10/24/2021
Hi, Welcome to our 2021-22 WGSSU Bi-Elections. Thank you for voting on voting.utoronto.ca. Here are the candidate statements for each candidate and position. We look forward to working with upcoming executives!
First-Year Representatives:
Erin Huang
As a first-year representative of the WGSSU, I not only, would bring enthusiasm and passion for this field of study and promoting it to others, but also gain the opportunity to meet more people who have similar interests and learn more about WGS in general. I have always been passionate about social justice and community service, serving as a president of a student-run NGO during high school. Women and Gender Studies pushes for equality on all grounds, but specifically women and the LGBTQ+ community. WGSSU serves as a tool to spread awareness and also promote Women and Gender Studies, a movement I would love to be a part of. It is a great field of study that deserves more recognition and dedicated scholars to participate in its development. I believe that I can confidently recruit fellow first-years to join the program by showcasing the department, as well as serve as a productive member with my leadership, teamwork and organisation skills. As a member, I would also like to take this chance to learn from my peers and those who have taken more WGS classes and incite discussion among ourselves on this specific social issue. Learning from others is essential to improve oneself, as well as a chance to get to know fellow passionate people.
Serean Bechara
My name is Serean Bechara and I am running for First-Year Representative. As a passionate advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion with lived intersectional experiences, I believe I have a unique perspective that will allow me to advocate for students in an impactful way. As a mature student, I have a dynamic range of experiences that will help me in this role. I’ve promoted intersectional feminist ideologies throughout my professional work experiences, whether it be advocating for gender and sexual diversity in marketing initiatives at Marriott International, facilitating crucial discussions around LGBTQ+ and BIPOC issues at Humber College, or curating events for important initiatives like the International Day of Pink. I absolutely love supporting my peers which is why I currently work as a Peer Leadership Advisor and Senior Peer Career Advisor at the University of Toronto. I would absolutely love to get more involved with Women & Gender Studies students in particular, especially as a First-Year Representative as I would be in a position to empower other first-year students, advocate, build community, and assist in creating events with the needs of first-year students at the forefront.
Secretary:
Lina Abdel-Kader
Hi everybody! My name is Lina, and I would love to serve as your WGSSU Secretary this year! I really enjoyed being your First-Year Representative last year, and I would be honored to continue building a community for all WGS students this year, especially now that we are on campus (there are many more opportunities to bond!! :D). To tell you a bit about myself, I am a passionate advocate for equity and accessibility for multiply marginalized women; I have my own podcast centered around these topics, and I even serve as an Equity Wellness Ambassador at UC! Within WGS, I am particularly interested in studying how gender, race, and disability interact to shape experience, and I’ve written several speeches about this topic in intersectional feminism. My experiences as secretary of my HS Debate Team and Choir Council equip me with fundamental secretarial skills that inevitably prepare me for this role. Some of my assets include organization, detail orientation, and adaptability! More importantly, working as a secretary at an immigration law firm (focused on helping immigrant women transition to Northern Virginia) makes me a suitable candidate for this role. I am excited to get to know many of you this year (whether elected or not), and while I cannot convey the true extent of my excitement for this opportunity in a short paragraph, I can only express that I hope to channel this passion into furthering my activism and building a WGS community for us as WGSSU Secretary. :)
Madison Johnstone
I am interested in joining the WGSSU as I would like to become a contributing member of the community that our discipline fosters; I would like to learn, make friends, and practice the core principles taught in our classes.
I feel that I am qualified for the position of Secretary as I have administrative experience, working part-time as a receptionist at a chiropractor clinic this summer, and currently on Saturdays at Centenary Hospital Foot Clinic. In my work at these clinics, I have had such responsibilities as managing appointments, facilitating communication between practitioners and patients, and building work schedules.
In addition to my administrative roles, I have been a volunteer notetaker for many of my classes since first year and enjoy taking detailed and well-organized notes.
Regarding my experience on teams, I was a member of many clubs in high school, including the co-captain of French Club (I would like to note that this was just for pleasure, I am (unfortunately) not proficient in French!), the co-captain of Prom Committee, and a member of the Drama Society.
As a member of WGSSU, I would like to be a friend, an activist, and an active caretaker of our community. I see myself doing this as secretary by ensuring administrative duties are handled swiftly and efficiently.
Levon Ecenur Karakoyun
As a q***r first-generation immigrant, specializing in Women and Gender Studies has been an important aspect of how I visualize my life in Canada, as I now have the opportunity to study in a department that does not exist in my home country, Turkey. I am running for the Secretary position because I want to stay engaged and be involved with what is happening in our Program, what are the urgent issues that need to be addressed, and how my role as a student has the capacity to center and uphold the experiences of marginalized communities. I am deeply passionate about transnational feminisms, q***r and trans studies, and community involvement, and as I am hoping to continue my academic journey within the Women and Gender Studies Program, I want to keep on building strong relationships and friendships with the members of the Women and Gender Studies Student Union. I have volunteered in various non-profit organizations, such as the Disability Foundation in Vancouver, BC, and played flexible coordinative roles that helped build many of these skills: navigating administrative duties, organizing agendas for team meetings, working collaboratively and effectively with different staff members, and coordinating the facilitation of upcoming events. As the Secretary and member of the WGSSU, I would hope to build meaningful relationships with other members, contribute to bringing social justice issues to academic circles, and implement feminist theories that I study and value into my everyday interactions with different institutions.
Social Media Manager:
Radhika (or Rads) Gupta
Hi folks! My name is Radhika (she/her) and I’m running for SMM with WGSSU. I believe I’d be a good fit for this role because I have both design and social media management experience. I have participated either as a graphic designer, marketing and/or social media manager (sometimes overlapping) for various organizations on campus such as Margins Magazine, Because I Am A Girl, as well as informally for the UTSC Womens & Trans Centre (WTC). I also have some coding experience (mostly HTML/CSS) and feel comfortable with website management. In my role as Internal Coordinator at WTC, I am responsible for coordinating our volunteer team as well as managing internal relations, much of which includes responding to emails, coordinating multiple channels of communication, and ensuring folks have the information they need.
I began as an IDS major who just happened to take a few WGS courses before adding it as a minor. After I took more courses, I decided to major in WGS — a decision I couldn’t be happier with. I feel that if I had known more about what this program entailed or had the chance to connect with folks in this program earlier, I may have saved myself some time and trouble by entering directly into WGS. I would love to utilize this position to better connect the WGS community with the larger UofT community and allow more folks to experience the incredible knowledge & joy that comes with being a WGS student in any capacity.
