Team SEM is running in the upcoming Computing Students’ Association (COMPSA) on a platform centred around accountability, communication, and efficiency.
The team’s composed of Mirwaaj Afzal, CompSci ’27, who’s running for president, Shahnoor Sarfraz, running for vice-president (operations) (VPOPS), and Ella St. John, running for vice-president (student affairs) (VPSA), both CompSci ’28. Afzal and St. John sat down with The Journal for an interview to talk about their team’s platform, while Sarfraz was unable to attend.
The elected executive team are all responsible for attending and representing COMPSA at AMS assemblies and having meetings with the director of the computing program. The president’s responsible for introducing and promoting COMPSA during orientation to new students, as well as overseeing and supporting COMPSA initiatives. VPOPS oversees all COMPSA hiring, conference portfolios, and finances. VPSA oversees clubs and student outreach.
Team SEM have all held roles across both COMPSA and Computing Orientation, contributing in different capacities. Currently, St. John serves as COMPSA’s Finance Director and is a TECH for the 2025 orientation. Afzal is a COMPSA Year Representative and AMS CRO, previously served as a TECH in 2024, and is a member of the 2025 TECH Committee. Sarfraz also serves as a COMPSA Year Representative and is a TECH for 2025. While individuals may participate as TECHs in multiple years, service on the TECH Committee is considered a separate role and can’t occur in consecutive years.
The three pillars that team SEM’s platform is built accountability, communication, and efficiency. The team aims to formalize COMPSA’s structures through better defining roles and expectations of COMPSA members, while “strengthening its impact on the computing student body,” Afzal said.
Team SEM plans to expand COMPSA’s presence within the computing student body by providing funding and institutional support for orientation. Afzal said that they plan to have orientation leaders “ensure that incoming students are introduced to COMPSA and understand how to engage with us [COMPSA] early on.”
Another component of Team SEM’s platform is executive and portfolio accountability. Afzal mentioned that currently several COMPSA roles are underdeveloped, with very few clear and measurable expectations, which makes it “difficult for students to understand what their student government is accomplishing,” Afzal said. Team SEM plans to require each portfolio to submit a detailed plan, outlining goals and deliverables, followed by a report at the end of the term assessing accomplishments.
Team SEM emphasized their focus on industry outreach, noting that currently, industry events rely heavily on individual initiative, leading to inconsistency from year to year. St. John explained that she plans to establish a centralized database of employer and alumni contacts and commit to hosting regular industry speaker events throughout the academic year.
St. John’s also focused on supporting first-year students’ academic transitions, especially due to the recent changes in the computing program with the implementation of modular degree plans, planning to “centralize academic information so incoming students better understand their options and expectations.”
Sarfraz’s goals were spoken on behalf of Afzal and St. John. As VPOPs, she plans to increase internal efficiency through reducing overlap in portfolio responsibilities within COMPSA so there aren’t several positions with the same responsibilities, implementing outcome-based budgeting that’s tied to measurable impact of each committee, and making improvements to the cleanliness and maintenance of Goodwin Hall. “Efficiency isn’t about doing less, it’s about doing what actually matters,” Afzal said
She plans to expand the responsibilities of the Cas Connect service—which is responsible for providing support, resources, and connections to computing students in the CAS Lab—to include maintaining shared computing spaces, so they are functional for students.
Team SEM emphasized their ultimate goal’s to strengthen COMPSA’s role as a reliable, visible advocate for computing students, while ensuring resources are clear, efficient and student-focused.
The COMPSA candidate debate will happen on Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. in Goodwin Hall 230. Voting is open from Feb. 8 to 9.
Tags
COMPSA, COMPSA elections, Elections 2026, Team SEM
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