Eshana Baran ​for VP External and Community Affairs
Hi I am Eshana Baran (she/her) and I am running with the SFU Progressives for the VP External and Community Affairs. I’m in my second year, majoring in International Studies.

COVID prevented me from getting a true first year experience as online learning is difficult, but being a part of the SFU community made me feel welcome. I want to create a supportive atmosphere for communities as was done for us during these times.

As highschool council President, I acquired leadership skills such as listening, advocacy, and community organizing. We organized Terry Fox Runs, Cancer Benefit Weeks for the Surrey Hospital Foundation, and Food Drives. 

AT SFU, I’m currently a peer mentor with FassOne Surrey to first years and tutor immigrant and refugee students in K-12 through the Friends of Simon program. Through this difficult first year, I’ve been able to help others adapt to university life by sharing my experiences and connecting them to relevant resources.

This experience taught me the importance of advocating for and supporting students in need. I want to advocate with and for minorities, while making SFU an equitable space. I will do this through reaching out to organizations and lobbying the government on issues that currently impact students:

TL;DR: 
We Will Defend Student Power, and Build Solidarity and Community across Campus. 

Adequate COVID-19 Protections on Campus
  • Pushing the government to provide SFU with ample rapid testing and free N95 masks for students during the pandemic 
  • Bringing pop-up vaccination clinics and testing sites to campus and residence
  • Support student’s mental health through supporting and advocating for 24/7 mental health counseling resources 

Fighting for Lower Tuition
  • Advocate for removing GPA and other accessibility barriers in grants and bursaries for low-income students
  • Support the revival of the Tuition Freeze movement to stop the annual 2%+ increase
  • Lobby the Ministry of Education to lower tuition by increasing funding for Post Secondary

Achieve Affordable Student Housing
  • Work with SFU and the GSS to lobby the government to subsidize student housing fees to 50% of market rates
  • Collaborate with the Residence Hall Association to survey student residence for ways to improve affordability
  • Support the SFSS researching their own low-income student housing project 

Safe and Affordable Transportation
  • Continue to work with SFU to advocate for a timely completion of the Burnaby Mountain Gondola
  • Collaborate with TransLink to develop safer transit options for snow days
  • Lobbying for students with access needs to get adequate support with transit facilities 

2022 City Council Elections
  • Engage students by overseeing the SFSS’s ‘Get Out the Vote’ campaign for Surrey, Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster city elections
  • Work with VP University and Academic Affairs on hosting candidate debates for Surrey, Vancouver, and Burnaby City Council
  • Advocate for student affordability and accessibility issues

Please remember to vote on February 15-17 through SFU Mail!  

Website: https://bit.ly/ESHANA4VPX
IG/FB: @eshana4VPX
Email: eshana_baran@sfu.ca
​Team Website: www.sfuprogressives.com