Eesha Chaudhry (VISION UTSC)

Eesha Chaudhry is a third-year student majoring in international development and health studies, running to be vice-president external of the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) under the VISION UTSC slate. She currently serves on the SCSU as the Director for Critical Development Studies.

Chaudhry’s motivation for running is to “serve as a liaison, a voice of reason to help students get what they truly deserve.” In her various leadership roles throughout U of T, Chaudhry said she realized “how much the smallest efforts I do really do give back to other people.”

Her top priorities if elected would be to address the topics of mental health, student housing and transportation, and cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

Chaudhry feels it is especially important to improve mental health resources for students given recent discontent about student mental health services. “It’s clear and evident that university, although it’s a huge milestone in our lives, it’s also one of the most stressful points of our lives.” She hopes to increase mental health support and resources, inform and educate students, and improve campus mental health resources like the Health & Wellness Centre.

She would also work with Scarborough housing activists and the university “to ensure that students are not only getting adequate and decent housing that is within their budget, but that they also know their housing rights, that they’re protected, that they’re safe.”

As a commuter herself, Chaudhry would prioritize lobbying efforts to see the Eglinton East Light Rail Transit system comes to fruition. She also wants to ensure that buses arrive as scheduled. “Transit is such a critical factor in whether or not I even come to school.”

She also emphasized the importance of OSAP. “Education is a right, it’s something this country owes us.”

Annie Sahagian (WENITED)

Annie Sahagian is a fourth-year student in human biology and media studies, journalism, and digital culture running for vice-president external under the WENITED slate.

When asked why she is running, Sahagian answered: “To give back to the UTSC community, to really utilize my connections on- and off-campus with the university administration, specifically for the betterment of the student body.” She also noted that the experience she has gained through the SCSU “literally made me the person who I am today.”

Sahagian cited being a student representative on the UTSC Campus Council, and being the volunteer network program coordinator for SCSU, which involved working with off-campus organizations, as relevant experience.

Among her campaign points, Sahagian wants to institute a political and financial literacy workshop and consolidate information on health resources to make it easier for students to understand. She also wants to install cameras in UTSC libraries and parking lots, in order to help students who have things stolen from them at those locations.

Addressing the fact that presidential candidate for her slate is her sister, Sahagian responded: “I am very proud to be running with such a dedicated leader on campus.”

For Sahagian, the responsibility of vice-president external is “to strengthen our relationships and collaboration… not only off, but even on campus.”