Originally Posted by Scrub

That being said, this whole debacle about Facebook group censorship is quite disheartening. Also, Casey would it be possible to hear directly from you regarding your alleged " i will fix elm speech" you gave to first years? I would like to know if this really happened directly from you, and if its true your thoughts on the matter. Thank you.

I was in one of the first year classes with the "fix elm speech". it wasn't really a speech(he only talked for less than a minute and not about elm the whole time) but he did say that he would be working toward a solution to fix elm if elected president. that isn't a direct quote, but was essentially what he said, at least in my class.

Arjun it isn't about the music choice at all.

The thing was, when people are in positions of power and responsibility, it needs to be accompanied by a modicum of maturity and proper decision making. As Welcome Week Planner we are (sort of) trained on issues regarding equity and consideration for the morals and values of all students.

If Casey in fact did do all of those things, then it is a testament to his decision making ability and his maturity. The Presidency of the MSU encompasses many responsibilities, one of the most important being the representation of the MSU to University Administration.

More often than not, the Administration views the Student Union to be immature and shortsighted. Azim Kasmani made huge ground in terms of showing the ability for the MSU to be mature and considerate in their dealings with the University.

If Casey is going to be loud, obnoxious, and arrogant in meetings with the University Administration, we can pretty much shut the door on the University taking us seriously. This means that everything on his platform is useless.

I'm not going to make any judgment on Casey's character. He's a personal friend of mine, and I do enjoy his antics. However if he were to act the same way towards the administration as he does towards his Welcome Week job, then Casey perhaps is not the right person.

Similarly, if Casey can in fact be professional and mature, then he is a very strong contender.

The above reasons also represent why I could never be President.

I never post on macinsiders (I just got an account a little while ago) but this is getting ridiculous.

Everyone take a second and f*cking think. Think. This is a MSU presidential election. A student government. Is it really worth it, to get started on these vendettas, for a friggin' student election? For christ's sake there are wars going on around the world, children need food, and you're all getting f*cking worked up about a student election? Imagine if we turned all the energy going into this negativity and used it to fix the Hamilton community, for example?

I'm not saying don't care about student government, but guys, get your priorities straight. Honestly. Some of the posts have been downright ridiculous (from both sides), and it sounds like a bunch of juvenile and immature teens trying to either be d-bags or pseudo-intellectuals.

Regardless of who's elected, at the end of the day we're all expected to work together. To collaborate with each other to make the school a better place. All this negativity and childish behaviour from the "people at the top" (e.g. SRA heads, MSU heads, etc.) makes me think that this school is going down the drain.

I personally want a leader (among other things) who's kind, who doesn't make derogatory comments, who doesn't feel the need to lash out, but rather offers constructive criticism. That includes leaders in the MSU and the SRA. Maybe everyone here who's so worked up needs to look in the mirror and think about what they're becoming.

It has never been about the music,
It's about good judgement, professionalism, and how he conducts himself in a leadership position
The fact that he played the music is not directly related to his candidacy, but ALL these stories seem to shed some light on his character and how Casey behaves as a leader and how he might behave as the potential face of McMaster student body
I don't know about you, but I would like to see someone who is respectable to represent the students at McMaster
His silly antics may attract some first and second years, but the rest of us know the viability of some his "promises" (sorry, IDEAS) and the type of person he is.
Stories like what happened at MacPass or Horizons are not rare. And a lot of people in his own faculty of Health Sciences, after working with him, are just fed up with his personality and will not be supporting him.

Originally Posted by deadpool

If Casey in fact did do all of those things, then it is a testament to his decision making ability and his maturity. The Presidency of the MSU encompasses many responsibilities, one of the most important being the representation of the MSU to University Administration.

I agree with your reply, however is it fair for one to compare antics from welcome week with his professional demeanor? I was a WW rep this past September, and well I was trained and fed the idea that it the job of WW reps to be crazy and make sure everyone stays loose. To be fair, (again I am speaking as someone who has yet to decide who to side with for this election) could we not assume Casey was perfoming his duty as a Rep? Even though he was a planner, when it boils down to it he is a WW rep, and well if we maintained maturity and professionalism during WW, things could get boring. However, I do agree that the MSU president must be a professional at all times, but does WW count? Just throwing ideas and thoughts around to see where I want belong, in terms of candidates.

Casey wasn't a rep though.

Casey was the Faculty Wide Welcome Week Planner. His job was to administrate the logistics behind faculty wide stuff including MacPass distribution and Faculty Welcome. He was being paid to be at Welcome Week and his job included facilitation and training of Welcome Week Planner and reps.

If Casey had indeed been acting this way, it would have been gross dereliction of his job.

Okay a sidetrack from the current debate and back to the platform: So I mentioned earlier I wasn't a big fan of Mr Park's change of heart about the coke platform point and how it left me even confused and concerned about the contradiction or ambiguity in it(Or maybe I overanalyze stuff) http://caseypark.com/2010/01/25/your-promise-coca-cola/

Here is the response I recieved:

Hello Huzaifa!
My former point did not suggest that I wanted a 100% exclusivity deal with Coca-Cola; that is false.

