On Feb. 11, the Residence Society ratified their individual appointments to the positions of President and Vice-President (Judicial Affairs) for the 2018-19 term. This decision followed one team’s unsuccessful election earlier this semester.

During the January election period, the only team who ran for ResSoc executive was Team FAM, that consisted of Jane Mao, ArtSci ’20, Kyesha Fong, ArtSci ’20 and Andrea Colasanti, ArtSci ’19. The team was disqualified for “reproachful conduct,” but was reinstated following an AMS Judicial Committee appeal.

However, Team FAM failed to receive a vote of confidence from the student body in their second election period. This prompted the ResSoc General Assembly to open up the Executive positions to individuals across the board, rather than teams.

Individuals appointed to the positions of President and Vice-President (Judicial Affairs) were ratified at the Feb. 11 meeting. Unfortunately at this assembly, the Vice-President (Residential Affairs) candidate failed to secure a vote of confidence. According to current Vice-President (Judicial Affairs) Maddie Perrault, a time to appoint the third executive member has yet to be determined.

In an email to the incoming executives, The Journal inquired about individual experience, platform points and hopes for their time in office.  

Incoming President Michael Coldwell, Comm ’18, is currently pursuing a dual degree in Life Sciences and Commerce. Already serving as a Residence Don, Coldwell told The Journal he was inspired to run by the students on his floor.

His experience on campus isn’t limited to Residence Society. “At Queen’s, I’ve been involved with numerous clubs through roles such as VP Finance and Social Media, as well as a Lecturer TA,” Coldwell wrote.

While in office, one of Coldwell’s main focuses will be improving student engagement. He said this can be done through the use of social media platforms aside from solely Facebook.

“I’ve had huge success with ResSoc engagement on my floor because the [House President], the floor reps, and I would act like a ‘united front’, and stimulate interest for events through interactions beyond a single Facebook event notification,” Coldwell wrote.

Some of his other priorities include “being an advocate for healthier lifestyles in residences” and working to “create a better atmosphere for international students and other marginalized groups” in residence buildings.

Vice President-elect (Judicial Affairs) Jenny Lee, ConEd ’19, has been involved with ResSoc in various roles. She has served as a floor representative, a residence facilitator and is currently the Human Resources Officer for ResSoc.

“As the incoming VPJA, I would like to make sure that all staff feel welcome and supported,” she wrote to The Journal. “In my personal experience, I have witnessed a disconnected understanding between the various residence staff roles: dons, house presidents, and residence facilitators.”

Lee hopes to remedy this problem through effective training for ResSoc staff and more leadership opportunities for Senior Residence Facilitators.

Both candidates expressed thatdespite not campaigning together, they look forward to their year in office together and working as a team.

“I’m really looking forward to achieving our goals while having Jenny as my teammate,” Coldwell wrote. “I believe that my fresh, student-facing perspective, paired with Jenny’s deep experience with the Society, is exactly what’s needed to boost student engagement and ultimately be a better advocate for the students.”

Lee expressed similar sentiments, highlighting her confidence in Coldwell and in the Society itself to affect change.

“I am very much looking forward to working with the President-elect, Michael Coldwell. I am confident in his ability to lead ResSoc, and hope that together we can achieve really amazing things for the residence community.”