Another batch of executive candidates faced off during two nights of debate.
On the evening of Jan. 22 and 23, candidates convened in the Integrated Learning Centre (ILC) Atrium to outline their platforms and vision for the Engineering Society’s (EngSoc) 2025-26 academic year.
The first night featured a head-to-head debate between Presidential candidates Valentine Adeseiye, all Sci ’28.
The second night saw Vice-President (Operations) candidates Jacob Esdale, Sci ’26, and Khaled Rajan, Sci ’27, go head-to-head. In an uncontested open forum for Vice-President (Student Affairs), Ian Schaffer both Sci ’27.
President
During the first debate of the series, Nookala and Belainsky touched on first-year involvement and faculty representation.
Belainsky kicked off by suggesting increased advertising for all society positions to increase first-year engagement, citing a decline in society participation post-pandemic.
“I feel like that’s something we’ve lost in the past two years, like a fraction of the posting per job, or opening opportunities and we really need to refine the system and renew these avenues and build back up to what they were so people outside of the bubble know about the resources, especially first years,” Belainsky said.
Nookala explained she wants to increase involvement by pushing more low-level commitment positions, adding she wants to push the hierarchy of positions within EngSoc rather than encouraging everyone to try to start off in a high-level position.
“I want to feel that there are more people that are connected to society, even if it’s in a small way, even if it’s in one meeting every month type of way. So, increasing those types of involvement opportunities would be something that I feel would find more people to kind of participate in society in a way that fits them,” Nookala said.
As for how the candidates plan to ensure they’re properly representing EngSoc to other faculty societies, schools, or external groups, Nookala explained she’ll ensure keeping an open mind, acknowledging that despite being in different fields, student issues can be universal and communication with other faculties can help point out those issues.
“I know it’s important to approach these meetings with an open mind, to understand that the other faculty societies run things in a different way, but at the same time, they’re dealing with students who rise and encounter the exact same problems that our students do,” Nookala said.
Belainsky explained he believes Queen’s has the most involved engineering department in Canada, meaning it’s important to be leaders at conferences with other schools but also to be leaders locally at Queen’s.
Junior Senator
Communication and community were key priorities debated among the four Junior Senator candidates.
De Kroon explained one of her priorities is making sure engineering students is heard and considered, adding she would host senator office hours to hear student concerns.
“I would implement regular sessions where students can share their ideas directly with me, ensuring their voices are authentically represented in these discussions and prioritizing building a two-way communication bridge between students,” de Kroon said.
Similarly, Van Buren would prioritize communication, saying she would take a social media-oriented approach to providing information.
“I think something I want to start doing is summarizing everything we get from Faculty Board and Senate and making a post about it on social media. Something that’s very easy to read, something that people are interested in, and something that makes people feel like they can trust their senators,” Van Buren said.
Adeseiye explained that, if elected, he would prioritize ensuring the $100 million Stephen J.R. Smith donated would be addressed collaboratively with the University, taking student perspectives into when deciding how the donation will be spent.
Running on a campaign platform of community, open communication, and resource advocacy, Shawabkah stated her belief that everyone within EngSoc should have equal opportunities. After her opening remarks, Shawabkah left the debate without addressing the students again.
Vice-President (Student Affairs)
Enhancing EngSoc’s hiring processes for long-term sustainability is a priority for Paredes.
Running uncontested, Paredes emphasized growth by proposing improvements to the hiring process for managerial and director-level positions within EngSoc. She stressed the importance of aligning these processes with real-world job applications to better prepare students for future internships and job interviews.
“I look forward to enhancing individual student opportunities for personal development,” Paredes said during the debate.
Transparency was another cornerstone of Paredes’ platform. She proposed updating EngSoc’s communication channels, including the website and Instagram, to ensure resources like academic timelines and interview schedules are easily accessible and regularly refreshed.
Reflecting on her journey, Paredes shared how this moment has come full circle for her.
“Three years ago, I toured the campus as a nervous newcomer, guided by the Vice-President (Student Affairs) who, at the time made me feel welcome and confident in my decision to come here. Now, I’m eager to give back and create that same sense of belonging for others,” she said.
Vice-President (Finance and istration)
Automation and efficiency take centre stage in the finance and istration portfolio.
Known as “the automation guy” with a ion for streamlining processes, mphasized the transformative power of automation in improving efficiency within EngSoc’s finance, human resources, and information technology (IT) portfolios.
He explained his goal of implementing automated systems to reduce repetitive tasks
’s pillar of community builds on the idea of using automation to foster stronger connections within EngSoc. By expediting the financial availability and distribution of resources, he aims to improve society’s responsiveness to d groups’ needs.
“This will contribute to a greater sense of belonging and inclusion,” he said, underlining his commitment to bridging gaps and addressing barriers.
Vice-President (Operations)
Rajan and Esdale’s debate centred on accessibility and the expansion of services within EngSoc.
Rajan opened his statement by highlighting the importance of accessibility and advocating for the removal of financial barriers, such as the $500 cost of the golden party armour engineering jackets, to ensure all students can access EngSoc services. He suggested adding jobs to accommodate the growing student body and introducing pop-ups for services like the Tea Room to address space constraints.
“A main thing of my campaign is I want every single student to be able to access every single service that’s offered,” Rajan said during the debate.
Esdale argued due to EngSoc’s budget constraints, increasing student jobs would require funds the society doesn’t have.
“To the point of increasing team sizes, we don’t exactly have the budget to just start hiring more people. In the services, we need to pay people for their time. These are high-time commitment jobs. We can’t be asking people to volunteer their time,” Esdale added.
To improve accessibility at Clark Hall Pub, Rajan suggested adding a chair lift to the staircases. He also proposed outsourcing events, such as jacket fittings, to more accessible locations like the ILC in Beamish-Munro Hall.
Esdale focused on improving communication as a key to accessibility, vowing to ensure all information about EngSoc services would be consistently updated on social media.
Voting for EngSoc executives and Junior Senator candidates will be held on Jan. 27 and 28.
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