A welcome back for 2026
MASU president Kassandra Vail spent the summer overseeing staff and supporting initiatives across the union. Vail saw strides in provincial advocacy and attended the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) PoliStrat Conference. Internally, she saw wins in food security, affordability, financial sustainability, the Sexual Violence Prevention, and campus life. Vail also oversaw governance reform, the standardization of staff management, launched a new student bursary, and began work on the MASU Strategic Plan.
Vice president (VP) academic and university affairs, Baraka Hani worked on Nimbus (tutoring), MedLaw (aid for medical and law-focused graduate programs), and student advocacy. Hani attended senate and board of regents meetings, alongside Vail, where he met with key stakeholders, faculty, and university leadership. Hani is also advocating on the cost of textbooks and open educational resources.
For VP external affairs, Will Stott, his main priority this summer was advocating for Mt.A students at multiple levels. Municipally, Stott attended summer meetings on behalf of Mt.A students: the Rural Health Action Group, the Food Security Action Group, and the Home Sharing Working Group. Provincially, Stott met with other NB institutions on shared strategies for student representation. Federally, Stott attended two CASA conferences in May and June, and worked on strategies for MASU’s meetings with the federal government during advocacy week in November.
VP finance and governance, Andrew Forrest, spent the summer on governance reform, closing out the transition from operating procedures to governing procedures and putting in place new governance aimed at improving the operational efficiency of the Students’ Administrative Council. Working with human resources manager Oliver VanBuskirk, Forrest helped oversee the hiring of 17 staff, sitting on panels and presenting hiring motions to Council.
VP Student Life, Elena Valliquette, prioritized advocacy within Mt.A, updating the pantry. She also continued to advocate for fair Residence Assistant compensation and, with her Campus Life coordinator, rethought house points so the coming year runs smoothly. Valliquette and Stott have been planning Pride Week together, and the schedule is available on MASU’s Instagram. Throughout the summer, Valliquette worked with clubs and societies and prepared for the fair. She thanks everyone who attended.
As VP Communications and Marketing, I spent the summer planning social media for the academic year and creating content. I helped Orientation chair Kathryn Canning create the 2026 orientation booklet, produced content throughout orientation week, and captured photos for the upcoming Allisonian yearbook. I also made a MASU guide for the first-year orientation package and, with Valliquette, a clubs and societies video for the Student Success Guide’s Moodle page, while maintaining the MASU website.
Tovah McGrath is the VP communications for the MASU.