Meet your SMUSA VP of Advocacy
Written by Samarth Behl
Thumbnail & Banner Photo by SMUSA
About Prajwal
Meet Prajwal Shetty, a fourth-year Computer Science and Business Administration student at Saint Mary’s. Originally from Bangalore, India, he has been in Halifax for almost three and a half years. He currently serves as the Vice President of Advocacy for SMUSA. When asked about his passions, Prajwal describes himself as a big cinephile, a sports junkie and a big foodie. He’s especially enthusiastic about Formula One, cricket, and tennis. He is always up for a conversation about any of these topics.
His Role
As the Vice President of Advocacy at Saint Mary’s, Prajwal’s role is dynamic. One of the most significant aspects of his position is the freedom and versatility it offers, allowing him to explore the issues that matter to the students, while also addressing personal experiences he has encountered during his time at Saint Mary’s.
He plays an integral part in representing students at the Academic Senate and Board of Governors, two crucial governing bodies at the university. In these spaces, he ensures that student concerns are brought to the forefront, advocating for changes that benefit the wider student community. Externally, Prajwal also represents the university at the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), the federal advocacy body, and at Students Nova Scotia, which handles provincial student concerns. He takes pride in his ability to bridge these two levels of advocacy, working to address both immediate local issues and broader national matters for students beyond the campus walls.
Photo by StudentsNS
Students can approach Prajwal for a wide range of concerns, as his role is designed to be flexible and adaptable to their needs. “My primary responsibility is student support and making sure student voices are heard. So, students can approach me for basically anything,” he added. Whether it's issues with tuition fees, academic records, concerns with how courses are represented on Banner, academic integrity cases, or navigating accommodation requests, Prajwal is there to assist and ensure that students are heard. “I basically have the opportunity to serve them [students] in any way that they want me to,” he further added, showcasing just how versatile his role is. With his focus on student support and advocacy, Prajwal’s role as VP of Advocacy is critical in creating a space where students feel heard and valued, allowing for meaningful changes that directly impact their university experience.
Students can approach Prajwal by emailing him at vpadvocacy.smusa@smu.ca or meet him during his office hours, which are: Monday: 9 am - 3 pm, Tuesday: 11:30 am - 2 pm, Wednesday: 10 am - 4 pm, Thursday: 11:30 am - 2 pm & 4 pm - 5 pm, and Friday: 10 am - 5 pm. Additionally, Prajwal encourages students to stop him and chat with him whenever they see him on campus if they have any concerns.
Achievements
One of Prajwal’s proudest accomplishments was at the Maritime Student Congress. “We had the opportunity to go to Saint Xavier Francis University in Antigonish for a conference called, we had student union executives from all of the Maritime universities. We rubbed shoulders with each other and learnt more about the nuances of our roles and actually understand what student governance is,” he added. One critical issue that emerged from this gathering was the need for policies related to AI in academics. “Something that we did was proposing regulations in terms of how students are not accused for reasons that are not their mistake when it comes to academic integrity violations,” he added. This initiative is an attempt to prevent the unfair accusation of academic integrity violations on students.
Photo by StudentsNS (Maritime Student Congress)
Additionally, Prajwal, along with other key members of SMUSA like Simbarashe Chiunda, President and CEO, SMUSA, have been part of several government consultation sessions, addressing critical student issues such as food insecurity, rising tuition fees, housing and the recent cuts to scholarships, which are very specific to Saint Mary’s campus. “We do this to make sure that people who are in positions of power or who are the lawmakers and stakeholders involved in the student ecosystem are aware of these grassroots issues that students are facing and making sure that tangible solutions are put into place,” he added with enthusiasm. These consultations help bring student concerns directly to policy-makers, ensuring that student needs are not overlooked in decisions that directly affect them.
Challenges
Prajwal’s role as the VP of Advocacy has presented him with several unexpected challenges. One of the biggest surprises that caught Prajwal off guard was the emotional weight of his role. He considers himself a pragmatic person who can separate his emotions from his work. However, this role was a surprise to him as dealing with students facing difficult situations has proven to be a far more challenging task than he initially expected. His responsibilities on the Academic Appeals and Academic Integrity Appeals Committees require him to listen to students' cases, some of which are emotionally taxing. Prajwal’s job is complex in a way that it requires him to balance empathy with objectivity, ensuring that he supports students while also making fair decisions and adhering to policies.
Goals
Prajwal's advocacy goals for the remainder of his term are ambitious, touching federal, provincial and campus-specific levels.
1. Campus Advocacy
Prajwal remains committed to ensuring that student voices are always heard on campus. He encourages students to approach him with their concerns, as his role is specifically designed to amplify their issues to key stakeholders. “If there is anything that you wanna talk about or if there is anything that is bothering you, come up, chat up, so that we can bring these voices up to the people who can actually bring up a tangible solution,” he further added.
2. Provincial Advocacy
On the provincial front, Prajwal is specifically focused on advocating for affordable housing options for students. Housing is currently a major concern in Nova Scotia and aims to ensure that students are not forced to make brutal choices between education and basic necessities like food and shelter. For the remainder of his term, he plans to advocate for affordable living conditions for students across the province.
3. Federal Advocacy
One of his primary advocacy goals is to advocate for an increase in the Canada Student Grant, which currently provides students with a maximum of $3,000 for an academic year. Prajwal’s team is advocating for this grant to be raised to $4,200 and permanently indexed to inflation.
Step-by-Step Approach:
Advocacy Weeks: Prajwal and his team engage in Advocacy Weeks, where they meet with policymakers, MPs, and MLAs to present their advocacy recommendations. These sessions help to translate student concerns into actionable plans. “The important issues that StudentsNS spoke about in the advocacy weeks were Housing, Food and Security, and equity, diversity, inclusivity and accessibility,” he added.
Consultations and Recommendations: Through continuous engagement with both the provincial and federal governments, Prajwal drafts and presents advocacy documents that highlight key issues like housing and student security. “Once we draft this advocacy document is when we present these issues to all the stakeholders, MLAs, ministers and civil servants and we push these issues to their attention,” he added. “We also send budget recommendations to the provincial governments suggesting particular issues that we want the province to invest in,” he further explained.
Media and Stakeholder Engagement: Prajwal engages with the media to raise awareness on student-related issues. These engagements help reach the public with the students’ needs and concerns. “I had a media interview where I spoke about the importance of student grants and student loans when it comes to accessing education and how it can be made more accessible for students,” he added.
Vision for change
“Something that Saint Mary’s is notoriously known for is the lack of transparency when it comes to several key issues,” he added, highlighting a major flaw in our university’s administration. One of the key changes he wishes to see is an increase in transparency regarding university decisions. Prajwal believes that the administration, while well-intentioned, must do a better job of actively communicating with students, ensuring they are not left in the dark. “If there is no active communication and transparency between all of the stakeholders, then it would be extremely tricky to serve students to the best of our abilities,” he further added.
Advice for Students
Prajwal’s advice to students is simple yet powerful: "If there's anything you believe in, go for it. Have fun, because these years are not coming back." He encourages students to make the most of their time at university by engaging in all the opportunities available through academic pursuits, student life, campus events and also by utilising all the resources available on campus.
By interviewing Prajwal, I learnt just how broad the role of the VP of advocacy truly is. His quote “I basically have the opportunity to serve them [Students] in any way that they want me to serve them in,” says a lot about the role. Advocacy is the backbone of student empowerment. Without advocacy, the issues students face might never be heard, let alone addressed. If you wish to read more about SMUSA’s role in advocacy weeks, click here.