Dear Concordia Student Union Council of Representatives, Concordia Student

Union Senators and Concordia Community,

On Thursday, March 3, 2011, Morgan Pudwell, Vice-President of Sustainability and

Promotions of the Concordia Student Union, released an official letter of resignation. In
this letter, Pudwell argues that her values are in conflict with those of the union’s and that
it is no longer feasible for her to complete her mandate.

Over the past academic year, Pudwell has demonstrated a lack of leadership and
accountability as our student representative, especially with regards to her role as chair of
the women’s caucus. This letter serves to inform students of the importance on holding
student representatives accountable for unmet obligations. It will highlight Pudwell’s
poor performance, how it became increasingly difficult to work with her and the potential
motives behind her resignation.

Pudwell has rendered a great disservice to the members of the CSU’s women’s caucus
and the student body by neglecting her duties as its chair. Before delving into this
important issue, it is critical to understand the imperative role that the women’s caucus
has at Concordia; after all, its purpose is to promote gender equality on campus and to
challenge the ever so prevalent double standard.

After having been inexistent for several years, the women’s caucus was revamped last
year under the leadership of ASFA President, Leah Del Vecchio and Sohrab Mossaded,
former CSU club director. After countless months of preparation, last year’s women’s
caucus orchestrated an unforgettable week of events including a speech by noble peace
prize winner Sherin Ebadi. Women’s week was so successful that it caught the attention
of various media outlets such as the Concordian, the Concordia Journal and the Gazette.

This year marks the 100th celebration of International Women’s day. With women’s week
beginning yesterday, Pudwell has only managed to set up one caucus meeting throughout
the entire academic year. The meeting was held last Wednesday, March 2, 2011. When a
member questioned Morgan’s lack of leadership, she responded by stating, “Well, I guess
I dropped the ball on this one.” Not only did Pudwell send late emails to caucus members
regarding potential meetings, she would justify herself by telling us that hotmail was not
working or that she was experiencing technical difficulties. However, these problems
only seemed apparent with Pudwell, in comparison to the other CSU executives who
respond to emails within a reasonable time span. After all, members of the CSU
mobilization committee did not experience such issues; apparently they receive emails
from Pudwell on time and regularly. Also, Pudwell has on several occasions neglected
answering and returning student phone calls by saying she was too busy. Women’s week,
which has already been neglected for far too long this year, was left without a chair one
week before the event. In light of these circumstances, I respectfully ask Pudwell where
her priorities lie?

As member of the caucus and councillor of the Concordia Student Union, I along with
some other CSU councillors have lost confidence and trust in Morgan Pudwell. This
serious situation had many councillors thinking of putting forward a motion of non-
confidence at the tonight’s CSU council meeting. However, numerous students have told
me that Pudwell was informed of this and may have resigned beforehand to avoid any
form of constructive criticism from the council of representatives.

Moreover, it is with great concern that I question her motives for leaving the CSU, two
weeks prior to the election period. If she held such strong opinions about her fellow
executives and the direction of the CSU, then why has she not taken these concerns to the
council of representatives? For these reasons, I cannot help but wonder whether
Pudwell’s priorities truly lie within the good intentions of the student body or somewhere
else.

I want to take this opportunity to thank concerned students for taking the time to read this
letter which I hope has led you to question the motives behind Pudwell’s resignation. In
addition, I highly encourage students to attend the next CSU council meeting in order to
have their questions and concerns answered in a legitimate manner. The meeting will be
held this evening, March 9, 2011 at 6:30p.m in room H-760.

In solidarity,

Teresa Seminara- Arts and Science Councillor & Senator

Aaron Green- Arts and Science Councillor
Heba Abdel-Hami- Arts and Science Councillor
Alex Gordon- Arts and Science Councillor
Asma Omar- Arts and Science Councillor
Tomer Shavit- Fine Arts Councillor
Allison Revine-Fine Arts Councillor
David Feldman- JMSB Councillor
Yaniv Gidron- JMSB Councillor
Fernando Barbosa- JMSB Councillor
Johnnie Vu- JMSB Councillor
Tamara Gordon- ENCS Councillor
Rasim Hafiz- ENCS Councillor
Luis Enrique Cordero- Independent Councillor
Georges Alexander- Arts and Science Senator
Marvin Coleby- Arts and Science Senator