In the first VP academic and university affairs (VP AUA) debate, Drédyn Fontana and Taushifa Shaikh discussed food security, academic accommodations and sexual violence prevention.
When asked if the AMS’s current model of asking UBC for funds for food security and the AMS/GSS Health & Dental Plan, both Shaikh and Fontana said they would continue to push for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UBC President’s Office to establish permanent funding for the AMS Food Bank, something current VP AUA Kamil Kanji is already working on.
Shaikh also said her platform advocates for long-term and consistent funding for mental health but did not elaborate on how she would achieve this goal.
Fontana said he also wants to advocate to increase funding for UBC’s Food Security Initiative from $800,000 to $1.2 million and said he will accomplish this by implementing it into a MoU.
Regarding student engagement, Fontana referenced his experience as the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) VP academic and said he will use surveys and speak to students to understand their needs. He also said it’s important to engage with resource groups and other affinity groups.
“We need to talk to the people who are facing very specific issues in order to understand that properly,” said Fontana.
Shaikh said she spoke to 300 students before she decided to run for VP AUA and that she will “continue to engage with student groups … students overall, in random locations to get the real perspective on what the students' needs are.” She later said she worked at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
On accessibility and the UBC Centre for Accessibility (CFA), Shaikh said she will advocate to increase CFA staff from 13 to 20 and noted this is a budget priority that was proposed this year. She said she will increase staff by advocating for more funding.
Fontana said the Disabilities United Collective has advocated for lecture capture technology and hybrid learning. He also said the current class structure is not accessible for all students and added he will use his lived experience to advocate for the changes.
On tuition increases, Fontana said “the process is obviously not working at the moment,” citing UBC’s 2024/25 tuition increase despite widespread student opposition. He said the annual Tuition Engagement Survey needs to be “implemented properly” and that the Board of Governors (BoG) — the UBC governing body that oversees tuition increases — needs to be engaged with students.
Shaikh said she would implement a data policy approach and revise the Tuition Engagement Survey.
Both candidates agreed when asked about their position on calls for UBC to divest from companies complicit in human rights violations.
Fontana said this is part of his platform and that questioning specific investments, like UBC’s investments in Lockheed Martin, can allow conversations on divestment to begin. Shaikh largely agreed with Fontana and said UBC needs to align with student values, despite the financial challenges of divestment.
On sexual violence prevention, Fontana said UBC’s Sexual Misconduct Policy (SC17) does not allow complainants — the people who files a report with UBC — to appeal their investigation’s decision. He said he would advocate for a complainant appeal process to be added to the policy.
Shaikh said she wants to create trauma-informed resources for BIPOC students who may not be represented in the investigations process.
Fontana and Shaikh will debate again on February 29 at 1 p.m. in the Michael Kingsmill Forum.
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.