Vice presidential candidates face off in the 2025 Imprint General Election Debate
| February 7, 2025
The Imprint General Election debate took place in the Black and Gold Room in the Student Life Centre on Jan. 30. The debate included three presidential candidates and two vice-presidential candidates for the WUSA 2025 General Election. It’s important to know each of them before placing your vote from Feb. 3-9. Onella Kulatunga and Remington Zhi, the vice-presidential candidates, kicked off the debate.
Kulatunga has lobbied many issues to our provincial government. Her platform consists of three pillars – ensuring student safety, providing more comprehensive student aid, and better mental health support in terms of more funding. Zhi is a third-year pure math student running for vice president as part of Team Horizon. The team hopes to transform governance so directors aren’t afraid to fight for students and empower advocacy groups so they can get things done. Zhi was part of the push to bring night buses back to the Region of Waterloo as well as stopping further bus cuts in the ION and bus schedules. “I sat on the board of WCRI where I worked on providing affordable housing for Waterloo students and was also president of the Math Society last summer where I worked on rewriting our referendum policy,” Zhi said.
When asked about what they see as the biggest issues on campus, Kulatunga said, “ensuring student safety is the biggest issue at the forefront of my mind, especially with the recent Hagey Hall stabbing.” She also mentioned how there has been an increase in racism towards international students on and off campus. “It’s very important that students, regardless of their race and sexuality, feel respected and safe on campus,” Kulatunga stated. Zhi expressed that the biggest issues to her were improving the governance structure of WUSA, improving support for societies and clubs, and improving health and wellness for students. “ In the aftermath of the Hagey Hall stabbing, presidential candidate Friday and I worked together to pass a motion at the WUSA general meeting last year so that students can get gender-affirming care support for a very targeted minority at this time,” she said.
Knowing the goals of each vice-presidential candidate for their time in office is essential when choosing a candidate. Zhi expressed that she wants to transform governance at WUSA so student voices are better represented. She hopes to write a draft that can be implemented in a couple of years. “To bring governance change I will use my experience of knowing board governance and talk to a lot of stakeholders and lawyers that WUSA has,” she said. One of Kulatunga’s main goals is to get more comprehensive financial aid for students. “OSAP is a saving grace helping students pursue the degree they are currently pursuing. But it lacks comprehensive criteria to ensure that allocation of funding is as equitable as it can be. I want to make sure this is going to continue to be advocated for by our provincial members even though WUSA is trying,” she stated. Kulatanga continued to express how if she was vice president she would work to get the position of president in WUSA to have more empowerment and influence.
Vice presidents will face many challenges in their role and will need to overcome them for the sake of the student body. Zhi mentioned that the biggest challenge for her is getting the government to listen to us. “We are just one university but I believe that as one of the leading universities we have some power to leverage, maybe OSAP reform won’t happen in my term but I can work with the university to provide better and more scholarships for students who can’t get OSAP funding,” she said. Kulatunga believes that the biggest challenge is ensuring that she is putting forth the best quality work because it reflects the student experience. She hopes to push for co-op students to help vice presidents in WUSA. “ I learned a lot about the vice-president position by helping the last one as a co-op. I was able to learn about the stakeholder relations assistant position from the vice-president lens,” she said.
The debate concluded with the vice-presidential candidates delivering their closing remarks. Zhi stated, “I hope everyone has learned more about me and my platform, there is a lot more to learn about my team on our website. Me and my team will be talking to students everywhere in the SLC, college, and satellite campuses. You can tell us what you want by emailing us or sending us a direct message on Instagram and we will bring the change that you want to see.” Meanwhile, Kulatunga stated, “Regardless of whether or not you’re voting for me I think it is critical you vote regardless because it is very important to have a say in who your students’ leaders are. They hold a lot of power and have lots of influence and making sure you have a say in who your vice president is important to ensure that your voice is amplified.”
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