February and March were filled with excitement, scandal, and anticipation as the student body cast their votes for the 2026-2027 UNB-SRC team.  

The 2026-2027 Team

The winners are as follows: 

VP Student Life: Sami Sethi 

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Representative: Mawadda Khanes 

Business Representative: Rahma Khanes 

International Student Representative: Teni Olaniyan 

Member-at-Large Representative: Olufela Ofurune  

Nursing/Health Science Representative: Sadra Nassiri 

Senate (Student Representative): Teni Gbemsiola 

Board of Governors (Student Representative): Himanshu Sharma 

VP Student Life

Sami Sethi won her election for VP Student Life with 61.7 percent of the votes. When asked why she was inspired to nominate herself for the position, she stated that she had been planning to run since September because of the fun she had at orientation. She also brought up her experience on her high school’s student council, which gave her a passion for leadership.  

Her goals for next year center around increasing student engagement and improving campus life. “My biggest goal for the next year is to increase student engagement and give students the campus life they deserve. The best way to get student engagement is to do what the students want. My goal for next year is to involve more diverse events and incorporate what the students want, through student surveys and interviews.” One way that Sami will increase student participation is by introducing volunteer incentives with volunteer appreciation programs or with gift cards for volunteers to thank them for their hard work. She also plans on increasing student engagement by expanding event promotion. “There have been a few times I’ve wanted to attend an event, but I’ve missed out because I got to know about it too late or had a class during the event. My goal is to spread out the events and make sure there are multiple chances for students on campus to attend events and there is more promotional material around campus and not just on social media, since not everybody has social media.” 

International Student Representative

Teni Olaniyan won her election for International Student Representative with 56.2 percent of the votes. Her experience as an international student inspired her to run for the position. “I understand the challenges we face, like adjusting to a new environment and dealing with school processes. I wanted to be a voice for students like me and help make things better.” 

Her goal next year is to foster support and inclusion for international students. “I want to improve communication between students and the school, and make important information about things like work, housing, and school processes easier to understand. I also hope to help create more opportunities for students to connect and feel part of the community.” 

Some issues that Teni is passionate about addressing next year center around student well-being. “Some of the issues I hope to address include better support for mental health and well-being, and making sure international students feel represented and heard. I also want to share more resources and opportunities that can help students succeed during their time here.” 

Nursing/Health Science Representative

Sadra Nassiri won his election for the Nursing/Science Representative with a high majority of 85.7 percent of the votes. Actively involved in student life during the past year, Sadra was inspired to run for the UNB-SRC. “I’ve been involved in several student initiatives over the past year and saw firsthand the impact that strong student representation can have. I wanted to take a more active role in ensuring that students (especially those in Nursing and Health Sciences) feel heard, supported, and connected, which ultimately inspired me to run.” 

Sadra has many goals for his new position. “My main goal is to strengthen communication between students and the SRC so that everyone is more aware of available resources, events, and opportunities. I also hope to support initiatives that improve student wellness, increase engagement, and create more opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across campus. I plan to achieve this by working closely with student societies and organizing events that reflect student interests and needs.” 

“I’m particularly interested in addressing student wellness, workload balance, and access to support systems, especially for students in demanding programs like Nursing. I also want to ensure that student feedback regarding academic and clinical experiences is meaningfully represented. From my own experience and conversations with peers, I know that clinical placements require a significant time commitment, and I believe students should receive greater recognition and support in return. This has been one of the most important concerns raised to me over the past year.”  

Senate (Student Representative)

Teni Gbemsiola won her election for Student Representative on the Senate with 51.5 percent of the votes. She ran for both EDI Representative and Student Representative on the Senate but unfortunately lost the EDI position to Mawadda Khanes. She put her name forward for EDI Representative because she cares about “transparency, and making sure students from all backgrounds feel supported”. She also ran for Senate because she wants to “have a direct role in shaping university policies and decisions that affect all students”. Running for both positions was important to her because she wanted to “make meaningful change both in advocacy and in governance”. 

As a Senate member, Teni aims to focus on policy-making and communication between students and the Senate. “As a Senate member, I am to strengthen student representation in university governance, promote initiatives that support inclusion, and work closely with students and faculty to ensure their perspectives are heard in policymaking. I aim to strengthen communication between students and the Senate.”  

Teni also wants to focus on academic accessibility and representation. “I’m hoping to focus on academic accessibility, clarity around program requirements, and making sure students have a voice in curriculum discussions. I also want to bring forward concerns from students who feel underrepresented or unheard, and make sure equity and inclusion are part of academic decision-making.” 

The President and CEO Debacle

As some of the student body may be aware, we are currently awaiting the results of the presidential by-election because both original candidates, Connor Stevens and Himanshu Sharma, were disqualified. After their disqualifications, a new presidential nomination, campaign, and voting period had to be undergone. However, another possible campaign regulation violation has just been disclosed, so those results will not be posted right away.

When asked what inspired them to run for the position, Himanshu stated that his decision came from his experience in previous student leadership roles.“My decision to run came from the different on campus/off campus roles I have held before. Being the Business Rep for 2 years and having the opportunity to serve as the Orientation Chair ’25 motivated me to run for the president position, which unlike O-chair serves for the whole year.”  

