GABE LIOSIS FOR PRESIDENT
My name is Gabe Liosis, and I am running with SFU Progressives to be your next President of the SFSS. We’ve made significant headway this year, and many changes SFU made were because SFSS worked to build student power!

I currently serve as the VP University Relations for the SFSS. I ran last year because I wanted to bring back activism to SFSS, returning to its rich history of student unionism. This work must continue. This past year, I successfully: 
  • advocate for, and implement, a P/CR/NC grading scheme to give students relief during the pandemic.
  • achieve significant milestones in making the Burnaby Mountain Gondola a reality.
  • stop the invasive exam proctoring pilot project that SFU was conducting during remote instruction.

I spearheaded the effort to reform the SFSS to place more power back in the hands of students, by decentralizing power from a small, unrepresentative Board to a more representative Council, ensuring that every corner of campus is represented on the SFSS’s main decision making body.

TL;DR
We’ve achieved a lot this year, but the work needs to continue. We must build Student Power, Stronger!

COVID-19 Relief
  • Stronger Financial, Mental, and Academic Relief from the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Work with our newly developed SFSS Academic Advocacy Office to ensure that we are continuing to fight to protect students rights in the classroom during remote instruction.
  • Keep pushing for fair and equitable grading options for students enrolled in online courses, by:
    • Extending withdrawal deadlines to provide students relief.
    • Advocate for the Pass/Credit/NoCredit grading scheme to include ALL COURSES, not simply electives.
    • Encouraging compassionate grading and conduct by instructors.
  • Push for a student emergency COVID-19 relief fund.
Student Affordability
Affordable, Accessible And Quality Education For All Students, Not Just The Affluent Ones
  • Mobilize undergraduates and amplify the Tuition Freeze Now movement to reduce the cost of tuition.
  • Push the federal and provincial governments to provide more public funding to post-secondary education, so that SFU does not need to continue hiking our tuition.
  • Continue working with SFU on the Student Affordability Working Group, by introducing new areas of focus, such as Affordable Student Housing, Expanded Health Coverage, and more.
Supporting BIPOC Communities
BIPOC Students Deserve A University That Fights For Them
  • Support the First Nations Student Association and Indigenous students, form relationships with the Host nations, and push SFU governing bodies to actively and appropriately consult with Indigenous community members.
  • Push for an institutional review of policies to ensure hiring practices are prioritizing Black and Indigenous faculty and staff, and work with SFSS Councillors to push this work on a departmental and faculty level too.
  • Pressure SFU to end recruitment and presentation of RCMP to ensure the safety and well-being of marginalized communities, who continue to be disproportionately targeted by vague SFU policies.
  • Pressure SFU to increase de-escalation and equity training for Campus Security and to take steps to increase community-based safety initiatives on campus.
Rebuilding the SFSS
The Time Is Now To Rebuild The SFSS To Work Better For Students
  • Support the new Council to ensure Councillors are well equipped with effective training and knowledge to further their unionism and advocacy in all corners of SFU.
  • Bring more campus groups into Council, such as the independent student societies and marginalized groups, in order to empower their decision-making within the Council system.
  • Create new services and spaces within the SFSS to support marginalized communities and activism, by continuing the establishment of the Black Student Support Centre, creating more accessible support, and hiring a Campaigns and Mobilization Coordinator.

This year, we have seen an unprecedented movement spread around social and racial justice in Canada, the U.S, and with the Farmers’ Protests in India. There is a growing consciousness of these issues - now is the time for us to be bold, and build Student Power, Stronger. 

We Will Not Give Up On Students!

Website: bit.ly/Gabe4Pres
Email: gliosis@sfu.ca
Pledge to Vote: bit.ly/vote-Gabe
FB: @Gabe4Pres
​IG:  @Gabe4Pres
Team Website: bit.ly/SFUProgressives