The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s candidates’ debate for the Winter 2025 election took place on Feb. 18, with eight of 10 listed candidates for the Executive Committee in attendance. The virtual event comes ahead of the election, which will take place from Feb. 21 to March 7. Each applicant independently answered questions submitted by current executives, student unions on campus, and undergraduate attendees before engaging in debate with their opponent.
The Vice-President (VP) Finance candidates were the first slotted to debate, but as neither Dylan Seiler nor John Vogel was present, the debate moved on to the role of VP University Affairs.
As Susan Aloudat is running for the position unopposed, the debate portion of her presentation was skipped. Aloudat explained she intends to mediate issues between the student body and McGill administration by encouraging student participation in SSMU elections and referendums. The result of these votes, she said, creates empirical evidence of what undergraduates want, which she believes is the best tool to compel the administration to support student initiatives.
The current VP Internal Zeena Zahidah is running for re-election unopposed. She explained that she intends to navigate moments of turmoil for SSMU by prioritizing transparency between students and the Board of Directors. Zahidah remarked that turmoil arises when student newspapers write what she claimed to be misleading headlines and articles about the student union. She cited that this could be a result of issues in SSMU’s transparency regarding their internal proceedings.
The night then turned to candidate debates as VP External hopefuls, Seraphina Crema Black and Jaanashee Punjabi, began their introductions.
Black stated that as a student senator and a Legislative Council member, she has experience advocating for students to university administration. If elected, she intends to strengthen McGill’s relationship with other universities across Canada and Quebec to form a united front against tuition hikes. She also intends to advocate for all student activist groups across campus equally, disregarding any personal preferences or biases she herself may hold.
Punjabi said her experience as a Sustainability Commissioner and a member of the Legislative Council has given her insight into SSMU’s potential to create change on campus. As VP External, she claimed she would promote collaboration between governing bodies and advocacy groups so that SSMU may better represent students’ voices on campus and beyond.
A student submitted a question online asking how both plan to represent activist and community groups on campus to McGill administration.
“I’m very dedicated to remaining impartial, leaving my own positionality behind, and really listening to the student body,” Black said. “Whatever I believe has nothing to do with that. It is my duty to represent their opinions and their needs best.”
“I believe that communication and transparency is the most important,” Punjabi said. “Furthermore, making sure to take note of what needs to be represented at different organizational levels […] and making sure everyone is equally heard and demands and expectations are met. It’s part of my platform, and one of the main reasons, the biggest reason, I’m running.”
Next, the two candidates for VP Student Life, Hamza Abu Alkhair and Raihaana Adira, introduced their platforms.
Abu Alkhair stated that his three goals as the VP Student Life would be to increase visibility and collaboration among clubs on campus, as well as simplify their logistics. He also noted that as the current Director of Clubs and Services—a role which took on the bulk of the VP Student Life portfolio amidst the position’s ongoing vacancy—he is already familiar with the responsibilities of the position.
“I’m ensuring that I’m interacting a lot with the constituents, the clubs themselves, and the people who want to apply for those clubs,” Abu Alkhair said. “I created a rubric as well that assesses the finances [and] alignment with campus policies and a few other things which do make the [club status approval] process faster for both me and the club.”
Adira’s platform is focused on improving undergraduates’ mental health by supporting student groups and grassroots organizations which provide resources and assistance on campus.
“I want to really focus on mental health supports and advertising resources like the Peer Support Center, because if students are struggling with their mental health, they can’t engage in other SSMU-related activities,” Adira said.
Kareem El-Hosini, who is running unopposed for VP Sustainability and Operations, then presented his platform, drawing attention to wasted spaces in university buildings and unaffordable food options on campus. This is El-Hosini’s second bid for the role as the results of his first run in the November by-election were nullified due to a lack of voter engagement.
The debate concluded with a presentation from current SSMU President Dymetri Taylor, who is currently running for re-election unopposed. His former opponent, Sarah Abdulkarim, was disqualified from the race due to a lack of administrative approval allowing her to extend her degree beyond 120 academic credits. Taylor stated that he has three main goals for next year, should he be elected: Improving governance by working with a consultant, increasing student solidarity, and creating more efficient processes for conducting business between the society and its clubs and services.
Throughout the debate, 10 students were in the audience. Taylor acknowledged this low attendance, and the low voter turn-out of past SSMU elections, in a written statement to The Tribune.
“I think students who vote will already participate. The issue is that there is more general student disinterest in the electoral process,” Taylor wrote. “For example, 1,000 students have unsubscribed from receiving the simply voting emails, which is equivalent to signing away one’s right to have their voice heard. It’s, frankly, quite worrisome.”
