Alex Kvaskov, Assistant News Editor
Featured image courtesy of Michael Zusev, Photo Editor
Students Against Israeli Apartheid has informally endorsed Haman Mamdouhi, who prefers Haman Man, for the Board of Governors undergraduate representative election.
“A Vote for Haman is a vote for #YUDIVEST,” reads an email from SAIA.
The email urges SAIA supporters to vote for Man and directs readers to York’s online voting portal. It also lists several of his campaign points, including promoting ethical investments, opposing tuition fee increases, and advocating for the Fight for $15 living wage campaign.
Voting is set to close on Friday.
Man says he is a strong proponent of moving endowment fund investments away from weapon manufacturers.
“I feel strongly that a low-income student should not have to be faced with the option of having to refuse their financial assistance, or support industries that promote and actively facilitate violence and death. That’s a hard fact to sleep with,” he says.
Divestment was a major issue in last year’s election and the fact that it is still being talked about today is proof that campaign promises do not come true easily, according to Man.
Man adds he won’t make unrealistic promises and will work with last year’s appointee to see that this divestment issue is settled.
If elected, Man says he will continue the unfinished work of his many predecessors, positively engaging the Board in sharing the perspective of ethical investment strategies, while navigating the sensitive needs of the university and its long-term strategies.
“To anyone serving on university government or as faculty, it has been made clear that York is facing financial difficulties,” he says.
“Our enrolments are not sufficient to cover our operation and growth costs, and the matter of raising tuition is one for the province and to address and resolve.”
The most recent data available say York’s enrolment is 46,350 undergraduates and 5,923 graduate students for a total of 52,273, according to Janice Walls, York media.
Improving the university’s financial outcome will include innovation from students and the York community.
“Innovation, or creation of a business from invention and research, is the modern way of creating wealth,” says Man.
“Traditional banking and economics is largely about shifting wealth around the economy, but innovation, creating a business around a novel product, can create jobs, and sales, and wealth.”
Man says York has taken steps in the right direction with Innovation York, LaunchYU, Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, Schulich’s Startup competitions, and various Hackathons, but still falls short of the resources available to students of other universities, even with the interdisciplinary Markham centre incubator in the works.
“Investing in students and providing them with the necessary resources and capital is the prime way to ensure a sustainable income inflow for the university.”
Like us on Facebook, @excalweb
