After an unusually brisk election period, Sandy Hudson is expected to stroll into power at the University of Toronto Students’ Union along with the rest of her Unite U of T slate. Out of the fi ve Unite slate members running for seats on UTSU’s executive board, only Hudson had an opponent. The other four candidates, Dave Scrivener (VP external), Khota Aleer (VP equity), Binish Ahmed (VP university affairs), and Adnan Najmi (VP internal and services), only needed to win a Yes/No vote.

Hudson’s opponent, varsity athlete and UTSU newcomer Ruben Vina- Garcia, ran on a platform of engaging students in political life and reinstating online voting in campus elections. He also ran on accusations of political nepotism at UTSU—and, after four years of familiar faces on the executive board, Vina-Garcia isn’t the fi rst to make that charge.

“I read that on [Vina-Garcia’s] Facebook group and I immediately submitted a complaint […] to the CRO,” Hudson said (the CRO is the Chief Returning Offi cer, hired by UTSU and tasked with ensuring a fair election).

Hudson protested Vina-Garcia’s charge that UTSU’s leadership was undemocratically entrenched.

“I think his word was ‘dynasty,’ or ‘unbroken line.’ I think it’s kind of ridiculous.”

Hudson, currently UTSU’s VP equity, assembled Unite U of T with current UTSU VP external Dave Scrivener. Scrivener approached Ahmed after working with her in the International Relations Society. Hudson knew Aleer from her work in the African Students Association. Najmi currently sits on UTSU’s board of directors and has two years experience with UTSU’s workings.

When UTSU’s top seats are almost all given away with no contest, is student apathy the culprit?

“To be honest, I don’t know,” said Hudson. “The Elections and Referenda committee did their best to publicize the elections. They even extended the nomination period. I guess it’s just the way it is.”

As for goals for the year ahead, Hudson said she hopes to make health and dental plan refunds and discount Metropasses available online.

But not voting?

On that issue, Hudson recalled incidents in

2003, when voting was done through ROSI, and drew complaints from students who were without web access. She noted that the Chestnut residence lost Internet access for a whole day, and many students didn’t vote.

“You never know what can go on with technology, and if you have it there and you’re tracking it and everything’s secure, I think that paper balloting is more reliable.”

UTSU’s apparent president also mentioned the TTC UPass proposal—a $480 pass that gives unlimited TTC rides from the beginning of September to the end of April. The catch? The proposed pass would be mandatory for all students, essentially bringing a large fee hike.

“We would really like that opt-out option, but we’ll just have to continue to negotiate with them,” Hudson said.

UTSC is already bringing the proposal to a student referendum—the only school in the GTA to do so. If they accept the TTC’s deal, it could severely weaken the ability of other campuses to negotiate more favorable terms.

“It’s a little difficult when Scarborough’s already going to referendum,” admitted Hudson. “That affects all the rest of the schools that are negotiating with the TTC.”

“It’s a touchy situation.”

A remarkably calm election, then, could mark the beginning of a turbulent year. Is Unite U of T’s virtually-uncontested slate a symptom of student apathy, or partly to blame for the problem? Hudson shrugged:

“Don’t know…” she said. “Don’t know.”