HSF Forum

Four candidates running in the by-election for the position of HSF president fielded questions from students in an open forum held at North Campus.

The forum hosted by the HSF, was held in the student centre yesterday. Questions from the audience and through the Twitter hashtag #hsfelections covered a range of topics from renewable energy, lowering student fees and open forums for student communication.

The candidates are running in a by-election after the disqualification of Tim Brilhante and other candidates last semester. Brilhante surpassed his three-strike rule and was disqualified for campaigning in a restricted area, being endorsed by a campus club and failing to delete a campaign-related Facebook cover photo after the period was over.

The by-election starting Friday, Sept. 26 will decide a new HSF president and the results will be in after the polls close on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Candidate Patrick Millerd, a comedy student at Lakeshore Campus, says his platform will focus on bringing a direct democracy to HSF. Millerd says he would provide an online forum for students to post their own thoughts and vote on how to improve Humber.

“Everyone gets to debate the ideas and everyone gets to vote on the ideas and whatever idea gets the most attention or the most votes is the one I’m going to work to actually implement,” Millerd says.

Thomas Walton, a Bachelor of Commerce International Business student and researcher of renewable energy, says his platform aims to lower student fees and bring more sources of renewable energy to the college.

“Primarily it would be solar panels, they’re low maintenance, rarely have to be checked, maybe once a year and those could be installed almost immediately, maybe a day or two,” Walton says.

When asked how his goal to lower student wages would work with using renewable energy sources, Walton says the money would come from surplus funds.

“HSF actually has a surplus and a budget to spend that money and that money won’t come out of the students pockets. It would actually come from HSF,” Walton says.

Shawn Manahan is running for presidential position for the third time. He says his campaign aims to make students to more aware about HSF and its benefits.

“My main platform goal is increasing communication, that’s key. When I go out there, getting nomination signatures or even just campaigning I see people look at me like they’ve never even heard of HSF before and that’s not a good thing,” says Manahan, a third-year Business Administration student. “A student federation, everyone should know about it.”

Paralegal education student Ali Zaidi says he wants to advocate student concerns such as adding more ATM machines on campus, lowering parking fees and bringing in healthier, more affordable food options.

“The reason I chose this as my platform is because students are concerned about it. Our job as a president is to relay what the students want and are concerned about,” Zaidi says.

Voting will take place across all three Humber campuses via polling stations from the hours of 9 am to 4 pm.