Jessica Lecques, Danya Elsayed, Nora Elgharbawy and Maheen Nazim are the four elected senators set to represent Guelph-Humber on the University of Guelph Senate for the 2019-2020 academic school year.
According to the University of Guelph-Humber website, the senate is “responsible for academic programs, regulations and policies related to the University of Guelph and the University of Guelph-Humber.”
Jessica Lecques
Jessica Lecques, second-year kinesiology student.
“The University of Guelph Senate is mainly focused on policy reform, courses, and you know how we have a fall reading week now? That’s because senate voted on it. So, it’s kind of the issues that concern students,” says Jessica Lecques, one of the four elected senators to represent Guelph-Humber on the University of Guelph Senate.
Lecques is a second-year kinesiology student and is a student transition and resource team (START) leader, a first-year experience (FYE) leader and is also involved in athletics and school sanctioned societies.
“I want to make a change. I want to represent a group of people that have concerns about their university experience and I felt that with my involvement on campus, I would be well suited to help,” she says.
Lecques asked students what differences they wanted to see on campus which helped her form her platform. “A few students were telling me that their programs are either too specific or too broad in content, so that’s something that I wanted to speak to our school officials about to see what we can do to rectify those issues.”
She hopes to implement more graduate school information sessions and application guidance, not just geared to graduating students but to the whole student body, regardless of the year of study or program. Also on her to-do list is to add more undergraduate research opportunities, create a more accessible campus and adjust the process for creating a club or society.
“Another thing that was really popular that a lot of students wanted was a full text repository of the University of Guelph-Humber’s midterms and final examinations from the past five years so that whenever there’s a student studying for a final exam or a midterm, they can refer to that exam bank and use it to study. It’s a really useful tool and I know a lot of other universities have implemented it and it’s been quite successful in student academic performance,” says Lecques.
She recognizes a common issue that not a lot of Guelph-Humber students are familiar with the University of Guelph senate and just how important it is.
“I realized when I was running my campaign for the elections, a lot of students didn’t know we even had a student senate or they were just confusing it with Ignite. So, I want to raise awareness about the senate and inform students on how senate is beneficial to them and how we have been elected to represent them and their voices and then work together as a team to see how we can improve our university experience,” she says.
Danya Elsayed
Danya Elsayed, third-year media studies student.
Danya Elsayed is a third-year media studies student who is also the vice president of events for the Guelph-Humber Advertising and Marketing Association (GHAMA).
Elsayed ran for the University of Guelph Senate in first year, but lost.
“I ran in first year but didn’t win. I wanted to make a change and get involved. In second year I learned how Guelph-Humber works through on-campus jobs, I was a START leader, I worked for Ignite,” says Elsayed.
“I really want to make students aware. I want students to know they have a say,” she says.
Her number one goal is to raise awareness of the senate and to spread the message that students’ voices can lead to decisions that affect them.
Nora Elgharbawy
Nora Elgharbawy, third-year justice studies student.
Third-year justice studies student Nora Elgharbawy almost didn’t apply for senate.
“I’ve never classified myself as a leader before but I’ve had friends who are senators and I’ve heard friends who do take on that leadership role. I’ve always wanted to become that. I almost didn’t, I submitted at the last minute,” says Elgharbawy.
Elgharbawy also works on campus as a START leader and a learning support peer (LSP).
She sees an issue with the pricing of food and parking on campus, and would ideally like to change that in her upcoming term. “In previous years, [parking] was a lot cheaper than what it is today and I want to make it easier for those who are commuting because this is a commuting school,” she says.
She also would like to implement stricter guidelines for professors and their timeline of handing back marks and assignment. “I think this will reduce a lot of the anxiety and stress students have.”
Maheen Nazim
Maheen Nazim, third-year justice studies student.
Nazim is the current Guelph-Humber vice president for Ignite, the student voice for the University of Guelph-Humber and all Humber College campuses.
Her term as vice president will come to an end next month, just in time for her to add Guelph-Humber senator to her resume.
GH360 reached out to her for comment but she was on a retreat and unable to respond by deadline.
Some students may get confused with the difference between Ignite and the University of Guelph Senate.
Danya Elsayed explains that “the senate deals with the academic-side of Guelph-Humber, through policies, program changes and scholarships whereas Ignite deals more with the student life aspect.”
The Guelph-Humber senators will meet weekly to talk with student officials to address concerns. Their term starts in September and will end in April 2020.