Zarifa Nawar and Drédyn Fontana have been elected to UBC’s Board of Governors.
With experience as a student senator and the AMS’s VP academic & university affairs (AUA), Fontana’s campaign for Board of Governors was centred on sub-inflationary tuition adjustments and financial transparency at the faculty level.
“I'm excited, really, to do the work, to keep doing the work,” said Fontana after the results were announced.
He added that his first priority as a Board member will be “divestment.” Further priorities include keeping tuition increases “sub-inflationary” and “increasing teaching and learning supports for students.”
Nawar is the current VP AUA and serves on Senate. As VP AUA, Nawar secured over $20,000 in her “record-breaking” Textbook Broke campaign. On Senate, Nawar spent time on the Teaching, Learning, Nominating and Academic Policy Committees. She said she will continue to push for increased student support services funding and is opposing tuition increases on the Board.
Nawar said she was feeling “absolutely fucking insane.” She is looking forward to “strongly advocating against [tuition increases]” and “supporting international student permits, something [she’s] been very passionate about for a long time.”
Fontana and Nawar beat candidates Bryan Buraga, Sultana Razia and Jacky Xue for seats on the Board of Governors.
