Ahead of the UNB Student Union’s 2024 General Elections, the Union held a debate at the SUB. The debate was announced to the public a day before it happened, and the post on the UNBSU’s feed had no dates.
Mediated by Mark Kilfoil, from CHSR, and Christopher Tait, who currently serves as Council Chair.
Presidential candidates debated, while candidates for other positions would have panels so mediators and attendees could ask questions.
A large number of candidates decided to not participate in the panels. VP Academic is the position with the most candidates, but all of them turned down the opportunity to participate in the panels.
Most of the candidates for the VP Finance and Operations position were also absent — the only participating VPFO candidate was Islay Hayward.
The debate had a very limited attendance. Around fifteen people sat in the audience, most of which were already part of the Student Union or candidates themselves. Some of these candidates had decided to not participate in the panels, but showed up in the audience.
Online attendance was also significantly low, reaching 45 people throughout the event but ending at around 15 people.
The questions asked by the mediators were, in general, very basic. In many ways, the questions were more akin to those asked in a job interview than in a proper debate.
It is also worth mentioning that all the questions asked by the mediators were sent to the participating candidates ahead of time, so that they could draft their responses.
The debate is available in its entirety on the UNB Student Union’s Facebook page. You may watch it here.
Voting for this year’s election is open until Sunday March 3rd. To learn about the candidates click here and to vote click here.
