Abhi Mishra, a fourth-year commerce student, is running to be the next VP finance on a platform of establishing long-term funding for the AMS Food Bank, improving communication and accountability and supporting students in finding off-campus housing.
According to Mishra, his experience working with the AMS, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and as the co-founder of the sustainability startup Mosa sets him apart from his competition and has given him experience working with different stakeholders and groups.
Mishra said his ability to use the resources and opportunities to help students and his desire to give back to the community is what motivated him to run for this role.
“I think we're all in a position where we can use all of the resources we have available and [make a positive impact] and it's important that we actually start doing that,” he said. “For me it's always been ‘Just do it,’ help others out and make a positive impact.” He did not specify what resources.
A top priority for Mishra is to increase the accountability and transparency of the VP finance office.
“Over the past few weeks, I have spoken to quite a lot of people from different clubs and faculties and the one main feedback that I've gotten from all of them is that AMS lacks in communicating properly and having a transparent process in their financial system,” said Mishra.
He said he was glad that the VP finance office had started working on addressing the backlogs of club reimbursements and was able to figure out the process of transitioning from the old system to the new system of reimbursements. However, he wants to better communicate the transition to clubs.
Another priority for Mishra is to advocate for long-term funding from UBC for the AMS Food Bank.
“I think it's important that in our short term process, we try to better [allocate] what the food bank’s current resources are and work with that, but also have a long-term strategy of how to help every single UBC student when they deal with issues such as food insecurity,” he said.
On student engagement, Mishra said he is going to use social media and his email to communicate with students. He also wants to host more town halls and general meetings where students can interact and raise their concerns with the VP finance office.
When asked about the referendum item on fee increase for the AMS/GSS Health & Dental Plan, Mishra said he was unaware of the reasons behind the referendum and why the health and dental reserve was depleting. The reserve is being used at an unsustainable rate due to a significant increase in mental health coverage claims in the last two years.
Mishra was also not aware of the reasons for the AMS’s $481,000 deficit for the year 2022/23 and what plans the student society had to deal with it.
His lack of policy knowledge also appeared during the debates, but he proposed some new ideas like partnering with AMS Events to hold fundraiser events for the food bank.
Mishra is running against AMS Associate VP Finance Linda Zheng for the VP finance position.
Follow us at @UbysseyNews on Twitter and follow our election coverage starting February 27. This article is part of our 2023 AMS Elections coverage.