Only one candidate of three attended yesterday’s debate for VP Student Life. Stephnie Perera Gunawardane and Deputy News Editor Junia Alsinawi discussed student life next year at the UTSU, and the full discussion can be watched on The Varsity’s YouTube channel.  

The Varsity: What changes do you make to the current club’s funding model, if any?

Stephnie Perera: Some clubs feel like they get a lot of funding, which is really good, but other clubs feel like they do not get enough fundamental attention that they deserve. Clubs can apply for grants for more money, but I would really like to widen that spread and make it more accessible for the clubs — especially new, upcoming clubs — to get these grants and resources to make them as successful as possible. 

Making the application more accessible, making sure lots of people are aware that they have these resources and should not feel like they can’t create a club or host these events due to financial situation. 

TV: Which events or projects from this past year have been worth the cost, and which might be cut?

SP: Two very big events happen almost every year: the Unity Ball and orientation. I did attend a certain student orientation early in September — I really enjoyed it. UTSU Club Fair was a big event, so I would like to have more events where it’s like, what does the UTSU do? Maybe a tour of the Student Commons, because it wasn’t until I got introduced to the UTSU and UTSU First Year Council that I knew that they had the Commons. 

Orientation does fall at the beginning of the year, and the Unity Ball does fall towards the end of the year, so during that middle year period, especially around December and February, there’s not much going on, so I’d really like to fill in that gap.

TV: Any cuts? Anything that wasn’t working this year?

SP: It’s not necessarily that things that weren’t working, but I feel like we could aim towards shedding more light and more effort into other initiatives. I understand that it may not reach my portfolio, but we do have other parts of UTSU that are doing really great so far, and if we do add more effort and more focus to it, it would definitely flourish more.

TV: With Bill 33 passing, how it will impact student life has been on the top of everyone’s minds. What do you say to students who are worried about student life with the upcoming financial uncertainties?

SP: My biggest goal is just to reassure students that, despite what is going on financially and academically, I feel like there should always be a part of it that can come to the university and have peace of mind that, no matter what, they do have a place here. They can still access these opportunities, regardless of where they come from financially. 

Finances are a huge part of how people access opportunities, tickets, and even food — they cost money. I would make sure that we still put the same amount of effort, if not even more, into how we implement student life, and still make sure it flourishes at the same level, so that everyone still has access to these opportunities. 

TV: Part of Bill 33 is that UTSU funding and the funding that goes to clubs are going to be affected. So, how will you preserve clubs and student life on campus?

SP: As I mentioned before, we do have a certain amount of money that we would give to clubs, which they could ask for through applications and grants. So obviously, we do have a certain amount of money, and we have bigger clubs and new clubs that people are creating for small, niche interests. 

My main goal would be to make sure that these applications are more detailed, so we know who needs more based on the application. 

We get funding from the students, but I would like to get more sponsorships from external organizations and try to get money from somewhere else, rather than just directly through the students. 

TV: Do you have any external organizations in mind?

SP: Not currently, but I already with the clubs I’m in, we do have external organizations that put money forward through sponsorships. Just trying to reach out, especially throughout the school year, with whatever’s going on to see who could possibly do that.

This debate was edited for length and clarity.