Running uncontested, Zein Hammad, HealthSci ’28, is the sole candidate for Health Sciences Society (HSS) vice-president (university affairs) for the next school year.
The vice-president (university affairs) oversees the HSS I-EDIAA, Community, and Academic affairs commissions, and manage the 4P Project, Mental Health Committee and Formal Committee.
In a statement to The Journal, Hammad spoke about his desire to create long-term, sustainable changes within the health sciences community. While he’s interested in having a singular year impact, Hammad emphasized the importance of building systems and traditions that can be adopted by future HSS teams.
“I’m not only interested in leaving a singular-year impact,” Hammad said, “I want to build systems that allow progress to compound year after year”
Hammad is currently the community commissioner in the HSS, where he was responsible for leading a team to coordinate and execute events for the health sciences student body. He noted that his team has thus far organized the first HSS haunted house as well as the “most economical” HSS formal that they’ve had in the past few years.
Hammad outlined his campaign runs on four main pillars: voice, inclusion, belonging, and engagement. With a key goal being for “students to engage with and see tangible progress, not just one-off wins”.
One of Hammad’s major goals is to strengthen student engagement with the HSS, whether that be events or initiatives. Hammad hopes to accelerate the momentum, that the current HSS has had, and increase student engagement by making it easier, more consistent.
According to Hammad, while the HSS has made significant strides in building community within the health sciences student body, he thinks there is still room to ensure more students feel connected and represented. He plans to do this by using student feedback and implementing it, so that new initiatives are derived from the needs and interests of the health sciences student body.
Hammad emphasized the importance of centering student voices in decisions and prioritizing transparent communication regarding changes and their reasoning behind it.
He plans to strengthen student engagement in decision-making, through taking proactive steps to ensure that a broader audience is reached. He plans to do this through things like brief in-class presentations, pop-up booths in high traffic spaces on campus, collaborating directly with professors and the program office, and consistent outreach through channels that are already utilized by students, such as the BHSc newsletter.
Hammad plans to not only advocate for students, but to advocate for them “transparently, with ongoing input, so students can trust that this role reflects them.”
The all-candidates’ debate will take place Jan. 27 at 3:30 in room 132 of the School of Medicine Building. Voting will take place between Jan. 30 and Feb. 1.
Tags
Elections 2026, HSS elections, HSS executive, HSS Vice-President (University Affairs)
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