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CBU students elect Eleanor Sidley as new union president
New students’ union president elected at CBU
The students have voted and they have chosen Eleanor Sidley as their new president.
Sidley was elected as the Cape Breton University Students’ Union president during the general election on Monday. She will replace current president Roy Karam for the 2017-18 school year.
The 23-year-old is a secondyear hospitality and tourism management student from Ontario. She received 174 votes, followed by runner-up Mitchel Hill with 99 votes.
In total, 285 students participated in the election, casting their votes for the new leadership.
Sidley said she doesn’t have a new vision for the university.
“I think I will focus on some different things that Roy (Karam) focused on,” she said. “He has done an amazing job — they had a bit of a heavy year this year politically wise with the possible strike.
“I’m looking to focus more on student life,” said Sidley. “Now that we have the possible strike out of the way, we can focus a bit more on activities and things at the school for the students.”
During the campaign, Sidley touched on three specific things she wanted to focus on
the most, including operations at The Pit, the college pub, mental wellness innovations and to continue to advocate on behalf of the students, especially international students.
Sidley has always had an interest in politics and hopes she can leave a legacy at the university.
“Growing up I was always one of the weird kids who would watch the news before going to bed, instead of cartoons,” laughed Sidley.
“I wanted to learn more about it and Roy and (outgoing vicepresident) Brandon (MacDonald) and everyone have been such great role models,” she said. “They’ve done so much this year, it really made me want to help, kind of put my mark of the school as well because the university means so much to me.”
CBU students elected Brooklyn Galbraith as the students’ union executive vice-president.
The 19-year-old from Saint John, N.B., is a second-year BA/
BBA student majoring in communications.
Galbraith received 147 votes, followed by Raj Patel with 125 votes.
Elections were also held for students’ representative seats. Manan Patel and Tajmeen Sharma will be the international student representatives, while Jenna Bernard was elected as the aboriginal representative. Amanda Nicholson will represent the school of science and technology, while students re-elected Jacob Daley to the school of professional studies seat.
“It’s not an easy thing to do by putting yourself out there in front of everybody,” said Sidley. “I definitely want to thank the students and the school for putting their trust in me and I unsure them that I will do my best.”