Increase Student Involvement on Campus

I aim to facilitate communications between the SSMU team and students, not only in terms of consistent updates, but rather with two-way communications to help students become more involved.

Why this is important:
  • The SSMU represents all undergraduate students (roughly 22,000). Despite these large numbers, it is difficult to achieve 100 students for quorum at significant events such as General Assemblies
  • The SSMU must be a voice to represent the membership in its varying views, in hopes to engage all members 
  • The SSMU is in the middle of some milestone projects like The Nest and early access to class information and I want to help push these projects even further. Lets look at what The Nest can do to better serve students (expansion? changes?). Lets give students a chance to have their schedule ready by day one of classes and avoid the class shopping and stresses of locking in your schedule during add/drop. 

How I intend to do it:
  • This year I want to create multiple outlets for more receptive feedback and generate improved ways to hear from students. We cannot assume students will seek out ways to provide their feedback on SSMU itself or more general issues at McGill such as tuition, and student space. The less effort required for students to provide their feedback the better. Also I would like to be a very easy to reach president, and to keep communication out in the open as much as possible
  • I plan to host weekly office hours because face to face communication is a necessity. This time could be spent out around campus speaking to students at lunch time or in the office allowing students to come in and speak - I prefer being mobile. While I know how busy my schedule will be, I am very organized and will be able to schedule this time out in advance to make sure that it does not become an optional item on my agenda. If possible I would document the happenings during office hours via blogging or tweeting.
  • I will have a general direct feedback email, twitter, and blog used publicly. I would work to have a report generated on any email feedback and publish it, while twitter and a blog are both very public ways to have informal communication with students. Using twitter especially would allow me to reach out to those around campus instead of sitting back and waiting for someone to engage me in a conversation, creating approachability and fostering a conversation with anyone willing to chime in.
  • I would work to find a way to require counselors to attend General Assemblies. Also, require them to promote to the students they represent, grassroots promotion could help people feel accountable for attending the GA rather than an impersonal email or a facebook post. 
  • I will work to promote the importance of voting in ssmu elections and referendum.
  • I will help increase the value of each communication between the SSMU and students. One way of doing so (especially on social media) is to compartmentalize communications by portfolio or topic of the communication. The average student may find part of what ssmu has to say valuable so try to make sure we get that specific information in the right places. We must create “sub-facebook” pages, post in groups at McGill that are relevant, and create a more visual listserv. The goal is not to give more information, but to get the information to the people who value it the most and to not over saturate our general followers.

Restore McGill’s Renowned Reputation

It has been discussed that McGill University’s reputation as a renowned institution is not as strong as in previous years. Moving forward, I want to ensure the administration is accountable for the three overarching strategic priorities: advancing McGill academically, maintaining a student-centered focus, and optimizing revenue sources. 

Why this is important:
  • We must ensure McGill continues to be an esteemed international institution, drawing students from around the world to study here. The international experience both socially and educationally is a key component of our McGill experience. 
  • An esteemed university attracts the best professors.
  • The McGill name should continue to carry the same prestige it has in the past benefitting graduates and all future graduates. 
  • Each individual at McGill, including the entire undergraduate population, needs to play an integral part in creating the undergraduate experience, which is cherished by all students. The McGill is so different for every student, part of what makes McGill such a great place. Having the choice of what type of experience you have during your time here is desirable and should not be surrendered. 

How I intend to do it:
  • I will effectively lead the SSMU team to ensure that we work in collaboration and support each others’ goals and projects that will help uplift the students, SSMU and McGill in general.
  • I will lobby the McGill administration to continue to provide student services, which are currently available.
  • I will be a strong student voice at BOG reminding the administration of the three overarching strategic priorities and proposing what they represent to students.
  • I will lobby the McGill administration to increase, diversify, and (re)focus these services for students based on changing student need.
  • I plan to advance initiatives of students involving equity and sustainability. What needs to be done in terms of deeply integrating equity and sustainability into all decisions at SSMU is a question I will seek to answer. How is sustainability faring at SSMU without someone in the role of sustainability coordinator? I want to find out, report back, and act on what we find.

Continue to Advance the Human Resource Portfolio

A long-term perspective is critical to the further development of a relatively new human resources portfolio at SSMU. To address this, I want to create more effective recruitment strategies for students and permanent staff, implement automation where possible, and foster an environment where employees want to work.

Why this is important: 
  • SSMU hires over 200 student staff every year
  • Human resources within SSMU is expanding and should be developed with long term success in mind 
  • Cyclical hiring is a process that can, and should be, planned for years ahead of time
  • Recruitment strategies at the SSMU have not proven to be very effective in the past, and these can be improved upon

How I intend to do it:
  • Work closely with the GM and HR advisor to implement a human resource management system
  • Develop new and more effective ways to inform students of SSMU’s diversified and flexible job opportunities
  • Become more transparent about the timelines during our hiring process
  • Hold executives more accountable for their HR responsibilities
  • Better train executives on our HR practices and prepare them for their roles as managers
  • Create a long term plan for human resources, including projects that are itemized and have timelines that can be passed on from year to year if they are not finished
  • Prioritize the projects of the HR portfolio