Third-year political science student Taushifa Shaikh is running for AMS VP academic and university affairs (AUA) after experiencing frustration with the AMS centring university interests over student priorities.
Shaikh’s platform centres on a student-first approach. She said the Student Service Centre (SSC) and other UBC online portals are outdated and she wants these resources to convey UBC’s ranking as a top post-secondary institution. UBC is already transitioning the SSC to Workday Student.
Shaikh said she will advocate for more academic planning for students, specifically around encouraging “mid-session check-ins” with professors rather than just end-of-term Student Experience of Instruction Surveys. She also wants to increase class attendance flexibility in-person and online allowing professors to “meet students right where they are.”
Shaikh also said she is “in conversation with [the] VP Students to advocate for an improved course registration system … [for a] transparent and stress free degree planning experience.”
Shaikh said staff and faculty receive equity, diversity and inclusion training but students do not. She wants to implement a self-paced Canvas course for first-year students to “give them a good grasp of the diversity that we have on campus and to provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills to foster in this environment and in a respectful manner.”
Shaikh said the biggest challenge she will face as VPAUA is ensuring consistent and long-term funding for food security and mental health “given the difficult economic climate.”
The AMS is an “alien entity” for students, according to Shaikh, and the society needs to further engage with student groups by holding office hours and by ensuring executives are reachable.
“I need to be able to make sure that I represent the students' voices and I make sure that they feel heard and listened to.”
On sexual violence prevention, Shaikh wants to “improve accessible, intersectional and trauma-informed resources and prioritize the creation and implementation of initiatives that cater to diverse needs and experiences within our student body.” She also said resources must specifically support BIPOC students.
Shaikh commended former VPAUA Kamil Kanji’s advocacy for open educational resources. However, she said she will better promote the AMS Academic Experience Survey (AES) and that the 2023 AES did not have enough respondents to reflect the student body despite receiving the highest amount of responses in its history.
When asked about Kanji’s work toward establishing a memorandum of understanding with the UBC President’s Office to secure regular funding for the AMS Food Bank, Shaikh was unaware of the memorandum but said she would like to pursue a long-term consistent funding plan for food security if elected.
“If we don't have our basic needs met such as food and housing, how are we supposed to be good students?” said Shaikh.
“We shouldn't have to choose between studying or surviving.”
Shaikh is running against Drédyn Fontana, also a first-time candidate.
This article is part of our 2024 AMS Elections coverage. Follow us at @UbysseyNews on X (formerly Twitter) and follow our election coverage starting February 27.