Gary Sran vs. random students

The lines are drawn, the battle is on. Feel that electricity in the air? The buzzing, crackling hum of democracy? Yes sir, it’s that time of the year again. Time for the UMSU presidential election! And that also means it’s time for the Manitoban’s hard-hitting coverage of the candidates squaring off, head-to-head. Except this year, there is nobody challenging the incumbent Garry Sran. That’s no fun. But don’t worry, an absolute lack of opposition is only a minor stumbling block to dedicated journalists such as we. I see no reason why that pesky detail should stop us from our yearly interview battle. So, to fi ll the void left by democracy, we have diligently amassed interviews from random students whom we ambushed at various locations around campus. Let the games begin!

	GARRY SRAN
	CURRENT UMSU PRESIDENT Running for re-election.
Manitoban: What made you decide to run for president again? Sran: There’s been a lot of work that we’ve been able to accomplish this year. It’s been very exciting and there’s some huge projects that are coming forward next year and I just want to make sure that I’m a part of that. Knowing that there is a lot of bureaucracy, I just don’t want to take a step backwards, but continue my work. M: What in your background and personal experience makes you a qualifi ed candidate for this position? S: Ah, well, you know, I was president the past year, and have had a positive response from students. Being out there and being engaged with students, I’ve heard a lot of positive remarks on the work that the union has been doing, and some of the work that we should be doing. M: What does the UMSU president do, exactly? S: Well the UMSU president basically oversees all of UMSU and its operations, from services, to campaigns, to representation. I do a lot of work on numerous committees, from the Board of Governors to the University of Manitoba senate, and also, our various university committees. M: What are you most proud of accomplishing last year? S: I would say pushing for food services. . . The other accomplishment that we’re really proud of, working with the students’ union, is the University Centre project. We got that off the ground, and there’s really serious discussion happening with the administration, to see how we can open up University Centre, and make it truly the centre of the university. And also, the sustainability initiatives that UMSU has taken on this year. M: What do you hope to accomplish this year? S: Setting a clear vision for the University Centre, ensuring strong representation at the Board of Governors, which we’ve been doing eff ectively this year, but also trying to maintain that. But also, working closely with the Canadian Federation of Students and lobbying the provincial and federal governments for more funding for education. M: What are the most important issues facing U of M students right now? S: I would say tuition fees. Th at is one of the most important issues facing all UMSU members. They have been rising in the past couple years, specifi cally with international students, where they’re almost triple, like, 180 per cent last year. And that is defi nitely an issue that students all can get behind a bit. What we’re trying to do is making sure that tuition fees are kept aff ordable and accessible, but also ensuring that our universities are funded, fully funded, because you can see some of the crumbling infrastructure around this university. Working to ensure that there is enough funding available for capital projects, infrastructure, labs, TAs, etc.. M: What’s going on with the food services negotiations? S: Right now it’s being discussed in the food services committee. . . It will be coming to the Board of Governors, which will be, probably, most likely, at the end of April, which is when we’ll announce the winner of the contract, and also some of the specifi c points of what’s going to change around campus. M: When you found out your position was going uncontested, what did you do to celebrate? S: I didn’t celebrate, I was actually shocked and kind of concerned, because, we’ve done a great job, UMSU has been doing a great job this year of talking to students, getting them more involved. M: Which fi lm do you hope will win the Academy Award for Best Picture this year and why? S: Unfortunately, I have not seen all those movies; I’ve been really, really, really hard-working here at UMSU. I will defi nitely check those out, and maybe get back to you on that one. M: What do you personally believe was the cause of Anna Nicole Smith’s recent, untimely death? S: Well, I’m not even sure. I know that she’s been going through a lot of hardships. . . It is bad news. She was very famous, and liked by many people. M: In the past, you were convicted on a charge of cocaine possession. Some people have said that this aspect of your personal history makes you unfi t to be UMSU president. What do you say to these people? S: I think a lot of people have seen the work that I’ve done in the past year, and a lot of people have complimented me in terms of the representation that I’ve provided . . . They have been able to look past that, and look at the accomplishments of UMSU, some of the goals that have been reached this year. M: Is your criminal past behind you? S: Yes, it is. M: So, you wouldn’t know where I could score a half-gram of blow for the weekend? S: No, I do not.
