News, SSMU

Michael Szpejda

What are the most important issues facing the VP Internal next year and what do you think the biggest challenge will be?

I think the most important issues involve a renewed commitment to student life. … I want to make a strong brand value for SSMU events. I want to make the first few events really high quality for incoming students, really making SSMU frosh relevant again. 

And also increasing the visibility of McGill events—so not only with the list serve, but also making the SSMU website more usable.  

Also, having faculties focused on assisting each other. I think the VP Internal’s job is to meet with these people throughout the year to create a sense of community so they know they can rely on each other and on the VP Internal’s office. It would be great to help support the smaller faculties, because they really do have some great initiatives.

Frosh has undergone quite a few changes recently. What other ideas do you have, since you’re focusing on frosh?

I think that the main problems with frosh in the past have been a lack of communication with the administration. There were only two meetings with administration this summer and they only happened in the middle and at the end … We needed an outline of what the administration expected from us … Also, a lot of the clubs in frosh can be all-ages even when they are serving alcohol, they just cost significantly more. I think it’s SSMU’s responsibility to ensure that these events are inclusive and with all its resources.

What are your goals for the events later in the year?

I would work to strengthen the events that are already there—so Four Floors, Week 101. 

I’m looking into not just an end of the year concert, but also the feasibility of having a music festival —something that really showcases local talent and our own student talent, and that could generate a lot of interest in the community. Not everyone likes a certain type of music, but it would be great to showcase the diversity of music within our community.

If you could high five anyone in history, who would you high five?

I’d have to choose James McGill, because I’ve really grown as a person here … I think this school has really allowed me to discover a part of myself I never knew.

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