Local politicians gathered at MRU to engage with students
Julie Patton, News Editor
On Jan. 25, students and local politicians— including Mayor Jyoti Gondek— gathered at the Council Chambers located in Mount Royal University’s (MRU) Wyckham House.
Organized by Prabhjit Grewal, VP of External at the Students Association of MRU (SAMRU), Student Connect provided students with the opportunity to connect with politicians and explore the possibilities of entering the field as well as air concerns surrounding topics in local government.
Janet Ermenko, an MLA for the Calgary-Currie district and critic for Mental Health and Addictions, attended the event as a way to connect with the youth in her district.
“I just think it’s a really wonderful opportunity to break down some of those barriers and connect with folks on issues that matter most to them,” she said. “I never want to presuppose what those are going to be. The only way we can hear about those is by coming in and having some frank and candid conversations.”
Eremenko said that part of breaking down barriers is helping students realize that there is a place in politics for them.
“When I was in university, I didn’t think that there was a place in politics for me because I didn’t really see people like me. I didn’t really know if they had the same background that I did. I didn’t have special connections or a well connected family … So, I didn’t think that there was space for me. We’ve really got a responsibility to try to break some of that down.”
A chance to share your voice
Maddox Nelles, a Social Work major minoring in Law and Governance, attended Student Connect to gain a better understanding of how local politicians are representing student interests.
“Students are facing a lot of issues right now; affordability, textbook costs, housing. It’s a really big deal for a lot of us, and we vote for government.”
Nelles had the opportunity to speak with Eremenko on the topic of mental health and air his concerns as well as open the door to speak further on the topic in the future.
“It’s really nice to see that everyone is here listening to students, having respectful conversations, and getting their voices heard,” he said.
Visit from the Mayor
The honourable guest of the evening was Mayor Jyoti Gondek who arrived midway through the event. On a tight schedule of engagements, Gondek attended Student Connect for around 30 minutes where she spent every minute engaged in conversation with students.
“They’ve been able to provide some really good insight into what they’re seeing coming out of city hall and at the City of Calgary,” she said.
“We talked about whether the U-Pass is an efficient system or if the frequency of Max BRT routes is enough for students. If I’m not out here, chatting with folks about what their lived experiences are, then the decisions I make are not going to be as informed as they should be.”
For students who were unable to attend the event, Gondek advises them to speak at public hearings to have their voices heard. She recalled a two and a half day committee meeting from September 2023 where 183 Calgarians spoke on the issue of housing.
“We had a lot of students coming out and talking about their lived experiences, and we all took a lot away from that,” she said. “You can send an email, you can drop us a note through the official channels, but the power of student voice at public hearings is incredible.”
Nelles remarked how exciting it was to have an audience with the mayor and appreciated how receptive she was during the event,
“One of my colleagues, Kyle Joseph, brought up transportation and the issue of buses and the level of detail that she was able to go into on her thoughts, she clearly knows how it affects students and cares about that.”
Successful student connections
Grewal said they were happy with the turn out of Student Connect. The event had not been held since 2019 where around four or six politicians would attend. This year, Grewal reported a total of 14 politicians at the event.
Additionally, they said the large turnout of students provided hope for the future of young people in politics.
“It makes me very hopeful for the future of this province that more students are getting engaged in politics, more students are willing to learn about politics and actually come to these events,” they said.
Grewal hopes to host the event again next year, saying the biggest change to make will be booking a bigger venue.
Mayor Gondek said she thoroughly enjoyed the event and hopes to attend another in the future.
“The pandemic robbed us of opportunities like this. I think it’s brilliant that you’ve got all kinds of elected officials here, and all kinds of student leaders as well as students. That’s the kind of thing we need more of so I’ll absolutely come back.”
