The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) is currently holding elections for next year’s executive team. From February 25 at 9:00 am to February 28 at 5:00 pm, UTSG students can cast their votes for the students that will govern the union for the 2025–2026 academic school year.

Full-time UTSG undergraduate students, Toronto School of Theology students, students in a transitional year program, and students in professional employment year programs are eligible to vote. Voting will be available online at any time through utoronto.simplyvoting.com.

In interviews with The Varsity, all 18 students running for a position on the UTSU’s executive team shared their experiences, campaign focuses, and plans if they’re elected.

 

DAYS
HOURS
MINUTES
SECONDS

Presidential Candidates

Paul Gweon

Melani Vevecka

Vice-President, Finance & Operations

Elizabeth Shechtman

Yağmur Yenilmez

Winston
Zhao

Vice-President, Public & University Affairs

Damola
Dina
Leli Gardapkhadze
Saffiya Ramhendar-Armogan
Sonak Saha

Vice-President, Student Life

Juan Diego Areiza
Nehir
Arpat
Sneha Bansal
Aliyah Kashkari

Vice-President, Equity 

Hala Marouf
Hunar Miglani
Sammy Onikoyi 

Vice-President, Professional Faculties 

Erica Nguyen
Vivian Nguyen

President

The UTSU president serves as the union’s primary spokesperson and the chief executive officer. In their role they maintain stakeholder relationships, are accountable for long-term strategic priorities, and represent the “core values” of the UTSU. The president can also initiate campaigns and services for students.

Paul Gweon

Paul Gweon is a third-year student studying political science and philosophy. He is currently the president of the Woodsworth College Students’ Association (WCSA) and the chair of the UTSU Senate’s Governance Committee. In his interview, he explained that the latter experience familiarized him with the union’s policies.

Gweon’s campaign focuses on holding the UTSU and its executives accountable. “Campaign promises sometimes are not met when [executives are] elected,” he explained. “My job as president [would be to] make sure everybody’s promises are kept [and] help them accomplish these promises.”

In addition, he emphasized the importance of balancing long-term goals with short-term gains. 

Noting the failed 2017–2018 UTSU referendum to increase student fees to fund a U-Pass and the continued lack of a U-Pass at UTSG, Gweon explained that a short-term approach, such as partially reimbursing TTC passes like the WCSA, would benefit students more immediately.

He remarked, “[The referendum] goes to show that raising fees isn’t always the answer to a problem we have… We have to approach [it] in another way.”

When asked about what aspects of the UTSU he’d like to improve, Gweon emphasized a need for more transparency, pointing out that students had mixed reactions to the current union’s Annual General Meeting and were confused about where expenses were allocated. 

Additionally, he feels the UTSU needs more engaging events. “Student engagement can be step number one for better governance,” he said.

Melani Vevecka

In her interview, Melani Vevecka — a third-year student studying political science and evolutionary anthropology — discussed her previous leadership experience that would assist her as president. Vevecka worked as an executive assistant for the Prevention, Empowerment, Advocacy, Response, for Survivors (PEARS) Project and as an evolutionary stream representative for the Anthropology Students’ Association.

The main focus of her campaign is on improving communication — both enhancing the flow of information from the UTSU to the student body as well as providing clubs, organizations, and individual students with more access to the union. 

She plans to have bi-weekly office hours with students and learn more about the issues that they want the union to address. Vevecka also wants the student body to become more aware of the student programs offered by the union. “I think one thing that I want to improve is having more visibility [and] recognition for people to take advantage of the great things [the UTSU] has to offer.” 

The other campaign goals Vevecka is focusing on include creating a comprehensive system for students to get involved in clubs, establishing a TTC subsidy program for commuter students, and introducing a retroactive Credit/No Credit (CR/NCR) option. 

Her aim with the last program is to allow students to explore various options with their degree before committing to a specific program of study. “I do think that people grow up. They find new passions, and they [discover] new interests — what you did in first-year doesn’t necessarily serve you in your fourth- [year].”


Vice-President, Finance & Operations

Vice-President (VP) Finance & Operations is responsible for overseeing the internal and financial aspects of the UTSU as the chief financial officer. They make recommendations on capital and budget issues, and coordinate the UTSU’s operations, businesses, and services. They also consider the internal structures, processes, and policies of the union to support its efforts to be transparent to its members. 

