MUGS Elections

**Facebook: McGill Undergraduate Geography Society ** Instagram: @mcgillgeography**

**Important message for all MUGS members. Please read in full**

MUGS Elections for 2015-2016

Elections will officially kick off on Thursday April 9^th at 12 pm. Polls will be open from 12 pm until 4 pm every day until the end of classes on Tuesday April 14^th. They are located in the GIC, right as you come in on the left side.

If you cannot be present to cast your ballot, either because you are on exchange or out of town, please email the attached ballot to mugs.elections.2015@gmail.com. Your vote will be counted with all the paper ballots by our elections team.

Voting is only extended to currently registered geography undergraduate students. You will get one (1) ballot containing all names, please make a choice for all positions (Yes, No, Abstain).

These are you candidates for the 2015-2016 elections:

-          Co-President: Laura Lyon

o   Hi MUGS! I'm currently your VP Academic and next year, I want to represent you as your Co-President. This year some initiatives I've been involved include the undergrad-grad geography mentorship program, Python tutorials, and brought up MUGS 'mugs' every meeting (they're coming!). Some things I'd like to pursue next year include revamping the MUGS website to make it a useful resource for students, create open discussions about the MUGS lounge and how we can better utilize the space (movie nights anyone?!), and continue making geography the best department McGill.

-          Co-President: Lillian Fradin

o   Greetings, MUGS!
My name is Lillie Fradin and I'm a U2 Honours Urban Studies major with a GIS/Remote Sensing minor. For the past two years I've been involved with Field Notes, the MUGS journal, most recently as Editor-in-Chief. My experience with Field Notes - managing a team of editors, applying for funding, and ultimately working towards a long term goal - will allow me to successfully serve as MUGS co-president for the 2015-2016 academic year. As co-president, I would strive to maintain the success MUGS has seen with initiatives like the mentorship program, Field Notes, and composing, while expanding the presidential portfolio with the organization and implementation of geography movie nights to diversify away from administrative tasks. Most importantly, however, I would strive to represent Geography students fairly and without bias at departmental meetings and AUS/SUS council meetings. If you have any questions or would like to contact me directly for any reason please email me at: lillian.Fradin@mail.mcgill.ca.

-          VP Communications: Katherine Keyes

o   Where is that perfect balance between informative and trolly, efficient and hilarious, meme and exclamation point? That ephemeral, divine harmony, they say, is held by Katie Keyes. Katie is a U2 student of Urban Systems Geography and Sociology hailing from Beautiful British Columbia. She has been lurking the GIC since January 2013, though you may not have seen her in recent times as she's gotten outta **MTL winter** dodge for a semester abroad in Dublin.  She would be ravished to stand as your MUGS VP Communications due to the aforementioned qualifications as well as a general passion for all things geography; an over-tendency of scheduling, organizing, and checking Facebook; and a desire to KEEP YOU, STUDENTS OF THE EARTH, IN THE KNOW.
N.B. Actual experience includes being Listserv Queen of 2013 as Douglas Hall's VP Communications, holding an unpaid internship in outreach and communications at Jane's Walk and working for a PR firm, and being the eighth official GICutie.  
N.B.B Katie has written this herself, but has chosen to use third person to emulate credibility.
x Katie Keyes

-          VP Finance: Mayumi Suzuki

o   Hello!! My name is Mayumi Suzuki, I am a U1.5 Geography major with an Arabic minor running for VP Finance. Having served this year on council, I feel like I am well-equipped to act as a liaison between students and MUGS council to provide students with opportunities and events throughout the next school year! My previous experience has involved managing a scholarship fund for youth to open access to extracurricular classes, and every previous cashier job has taught me to handle money well. I also really like writing cheques. As your current sustainability officer, I've had a great time getting involved with the MUGS community (and taking out the compost) and I would love to continue the wonderful legacy that current VP Finance Brock is leaving us with. If you have any questions, I'm 99% likely in the GIC or lounge, cheers!

-          VP External/AUS Representative: Ellen Gillies

o   Hey, MUGS! My name is Ellen Gillies, and I'm a third year student in Honours Geography with a minor in Political Science. I'm running to be your VP External – AUS (a.k.a. AUS Rep) for the 2015-2016 academic year. The AUS Rep represents MUGS on the AUS Legislative Council, and liaises between the two student organizations. I've served in this position for the past school year, and I think that knowing the ropes will allow me to do this job even more effectively next year. Feel free to say hi around Burnside or email gillies.ellen@gmail.com any time. Thank you!

-          VP External/SUS Representative: Matthew King

o   Communication needs to happen. I'm the guy to talk and listen, so you don't have to. I'll do a great job.
Thanks!

-          U2 Representative: William Gleckner

o   Hello Geographers!
I'm William Gleckner, a U2 to be Urban Systems Student running for MUGS U2 rep. I feel that the community we have built around Geography is a really crucial piece of our undergraduate experience. With MUGS I will work to strengthen and improve the spaces, events, and people that are associated with this community. More events, more social spaces, stronger connections.  Best of luck on finals and i'll see you around the GIC.

-          U3 Representative: Leslie Beedell

o   Dear MUGS,
Wow, what a year this has been!
Amazing that my time as U2 rep has come to a close, especially after all our wonderful achievements. I would like to continue to serve our amazing undergraduate faculty and believe that I could do this best as U3 rep. I think that my familiarity with the council as well as experience planning events will be an asset to the council in the coming year. I hope to improve event attendance through violence and coercion. 
-Thanks,
Yours Truly,
Sincerely, 
 Les

The purpose of the MUGS executive team is not simply to plan parties and bring you free food; we are committed to serve as representative to the department by taking part of meetings with faculty members, with the larger student associations like AUS and SUS, with the GIC Committee; this year, we have organized the Mentorship Program, we started a composting program, we published a great issue of Field Notes, we also started a Python tutor program open to all but all in all, we also enjoy organizing parties, including the MUGS apartment crawl, lunchtime and coffetime in the lounge, pumpkin carving, sugar shack and other seasonal small events. We put a lot of time and effort in these programs and we are always open for suggestions, comments or complaints about what we do because we work for you.
At the same time, we have an end-of-the-year survey that you can fill out by clicking in this link where you can anonymously give your opinion.

Thank you for your support,

Phil Perez Aranguren

VP Communications