About me
Hello everyone, my name is Brian Zheng and I am running to be your next SRA Kin Representative.
Ever since I stepped foot onto the McMaster University campus, I felt nothing but supported. The catchy chants, the extremely enthusiastic Kinesiology reps, and the diverse events all contributed towards an amazing welcome week experience and ultimately, created such a tight-knit community within our level and faculty. What we have here really is something special. Everyone is always there for each other, from sharing notes, memes, answering each other's questions, to birthday surprises and even excessively chanting at the sidelines of intramural games. I am beyond grateful to be able to call McMaster Kinesiology not only a home away from home but also a second family.
I really want the opportunity to become your next SRA Kin Representative so that I can give back for what each and every single one of you have done for me by bringing the change you deserve.
GOALS and IDEAS
Better Transparency
for All Operations
Thus, I plan to build upon the great progress made by the current SRAs and mass push for followers on our Instagram platform as well as, provide regular weekly updates about progress made on each goal through means of summarized, easily understood social media posts on our various social media platforms, this could potentially include regular minute videos as well. This way, the general student body can easily stay connected and up to date.
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Currently, all that is available to the general student body are hour-long live streams and prolonged, lengthy documents outlining their weekly progress. I believe that this method is not only an ineffective method to produce transparency, but also, not many students are even aware of such documents.
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Alumni Night
I wish to organize an event where specifically McMaster Kinesiology alumni are invited to speak to our students about their academic journeys here at McMaster and the various pathways they have chosen upon graduation in an organized station rotation format. This way each alumnus can speak to a few students at a time. This makes it an optimal time for students to network while learning different potential career options from someone who was once in their shoes.
Upgrades
for Old Ivor Wynne
It is not news that our beloved Ivor Wynne Centre (IWC) is in great need of some love. Although two years ago, the past SRAs (2016 - 2017) have made it a long term goal to improve the working environment in IWC, to my understanding, due to the multiple changes and transitions that have occurred in the SRA team that year, it was extremely challenging to move forward with this goal. Thus, I plan to continue pursuing this goal in hopes to bring everyone's studying fantasies to a reality.
Some potential Improvements:
Air conditioning:
With the humidity of the pool and the unbearable heat in the summer months, this eliminates the option of using IWC as a study space for most student. Needless to say, this addition will definitely make IWC more habitable and thus, a suitable studying space.
Healthy Vending Machines:
Ever needed a snack while studying in IWC? You head on over to the vending machines and see nothing but beverages and candy bars that would disrupt and stunt the benefits of the hour-long cycling class you had just attended this morning. Sound familiar? we are Kinesiology students after all.
More outlets and couches:
Looking for an outlet in IWC is pretty much like looking for a black cat in a coal cellar. When you do find one, usually, students must resort to sitting on the ground if they wish to continue their studying session. The addition of couches or a more comfortable seating area could potentially make IWC a place for Kinesiology students to socialize as well. This addition can only further strengthen and promote our tight-knit community.
But for Landlords
landlord
I have heard so many bad landlord horror stories from my mentor while searching for student housing. From rodents and insect infestations to missing doors. Needless to say, having a good landlord is extremely crucial especially when issues arise.
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The implementation of this system can act as a platform for students to share their experiences/information about good and bad landlords, something like Yelp. This way all information can be found in one place. Hopefully, with this system, those horror stories are minimized and avoided
Feedback/Rating System
Open Educational Resources
Textbook rentals
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I plan to continue advocating for open educational resources to be brought to the Kinesiology program. However, in the meantime, I believe that having the option to rent textbooks can also contribute towards providing financial relief. In addition, textbook rentals could potentially act as a middle ground.
Kin Space
Over the past year, Ushwin (current SRA) has been extremely proactive in searching for a lounging space for exclusively Kinesiology students. I plan to continue building on top of the amazing progress he has started with the Google survey forms and hopefully, be able to claim a spot in Peter George Centre for Learning and Living. Having this space could promote a greater sense of community within the faculty, create a suitable environment to network or socialize and perhaps, be used for group studying sessions