CREDIT: EMILY STEWART
The Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) Elections Director Speeches were held in Forwell Hall on Feb. 26. Students took a break from midterms to listen to the speeches and eat free pizza after the event.

Students listened to the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) 2020 Election Director Speeches at Forwell Hall on Feb. 26.

Nine candidates for the Student Administrative Council (SAC) Board of Directors delivered their speeches to address why they want to advocate for their fellow Falcons.

Cole Ayerst, hon. bachelor of digital marketing student and the current SAC chair, is running again for director.


“I want to be someone that you can come to. No matter who you are, no matter what you have to say, I'll be that person that listens. I'll be that voice for you,” Ayerst said.

Lisa Castano, a chemical laboratory technology student, wants to ensure every student has their voice heard. She’s the only candidate from a science program running for director this year. “Being the only candidate from a science-based program, I represent a huge portion of the student body that has yet to have their voices heard.”

Kaivalya Dahale’s plans to serve students as a director include creating more scholarship opportunities and removing barriers to them, taking out break times in class so students have more free time, bring dining programs like Starbucks rewards to campus, and to take the time to listen to students’ concerns.

“I believe leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge,” Dahale said.

Zayaan Zakir Madari was what he called the “assistant head boy” at his previous school, where 13,000 students attended.

“The goal of the FSU is to engage and enable students to make their student lives easier and memorable,” he said.  “If I am chosen to be the FSU director, I will focus on reviving the college life and the atmosphere to initiate events which has something for everyone.”

Malik McNish, an international student from Jamaica, told the students he is here for them. He asked the crowd to raise their hands if they like to go to parties. He said he understood that, but encouraged the students to wait until midterm season finished before celebrating.

“Let's think about studying first and all that after midterms and we'll pass our exams and all that, after then we can party.”

McNish invited anyone who wants to learn more about his campaign to talk to his team.

Computer systems technician student Allan Saji Chakkpurackal said if elected, he would be as approachable as possible.

“I understand the history of the college and how FSU work for the past years.”

Business - logistics and supply chain management student Staceyann Stanley said she will work with the rest of the SAC to address the needs of students across all campuses.

“As students, we face many challenges in our community and for many of us, Fanshawe is home away from home,” Stanley said. “I'm not here to give you any empty promises or any outlandish promises. However, what I do intend to offer you is my time, dedication, and effort.”

Lakshmy Trikkuer Muraleedharan talked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent visit to India in her speech. The country did as much as they could to impress Trump, from building a wall to ensuring the Taj Mahal is tidy. Since he eats meat every day, however, he didn’t understand why there was no beef on the table during the dinner with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.

“My point is I'm not here to build walls or give you fake promises or give you false impressions, but I'm here to give you the beef.”

Prerna Yadav, a graduate from the University of Delhi, said that she wants to do more than focus on academics in her student life and was part of several clubs and societies in university. Yadav plans to help students discover their interests beyond academia by being part of the FSU.

“I think this is a place where we can learn. Where we can explore. This is the time only we've got where we can think of doing more things, like we can find our interests. We can explore,” Yadav said.

Nanzin Akter, Bhagylazmi Bishoyi, Jaylan Harvie, Vishal Parmar, Vijay Rama Raju Kunaparaju, and Prateek Sahni are also running for director.

A speech from the sole FSU presidential candidate Katyayini Thakur and Q and A was also supposed to happen, but she was unable to attend due to academic commitments. Greg Hessian, the chief returning officer for the FSU Election and moderator of the event, said after the speeches that she would answer the students’ Fanshawe Online (FOL) submitted questions at a later time.

Voting runs from March 2 to 4 at 2 p.m. on FOL. The results will be announced in The Out Back Shack on March 4 at 3 p.m. More information can be found on fsu.ca/elections. Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger version of each image.