Editor
Courtney’s manifesto was almost entirely focused on making “necessary changes” to ensure that the QMU has a place on campus, however it was extremely vague on what she thought these changes should be. Although it is necessary and welcome that a QMU President candidate would be aware that changes must be urgently made to the union, one would expect that the candidate would have specific and layered ideas.
When asked what ideas she had to encourage greater student engagement with the union beyond the Redbrick research (coming out in April), Courtney did not have any ideas of her own yet and admitted as much in interview. It is here that Courtney struggles the most as a candidate: relying on the results of research that has not yet been released is unwise, and it seems unlikely that she would not have thought of her own separate ideas if the election were contested. Some of her other goals – such as changing the union’s board and constitution – seem to be obvious, and there is almost no mention of how she plans to specifically address the union’s financial situation.
Still, despite a lack of detail, she seemed refreshingly aware of the QMU’s current problems and the need for them to be addressed with immediacy. Her manifesto was perhaps, then, realistic. She also answered questions with detail and confidence, and her previous experience on the union’s board seems to have left her with a knowledge of what she would like to change – a little more elaboration on how she will change these things would have been welcome, though.
Read Courtney’s manifesto here.
