Candidates running in the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) election met at a debate Feb. 5 over Zoom to discuss the upcoming year.

Though the debate was poorly attended by students—highlighting the concern of student engagement in the SGPS—the event was recorded and posted on YouTube and the Society’s website.

Every candidate was asked three questions by moderator Mary Rita Holland, a PhD student and Kingston city councillor for District 7, while the Vice-President (Finance and Services) position—the only contested position—was given the opportunity to debate. 

Some common themes seen throughout the debate were student engagement, student fees, supervisor relationships and training, and transparency throughout the SGPS. 

Justine Aman, who’s seeking re-election as a presidential candidate, said she held weekly office hours and monthly town halls this year and created a bi-weekly newsletter to help increase student engagement. She said she wants to continue advocating for students and their needs. 

She said the Society needs to continue programming that will engage students with executive positions and floated the idea of creating an internship program for students to gain insight into the SGPS.  

READ MORE: SGPS executive candidates explain their vision for next year in Q&A

Emil Matis, graduate student senator candidate, strongly advocated for project supervisors to receive proper training and resources. He also spoke about the Society’s victory, which was international PhD tuition fees being lowered to match domestic tuition fees, and expressed the need for funding within the SGPS to be reformed.

Anthony Lomax, vice-presidential (community) candidate, spoke about student engagement within the SGPS and the lack of people who have shown an interest in running for the executive this year. He suggested low engagement could be due to the lack of pay the executive members receive. 

Lomax also said the SGPS is in the process of hiring an external human resources firm, which will bring internal cohesion and more efficiency to the organization.

Jennifer Li, vice-presidential (professional) candidate and former AMS president, was vocal about the divide amongst the law department and other masters and PhD programs. She suggested events be run to encourage cohesion and lessen the divide between the programs.

She also called for more transparency with fees, which was a prevalent theme among all candidates.

For the only contested position in the election, Gina Azer and Courtney Bannerman are competing for the position of Vice-President (Finance). 

Azer and Bannerman went head-to-head answering the question: “How should the SGPS budget surplus be invested?” 

READ MORE: Kingston region reportedly expected to move into green zone this week

Azer suggested the SGPS look into investing the surplus, which currently sits at $1.2 million, in higher-risk stocks and agreed that while the SGPS needs to maintain some liquidity, the Society should evaluate just how much it should maintain. 

Bannerman advocated for keeping the low investment risk because she believes it’s not the Society’s place to be playing the stocks with student money.

Once all the predetermined questions were answered, the floor was opened to any attendee to ask a question. No questions were asked from the audience, and each candidate gave closing remarks to express the need for more student engagement.

Voting for the SGPS election will take place Feb. 11-12.