SMUSA Presidential Candidates 2024: Part 2

Interviewed & Written by Samarth Behl

Thumbnail & Banner Photo by SMUSA

In the spirit of informed decision-making, we present exclusive election coverage featuring in-depth interviews with the 2024-2025 candidates conducted by Samarth Behl, the SMUSA contributor for The SMU Journal. Your vote matters and these articles aim to empower you with the knowledge needed to make an informed choice during the upcoming SMUSA elections. Be sure to check SMUSA’s ELECTIONS 2024-2025 page for more details.

Mulerwa Kalisa Hornella: A Contender for SMUSA President

Mulerwa Kalisa Hornella

Meet Mulerwa Kalisa Hornella, a first-year computer science student running for the SMUSA President position. Beyond her academic pursuits, she has a stellar leadership background. Mulerwa brings a proven track record of leadership to student governance. She has earned a Medal of Honour for being one of the longest-serving leaders in her school.

She actively participates in various societies, including Chemistry, Biology, and the Black Students Society. She also has a passion for sports and loves to take part in intramurals.

Why Mulerwa?

With extensive experience in student governance, Mulerwa positions herself as a candidate who understands students' immediate needs and envisions building a foundation that benefits them in the long run.

Passions and Causes:

Societal Engagement: Mulerwa identifies a lack of student involvement within societies due to other commitments. Her goal is to increase student engagement by spreading awareness and education about the opportunities within various societies. “Within the societies, I feel like there is not much involvement with the students because of the other things that they have to do,” she says.

Mental Health Awareness: Recognizing the importance of mental health, Mulerwa is passionate about fostering a campus environment that prioritises mental well-being for all students.

Action Steps:

Mulerwa's approach involves spreading awareness about societies to enhance student participation. She emphasises the power of feedback and plans to interact with students to understand their concerns, fostering clear communication.

Her advice to the students is simple yet deep. “Don’t give up because everything happens for a reason. We just have to keep pushing every day and hope that we are going to make it, and even if we don’t, we know that we reached somewhere and it all counts for something,” she said.

Sorav Sogy: A Contender for SMUSA President

Sorav Sogy

Meet Sorav Sogy, a former presidential contender, a final-year Bachelor of Commerce student majoring in finance and entrepreneurship, running for the position of SMUSA president. Beyond his academic pursuits, Sorav is passionate about student advocacy. Sorav has been actively contributing to student life and SMUSA. His journey includes multiple roles within SMUSA; he was a former member of the Board of Directors and held multiple roles, such as the Academic Senate and the Finance Committee Chair. He serves as the External Engagement Officer for the Commerce Society and has been involved in the Indian Society. His global exposure includes participation in a Model United Nations competition in New York and winning the Entrepreneur Choice Award in a Venture Capital Investment competition in Boston.

Why Sorav?

“I think I’ll be a good fit for the position because where I have been, I tend to change things for the better path, and I have seen that the association has been following a path in a pattern of sequence in terms of events and things happening,” he added. He aims to bring creativity to the table. “Our overall development in terms of connecting with people, connecting with things on campus and as well as engagement, that’s a bit down, and I am there to change that,” he added. His previous involvement in the SMUSA board equips him with a unique experience and a good understanding of SMUSA policies.

Passions and Causes:

Sorav believes that affordability is the primary concern of students these days. Additionally, shedding some light on additional fees and student’s professional development, he said, “Another thing that I saw was whenever you land a co-op, you have to pay a $500 dollar fee for the co-op, so rather than having that one-time payment, if that payment was split over to the rest of the remaining semester that would be a deduction in the burden of the students.”

Another problem on campus, he believes, is the lack of attention given to graduate students by SMUSA. “And I feel like no one focuses on the master’s students. Master’s students should be able to have the same ideal student experience that we are having over here for the four years that we have been here,” he added. He believes the experience of graduate students needs to be improved by hosting more tailored events for them to relax and network.

Action Steps:

As far as affordability is concerned, “There’s no way that tuition would go down, but there’s a way to put a cap on it,” he adds. He presents a unique approach to affordable housing: “I aim to collaborate with the international student program. This program is for students who migrate to the province from their high schools, and are allocated a family that they can reside with for the term of their high school. So if you had something like that for the initial university years for students who are under the age of 18 or 19, so that as soon as they land, they don’t lose that warmth of the family. They are placed down in a family place which is close to the university. So that protects them from being scammed by people,” he added. “The major population of Nova Scotia is seniors. These seniors are always happy to have new people around who can help them with certain things and then be able to reside in the same house for the student at a subsidised cost,” he further added. These approaches aim to alleviate international students' initial financial and emotional burden.

For graduate students, Sorav plans unique events aligned with their schedules and simplifies society procedures to enhance their experience.

“They (students in societies) face a certain bureaucracy and red tape in terms of society procedure. So, if you have to plan an event, you have to have things sorted two weeks ahead, and sometimes it does take time to kind of get things going and sorted out,” he adds. His goal is to simplify societal procedures.

“University years are the best years of your lives,” he says. “So the person you elect is basically the person you are handing over your next year of university life to. I said this in my last election, too.” He believes students should not treat this as a popularity contest, should make an informed choice, and not simply vote for their friends.

As the SMUSA elections approach, students have the opportunity to weigh the competency and visions of candidates like Mulerwa and Sorav, who bring unique perspectives and aspirations to enhance the campus experience. Check out the follow up article, “SMUSA President Candidates 2024: Part 1” for the complete list of President Candidates. Stay informed and participate in the upcoming elections to ensure your voice is heard. Vote on the 14th of February. Check your SMU email on the election day for more information regarding voting.

Watch the full interviews here: https://youtu.be/QWtPCR6nSbg