Mathooshan Manoharan is running for vice-president operations on the UNIFY UTSC slate in the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) spring elections. Manoharan is a fourth-year student studying molecular biology, immunology and disease. He is currently the president of the Pre-Optometry Students Association, and he also previously served as the director of operations at UTSC’s Investment Society.

Manoharan wrote to The Varsity that his experiences in these positions have prepared him for the skills required for being vice-president operations. He believes the skills he cultivated in his past executive positions, such as reaching out to sponsors and coordinating budgets and finances, can be directly applied to the vice-president operations position if he’s elected.

Manoharan mentioned that he is passionate about representing students and making their voices heard, especially regarding tuition. He wrote that students’ extremely low usage of the amenities on campus during the pandemic was not meaningfully reflected in any differences in their tuition fees. He would like to see initiatives that improve the student experience and make sure that students are “given the most value for the price they pay.”

If elected, Manoharan would expand the availability of food services and initiatives. In addition, he would create more sponsorships for the union in the aim of improving the services and events it provides for UTSC students. He would also work on improving purchasing guidelines for clubs and departmental students’ associations.

The voting period for the SCSU elections are being held from March 1–3.