The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) will hire a new Vice President (VP) Equity, following the resignation of Christine Villa on August 13. Villa wrote to The Varsity that they resigned because they were accepted into graduate school and, as a full-time graduate student, would no longer be eligible to work for the SCSU. According to section 2.2 of SCSU bylaw 10, executive members are prohibited from enrolling in more than 1.5 credits per session.

In an email to The Varsity, SCSU President Lalise Shifara explained that, as per section 3.2.b of SCSU bylaw 10, “Since the resignation occurred after August 1st, the Vice-President Equity position will be filled through a hiring process rather than the Fall By-Elections. The current Executive team will conduct interviews and select the new VP Equity for the remainder of the 2025–2026 term.” 

Job postings for the position can be found on the SCSU Instagram account as well as the union’s website, and applications are being accepted until 11:59 PM on September 5. The interview period will be from September 8–12, “with the successful candidate expected to begin their term on Monday, September 15th, 2025,” Shifara told The Varsity. The position is full-time, the contract is set to expire on April 30, 2026, and only students registered in a full-time undergraduate degree program at UTSC are eligible to apply. 

The VP Equity promotes board initiatives that raise awareness about discrimination, coordinates with university organizations involved in eliminating discrimination, and represents the union when issues of equity are raised by the UTSC community, among other responsibilities. 

Villa campaigned on a platform of lowering barriers to accessing mental health services at UTSC, advocating for bursaries and more robust Student Centre resources as potential solutions. 2SLGBTQ+ initiatives were also central to Villa’s campaign, and they advocated for increased funding for groups like LGBTOUT and the UTSC Women’s & Trans Centre.

Commenting on their resignation, Villa wrote to The Varsity, “I love [the] SCSU and I’m sad I can’t continue, but I’m happy for my new goals!”