Afsana Miah is a fifth-year psychology and global development studies student running for the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) vice-president, academic and university affairs (VP AUA) position, as part of the TRANSFORM UTSC slate.
In an email to The Varsity, Miah wrote that, if elected, they aim to invest more in SCSU services like the Free Book Network, which was an initiative that allowed students to trade in an old textbook and get a different textbook. They would also like to introduce a course relief policy, allowing students who’ve switched programs remove previous program requirements’ grades from their cumulative GPA.
Currently, Miah is the coordinator of the SCSU’s Racialized Students’ Collective and a director of UTSC’s International Development Conference. Over the past few years, they’ve worked as the director of academics and peer support at the International Development Studies Students’ Association and as an equity ambassador at UTSC’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion office. They believe that these experiences have prepared them to work with both students and administration to address student needs.
Miah hopes to see a high voter turnout in this election, despite the many uncontested positions. As VP AUA, they aim to make the SCSU better at engaging students. “I want the SCSU’s executive members to be recognizable faces across campus so that our members don’t hesitate to reach out to us or rely on us with anything they may need,” wrote Miah.
