Students, faculty and staff gathered in the atrium January 30 to hear campaign speeches prepared by the student representatives who are running for elected seats on the Trent Durham Student Association (TDSA).

“I will be your advocate, a voice for this campus as someone who understands the successes and challenges that this campus faces,” declared one candidate during the lively discussion.

There are a total of five students running for office: Alexandra Bursey, fourth-year, History student and Michael VanIn, a second-year Business Administration major, are both competing for TDSA president, a role that oversees all major organizational decisions, managing all operations and resources of the organization, and ensuring that the organization (TDSA) acts upon its mission and mandate in accordance with the organization’s by-Laws and policies.

Katie Cassin, fourth-year English Literature and Media Studies student and Taylor Dobbs, a third-year English Literature and History major are vying for the role of vice-president of campus life, responsible for the creation and maintenance of engaging social activities on campus for the purpose of providing members with forums to socialize and share common interests.

Chandra Narra, a third-year Business Administration student, is the lone representative campaigning for the role of vice-president of university affairs.  In this role, he will be responsible for assuring that Trent University Durham provides an environment wherein its members can pursue personal and social growth as well as academic excellence.

After each representative presented their own platform speech, current TDSA executive representatives posed a series of platform-specific questions to each nominee. The floor was then opened to the audience who continued to direct questions to the candidates.

“I’ve been following the election campaign and I attended the speeches today to learn a little bit more about each candidate and their platforms,” noted Megan, a third-year Teacher Education Stream student. “I think that listening to the speeches makes the campaign less of a popularity contest and focuses the campaign on the students and their interests.

Fourth-year English Literature students Alex and Kelsey encouraged their fellow peers to get out and vote. “All students are affected by the results of this election,” they contended. “We’re here to encourage other students to pay attention to their student leaders. The decisions being made will affect the future of the school.”

The TDSA elections begin on Tuesday, January 31 and run until Thursday, February 2. Students will receive an email with their personal voting link. Election results will be shared on Friday, February, 3.

For more information about each candidate and to read their platform, visit the TDSA elections webpage