Elizabeth Shechtman

After serving as an executive member of the UTSU for three consecutive years, Elizabeth Shechtman is “eager to continue building on [her] successes” as she runs for re-election.

A fourth-year economics and bioethics student, Shechtman was the union’s 2024–2025 VP Finance and Operations, 2023–2024 President, and 2022–2023 VP Student Life.

Among her achievements over the past three years, Shechtman mentioned the launch of MyUTSU — a platform for student groups to manage activities, book spaces, and secure funding. She also mentioned how she increased awareness about Empower Me — a program that offers students in-person mental health services.

Shechtman’s campaign focuses include building a café at the Student Commons, where “student employment is very much happening.” She also hopes to fill all 50 seats on the UTSU’s Student Senate — the union’s governance organ that advises the Board of Directors. Finally, she aims to make the union’s food bank available five days a week for students, instead of only on Fridays, so students can “just come in [and] pick up things as they go, without having to sign up for anything.”

Shechtman added that throughout her time as the VP Finance and Operations, the union has kept their levy increases minimal. However, she stated that the union — and herself, if re-elected — hope to raise the orientation levy “to host bigger events.”

Yağmur Yenilmez

Yağmur Yenilmez is a third-year student studying economics and computer science while pursuing a certificate in business fundamentals. 

In her interview, she mentioned she “was always really into finance,” and served as UC Lit’s Finance Commissioner during the 2023–2024 academic year. 

Additionally, she is the youth representative for the United Nations and the vice-president of the Turkish Student Association.

Yenilmez’s campaign focuses on transparency, as she wants to ensure that students know how the union uses their student levy. She plans to use her skills in computer science to build an artificial intelligence website that would ensure easy access to the UTSU’s financial information. The UTSU currently has a website where they upload budget documents, but it has not been updated since August 2024. She also mentioned that the platform would reduce the UTSU’s operational costs, allowing funds to be spent on student needs.

For Yenilmez, figuring out where to allocate funds requires constant communication with students. She mentioned having office hours for students to voice concerns, such as about where the UTSU budget should be spent. 

Yenilmez believes that previous VPs have ignored students’ needs while not being transparent about their financial operations — something she hopes to change.

Winston Zhao

Winston Zhao — a second-year management specialist focusing on marketing and economics — said his experience as a community resource specialist at the UTSU Community Hub help desk motivated him to run.

“I know which services are used more and which are more important to the students,” he explained in his interview. “[As VP], I want to be on the back side of things and have more of a general understanding of the finances.” 

Zhao emphasized that his campaign’s overall theme is transparency and has “three pillars”: communication, allocation of budget, and accountability.

Whether it’s transparency in informing students about what the executives are working on or what promised project they were unable to accomplish, Zhao reiterated that “something I want to push is accountability in what the executives do.”

Zhao recalled when the UTSU announced its changes to students’ mental health coverage, and how he wants to be more transparent in internal communication: “I didn’t find out about it until the day the students found out about it… I couldn’t provide the support that I was supposed to provide.”


Vice-President, Public and University Afairs

Vice-President, Public & University Affairs (VP PUA) is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the advocacy activities of the UTSU and work to ensure that advocacy campaigns and activities are representative of the needs and interests of UTSU members.

Damola Dina

Damola Dina is in her third-year, studying political science, critical studies in equity and solidarity, as well as women and gender studies. Dina is currently the president of the Black Students’ Association and a former executive member of U of T Students for Choice.

In her interview Dina emphasized that, “You can’t thrive as a student [if] your basic needs aren’t met.” Noting that U of T is a commuter school, Dina outlined her plans as VP PUA to lower meal plan costs, work toward a free transit system for students, and follow through on establishing new student residences.

Further, Dina plans to amend the current CR/NCR system. Since “the university understands that there is a need for a pass-fail system,” she advocates for allowing NCR courses to count toward program applications and requirements.

Building on her past advocacy work, Dina hopes to continue these efforts as VP PUA, while also improving the union’s transparency. She plans to revisit policies — including anti-racist and sexual violence policies — to raise awareness of the issues that students face and advocate for change.

Leli Gardapkhadze

Leli Gardapkhadze is finishing her third-year of studying criminology and sociolegal studies and history, and European affairs — in addition to completing a certificate in international affairs.

