On March 10, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) held a forum for the union’s 2025–2026 executive candidates to expand on their campaigns and answer questions about their plans. The forum ran from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in UTM’s Instructional Building.  

Members of the EvolveUTM and InnovateUTM slates, as well as the independent VP Equity candidate Aymaan Chowdhury, faced off against each other at the forum. 12 out of 13 candidates were present, while independent presidential candidate Aryaman Chopra emailed the UTMSU Chief Returning Officer (CRO) before the event, saying he couldn’t attend. Chopra didn’t provide a reason for his absence.

Students could submit their questions to candidates through a Google Form before the forum. Candidates were asked both general questions for their respective positions and personalized ones on their individual campaigns. 

Here are some key moments and questions from the forum.

President

After introductions, presidential candidates Nehal Nakib (EvolveUTM) and Andrew Park (InnovateUTM) took to the stage again to answer some questions.

First, the candidates were asked about their approach to continue advocating for the university’s divestment from companies supplying Israel with weapons and Israeli academic institutions, following UofT Occupy for Palestine’s (O4P) 63-day pro-Palestine encampment at King’s College Circle. 

The protesters demanded that the university disclose its investments, divest from companies that supply the Israeli military with weapons and technology, and cut ties with Israeli academic institutions. U of T had stated that claims of its connection to the Israeli military “have no basis in fact.”

Nakib responded by saying that demanding divestment will remain as his team’s top priority. He plans to work with the school’s governing bodies such as the Governing Council, the UTM Campus Council, in addition to preparing petitions, town hall meetings, and demonstrations in support of students’ demands. He also plans to educate students on where their tuition fees are being invested, and create a divestment action plan.

Park answered by saying that his team will maintain connections with groups like the recently launched Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Discrimination working group, the Palestinian Youth Movement and the O4P to continue asking for divestment. He also plans to work as a coalition of the five student unions to increase pressure on the university administration. 

The presidential candidates were then asked individual questions. 

When asked about his goal to increase transparency in union affairs for students, Nehal answered that he plans to publish quarterly breakdowns of UTMSU’s finances on the union’s website and social media. He also wants to livestream general meetings and “major decision-making processes,” as well as host regular “Ask The Execs” town halls for students to raise concerns and propose changes.

Park was then asked to explain how he plans to expand co-op opportunities for UTM students. He answered by saying that he wants to collaborate with the City of Mississauga and ​​the Toronto Youth Cabinet to launch internships and co-op opportunities and host networking events and workshops.

In interviews with The Varsity after the forum, both presidential candidates reflected on their campaigns. Nakib elaborated that his proposed divestment action plan will “include the voice of the students” because “they deserve to have the most power.”

Park emphasized that his team’s initiatives have actionable steps. “We not only know why we have to do these things or what we’re going to do, but also how we’re going to achieve these goals. And I want to communicate that to the students,” he said.

VP External

The forum then moved to the VP External candidates, Karan Chandi (EvolveUTM) and Rajas Dhamija (InnovateUTM).

When asked about his goal to reduce transit fares for UTM students, Dhamija said that he would organize a student survey and present their answers to MiWay to begin negotiations. 

He noted that the UTMSU struck a deal with Metrolinx in the 2024-2025 academic year that gives students access to Ontario’s One Fare Program, which means UTM students’ U-Passes will now be incorporated with their Presto cards. This will allow students to pay for MiWay transit with a Presto card as well as use this card to transfer between different transit services, like Miway and TTC, without having to pay. 

In an email to The Varsity, UTMSU President Joelle Salsa confirmed the deal’s existence. She did not provide any details since the union is still in the process of signing the agreement. 

Chandi was asked to elaborate on the opt-in GO U-Pass EvolveUTM has proposed as part of their campaign. He explained that unlike the existing GO Transit post-secondary student discount initiative, which offers a 40 per cent discount through the GO Transit Student ID, the GO U-Pass would provide a one-time charge for unlimited GO transit use through the academic year. 

Chandi added that he would negotiate with Metrolinx a lower fixed cost for students who opt into the pass instead of paying for GO transit per trip.

Finally, Dhamija was also asked about whether he’d be able to achieve his transit initiatives within a year. He answered that he would build a coalition with other student unions to advocate for this change. Yet, he noted that his initiatives are “in the beginning stages” and that they “might take more than one year.”

As for his plan to add GO bus routes to UTM from neighbouring cities like Milton, Brampton, Vaughan, Toronto and others, Dhamija said he will conduct another transit survey to find where large portions of the UTM student body live and what transit looks like in those areas. He will then compile that data and present it to Metrolinx to either add a new GO bus route or work on existing ones.

VP Equity

Next were VP Equity candidates, Tozie Amaechi (EvolveUTM), Miatah McCallum (InnovateUTM) and Aymaan Chowdhury (Independent). All three candidates were asked to share how they’ve supported UTM’s Black community. 

While Chowdhury began by saying that he has engaged with Black student organizations, attended their events, and advocated for more representation in student spaces, he didn’t provide specifics on the events or the advocacy he participated in.

