GUELPH – Students at the Upper Grand District School Board have elected their student trustees for next year.
HIBA MANGAT
The rural trustee will be Centre Dufferin District High School student Hiba Mangat, and Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute student Zechariah Nasir will serve as the urban trustee.
Mangat and Nasir are Grade 11 students and will start their term on Aug. 1, shortly before entering Grade 12.
Their term continues until July 31, 2025.
The trustees were elected during the February student senate meeting.
Four candidates vied for the two positions, and gave brief speeches during the senate meeting prior to the vote.
ZECHARIAH NASIR
Chair Ralf Mesenbrink said “Both vice chair [Katherine] Hauser and I were excited to watch the election meeting.”
This is the first time in a few years that multiple students have applied for both positions, and it was “great to have enough interest to require elections for both rural and urban student trustees,” Mesenbrink noted.
“All student senators voted, and the votes were scrutinized by chair Mesenbrink and Frances Norlen,” said current urban student trustee Paige Knight.
“There was a tie for the urban position,” she noted, which was decided with a coin toss.
The student senate consists of student representatives from each of the 11 UGDSB secondary schools, and provides a link between students and the school board.
The senate meets monthly and discusses events, ideas, concerns, and student perspectives on important issues.
Director Peter Sovran said he thoroughly appreciates attending the student senate meeting every month: “hearing from student leaders on a variety of topics.
“They always provide very thorough feedback regardless of the questions we ask.”
Knight announced the new student trustees during the UGDSB meeting on Feb. 27, along with current rural student trustee Brooke Hartley.
During this meeting the board approved Mangat and Nasir’s appointments.
“The work of our current student trustees has been critical to bringing student voice forward in many ways,” Mesenbrink said.
“We look forward to continuing to work with our current student trustees, Brooke Hartley and Paige Knight, and look forward to working with our newly elected trustees in the coming year.
“Brooke and Paige, I know you will continue to be wonderful mentors to our student trustee elects,” Sovran added, and will continue to lead student senate “so effectively” for the duration of their term.