Gardapkhadze said her work as a project manager at the Youth M-Powerment Global Network — a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth through scholarships, fellowships, and internships — has helped prepare her for this position. 

Gardapkhadze’s platform has three goals: student empowerment, advocacy, and expanding opportunities. She wants students to “have a say in the policies” at U of T. If elected, Gardapkhadze will advocate for mandatory academic advisory check-ins for students and an improved course enrolment system.

Additionally, she wants to “push for creating new opportunities like grants and scholarships that could aid students in terms of finances” and “introduce a TTC fare specifically for U of T students.” 

Throughout this academic year, UTSU’s current VP PUA Avreet Jagdev, has been advocating for a similar initiative — the TTC free pass program that would cover students’ TTC tickets for a 15-to-20-week duration.

Finally, Gardapkhadze plans to create more scholarship opportunities for students by leveraging her connections with representatives of the municipal, provincial, and federal governments that she met during her work as an ambassador for the Arts and Science Internship Program.

Saffiya Ramhendar-Armogan

Saffiya Ramhendar-Armogan — a third-year political science and criminology student — hopes to improve “the youth experience for students and build more of a community.” 

At U of T, she has been a mentor for students at Woodsworth College and is currently part of the Vice Provost, Students Advisory Group.

Ramhendar-Armogan’s campaign focuses on advocacy and transparency. She wants to create more opportunities for student feedback such as “a feedback website” or town halls where students can speak to the union about issues affecting them. 

She also wants to improve academic policies, such as implementing clearer guidelines around artificial intelligence use; reducing wait times for accessibility services and mental health services; and improving transit access through a university pass. 

While the UTSU tried to create a U-Pass program that would provide students with unlimited, fare-free rides on the TTC, prepaid by tuition fees, they recently announced that the program wouldn’t likely happen in the 2024–2025 academic year.

“I feel like it’s really important for students to have a say in the administration of the university, and sometimes it feels like we’re not necessarily being considered,” she told The Varsity. “I want to run for this role [because] I feel like students need to have their voice heard.”

Sonak Saha

“It’s your union, your voice, and your power,” said Sonak Saha — a first-year student who plans to study philosophy and political science — as his campaign slogan. Saha told The Varsity that he decided to run for VP PUA when he attended the UTSU’s annual general meeting in October as a member of U of T Student Strike for Palestine (SS4P)

During the AGM, a member of SS4P asked if the UTSU would support the international university strike for Palestine in November 2024. Saha said the UTSU allegedly never responded to SS4P about the strike, and he felt that student concerns were being dismissed. 

“I want students to actually feel like UTSU is not just some random organization that they follow on Instagram… but something that they can interact with, and they know and feel they have a say in,” Saha explained. 

His campaign is centred around accountability, democracy, and transparency. He wants to decentralize the UTSU’s decision-making and introduce more referendums on contentious issues, as well as hold mandatory town halls before decisions are made. 

Saha has experience as a Warrant Officer for his Air Cadets squadron, where he was in charge of 60 cadets, and as a House Representative on the Woodsworth Residence Council, where he represents his house and helps with events. 


Vice-President, Student Life

Vice-President, Student Life (VP SL) creates and organizes various events for students to participate in student and campus life. The VP SL is also responsible for providing support to student groups and clubs through the recognition process, which includes funding, promotion support, and resources.

Juan Diego Areiza

Juan Diego Areiza is a fourth-year student studying global health, critical equity studies, and immunology. 

Areiza has worked as a community resource specialist at the UTSU for the past two years and currently serves as president of the Organization of Latin American Students. In his interview, he said that these roles have equipped him with front-facing skills and an equity lens. 

His campaign focuses on two central goals: improving student representation and increasing the UTSU’s recognition among students.

For the first, Areiza plans to organize one large-scale student life initiative per semester aside from orientation, including a “culture fest” where people from minority groups on campus can showcase their heritage. Areiza explained that the UTSU must collaborate “with student groups to highlight their culture [and] identities on campus” to be more equitable.

For the second, Areiza plans on changing the UTSU’s funding system to an “initiative-based” system to have a more fair distribution of funding for clubs.

Additionally, Areiza believes that the “myUTSU” website and the UTSU’s social media accounts are being underutilized. He plans to use these platforms more to promote the work and events of student clubs. 