Himanshu was excited for the possibility of getting elected, as he “wanted to make the campus life fun for a whole year. Making Saint John not just a monotonous commuter campus but a thriving eventful place with students excited to come and spend time here”. Himanshu was also passionate about student engagement, accessibility, and communication between students and the UNB-SRC. “I also wanted to work on creating a more inclusive and connected campus environment, where students get the paid opportunities they deserve.” To achieve these goals, Himanshu was planning to have meetings with students to ensure that the SRC could represent what they wanted and not just what the council thought they wanted.  

Similar to Himanshu, Connor also has experience in student advocacy. “I have served on the UNB-SRC for two years to represent students and advocate for a better student experience. I was inspired by my previous years of representing students to advocate for them, as students often feel their voices go unheard by those in power. My candidacy was based on a central principle, to bridge the gap between students and the UNB-SRC so students would have a way to get involved and benefit from the UNB-SRC’s services, events, and advocacy efforts.” 

If he was elected, Connor had plans to modernize the UNB-SRC. “I wanted to modernize the UNB-SRC and bring us up to speed with other student unions across the Maritimes. I wanted to lead an SRC that would lead advocacy efforts from food security to tuition stability. I also wanted to introduce services such as the parking pass bursary so students that struggled with parking fees could benefit from financial support from their student union. Lastly, I wanted to increase operating funding to our clubs and societies and develop grants to get societies engaged and come up with big projects. Some of the grants I wanted to implement included a Sustainability Grant, EDI Grant, Cultural Awareness Grants, and Academic Grants, to inspire societies to come up with creative initiatives to benefit the student body, to foster competition, and give our clubs the resources they need to succeed.” 

The Disqualification(s)

Himanshu was disqualified during the campaign period, with Connor’s disqualification following shortly after during voting week.  

When asked to explain why they were disqualified, Himanshu stated that “as I am currently on a co-op term in Nova Scotia, a friend decided to help me put posters on campus, she mistakenly put some in a ‘restricted’ area but then took them down in 2 hours once we figured they were not supposed to go there. However, the other contender took pictures as evidence and submitted them as proof of violation.”  

Connor was disqualified due to “mentioning [his] opponent’s physical absence from campus as they were running for President while completing a co-op in another province. The Election Committee managed by the Chief Returning Officer stated this met the definition of ‘election interference’ as they ruled it met the definition of ‘ any willful act against or toward another candidate or candidates, which by its commission prevents or impedes that candidate or candidates’ ability to campaign.’” However, Connor states that his comment “did not interfere with [his] opponent’s ability to put up posters, participate in debate, or discuss their ideas with the student body”.  

Connor states that he has appealed his disqualification but had no success. “I have appealed numerous times with testimonies and argued that this comment did not meet the criteria of interference. However, the committee ruled I was disqualified. In the Presidential by-election, the CRO ruled that I am not allowed to run again in the by-election, despite my disqualification being ruled for the UNB-SRC General elections, the Election Committee ruled this applied to the separate Presidential By-Election. This is not mentioned in the by-laws or Campaign Regulations of the UNB-SRC.” 

Himanshu also shared why he appealed for Connor’s disqualification. “I heard from multiple students, some of them even active volunteers within SRC, about the other candidate mentioning time and again how my absence from the campus is unfair and disrespectful to the process, this not only undermines my commitment but it could have had a negative impact on people who wanted to vote for me.” Himanshu continued to state that there was a comment made on how he would “get most *international votes*” and how “that comment did not sit right and stemmed from a lack of understanding of how student population determines its representation.” 

Like Connor, Himanshu also mentioned the discrepancy between SRC by-laws and the Campaign Regulations of the UNB-SRC. “When the other candidate was disqualified, the election committee ended up making a new rule which is written nowhere in the SRC by laws or election regulations that ‘disqualified candidates cannot run for a position again’ even if it is a new election cycle. I am greatly disappointed at the incompetence of Ayush Bhosale, the CRO for this election, who not only exercised his powers in the worst imaginable way but was adamant on staying on his baseless interpretation of the rules. So the process remained largely unfair as the CRO reports to the President, and the President wanted to just stay out of it and not make any executive decision. Hence, the CRO could do whatever he wanted even though I as a candidate greatly disagreed with his methods.” 

Himanshu brought up another issue about the CRO regarding the executive debate. He stated that “according to the campaign regulations, candidates were required to be given a notice of 72 hours before the executive debate, however the CRO failed to give a 72 hour notice knowing very well that it required me to fill an application for 2 days unpaid leave at my co-op employer, this also damaged some reputation as I had to wait until the very last moment for booking time off and also arranging travel logistics from Wolfville to Saint John. The CRO being extremely strict about my posters being up for 2 hours, but not about the mismanagement of the 72 hour notice, was also something that was blatantly ignored and no accountability was shown, and there was absolutely no avenue to report this to.” 

Future Plans for Student Advocacy

Both Connor and Himanshu plan on continuing to be actively involved in student advocacy next year. While Connor is unsure if his advocacy work will be with the UNB-SRC, he remains passionate about student issues. For Himanshu, he will be serving as the Student Representative on the Board of Governors. “Regardless of the outcome of this election, I remain deeply committed to student advocacy. I plan to continue contributing through my involvement in student governance and other leadership roles, including continuing initiatives that support student engagement and community building.” He states that his “goal has always been to make a positive impact, and I will continue to do so, with the amazing students and faculties we have on our campus.”