LSU election comes amid concerns over quality of education
Current president faces no challenger as students grapple with faculty layoffs and shrinking course offerings
By HANS PINILI
As Langara College students cast their final votes Friday, faculty layoffs, shrinking course offerings and concerns about instructional quality have heightened the stakes in the student union election.
Current Langara Students’ Union president Navroop Kaur faces no competition after her only challenger, Sukhmandeep Brar, missed the mandatory Oct. 15 all-candidates forum and was disqualified.
Kaur, first elected in 2024, has promised to ensure students’ voices are heard as the college grapples with a financial crisis and cuts to programs and services.
Other candidates listed on the LSU website include Aman Kaur for finance and administration; Yuvraj Anttal and Navreet Singh Gill for student life; Preet Kaur for internal and external affairs; and Baneet Kumar and Ashton Peterson for diversity and inclusion. Peterson also missed the forum.
Ethan Maclean White-Hill is listed for Indigenous students’ representative and Anjali Gaught for international students’ representative.
More than 220 Langara faculty have lost some or all of their work since federal international student caps took effect in 2024.
Students expressed concerns about cuts and instructional quality in comments accompanying an open letter from the Langara Faculty Association to college president Paula Burns.
Student Ausha Kang said reduced course offerings are affecting students.
“Students have been unable to take the required classes at the required time and have been forced to delay their graduation,” Kang wrote.
Third-year accounting student Shiwani Budha Shrestha said she has completed few of her accounting courses.
“Just listening to fellow peers I get hesitant to take classes with some professors and have been avoiding some main courses until now,” she wrote.
The LFA has criticized the college’s interpretation of its collective agreement, arguing that requiring laid-off instructors to reapply for work rather than honouring reappointment rights could affect instructional quality.
However, the college and LFA announced Thursday an agreement on allocating temporary teaching work for spring 2027.
Eligible faculty, including those laid off, can apply before positions are advertised externally. Seniority will determine selection when applicants are relatively equally qualified.
Faculty “who are able to develop their relationship with the college, and with students … and are able to develop their courses, we think that’s better for students,” LFA vice-president Nina Winham told The Voice.
The agreement changes the fall 2026 process but does not guarantee laid-off instructors their former positions.
Voting closes Friday at 2 p.m. Ballot counting begins at 2:30 p.m.