The name Natalie Swift may be new to many UBC students, but when it comes to student politics, this Forestry student has always been a fast learner.

Born in England, raised in Peterborough, Ontario, Swift went to a large high school, where, by her own admission, she was your typical type-A, involved in everything from the social justice group to women’s rugby. “Everything available, I did it,” she said.

After high school, she decided to go to Fleming College, an Ontario college with approximately 15,000 full- and part-time students. A political keener, she decided to run for president in her first year.

“I just wanted to get involved.”

Though she lost the election, she wasn’t deterred. While at Fleming, she served in a variety of roles, from VP academic to Board of Governors to eventually President, dealing with a variety of issues.

“We had the lifting of the tuition freeze…and we had a faculty strike,” she said. “Although it was a small college, I was dealing with large issues on a large scale with other student unions.”

After graduating in 2006, Swift took a year off, worked in Tofino for an environmental group, and decided to come to UBC in September 2007. She quickly immersed herself in AMS politics, becoming involved with the Forestry Undergraduate Society (FUS) and AMS Council itself, including the beginnings of the building of the new SUB.

“I actually sat on the original SUB Renewal Committee,” she said, “and was involved to the point where the Memorandum of Understanding [with the University] was signed, so I have a full sense of the history and development of the project.”

Returning to UBC in 2009 after a year on exchange, Swift quickly got back involved, becoming VP External of the FUS. Sitting on AMS Council, she and her main rival for the presidency, Bijan Ahmadian, differed on a number of votes that came to Council—most notably the motion to censure Blake Frederick in November for his bus loop press release. While Ahmadian pushed for censure, Swift voted against it, a decision she looks back at with regret.

“At the time, I didn’t know what I know now…I thought I was making a decision that was in the best interests of students, and that censure was too harsh,” she said. “It’s the easy answer to say ‘yes, I would have done something different’…but even then, censuring him wouldn’t have made any difference.”

Swift also abstained on a number of key motions that came forward to Council, such as the intention to leave CASA and the creation of a seat for disability students. But she argues that those abstentions were due to the wording of the motion more than anything else.

“I’ve seen a lot of poorly developed motions come to campus this year,” she said. “And it’s hard, you get put in a position where if you vote no, you don’t care, but if you vote yes, it’s not necessarily the apropriate solution.”

If Swift is to become the next AMS president, she’ll need to convince students that she is able to bring students together. She believes the AMS is the ideal place to see that happen.

“I fundamentally believe in the value of students coming together and taking ownership of their degree. And I really think the AMS allows us to do that, not just of our degree, but the entire university experience.”

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