St. Thomas University’s Student Union President Ellie Namit lists increased engagement and affordability assistance as two of their top priorities for the academic year.
Namit is ready to lead the union through what they describe as a ‘building year.’ The union’s executive team is going to set their priorities on setting a foundation for the next generation of union leaders.
“That’s not to say we’re not going to do things ourselves,” said Namit. “We’re going to make sure that we accomplish everything that we need to, but our primary goal is seeing what hasn’t worked for the union so far and putting structures in place that allow the process to be streamlined.”
Namit’s decision to campaign for STUSU president stems from their love for the university that they’ve gained heading into their fourth year of study.
“I like to say that it’s because I’m STU’s biggest cheerleader, I just absolutely fell in love with campus,” said Namit. “I really love helping other people find their place at STU, and I was hoping with this role I would be able to do that on a wider scale.”
One of the ways Namit hopes to aid students through their role is putting a focus on the clubs and societies that are found around campus.
The union hopes to see more student involvement in campus activities through increased effort into events such as the clubs and societies fair. STUSU is hoping to have more interaction with the leadership of these clubs and societies.
“We think that meeting each other is really important, being able to put a face to the people in the union so they can know who can support them and what resources are available to them,” said Namit.
Namit also expressed a concern in creating and maintaining a strong relationship between STUSU and the council representatives on campus, citing prior worries that have been brought up to the union about getting efficient aid from them in previous years.
“They didn’t know what was expected of them, and they didn’t know how to do all of the events that were expected,” said Namit. “We’re hoping to make the representative council meetings run more efficiently and be more equitable to all of the members.”
Through discussions with other postsecondary unions from across the country, STUSU has acknowledged that the biggest issue that comes up is always the affordability of being a student.
Namit said that the union will try to help where they can to ease the negative effects of the current living crisis for students, through things such as emergency bursaries and academic assistance.
“We will look into anything we can do to alleviate individual pressures for each student, and listen to what people actually need to be able to complete their education,” said Namit.
Namit’s message to students is that they want to ensure that students enjoy their experience at the university.
“I hope that choosing to come to STU, like it was for me, is one of the better decisions that you’ve made in your life,” said Namit. “I hope that everyone can find their experience at STU as valuable as I have so far.”
