Top three platform points

My 3 Pillars:

1: Ensuring Student Safety:

With political tensions on the rise country-wide and increased harassment against individuals, I vow to work towards a future where students, regardless of identity, feel safe and respected. As your prospective VP, I do not accept discrimination and will work to ensure it's reflected in our student experience.

2. Comprehensive Student Financial Aid:

While financial aid helps millions of students every year, there is room for much needed improvements to ensure students (including myself) are getting the aid they require.

3. Mental Health Supports:

Managing one's mental health is not a one-time thing and neither should the funding these supports receive. As an individual who has utilized the supports our school offers, I want to continue to make sure our mental health supports continue to recieve the funding they deserve.

Reason why someone should vote for you in 100 words or less

I have no other interest but that of the student body's at heart. I am running for Vice President because I honestly think that my past work experience along with my pure drive to make a difference for the better, makes me the best candidate for this position. And if given the chance, while I can't promise perfection, I can promise my very best!

Links to any website, social media accounts and/or email address

You can learn more about my platform on my website: www.onellaforvp.com.

For more about my work experience, you can go to my LinkedIn @Onella Kulatunga

Top three platform points

- Stand Up for Affordable Housing

Housing costs in Ontario are skyrocketing, affecting nearly all UW students in Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, and Stratford. As Vice-President, I will work with local organizations and governments to help make housing more affordable, including increasing the number of options available and enhancing renter protections. I have the experience to get this done, as I’ve spent the last ten years working towards more affordable housing. This began by helping in eviction defenses as a preteen, to now working with co-operative housing organizations in Waterloo, focused on expanding affordable housing options. I’m excited to bring this experience to WUSA, and fight for your housing needs.

- Advocate for Health and Wellness

The current student health insurance provides coverage for many essential healthcare services like prescriptions, lab tests, dental care, medical devices, and emergency services, but only up to 80%. Furthermore, things like gender-affirming care and many restricted drug prescriptions are not covered, despite many years of student advocacy, which includes some of my own work: at the 2024 General Meeting I co-led efforts to mandate WUSA to include gender-affirming care in the insurance plan. Since then, I’ve followed up with other Student Associations across Canada who are also exploring improvements to their insurance coverage. As Vice-President, this experience will enable WUSA and I to negotiate a better health insurance plan for you.

- Support Student Societies

In the wake of the pandemic, many student societies and councils across Faculties and University Colleges are struggling with a loss of student engagement and institutional knowledge. This is a major issue affecting campus culture, as they provide more tailored communities for the students they represent. As a larger organization with long-term resources, WUSA has a responsibility to support these societies, in particular through helping them navigate bureaucracy and policy, and ensuring that they have continuous transitions from term-to-term. As a former President of MathSoc and a society-based club, I am intimately familiar with how the WUSA-societies relationship operates and will use this knowledge to deliver support where it’s needed.

Reason why someone should vote for you in 100 words or less

I have a long history of fighting for Waterloo students: I pushed to bring back the Night Bus, stop transit cuts, and prevent co-op fee increases. In addition to these accomplishments, my experiences include being MathSoc President and a Board Director of WCRI, where I stood up for academic support and affordable housing. These experiences show that I understand both the student perspective and the inner workings of university and government bureaucracy—I know not just what needs to be done, but how to get it done. I'm excited to work with Team Horizon and stand up for your WUSA.

Links to any website, social media accounts and/or email address

https://horizonwaterloo.ca
https://horizonwaterloo.ca/remington
Instagram: @vote4horizon