Nehir Arpat

Nehir Arpat is a second-year student studying psychology and cognitive science in the computational cognitive stream. After reflecting on her experiences as a first-year international student — feeling isolated and unsure how to become a part of the student community — she is motivated to run for VP SL to build a sense of community and home among students. 

In her interview, Arpat said she wishes to help students beyond their academics and with their personal growth. She noted that most UTSG students are not a part of or regularly attending clubs, despite it being a major part of student life. Thus, she intends to help promote clubs on campus. In addition, she wishes to bargain for student discounts at stores near campus to help ease the cost of living. 

Arpat also plans to engage students by being more active on the union’s Instagram account, such as through doing Q&As, as well as holding more events for first- and second-year students after Orientation Week, as she feels that “not a lot of people know how important the union is and how much power of change [it] holds.”

Sneha Bansal

Sneha Bansal, a second-year student studying ethics, society and law, and human geography, was inspired to run in the election after seeing the union’s current VP SL, Tala Mehdi, in action during Orientation Week, where Bansal also contributed as an orientation coordinator for Woodsworth College.

Bansal is also an administrative director on the Woodsworth Residence Council and VP of Sponsorship on U of T’s Trek for Teens: a non-profit organization that raises funds and awareness for youth experiencing homelessness in Canada.

Bansal’s platform focuses on raising awareness about UTSU’s resources for clubs and attracting a wider range of clubs. She also seeks to cater the events hosted by the UTSU to UTSG’s diverse student community. 

Bansal is especially interested in engaging commuter students for whom “it’s hard to integrate onto campus.” For the next orientation, she suggested creating spaces “for commuter students to hang out and have a space to stay” between lectures.

If elected, Bansal also plans to deal with the heat during orientation outdoors, for which she proposed “using communal campus spaces like front campus to set up rest spaces.”

Aliyah Kashkari

Aliyah Kashkari is a third-year student studying work and organizations, drama, and political science. Feeling underrepresented as an Arab student at U of T, Kashkari decided to run for the UTSU’s VP SL to “make sure that every student [… feels] represented” and “their ideals are valued.”

This year, Kashkari has served on the UTSU’s Student Senate, which gave her “insight within the student government and decision making.” She is also a director of social events for her sorority, Delta Delta Delta.

Kashkari said that the number one goal of her campaign is to increase student visibility by “reactivating the VP SL Instagram and expanding clubs fairs to its fullest potential to help students discover and connect with the clubs.” 

Her plans also include “expanding resources and different kinds of equipment for student groups” to “make sure that they have the proper things that they need to thrive.”

Finally, Kashkari wants to foster a “stronger sense of community within the campus” through “encouraging more collaboration between clubs and faculties.”


Vice-President, Equity

Vice-President, Equity (VP E) acts as an advocate for initiatives related to equity, diversity, and inclusion for the student body. Specifically, the VP E considers issues of racism and oppression, gender injustice, Indigenous reconciliation, poverty, and others.

Hala Marouf

Hala Marouf is a third-year student studying philosophy and English. She is currently the executive assistant to the UTSU’s VP E. Motivated by the ability to “allocate resources where they’re most needed,” her platform is focused on advocating for individual students while strengthening grassroots, student-led equity organizations.

Marouf identifies food insecurity, safety, gender-based violence, and accessibility as key campus issues. 

She plans to support student initiatives like Regenesis Market and Food Coalition and expand the food bank. She would also like to develop the rideshare program for safer and cheaper student transportation; enhance UTSU’s partnership with Downtown Legal Services; and provide additional support after students exhaust institutional resources like the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office or Accessibility Services

She also intends to regularly meet with student groups to learn from their lived experiences. For students affected by international events, she wishes to advocate for accessibility — such as extensions on assignments — and institutional supports — like solidarity statements.

Lastly, she emphasized outreach as a priority, noting students’ lack of awareness of available services within the UTSU. “I want to make that clear — you are entitled to this… you deserve this, and [I] want to provide it for you.”

Hunar Miglani

Hunar Miglani, a second-year student studying political science, economics, and statistics, told The Varsity that her combined experiences as a student with disabilities and an international student have motivated her to run for the position. 

