Congratulations are in order to Bijan Ahmadian for winning the AMS presidency. While we endorsed his chief rival for president, Ahmadian put out more policy ideas, articulated his vision better, and got his supporters out to the polls. He deserved to win.

Now comes the hard part: Running the damn thing.

This past year has been a disaster for student interests. We’re not represented at all for the Olympics, the SUB Renew Project has stalled, Council has stopped functioning as an effective body, and our ability to bargain with the university and provincial government became non-existent. Ahmadian will change this, not only because he’s not Blake Frederick, but because, as a two-year Board member, he knows the key players, how to leverage the voice of students and what can and can’t be accomplished.

Ahmadian is still far from perfect. In many ways, he is the exact opposite of Blake Frederick. While that is good in many ways, going from one extreme to the other on the AMS political spectrum brings concerns. Being a president is different than being a board member; you are the voice for all students. While Ahmadian might believe that UBC and students agree on most issues, he’ll quickly find out that AMS Council doesn’t exactly see it that way. He must respect Council, and Council must be vigilant—otherwise the system will break down.

As students, we all want this university to live up to its mottos and its reputation as a world-class institution. But we also want more student housing, increased accessibility, a secured UBC Farm, professors that make students their first priority, a more accountable Board of Governors and a campus that actually feels like a community (and not a retirement village). It’s now Ahmadian’s job to lead us in that fight. We wish him well.

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