Can someone please see this poster(Which has since today been removed from most places on campus except where I got this picture from) and tell where me I'm wrong? And while you are at it please see this poster from the eyes of a general MSU member?



Secondly

I used information from back in October when the Executive Board discussing this last in the assumption that the university would take an 80-20 exclusivity deal with Coca-Cola. I recently found out upon further consultation after campaign period started that this offer is not being offered.

Which goes onto prove my point about the above poster being put up there based on out of date October information :S

OK so last post for tonight, I was hoping if anyone call clarify what Casey is singing when he comes around to classes. Im always near the back or beside my loud friends, is he just singing the regular song (with unchanged lyrics) or is he putting his platform points to the tune of popular songs? I really want to believe its the latter, because if it is just the original song then that seems like a terrible ploy. I know how little most 1st years know about univerity politics, and hopefully they dont make decisions based on flashy singing in class without reading or understanding a candidates platform. Hopefully I see/hear Casey soon in a class of mine again, and can hear some of his platform.

From the one performance that I've seen, as far as I can remember (which I will warn is not much) it was neither platform points or the original lyrics. Just fun stuff- EX- changing "Party in the USA" to "Party in the MSU"

Originally Posted by Scrub

I am having a hard time understanding why Casey's music selection of all things are being brought up in the same space as this presidential forum, it was Welcome WEEK!

I totally agree that music selection during Welcome Week (granted the music choices could have been slightly more appropriate...) cannot provide a legitimate basis for whether or not students should vote for a candidate. I agree that this is trivial and for the most part, unrelated to the role of MSU President.

However, the inappopriate and unprofessional behaviour displayed by Mr. Park within other roles discussed in previous posts DOES concern me, and should concern others. I was present for the WW Training for Science Reps this past year, and actually considered not participating in Welcome Week because of this absurd and distracting behaviour.

I sure hope I don't get a 'no personal attacks' response...c'mon....i f people have concerns about a candidate they should be able to express this with others...especially if they feel as though it will interfere with the candidate's ability to carry out the role of MSU President.

Originally Posted by -McD-

I totally agree that music selection during Welcome Week (granted the music choices could have been slightly more appropriate...) cannot provide a legitimate basis for whether or not students should vote for a candidate. I agree that this is trivial and for the most part, unrelated to the role of MSU President.

However, the inappopriate and unprofessional behaviour displayed by Mr. Park within other roles discussed in previous posts DOES concern me, and should concern others. I was present for the WW Training for Science Reps this past year, and actually considered not participating in Welcome Week because of this absurd and distracting behaviour.

I sure hope I don't get a 'no personal attacks' response...c'mon....i f people have concerns about a candidate they should be able to express this with others...especially if they feel as though it will interfere with the candidate's ability to carry out the role of MSU President.

Hello Mandy,

I'm finally having a chance to respond to these allegations and what happened at Science Rep training.

During the training, I made a comment that, verbatim, was, "Science Welcome Week is a circus." Perhaps I should have clarified that statement by adding that it's because Science has to handle over a thousand first years, however, the comment was not meant to be derogatory. I do not believe that comment was demeaning and after Temara Brown brought it up to the Science Planners this year, they thought it wasn't a problem.

Thanks,

Originally Posted by deadpool

Casey wasn't a rep though.

Casey was the Faculty Wide Welcome Week Planner. His job was to administrate the logistics behind faculty wide stuff including MacPass distribution and Faculty Welcome. He was being paid to be at Welcome Week and his job included facilitation and training of Welcome Week Planner and reps.

If Casey had indeed been acting this way, it would have been gross dereliction of his job.

The interesting thing, Rohan, is that I talked to both my supervisors at the FYEO and MSU after Temara Brown brought up this "circus" incident to them, and both of them did not believe it to be a problem.

Ok let me set the story straight here,

casey is a fantastic man. yes he sometimes seems a little outlandish, but he's being himself, not someone you want him to be. yes some healthscis were fed up with him in group meetings, but thats all the more reason to like him, healthscis resent people who get by and do well while making it look easy.

Now, I know my opinion doesnt count for much, but Casey has helped me personally countless times throughout my time at McMaster. During my second year, for reasons I'd rather not get into, I ended up being technically homeless. Casey, only having met me once through a mutual friend, helped me find a place, negotiate a lease, and loaned me the rent for two months!

Then in my third year when a very close friend of my ran into a very tough time, Casey was the first person there available to help him out, despite never having met him before.

So you can blast him all you want here for silly things like his choice in music, but I can promise you that he'll be a president for the people. Vote Ashkan, the man with the plan.

Originally Posted by huzaifa47

Okay a sidetrack from the current debate and back to the platform: So I mentioned earlier I wasn't a big fan of Mr Park's change of heart about the coke platform point and how it left me even confused and concerned about the contradiction or ambiguity in it(Or maybe I overanalyze stuff) http://caseypark.com/2010/01/25/your-promise-coca-cola/

Here is the response I recieved:

Can someone please see this poster(Which has since today been removed from most places on campus except where I got this picture from) and tell where me I'm wrong? And while you are at it please see this poster from the eyes of a general MSU member?



Secondly Which goes onto prove my point about the above poster being put up there based on out of date October information :S

For the record I saw that poster less than 15 minutes ago.