The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) Operations is responsible for managing the SSMU building, operations including Gerts Bar and Sadie’s, and overseeing SSMU’s sustainability efforts.
Anuradha Mallik is the only student running for election as VP Operations. Her platform includes reviewing SSMU’s unethical and unsustainable investments, continuing the SSMU Environmental Committee, and expanding the Crash Pad project, which allowed students to stay overnight in the SSMU ballroom during the Fall 2016 Frosh.
“There are a lot of commuter students who have early exams that stay at the library late, and wouldn’t want to make their commute late at night,” Mallik said. “So I think that introducing the Crash Pad for academic purposes like that would be beneficial to the students.”
Mallik also answered questions and presented her platform at the March 9 SSMU candidates’ debate. Mallik emphasized utilizing feedback from constituents on SSMU building space use, continuing to work on revenue-generating ventures—such as Gerts, Sadie’s, and SSMU MiniCourses—and maintaining sustainability across SSMU operations.
To increase revenue generated by Gerts, Mallik proposed continuing to hold the Faculty of Science BARmacy at Gerts. She also intends to introduce further employee training to help combat bystander culture.
On the relationship between the portfolio and the McGill Office of Sustainability, the candidate emphasized ongoing communication and utilizing existing connections with representatives from the office.
Responding to a question on increasing Sadie’s revenues—the student-run cafeteria that operates on the second-floor of the SSMU building—the candidate promised to maintain and build upon the work done by this year’s VP Operations, but left the option of bringing more external vendors into the SSMU building.
“Student involvement with Sadie’s is important, but vendors are an important input to Sadie’s in terms of the institutional knowledge that they bring,” Mallik said.
Additionally, Mallik expressed her intention to consult with students on what they want out of SSMU MiniCourses. She promised to rework the management of MiniCourses, and suggested introducing more dance and exercise workshops—however, SSMU is currently unable to offer services in these areas due to overlap with McGill Athletics.
In terms of qualifications for the job, Mallik referred to her past experience organizing model United Nations events at McGill and her work on various sustainability projects. She emphasized her ongoing passion for and commitment to sustainability throughout the discussion.
“One of my big passions […] is sustainability and I started working on a lot of big sustainability projects from the 11th grade onwards […],” Mallik said. “A lot of the passion I have towards operations and sustainability started a long time ago. [I will] do whatever I can with this position and shape it in a positive way for the McGill community.”