“I see people talking about why [they weren’t] able to partake in a certain event [or] attend a certain networking [event]… People are voicing these concerns, but nobody is hearing them or even willing to give them an opportunity to express their grievances.” 

Her campaign revolves around making UTSU’s social events more accessible and visible. 

Miglani hopes to spread more awareness of resources for students with disabilities, such as the mental health coverage students pay in their tuition that covers therapy sessions. She also wants to improve food equity on campus. 

She credits her Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion experiences to being the VP Funds of the UTSG chapter of Enactus, a global entrepreneurship group, and an Assistant Program Director and admissions officer for LaunchX — a summer program for high school students interested in entrepreneurship. 

Sammy Onikoyi 

As a neurodivergent, queer, and racialized person, fourth-year bachelor of information student Sammy Onikoyi has “an intimate perspective on how equity, or the lack thereof, disappoints so many.” 

“I have a connection to communities that occupy [several different identities] and [I] want to be a voice for them,” said Onikoyi in an interview with The Varsity.

Throughout her time at U of T, Onikoyi has recognized institutional shortcomings in supporting students with disabilities and mental health struggles. As a student with ADHD, she hopes to collaborate with Accessibility Services to advocate for disorder-specific accommodations and move away from the “cookie-cutter” approach the office currently takes. 

Onikoyi also criticized U of T’s needs-based grant, arguing that bursaries should be an ongoing initiative rather than awarded per semester. 

As a Nigerian student, she recognizes the importance of fostering strong community relationships for racialized international students. To support them, she hopes to facilitate more collaborations between UTSU and racialized student groups to address their specific concerns. 

Thanks to her work as a vice-president of the Nigerian Students Association and her efforts fundraising for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the New Democratic Party, Onikoyi said she has experience making decisions that directly “influence on something that would impact a real person’s life, whether it be school, or whether it be the funding.”


Vice-President, Professional Faculties

As a professional faculty-student themself, UTSU’s Vice-President, Professional Faculties (V PF) is responsible for organizing activities and advocating for initiatives in governance and administration for U of T students enrolled in professional faculties — such as Applied Science and Engineering, Architecture and Visual Studies, Dentistry, Kinesiology and Physical Education, Law, Medicine, Music, and Nursing. 

Erica Nguyen

Having served as UTSU’s VP PF for the past academic year, Erica Nguyen is running for reelection because she believes “there’s a lot of work that needs to be continued.”

“I’ve learned a lot more about the other faculties besides my own, and it’s been really interesting to hear about the different issues and problems that we come across,” said Nguyen, a fourth-year student studying design and visual communications. “I feel like we really need to tackle them moving forward.” 

Nguyen’s campaign this year focuses on advocacy and communication. If reelected, she plans to streamline “communication between students and administration” as she believes professional faculty-student voices are “unheard on campus,” and “not the number one focus.”

She hopes to hold regular meetings with professional faculty members to connect with students and “thus [be] able to address their concerns.”

She also desires to continue working on the financial aid survey she created during her current term. She said she’s been collecting data on the “hidden costs that [specific] professional faculty students have,” such as art supplies for architecture students and lab materials for nursing and medical students.

Nguyen hopes to use her survey findings to “push for further financial aid.”

Vivian Nguyen

Vivian Nguyen, a third-year architecture student at the Daniels faculty, is passionate about advocating for students in professional faculties because she feels they are often overlooked. 

Reflecting on her own experiences, she remembers struggling to find clear information about how Daniels differed from the Faculty of Arts & Science when she started at U of T. She wants to improve access to resources and ensure students understand what benefits the UTSU fees provide.

 

As a former Orientation Week leader, Nguyen has firsthand experience helping first-years transition into life at university. Her campaign focuses on two key goals: addressing professional faculty-specific concerns and fostering cross-faculty connections. 

She hopes to improve course enrolment, ensuring that required courses are prioritized for students in their respective programs. “I find that certain required courses aren’t being put as a priority or aren’t being blocked off for at least the first few days for students in the program to register into them.”

Some professional faculties like Daniels already have a priority period, during which students enrolled in each faculty are given priority for enrolment into certain courses depending on their program and year of study. 

Nguyen also wants to “provide more opportunities for students to connect with other peers outside of their faculties.” 

“I feel like it’s important for students to interact with different ideas and people beyond their program or faculty,” she added.