	RANDOM STUDENTS
	AARON SCHWAB, KOFI ADANE, MIKE ZDAN, RICKEY DONG-EUN LEE AND DENNY FEHR. None of whom are running for UMSU president.
M: What made you decide not to run for UMSU elections this year? Schwab: It’s just not something I’ve really considered. Something I leave to other people. Zdan: If I had known it was going to be uncontested and I had known when the deadline was I probably would have ran, or made Jeff run. Adane: I was involved with the GSA for the past three years. So, I’m retired from student politics. M: What in your background and personal experience makes you a qualifi ed candidate to not run in the UMSU elections? Fehr: I’m not a politically correct person. Schwab: My love of fi nding ways out of work, I would say. M: What do you think UMSU does, and what do you think the president does? Schwab: Finds a way to spend the $10 million budget or whatever they have per year. I don’t know what they do really. They’re supposed to better the school . . . It seems like they have a lot of meetings and discuss things and don’t really get much done. But who knows. They serve pancakes. Zdan: They, um, apparently they hire six buses for Day of Action and only fi ll up half of one, which I was really sad about. I thought they would have a way to actually get their figures for who was going to come. Maybe they got too much interest and not enough wind chill warning. Yeah, it was cold, I didn’t go. M: What are your favourite things Garry Sran has accomplished last year? Adane: Well, I didn’t see much besides the “action day.” . . . Besides that, there’s nothing much I’ve heard, or seen with my own eyes. Zdan: Garry, I’m sorry, I don’t know anything you’ve done this year so far . . . He appeared in Bear Warlock [in the Manitoban] issue number, was it six? It was either six or seven. It was this month’s Bear Warlock, he did appear in it. You saw him, he was there! I mean, if I had appeared in Bear Warlock I’d be really proud . . . Jeff and Brian, do you know what Garry Sran has done? . . . I have never seen Garry Sran in person or from a distance of 39 metres or so. I haven’t seen him at all. So, I’m sure that he must be writing something or travelling to somewhere to talk to people who are more important. Schwab: Served pancakes. M: What would you do if you were UMSU president this year? Adane: I would makes sure that all the cards that we use on campus are synchronized . . . Liberalize the food services, open them to more competition. Zdan: Th e most important thing that I would do as president of UMSU would be to actually educate students. Because we’re all part of the union, aren’t we? We didn’t even know we were part of the students’ union. [Pointing to friend] You are part of the students’ union . . . I’d educate people about that Day of Action because there was a lot of campaigning and a lot of wasted paper for half a bus-load of people. Schwab: Serve waffles. M: What is the most important issue facing U of M students right now? Schwab: One of the issues that will be facing students is, there was an article in Maclean’s about 53 per cent of students are cheating through school so it kind of taints Canadian degrees, which means your degree that you get from a Canadian university is now worth a lot less. Zdan: Trying to pay for school. M: What is your opinion of food services on campus? Dong-eun Lee: It sucks! Oh God . . . It’s way overpriced. Zdan: Th e Daily Bread Café and Degrees should team up and fi ght capitalism together. M: When you found out all but one of the UMSU positions were going uncontested, how did you express your dismay at the lack of democracy? Zdan: I expressed it by saying if I had known that, I would have ran for UMSU president. Adane: I think it’s a lot of student apathy . . . They look at their leadership [and say] “What did they accomplish? Nothing!” . . . “Why don’t I give up? Why should I participate in that?” . . . They’re not getting what they’re expecting from their leadership, maybe that’s why they don’t care. M: Which fi lm do you hope will win the Academy Award for Best Picture this year? Dong-eun Lee: Oh my God, Casino Royale! So awesome! Fehr: Th e only one I’ve seen that probably should win is Idiocracy. M: What do you personally believe was the cause of Anna Nicole Smith’s recent, untimely death? Zdan: I think that the cause of her death was the lack of interest of University 1 students who have statistics labs to do. M: Do you know where I can score a halfgram of blow for the weekend? Zdan: Yes, I do. You can go through the channel of my good friend Brian . . . He will hook you up.