Fourth-year political science and history major Aidan Wilson is promising a fund for new clubs and more greenery around the Nest in his bid to make the AMS more accessible as VP administration.
“I find the organization tends to be a little insular and you don’t always get the views of just normal students reflected,” he said. “And so I wanted to represent that as somebody who’s been pretty active in student life for the last four years.”
In a race with only two candidates, Wilson said his experience as a club executive and in student government sets him apart from his opponent Sylvester Mensah Jr.
Wilson is the current president of the UBC Debate Society, as well as vice-chair of the AMS Operations Committee and lead liaison for the Campus Culture and Performance fund. Wilson’s knowledge of the AMS from an operational standpoint gave him an edge in debates.
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After seeing how prop plants “spiced up” the Nest during a show’s filming last year, one of Wilson’s platform goals is to use money from the capital projects fund to add more plants around the Nest — improving student well-being and building aesthetics.
“This place is a bit of a concrete jungle,” he said.
On sustainability, Wilson discussed a possible case competition for students as well as having his associate VP sustainability hold office hours.
Wilson also wants to centre marginalized groups who “tend to be worse affected by the effects of climate change” by reaching out to clubs and resource groups representing these communities. But it is unclear how this would impact Nest operations.
With AMS policies I-17 on sexual assault and I-18 on respectful workplace passed last semester, Wilson said he would hold mandatory workshops on trauma-informed approaches to disclosures.
His platform emphasizes clubs, and Wilson said he wants to address ongoing complaints by moving room bookings online and allow clubs to track applications with the replacement system for the recently defunct Clubhouse.
He wants to improve transparency to clubs by hosting open Operations Committee meetings at set times and publishing committee decisions online, although meeting minutes are currently posted on the AMS website.
One of Wilson’s goals is the establishment of a fund that would give new clubs $200–500 in seed money.
Despite recognizing the importance of having opportunities for new clubs to join the AMS, the candidate raised the possibility of merging existing clubs if resources are scarce — for example, strain from increased demand for room bookings with an improved system, or limits on the VP portfolio’s ability to oversee clubs. He dismissed the idea of “culling clubs” as unfair, however.
“This is not as sexy, but there is an issue with the number of clubs we have,” he said.
“We need to find an equitable solution for everybody, [one] that we’re not pushing anybody out to pasture.”