society.”
INDIGENOUS STUDENTS’ REPRESENTATIVE
Rayden Seela
Rayden Seela is a fourthyear psychology student from Thompson, Manitoba running unopposed. He sees himself as confident in sharing opinions and thoughts.
“I didn’t see myself running this year,” Seela said. “It
wasn’t until people reached out to me [...] and said that I should do this position, that they want to see me do it and they trust me to do it.”
Seela believes he is the right candidate to represent over 3,200 Indigenous students, stressing relational leadership.“My leadership style is built in relationship, and connection and community,” Seela said. “I just want to do what my community wants — I’m just the voice to their heart.”Seela said that, as an ambitious person, he plans “to bring the Indigenous community on this campus together, united in a way that has never been done before.”
2SLGBTQIA+ STUDENTS’ REPRESENTATIVE
Gwendelyn Freeheart
Gwendelyn Freeheart is currently studying sociology in the honours program, running unopposed.
Freeheart said their decision to run for this position is rooted in their appreciation for the queer community on campus.
“I think we have a really great queer community on campus, and I would really love to support them in any way I can,” they said. They also noted, “I know it is sometimes a struggle to get people to run for this position, so I’m excited to see what happens.”
If elected, Freeheart has several priorities in mind,
including event-hosting. Accessibility is central to their platform. “I would love to bring accessibility into the space more by hosting events online.” In addition, they hope to introduce “more education workshops for things like HRT [hormone replacement therapy], safe binding [and] mental health.”
Community collaboration is another key focus for Freeheart. “I’d really like to see more groups on campus working together so that we can all feel served and heard,” they said.
WOMEN’S COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
Kultaj Kaur
Kultaj Kaur is a secondyear student in the faculty of science running unopposed. She is completing a minor in microbiology and plans to major in psychology. She said her passion for supporting women has guided her career goals and choices.
Kaur said she wants to continue advocating for menstrual equity on campus and work to speed up the restocking of menstrual products in bathrooms.
She also hopes to address physical and mental health supports for women, including burnout prevention and eating disorder recovery resources.
Kaur envisions her term as “impactful, empathetic and brave.”
SHUMIRAI MARANGWANDA
AUDITA ZAMAN
KRISTEN NGUYEN
PHOTO BY MIKE THIESSEN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
PHOTO BY MIKAELA WARKENTIN / STAFF
RACIALIZED STUDENTS’ REPRESENTATIVE
Areeva Arora
Areeva Arora is a firstyear student in the science program running unopposed. She enjoys “bringing different groups of people together and [learning] about the beauty of diversity.”
Arora said her experience arriving in Canada has shaped her understanding of leadership and representation. “I don’t
believe representation is just about having someone who looks like you in a room. It’s about having someone who understands the hesitation before you raise your hand,” she said.
She added that her confidence in being fit for the role comes from her lived experience as a racialized student. “I’m running because I know how powerful it feels when someone genuinely listens and I want to be that person for others.”
Arora said one of her main
goals in this position would be “to create consistent, structured spaces where racialized students can actually talk about their experiences […] regularly.”
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ REPRESENTATIVE
Tirth Chaudhary
Tirth Chaudhary is a fourth-year computer science student running unopposed.
Chaudhary said his decision to run is rooted in
his experience supporting students throughout his time working at the First Year Centre on campus. He also has experience as the international students’ representative for the Science Students’ Association. If elected, Chaudhary said he hopes “to create more spaces on campus where international students feel connected.” He has heard from students that “they feel isolated,” often attending class and leaving immediately afterward.
He envisions his term as “impactful and reliable, collaborative […] and accountable.”
MATURE AND PARTTIME STUDENTS’ REPRESENTATIVE
Sanimar Singh
Sanimar Singh is running unopposed. At the time of publication, no comment was received and no additional information about Singh’s platform was available.
