Five candidates went head-to-head in a single night of debates for ASUS executive positions.
Candidates running in the upcoming ASUS election debated on Jan. 27 in Kingston’s Hall Reflection Room. Edlira Ballaj, Ivana Drinziu, and Leo Yang, all ArtSci ’26, were in attendance for the Presidential debate while Jaiden Watkins, ArtSci ’27, and Seham Kettaneh, ArtSci ’28, debated for the role of vice-president (operations). Piper Veloso, ArtSci ’26, running uncontested for vice-president (society affairs), spoke in an open forum.
Kettaneh and Yang were notably late for the debate, arriving over an hour after the debate had begun. The debate combined both open forum questions and pre-selected questions from the elections team.
Before the executive debate began, Jack Hickey, ArtSci ’26, kicked off the night as the sole contender for the ASUS Senator position, followed by the debate for the next ASUS Representative to the AMS, where Allan Savini, ArtSci ’28, John Bae, ArtSci ’26, and Isabelle Kosche, ArtSci ’26, are in the running. Savini was the only candidate present.
Candidates for ASUS’s International Representative position debated next with Ruixiao Tian and Alice Le, both ArtSci ’26, speaking about the importance of highlighting issues international students face. Candidate Mingrui Li, ArtSci ’28, was not in attendance.
President
With the possibility of being at the helm of the University’s largest society, three candidates spoke about the legacy they hope to leave for future students.
Yang hopes to continue the legacy of former ASUS presidents while establishing new traditions, such as creating different “houses” for competitions within the faculty. For Ballaj, bridging the gap between the two sides of the faculty—Arts and Science—and being seen as a compassionate leader is a priority. Drinziu highlighted the expansion of ASUS as a goal, including branching out to support graduate students with food insecurity concerns.
Each candidate addressed different issues as the most pressing for the faculty, with Ballaj stating it will be transitioning students to the Modular Degree Framework which would reduce degree requirements. Drinziu echoed this statement while also emphasizing the importance of awareness of academic support programs and food insecurity. Yang added one of the most important things for students is safety on campus and the potential staff strike if negotiations between the University, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) 901, and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) go south.
Drinziu emphasized the importance of creating initiatives that will stay past her tenure. She spoke to the importance of creating professional development opportunities for students, connecting alumni and other networks with current students through a team that will assist the Professional Development Director in creating an alumni database.
Yang wants to support department student councils (DSC) by creating faculty-specific career events.
“What I really want to focus on is prioritizing and supporting the DSCs by hosting different career events. It doesn’t make sense to have one single career event for all ArtSci students,” Yang said.
If elected, Ballaj plans to make the “What’s Up ArtSci” newsletters more accessible for students: “one of my actual goals is, in addition to emailing the monthly newsletter, putting it on the ASUS website,” Ballaj stated.
Vice-President (Operations)
Both candidates discussed strategic initiatives to manage the Society’s general operating budget.
In his opening statement, Watkins explained that one of his reasons for running for the vice-presidential role was because of the skills he gained from previous ASUS positions, while Kettaneh emphasized the importance of addressing students’ needs more effectively and collaborating with the student body.
The candidates outlined strategies for creating a general operating budget that balances financial responsibility with their goals, including consulting with current Vice-President (Operations) Silas Tamlyn.
“[I’d] be looking at where [ASUS is] right now to see if [ASUS is] still in a deficit,” Kettaneh said, saying she’ll work to manage the deficit from there. The ASUS general operating budget proposes a $81,898.70 surplus for the 2024-25 year. Watkins said this issue was the area he’s the most excited to tackle, noting ideas to keep finances transparent and streamline processes through widespread financial literacy workshops within ASUS and DSCs.
Later in the debate, both candidates spoke about streamlining revenue channels. Kettaneh said she would need to spend time with each revenue-producing group in her portfolio to see where the hiccups are and analyze where issues may arise. Watkins said he would focus on finance training courses for ASUS employees and volunteers so people can better understand the budget and the decisions of the vice-president (operations).
“We’re in a budget crisis, and everyone should be aware of our finances and the greater finances at large,” Watkins said.
President (Society Affairs)
In an open forum, Veloso covered volunteer engagement and ASUS turnover plans.
Running uncontested, she highlighted her passion for serving students which she said she’s exhibited in the past four years in the ASUS positions of first-year intern, chief returning officer, governance officer, and advisory board director.
If elected, Veloso hopes to amplify voices of underrepresented students, increase engagement externally and internally, drive change, ensure everyone benefits from ASUS’s services, and address key issues while building a strong internal community.
Veloso would like to leave a legacy of kind and compassionate leadership, which she highlighted throughout the forum as her strongest skill.
“It’s the empathy. It’s the kindness that I [would bring to the position],” Veloso said.
Veloso aims to build on the work of previous executives and implement changes that benefit students in the long term. She’s particularly passionate about creating a system to regularly check in with ASUS volunteers to ensure they have a positive experience. She aims to improve the efficiency of the current turnover process for ASUS jobs between years, which experience 100 per cent turnover.
Voting for ASUS candidates will be held on Jan. 29 and 30 on Simply Voting for all students in the Faculty of Arts and Science .
Tags
ASUS debate, ASUS election, Elections 2025
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