March 9, 2010 News

Fusion dominates poster night

Staffed with student union veterans and off to an early lead

by Chris Curtis

SU VP Sustainability and Projects BRITTANY LEVETTt & JAMIE KLINGER

Community slate presidential candidate Mike Xenakis puts up a poster.

Running virtually unopposed and festooned in purple warpaint, the Fusion slate stormed up the Hall building in hordes.

In the opening seconds of the Concordia Student Union’s 2010 general election campaign, Fusion overwhelmed their relatively inexperienced Community rivals, quickly snatching most of the building’s prime poster space for their candidates.

“We were looking forward to a campaign against the Canadian Federation of Students,” said Concordia Student Union President Amine Dabchy—currently running for a Board of Governors position on the Fusion slate. “But they aren’t running. They’re watching us though,” he continued, pointing to Audrey Peek, former Arts and Science Federation of Associations president and leader of last year’s Change slate. Peek is now running the “Yes” campaign in support of the CFS.

A question on this year’s ballot will ask students if they want to defederate from the CFS, a national lobby group that has been at odds with the CSU since October 2009.
“The CFS had a mandate to represent its constituents across the country and failed miserably,” said Lex Gill, a Fusion candidate for CSU Council. “The conflation of a service-based-in-advocacy organization has turned into nothing more than a multimillion-dollar racket.”

CSU VP Services and Loyola Prince Ralph Osei led the charge as Fusion’s presidential candidate.

“We’re looking forward to some healthy competition,” he yelled over the crowd’s jubilation. “We have to treat this like a close campaign.”

Beyond the CFS question, Fusion’s platform focuses on building upon the current CSU executive’s achievements: implementing monthly town hall meetings, expanding the Loyola Luncheon, a water bottle-free campus, the greening of Mackay Street and the launch of the oft-delayed student centre project.

Fusion’s campaign also marks Melanie Hotchkiss’ return to student politics. Hotchkiss resigned as the Dawson Student Union’s president in 2006, shortly after there was a call for her impeachment at a general assembly of Dawson students.

Purple posters lined the Hall building just 20 minutes into the election season. With five times more candidates than Community, Fusion’s political dominance will likely extend far beyond poster night.