I know that this is a VP finance related question, but I would like your opinion as a presidential candidate.
During the past year there have been significant changes in the management of Gerts Bar. Specifically there have been changes to the conditions that student groups have to comply with when they book an event at the bar. There is now a 50% cost that must be given to Gerts for Cover as well as coat check. Previously, there was no such cost associated with booking events at Gerts, aside from the booking fee that is waived at 1500$ in sales at the bar.
I have heard of two reasons for this policy. First, is to pay for the deficit that Gerts/SSMU holds. Second is because Gerts employees can staff cover/coat check with their own staff, thereby taking in the entire 100% of the fees. It is unclear to me, however, what the truth actually is.
Speaking as the president of one of the largest departmental student associations at McGill – which has hosted events at Gerts both prior to this policy and after its implementation – I believe I speak for all student groups when I say that this policy significantly hampers our ability to donate money to charities. I have even heard of campus groups considering alternative venues because of this policy in recent months. Considering the fact that a significant number of student events held at Gerts are charity oriented and depend almost exclusively on cover fee/coat check for revenue to be donated to whatever charity is chosen, this policy is damaging.
Further, it should be considered that whenever an event is held at Gerts by a student group, the event is widely promoted during the weeks leading up to the event. Methods include, posters, listserv announcements and class announcements. Essentially promoting a student association event, in this case, is also promoting Gerts itself. Consequently, more people show up, which leads to increased revenue for Gerts and SSMU.
I want to know:
1) Why this policy was instituted in the first place.
2) What you will do change it, considering the adverse effects it has had on student events held at Gerts.

McGill student governance is unique because we have both university-level representation (SSMU) and faculty-level representation (e.g., AUS, SUS, etc.). If you're elected SSMU President, you will have overlapping constituencies with faculty societies, which are of equal legal and representative standing. Keeping this in mind, how do you envision your relationship with faculty associations next year, what will you do to engage faculties yet respect their independence, and what do you see SSMU's role vis-à-vis faculty associations?
Thanks for your time!

Can you elucidate on how you would attempt to answer the question of integrating equity and sustainability intro SSMU processes and decisions?

What process would you undergo to answer how is sustainability faring as SSMU without someone in the role of sustainability coordinator? In your opinion, what is the present state of sustainability at SSMU and to what extent are you aware of the current initiatives and projects happening within SSMU?

I enjoyed watching you at the debate, and I appreciate your sincerity and straight-forwardness. I have some questions for you and I look forward to your reply when you have the time (I understand you must be very busy). 

My biggest reservation regarding your candidacy is your lack of political experience as a representative of the student body.

I do strongly believe that your experience as an HR Coordinator gives you an intimate understanding of SSMU and the responsibilities of the president. I also believe that much of the political side of the position (ie leading Legislative Assembly, Senate, etc) can be learned during transition and there will inevitably be a learning curve for any candidate.

However, as someone who has experience as a student representative I understand the difficulty of being one voice responsible for representing a large and diverse student body, particularly when your constituents may be divided over contentious issues. If anything can be learned from the events that lead up to the Farnan-gate/equity policy backlash is that its incredibly easy for messages to be misconstrued. And as a result, a series of decisions (that were likely made with good intentions) severely damaged SSMU's reputation in the eyes of many students

My primary concern is that navigating these types of issues is challenging, even for someone with extensive political experience. My question is how do you plan to overcome these challenges and your lack of experience in this respect?

As SSMU President, how would you envision your role vis-à-vis: (1) the Francophone Affairs Commission, notwithstanding the fact that it falls under VP Internal’s portfolio and (2) the francophone community that would form a major part of your future constituency. In addition, how do you propose to address the problems of: (1) better integrating francophone students in student life and (2) bridging the gaps between francophone and anglophone students? I look forward to your response.

Hi Austin,
During the debates, you mentioned that you would lobby for McGill to divest from fossil fuels because it's part of SSMU's mandate. Could you perhaps elaborate on that? Specifically, what actions do you intend to take in lobbying McGill through the decision-making bodies that the President sits on, as well as how you plan to promote the work that we (Divest McGill) have been doing for the last year to help increase public awareness and support for the cause, while also working directly with CAMSR to improve the process regarding ethical investing concerns?
Thanks in advance, looking forward to hearing your thoughts!