Politics

Published on February 28, 2017 | by Alexander Handziuk     Photography by

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Pre-Ignition: What you Need to Know about Being an Ignite Executive

Ignite student elections are coming up in March but what exactly does it take to be an executive? Radix editors reached out to some current executives to find out.

“You gotta be someone who takes everyone’s opinions, takes everyone’s advice. But at the end of the day you’re the one who makes the decision to run or not to run, and you’ll be the one looking in the mirror every day going, okay, I’m VP or I’m president and you have to commit”, said Ignite president Ahmed Tahir.

Tahir is currently in his second term as president, and he will go down as the first president after HSF was rebranded to Ignite. He stressed that the decision to run for a spot as an executive is something that takes a full commitment.

The current executives will be in power until the end of the school year and then the winners of the mid-March elections take over in September. The campaign period opened on Monday, February 13 and runs until Friday, March 10.

Maja Jocson, the current vice president of student affairs at Guelph-Humber believes that being genuine is key to being elected.

“Be yourself and see if you really want to run. Whether or not you have all the skills, you’ll learn and people will teach you,” said Jocson.

She also said that running for and holding down a position as an executive isn’t something you can do half-heartedly.

“If you really want to campaign for something it’s going to take the whole year. It’s not just starting when January or February hits(…) you have to wake up every day and commit to connecting,” said Jocson.

Vice President of student life Ammar Abdul-Raheem adds that connecting to students is key for executives.

“I can’t represent [students] if I don’t get to know [them], so It’s really important to get to know the people you’re representing,” said Abdul-Raheem.

In terms of feedback from students about Ignite, Jocson stressed that taking the time to sit them down and get the Ignite’s point across is key.

“A lot of people who are against the rebrand, don’t understand the whole picture of it which is understandable,” said Jocson.

“A few current APR’s (academic program representatives) were not happy with the rebrand and I explained it to them and they were then interested in applying for positions.”

Abdul-Raheem has a list of on his phone about problems that students have and said that it keeps him connected to what people are going through.

In the end, Tahir, Jocson and Abdul-Raheem stress that being an executive is a learning experience, both personally and professionally. And that they are better off for it.
In terms of legacy, Tahir said that it’s too early for him to look back on his time as president, but that perspective is key.

“When Obama was in office people didn’t love him, but when he was leaving and they saw who was next he was amazing, and it’s this perspective thing that’s personally and publicly hard to maintain but it’s key,” said Tahir.

The election period opens on March 13 and runs till March 16th with voting stations open at both Humber and Guelph-Humber.

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About the Author

is a Journalism student who loves comics, Star Wars and Hamilton. He aspires to be a lot of things, but mostly a journalist. You can find him on twitter at @axehandziuk.



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