On November 26, polls closed for residents of six on-campus communities to elect the board of directors for the University Neighbourhood Association (UNA).
The UNA serves residents of Chancellor Place, East Campus, Wesbrook Place and others by delivering “community-building measures to develop a healthy and vibrant community.” In practice, this includes implementing by-laws on noise and parking, maintaining green and recreation spaces and facilitating amenities.
The Board of Directors “provides oversight” to policies affecting UNA residents and drafts relevant policies while advocating for the communities' priorities to other agencies like UBC and the provincial government, according to the UNA website.
Of the nine candidates on the ballot, the following were elected: Ronald Bourgeois, Eagle Glassheim, Michael Kerns, Yanbo (Paul) Li, Eva Luo, Sandy Song and Jake Wiebe.
“It's wonderful to be surrounded by so many people from so many different places who speak so many different languages,” said Glassheim, a UBC history professor and resident of Wesbrook Place. Serving on the board since 2023, Glassheim talked about wanting to push for more affordable rental options in campus neighbourhoods.
“I'd like to see more rental housing not just for faculty and staff but also for the wider university community,” he said.
“Market prices for rental housing on the west side of Vancouver are very high. And so even with UBC giving somewhat below market rates out here, it's rental housing that is still quite pricey,” Glassheim continued.
Kerns, newly-elected, shared Glassheim’s sentiment regarding affordability of on-campus housing.
Campus Vision 2050 plan — UBC’s long-term land planning project — which would bring new high-rises to Acadia Park, Wesbrook Village and the future Stadium neighbourhood. However, Kerns voiced concerns over these new housing prices saying, “nobody who works on campus can afford that kind of thing.”
Currently a graduate student in Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Kerns has lived in Wesbrook Village and Hawthorn Place with his wife and two children. “We moved here in 2018 from Philadelphia, and I was just heavily involved in my neighbourhood back home and I wanted to get involved in my neighbourhood here,” said Kerns.
“I think that the province actually needs to do a governance review. We're the largest community in Canada without direct representation,” Kerns said, expressing dissatisfaction with the status of representation of UNA residents in matters affecting their community.
Advocating on behalf of the community in terms of planning, Kerns seeks to push pedestrian safety to the forefront of the board’s agenda.
“I want to work on designs for better, safer streets for biking, for pedestrians and for children, especially,” Kerns said.
The newly elected board will start their term on December 10 and have meetings open to the public on the third Thursday of each month.
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