Christine Belley vs Patrick Ciaschi: VP Academic (EIL)
I had to look up what EIL was, that's how much I know about it. And I can' t vote, so if anything sticks out I'll let you know.
Patrick has a passion for politics . . . and languages.
Christine said something about embassies.
Patrick said EIL is the best program . . . it doesn't even had co-op. Bring back PSSA.
Samantha Dale vs James Johnston: VP Academic Affairs (PAP)
Another one I can't vote in.
Samantha has a lot of ideas I do not agree with. Like increasing the capacity of required courses . . . that is something that goes beyond the scope of PIDSSA, ie. there are only so many rooms available. And having Professors putting all their lectures up on Virtual Campus, cry me a river. I have 3 of 4 Professors who don't use PowerPoint. It's up to them if they want to use VC to put up the lectures. And putting more copies of the books on reserve at the Library. Those aren't free. Will PIDSSA be paying for them?
James wants and increased dialogue between this position and the students and between PIDSSA and the faculty. Nothing that I don't totally disagree with, likely because he make too many statements.
James asks Samantha how she plans on implementing all of her ideas. She is underestimating how big these idea are, she keeps saying they are small things, but they are not.
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteThank you for attending the PIDSSA debates and being one of the few people to actually blog about it. While I respect your freedom to express your opinion, this rule applies to everyone - and that it why I am responding to your above comments about my platform. Now, like I mentioned, this is your blog, so I completely understand that you are not going to post all of the things that I mentioned in my speech. Yet, I don't think it is fair to say that I am "underestimating how big these ideas are". There is a difference between underestimating and being optimistic about something. As I outlined in my speech, I know that it would be necessary to convene with the chair of political studies, the supervisor of undergraduate studies, the public administration committee, participants of sfuo roundtable discussions, and the rest of the PIDSSA executive in order to lobby for these changes. Being the vp of academic affairs is not just about holding a title (or perhaps I am guilty of being optimistic again). It’s about representing your student constituency - students who believe in you and your ideas. Call me crazy, but I think being elected as a program representative should give you the leverage needed to lobby for change. Anyone can schedule a meeting with the chief administrator of their program, but there is a greater sense of legitimacy when an elected representative is addressing concerns on behalf of their student constituency.
My platform ideas do not go beyond the scope of PIDSSA. If you look at the constitution, it states that the vp of academic affairs must discuss ways to improve their program and address problems within the administration. I never said that making these changes would be easy – I said they were small changes that were achievable (it’s not like I’m promising students that I will get rid of ENG1100 or that I will lower text book prices). Besides, what’s wrong with advocating change and prosperity? I could have taken the safe road and stuck to something along the lines of “I will represent you…come and see me whenever you have a problem”, but instead I chose to expose problems that I believe really exist in our program and that I know have negatively affected other PAP students.
Also, I would like to respond to your comments about putting course textbooks on reserve. I have had classes where the textbook has been made accessible through an electronic resource or on reserve at the library. Many of us are on tight budgets, and it might make the beginning of the semester less stressful for some students if they knew that they did not have to fork out $100 for that politics textbook (of course, those who want the luxury of personalizing the book and keeping it with them would have to buy it). Everyone would have equal access to the newest version of the course textbook which would be in the best interest of, not only the students, but also the professors. Seeing as some textbooks are already available for loan at the library, I don’t think it is out of the question to ask for more/all professors to put copies of mandatory text material on reserve.
As for putting notes up on virtual campus, if you don’t care, that’s your prerogative. However, I feel that it is necessary to post partial or full lectures on webct for two reasons: 1) to make lectures and class resources accessible to students that may not be able to make it to class due to another commitment or due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. bus strike, family problems, work, weather conditions) and 2) it will promote more active listening and student participation.
Well, I’m going to wrap this up because it is pretty long. However, I felt it was necessary to respond to your comments because, although blogs are understandably biased and opinion-based, your feedback is still representative of me and my values. However, I’m glad that you expressed your dissent because it gave me the chance to clarify my position on these issues.
I hope everyone remembers to vote on March 25th and 26th at the Tabaret Rotunda. Check out elections.pidssa.ca for all the candidates platforms.
I will work from the bottom up here:
ReplyDeleteWhat seems to be forgotten in every election campaign is the power of the professor. Inside the classroom she/he is boss. I have a professor who refuses to put the slides on VC because it DOES make people less likely to show up for the lecture, which is why Profs are also more likely to have a mark for attendance.
There are two competing initiatives right now, one to have more technology in the classrooms (ie, everything on VC) and one to have less (ie no laptops in class), at this point, I do not know which one is going to win.
It is our responsibility to make it to class. Sometimes it gets tough, but we will not be having a bus strike every year, and having a serious family related problems will usually get you some sympathy from the professor. Thus, if for some actual reason you cannot make the lecture, a Prof can give you the slides, but if you didn't go to class because you were hung-over or something, you should have to get the notes from someone else.
I rarely have a course where the textbook is not already on reserve. But someone has to buy that book, be it the prof or the library or the faculty or someone. Textbook publishing is a business like any other.
ENG1100 is a good class to keep. It makes sure that all students coming into the university can at least read or write. Same goes for the ENG1120. You take 'em, you read a few books, write a few essays, you move on.
But alas, you don't need to convince me, since I am a POL student.