Jonas SmithGood intentions only go so far without a real plan for action. This was evident for candidates in the 2024 vice-president (operations and finance) (VPOF) race, Joachim Bony and Levi Flaman. At the Augustana Campus forum, the candidates had the opportunity to directly engage with Augustana students. But, their lack of engagement with Augustana students only showed the lack of substance to their big ideas.
Both candidates brought different focuses to the table, which was really refreshing. Clearly, Bony and Flaman both know what they want to do. However, I hoped to hear how they planned to achieve these ideas, especially for Augustana.
However, both candidates opened by acknowledging their unfamiliarity with the Augustana campus. In his opening remarks, Flaman said that he doesn’t go to Augustana often, but that their issues are always “at the forefront of his mind.” Bony, on the other hand, said he had heard similar concerns to that of Augustana students at Campus Saint-Jean, where he is the current VPOF of the Association des universitaires de la faculté Saint-Jean. But, not engaging with students isn’t really an excuse to not have an idea of how you will accomplish your goals.
Bony and Flaman should have done their homework before the Augustana forum, whether that was talking to students or looking into how their plans fit in with the satellite campus. This is especially true for Flaman, who is the current Students’ Union (SU) VPOF. For the record, Bony mentioned meeting with Augustana students ahead of the forum starting, which is something. But, throughout his answers to questions, he only connected their concerns back to those of CSJ students. While connectivity and mutual-understanding is good, students need a lot more. However, since engagement was lacking, they both seemed to struggle to give any real answer to the questions students asked them. That’s disappointing in and of itself.
But, the really jarring part was, neither candidate was able to offer real solutions that would address students’ needs. Student engagement is necessary, but it doesn’t go anywhere without a plan, which is the bare-minimum. Neither candidate shared concrete solutions to issues facing Augustana students specifically, or the broader issues of accessibility, inefficiencies, and accountability. Bony brought up these issues in his opening statement, but gave no insight on how he would address them.
For example, neither candidate gave a real answer to the question of what proportion of SU funding should be going to Augustana — a tough but necessary question. That being said, Bony showed that he was more open to the conversation, which is a start. Flaman, on the other hand, gave a non-answer that didn’t really address the issue at hand — that there are gaps at Augustana that need addressing. Again, there were no real solutions given and only vague ideas thrown out. Flaman said that many people would have different thoughts, and that he would need to have more conversations. He suggested accessing grants and creating liaisons between student groups.
Bony, on the other hand, connected his answer to his experiences as VPOF at AUFSJ, which he said was a similar situation. While this answer was better than Flaman’s, it’s only a marginal difference. Students need to know how each candidate plans on addressing their needs, but we aren’t hearing that. Instead, candidates gave Augustana students consolations and unsubstantial answers.
However, Bony is far more focused on listening to students and making sure their needs are being met with services provided by the SU. While the willingness to listen is there, Bony’s solutions to the lack of access to services are, in fact, lacking. Since we’re only one forum into the campaign, I do have faith Bony can turn it around. But, he’ll need to translate what he’s hearing from students into real solutions. So far, I’m not seeing that.
A focus point for Flaman was generating more revenue for the SU, such as SU-run businesses being brought to Augustana, or collaborating with the private sector. While an interesting idea, this doesn’t address the needs of Augustana students, just that of the SU. While building revenue for the SU can benefit students, Augustana students expressed that they felt left behind by the SU throughout the forum. I commend Flaman for these ideas, but I would’ve liked to see an explanation as to how this will help Augustana.
Bony’s student-centered approach is far more appealing to me, but both candidates need to share how they plan to actually address student needs. The student-first sentiment only goes so far without any real plan for action. Both candidates need to make their game plan clear. Until then, students have only vague intentions to go-off of.
While the forum left students needing clarity, it’s clear that the candidates’ approach to the VPOF position will be different. Forums exist to give students the opportunity to hear what candidates plan to do, especially in regards to the campus or organization hosting the forum. Unfortunately, students got a lot of ideas with no real substance from VPOF candidates at the Augustana forum.
