Dodge wins FSU presidency in a landslide

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Months of hard work have finally paid off for the Fanshawe Student Union's new Presidentelect, Zack Dodge, and his team, who will be the executive council for the 2012/13 school year.

“It feels incredible (to win),” Dodge said with a huge smile on his face. “This has been months and months of hard work and anticipation and anxiety and excitement. The fact that it's all wrapped up is just so relieving. It's been an incredible experience.”

Dodge and his executive team — Jayme Cox, Vice-President Athletics; Tory Holmes, VP Internal; Emma Newman, VP Finance; Adam Gourlay, VP External; Kendra Sauder, VP Entertainment; and Shawn Sikorski, student representative on the Board of Governors — faced the members of the student body for the first time when the winners of the election were announced on March 15.

“I have such an incredible group of people that I'm going to be working with this year — so diverse, so many different talents, so many different skill sets,” said Dodge. “We're all coming from very, very different backgrounds, so we can pretty much pool our resources. We're tapping into a variety of communities, and that's exactly what the FSU's about. It's going to be an interesting year with all of us — we've got a good crew.”

Sauder, Gourlay and Newman have previous experience on the executive council, while Holmes, Cox and Dodge are new. Dodge said he did not think that will hold him back, saying in a presidential debate with his opponents Bobby Foley and Shallis Ryder that working in the FSU as a custodian for the past couple of years has led him to meet many of the previous execs. “Veronica (Barahona, current FSU President) and Joe (Scalia, FSU President for the 2010/11 school year) were big influences — I would not have done this without them pushing me,” said Dodge, adding that current VP External Andrew Payne had a huge influence on him as well.

Dodge is currently finishing up his post-grad degree in Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Fanshawe, having already completed a diploma in Multimedia Design and Production. “One thing that's really impacted me in my time at Fanshawe is that this is where the rest of my life begins. This is where all these opportunities come from. This is where you meet those guys that you'll be in a career with for the next 30 years, or this is where you meet that connection that's going to land you that dream job. That's something that shouldn't be taken lightly,” he said. “I think it's a responsibility that we should be giving back to Fanshawe, because honestly, they've provided so much for all of us. That's what was on my mind approaching this campaign: giving back, because I've been given so much.”

Dodge's campaign platform centred on uniting the student body and promoting a sense of culture, community and appreciation for everyone at Fanshawe. “Promoting a healthy and active lifestyle on campus means a lot to me, and this extends to physical, mental, and emotional health,” he wrote in a questionnaire by the Interrobang. “We should feel proud for our peers and ourselves, this will create that sense of community that we need.”

Being President of the Student Union is a full-time job... literally. The FSU President is busy and always has a full schedule, but Dodge said he is happy to have such a strong support system in his council. “I think (coping with stress will come from) relying on my VPs ... This is a team effort. I may be leading the charge, and I may be that spokesperson and that voice at the front, but this is not a solo effort. This is not a solo project and I don't expect it to be. Any time that I'm feeling overwhelmed, I know that I've got an incredible staff support system beneath me ... That's going to be my number-one resource.”

Dodge sent out “infinite thankyous … to anyone in the FSU family and anyone who voted for me and anyone who got involved ... and my family!”

“The smiles that I've been cracking on campus have been fueling me — I haven't been eating, I haven't been sleeping, so I need something that's driving this insanity.”

Total ballots:   2242
Full-time ballots:   2209
Part-time ballots:   33
 
President
DODGE, Zack   1459
RYDER, Shallis   429
FOLEY, Bobby   241
Spoiled   80
 
VP Finance
NEWMAN, Emma   1319
RUPARELIA, Arjun   706
Spoiled   184
 
VP Internal (HOLMES, Tory)
Yes   1737
No   234
Spoiled   238
 
VP External (GOURLAY, Adam)
Yes   1778
No   219
Spoiled   212
 
VP Athletics
COX MUSIKOV, Jayme   1049
SWIRE, Brayden   945
Spoiled   215
 
VP Entertainment
SAUDER, Kendra   1437
THOMPSON, Dakota   560
Spoiled   212
 
Board of Governors (SIKORSKI, Shawn)
Yes   1742
No   274
Spoiled   226
 
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