McCallum went next. She listed a few of her experiences working with the Black community on campus, including her work as UTMSU’s racialized students coordinator. She also mentioned her work with the union’s Black mentorship program in the previous academic year and with the union’s board of directors, where she completed and presented a budget breakdown of all the Black History Month initiatives.

Finally, Amaechi spoke about his experiences as a Black student athlete. “As an athlete and an upper-year student, I’ve created genuine connections with first and second-years, in terms of being a mentor, whether that’s on the volleyball court… [or] off the volleyball court,” he said. “Because I am a person of the Black community, this is greatly impactful.”

Amaechi was asked how he plans to focus on equity initiatives with campaign goals not tied under the VP Equity portfolio. 

“I think equity should be present in all forms and all situations. When it comes to the student union, to say that transportation or food are examples of things that shouldn’t be equitable, I disagree,” he said.

Next, McCallum was asked about her campaign point on how she specifically plans to replace volunteers with paid note-takers, and whether that decision will affect students’ tuition. 

She responded by saying that she believes “students deserve to be rewarded for their time, their efforts and their dedication” in note-taking. 

She added that she doesn’t want this initiative to affect students’ tuition, and that she won’t move forward with her plan if it does.

Finally, Chowdhury was asked about his plans on mental health advocacy and support. Although UTM’s Health and Counselling Centre employs BIPOC- and 2SLGBTQ+-focused counsellors, Chowdhury said that he wants to expand culturally relevant mental health support and work with the university to “ensure mental health services are inclusive and students from various backgrounds can access [them].”

VP Internal

VP Internal candidates, Abdullah Yousuf (EvolveUTM) and Rui (Owen) Zhang (InnovateUTM) took the floor next.

Both candidates were asked about their experience working with UTM’s Chinese community or attending the WeChat team’s events.

WeChat is a Chinese messaging app with over one billion monthly users that enables them to exchange text messages, make video and audio calls, play games, pay bills, and share posts with their social network. 

Zhang answered that he’s been actively involved in the Chinese students’ community since his first year at UTM, helping with organizing the WeChat Frosh Orientation and other events for the Lunar New Year. 

Yousuf said that he understands “how crucial it is for UTMSU to actively support and integrate WeChat more effectively into students’ life.” He also mentioned that attending many events hosted by UTM’s Chinese cultural clubs gave him “first-hand insight into the challenges that Chinese students face.”

The forum then moved on to personalized questions, beginning with Yousuf’s plans to advocate for housing affordability for international students.

He presented a three-step plan, which includes seeking out scholarships for housing expenses and centralizing external bursaries and scholarships available for students in one place. He also intends to create a roommate-matching service for students, though U of T already has the Off-Campus Roommate Finder, which is available to UTM students. 

Zhang was asked whether his plan to introduce Free Dinner Fridays would increase students’ fees, considering the union already offers the Free Breakfast Wednesdays service.

He explained that Free Dinner Fridays will be funded by reallocating the union’s existing resources. He added that he also plans to reach out to external local businesses to ask for sponsorships for increased resources.

VP University Affairs

VP University Affairs candidates, Manisha Biring (EvolveUTM) and Manaal Fatima (InnovateUTM), faced off to conclude the forum. 

They were both asked how they plan to continue UTMSU’s efforts to advocate to extend the Credit/No Credit (CR/NCR) policy and make at least 1.0 credit of program requirements eligible for CR/NCR. Currently, UTM students can CR/NCR for a maximum of 2.0 credits from courses outside their program areas.

Biring emphasized that she wants to advance UTMSU’s previous work by collaboratively working with the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) and the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU), but the current UTMSU team has been working in collaboration with the two unions, the Arts and Science Students’ Union, and the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students since August 2024.

Fatima first emphasized that academic policy reform takes time. She said that she’s aware of the tri-campus lobbying that’s been happening over the past year, and she plans to continue working with the UTSU and the SCSU. 

She was then asked about her goal to expand networking opportunities and mentorship programs for underrepresented academic fields. Fatima said she wants to do that by collaborating with the UTM career centre and alumni office to organize networking events. She also plans to reach out to professors from underrepresented academic fields.

“As a mentor myself, for [the UTM Women in Law Association], I understand how important mentorship is for younger undergraduate students to gain [knowledge] from the experiences of upper-year students,” she said.

Biring was asked about her initiative to bridge the informational gap between the UTMSU and UTM students. 

She began by saying, “We want students to be able to be comfortable, to come up with their thoughts, feelings and concerns.” 

Biring then explained that she would set up a questionnaire on the union’s website and a suggestion box for students to ask questions and leave comments that her team would address once a week. She added that she would also want to “livestream some of our meetings,” though she didn’t specify which meetings.

She also plans to post regular recaps on Instagram with a collection of the union’s action plans and purchases that have been made by the UTMSU.

Aryaman Chopra is the secretary of The Varsity’s Board of Directors.