Scarborough Campus Students’ Union Elections: Let's vote to make an IMPACT and ELEVATE

Learn more about SCSU’s Presidential Candidates of 2024 as they took the time to chat with The Underground to share their campaigning initiatives!

University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) has been alight with the latest buzz—the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) General Election 2024. This campaign season, the voters must choose between many independent candidates as well as two student parties: Impact led by President Hunain Sindhu and Elevate led by President Vanessa Opoku. The official voting period will take place over three days from March 4th - March 6th, 2024 with polling booths and ballots set-up at three locations that are the heart of student activity: the IC Building, BV Hallway, and Student Centre. 

The SCSU represents the most crucial and impactful student body at UTSC. They represent all students enrolled in the university, advocate for student policies, and champion the social spaces on campus like the Student Centre. SCSU is associated with the majority of the student-led initiatives and organizations on campus, ranging from the “free education for all” march to organizing tax clinics and graduation photos. 

This year the campaigning period has seen the rise of two main alliances, triggering an intense competition between our candidates. The Impact team aims to oversee the expansion and transformation of the Student Centre into an abode of student engagement and feedback about their campus. They hope to collaborate with both newer, smaller student-run organizations as well as major student organizations like the Biology Students’ Association (BioSA), Arts, Culture, and Media Students Association (ACMSA), and many more. By doing this, they hope to connect with a wider range of people and better connect a diverse background of students. 

Photo Courtesy of IMPACT UTSC

“The vision we have is totally different, it is unlike anything before…We aim to leave the best impact behind at UTSC,'' mentions the current President for Team Impact and a former member of Team Elevate, Hunain Sindhu. 

Team Impact operates on a sense of collective vision and they aim to provide explicit and proactive support to all students, specifically students belonging to the globally distressed regions. 

“The common thing that has united us is not the perks, but the care for the students,” adds Hunain. The team has also been in the brainstorming phase for multiple initiatives, including a hybrid model of communication to receive feedback from students proposed by their Vice President Equity, Lalise Shifara. They also hope to advocate for a much larger space at the Multi-Faith Centre to accommodate the diverse faiths the diverse group of students hold and create a safe space towards mindfulness for those at UTSC. 

Their fierce and equally hard working competitors, Team Elevate, have built themselves on a shared aspect of community as well as strong inter-party democracy. 

“We work on a sense of family, support and accountability to build each other and elevate our team,” said Vanessa Opoku, the current President of Team Elevate. Having worked on multiple initiatives with SCSU, a worker for the Zambian Consulate with experience coordinating large-scale initiatives like the Racialized Students Collective, Vanessa aims to bring forward her skillset to elevate student experience at UTSC.

Team Elevate strongly advocates for mental health initiatives on campus and hopes to introduce multi-tiered programs to raise financial literacy among international students, provide nutritional guidance for students living on a budget by collaborating with the SCSU Food Centre, and introduce the concept of community care hubs at UTSC. 

Photo Courtesy of ELEVATE UTSC

“I’ll be a student next year as well, these are changes I wish to see for myself and everyone alike,” mentioned Vanessa. Lastly, they wish to provide special focus on introducing a Women's Health Clinic at UTSC, modeled after its counterpart available at the University of Toronto St. George Campus. 

The Scarborough Campus Students Union Elections represent the most impactful event for the student body at UTSC and both parties have brought their best foot forward to present the students at UTSC with the promise of a better future. The campaign period was proof that Hunain Sindhu and Vanessa Opoku have left no stone unturned to reach out to their community and express their vision. 

Now, it is the duty of the students at UTSC to vote and decide their own future. 

We would like to thank Elevate President, Vanessa Opoku and Impact President, Hunain Sindhufor taking the time to share their campaign initiatives with us!