Brandyn Marx is running for president out of concern about the organization’s lack of equity for all AMS students and staff.
“I previously would never have pictured myself as an AMS executive,” said Marx. "But the way that things have been going and the number of people … who have been ignored is unbelievably frustrating to me. It is not fair.”
Marx is completing their second degree at UBC — they received a BA in anthropology in 2020 and are currently a fourth-year psychology student.
Their platform prioritizes accountability, creating autonomy for the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) and the Bike Kitchen and restoring UBC staff access to the AMS Food Bank.
The Sexual Assault Support Centre and the Bike Kitchen are under the direction of the AMS, and Marx said they want to give them “autonomy … so that they would not have to deal with any politics or interference from the AMS and could deliver services most effectively to students.” They did not elaborate on how they would create this autonomy.
Marx said their strength as a candidate lies in having years of experience as an AMS employee and active AMS constituent since they started at UBC. They currently work as the AMS liquor purchaser and have previously been in supervisor roles in the purchasing department and food beverage departments. Marx also has experience within Council — they sat on the finance committee in 2019 and are now on the working group reviewing the AMS’s respectful workplace (PC1) and sexualized violence (PC2) policies.
“I've been here for so long and I have more intimate knowledge about the inner workings of the AMS at all levels,” said Marx. “I’ve been to Council meetings for the last eight years just as a guest but also [know] how things work at the business level.”
They said one of the big issues they have witnessed over the past eight years is that the AMS can be “very cliquey” and lacks transparency.
“I find that to be very disturbing because it's antithetical to the idea of transparency and accountability. Nobody can come forward to the ultimate governing body and talk about problems,” said Marx.
On student engagement, Marx said they would have full days of office hours on weekends for students who are unable to come during the week and also have virtual options to accommodate students living off-campus.
They also said they would want to work with constituencies, clubs and resource groups and “proactively reach out for opinions rather than just waiting for something to go wrong and then having to react.”
On the issue of rebuilding the AMS’s relationships with resource groups, Marx said they would make sure the groups have adequate support.
Marx also said their role on the PC1 and PC2 working group has given them an advantage as they “already have the trust of a lot of people and the resource groups.”
Marx is running against Christian 'CK' Kyle, Alexandra Smith and Shaun “The Bulldozer” You.
This article is part of our 2024 AMS Elections coverage. Follow us at @UbysseyNews on X (formerly Twitter) and follow our election coverage starting February 27.