UCSA 2024 Election Rundown
Thousands of Wellington School students and citizens march in the school strike for Climate. Photo: NZ Herald
The 2024 University of Canterbury Student Association Executive has been elected after election results were released in August.
The Presidential Race:
Luc Mackay was elected the 2024 President in a tightly contested campaign with just a 21-vote difference. Mackay faced 2023 Vice-President Engagement Xavier Moir and is only the second president, after Pierce Crowley, to be elected outside of the executive.
Mackay had 2,164 votes, and Moir just under with 2,143 votes, overall turnout of the UCSA elections was 24.9% of the student population. While slightly down in 2022, it remained the highest turnout for Australasian student body elections.
Luc MacKay thanked his supporters, saying that he had enjoyed the campaigning and the extraordinary people he’d met over the last two elections.
““I am very excited to get to work, building what is already such a great organisation,” he said.
“I hope to be able to enact my policies as early as possible to ensure we start smoothly next year, so be sure to look out for changes coming your way.”
“To Pierce, the outgoing President. Your legacy has not gone unnoticed by the students at UC. You have achieved so many great things alongside your wonderful exec and I will be working hard to uphold that bar you have set.”
Xavier Moir said that it was a thrilling but tiring campaign and the support he’d received made it all worth it.
“All going well I should finish up my studies at the end of this year, graduate, and head off into some “real adult job” or something like that. Time to update that CV,” he said.
“I’m coming to peace with this being the end of my time at UC. I’ve made so many life long memories and friends through this place, and it’ll be sad to see it go.”
“To President Pierce Crowley, working with you all has been one of the best and most fulfilling times of my life, and I’m so grateful to have had such a strong team to work with during what has turned out to be my final year at uni.”
The Results
With a lead of 500 votes, Devana Monguchi was elected as the Vice-President Academic. Monguchi did not have an election biography. The VP academic role involves representing students' academic needs and ensuring they have the support required.
Parethy Pant, a maths and statistics student, ran unopposed as the candidate for Vice-President Engagement, Pant was elected with 3,867 votes to 892 votes of no-confidence. The VP engagement is responsible for the planning and organising student events that promote student involvement, diversity, and wellbeing.
Pant said he would focus on developing inclusive programmes to engage UC’s diverse population, increase UCSA accessibility though outreach, and support the wellness of students among other policies.
Ezra Samy also ran unopposed as a candidate for the Pacific Representative role, Samy was elected with 4,202 votes to 557 votes of no-confidence. The position is open exclusively to Pasifika students and is responsible for representing Pasifika students on the executive.
The role was first established in 2023, Samy is the second ever pacific representative. Samy said his focus would be on creating an equitable environment for Pacifica on campus and would work with the executive to develop targeted initiatives to achieve this.
Jharmane Catolico, a law and politics student, was elected as the Equity and Wellbeing Representative. The equity rep is responsible for promoting diversity and inclusiveness among students. Catolico promised to focus on student wellbeing, and to act as a liaison between different communities at UC and the UCSA.
Sadiq Ali Jeddy, a linguistics student, was elected as the International Representative, with a 227-vote lead against Devana Monguchi who was instead voted VP Academic. Jeddy will be responsible for representing international students and ensuring they have the right support. Jeddy said his focus would be to implement an airport pick-up buddy system as well as a diverse campus food policy.
Erin Spencer, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Health, was elected with a 1,000-vote lead as the Post-Graduate Representative. Spencer said she would focus on hosting more post-grad events to promote greater connections between post-grads, especially for those who have families.
Seven students were elected to the General Executive, they will represent students as well as hold responsibilities and portfolios allocated by the President based on their strengths.
Stella Meikle, an environmental sciences student, who was elected with 2,074 votes. Meikle said her focus on the executive would be equity.
Dominic Toomey, an international affairs, and business student, was elected with 1,784 votes. Toomey said his focus would be on making campus safer and more inclusive, as well as supporting clubs.
Samantha Plows, a law and science student, was elected with 1,721 votes. Plows said her focus would be on a ChatGPT academic policy, safer campus, and V-plate for UCGO app, among others.
Silas Zhang, a law, and politics student was elected with 1,390 votes. Zhang said he would focus on ensuring welfare system effectively served students.
Cathleen Wang, a youth, and human services student was elected with 1,364 votes. Wang said her focus would be on mental health, exam stress, and campus food policy.
Jenro Fortich, a law and commerce student, was elected with 1,413 votes. Fortich said his focus would be more streamlined internship programs for students, as well as a comprehensive tutoring programme.
Caleb Banks, a law, and psychology student was elected with 1,434 votes. Banks said his focus would be on holding UC to account, and growing awareness of the work done by the UCSA.
2023 UCSA President Pierce Crowley is ending his final term this year, handing the reigns onto Luc Mackay for 2024. Crowley told Canta that he enjoyed observing the campaign from the sidelines this year.
"It has gone well. One key change we made was to extend the period of campaigning into the voting period, which has gotten positive feedback.”
Crowley’s advice for the incoming executive was to make the most of it but to look after themselves and not to neglect their studies.
"You do some amazing stuff on the UCSA, but unfortunately you do take some unnecessary flak from time to time. You’ll want to do everything all at once in terms of advocacy, but at the end of the day studies are so important,” he said.
“It’s such a privilege to have been elected, and you get exposure to some pretty cool experiences, people, and opportunities! Make sure to get into it while you can!”