Sascha Magder, VP Operations

Over the past year, Magder has overseen a marked increase in registration for – and profit from – SSMU minicourses, largely attributable to fresh course selections and a new and more accessible website. He has also overseen the successful rebranding of Sadie’s, SSMU’S student-run cafeteria. While still running a substantial deficit, the cafeteria’s sales have improved significantly compared to last year. Indeed, Sadie’s actually turned a profit in February, a small yet noteworthy accomplishment. On the other hand, overhead charges remain distressingly high. Magder has also done valuable work in the domain of sustainability. Next year, the SSMU building will have larger compost bins, and grants have been obtained to plant a garden behind the building. Furthermore, Magder has worked towards creating the new position of Sustainability Coordinator within SSMU, and to secure more sustainably-sourced products for distribution during the coming year’s frosh week. Both of these initiatives will be financed through the Sustainability Project Fund (SPF). For much of this year, the SSMU building’s physical accessibility was severely restricted by the ongoing construction projects on Mctavish and Dr. Penfield. Magder was unable to do much to improve this situation, though this can hardly be considered his fault, as it’s unclear if the City of Montreal was at all amenable to student input over accessibility concerns. Moreover, Magder successfully lobbied the administration to leave the Brown building’s doors unlocked until 10:30 p.m., increasing physical accessibility to mitigate the impact of construction. However, despite his valuable work in some areas of the Operations portfolio, Magder neglected to produce a long-term plan for renovations and improvements to the SSMU building. Moreover, while Sadie’s has certainly seen improvement since last year, card readers have yet to be installed which would allow students to pay for food using the mycard system. The Indigenous Art Project, which would have brought the work of Indigenous artists into the SSMU building, also failed to materialize. In addition to these issues, Magder has demonstrated a lamentable lack of understanding of SSMU’S governance structures through his participation in SSMU Council debates. Moreover, in his political positions, he has tended to lean towards the status quo, at time showing more concern for his public image than for the wellbeing of marginalized communities on campus. In short, while Magder has certainly overseen valuable improvements to SSMU’S operations this year, his performance has left much to be desired.