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In August 2025, KPU students were stunned to learn—via a Runner Letter to the Editor—that their Queer Students Representative, Yuvraj Bains (who campaigned under the name “James”), has been banned from all KPU campuses by the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office (SRRO). The restriction isn’t minor; it prevents him from accessing classrooms, services, or student spaces.

But here’s what no one has explained: why?

Why has he been banned?

The SRRO doesn’t release reasons for bans. But Bains’ own Instagram account (screenshots below) has featured images of firearms, ammunition, and weapon accessories, sometimes geotagged in B.C. Students are asking: if a KSA representative is publicly posting with weapons, is that connected to his ban—or is it unrelated?

According to a video posted on KPU’s Student Rights & Responsibilities Office homepage, the “[department] works with the KPU community to handle non-academic misconduct issues, behaviours of concern, and sexual misconduct.”

This is highly concerning that a Kwantlen Student Association representative has been restricted by the the SSRO on any of these grounds.

It also wouldn’t be the first time as many current executives and members of this board were associated with, consulted and trained by Abdullah Randhawa who was accused of sexual misconduct and permanently banned from the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA).

Yuvraj Bains, Kwantlen Student Association’s Queer Students Representative at KPU.

Why the double identity?

He campaigned under the name “James”, never disclosing his real identity or photo. Students only learned afterward who he was. Why did KSA’s election system (overseen by recently-appointed Chief Returning Officer (CRO) Gurrinder Gaddu) allow this? How could queer students know who was stepping forward to represent them?

Does he even identify as queer?

Community members have raised the question directly: does Bains even identify as gay or queer? If not, then his candidacy represents more than a paperwork loophole—it undermines the principle of authentic advocacy. As the saying goes: “Nothing for us without us.”

Where is KSA’s accountability?

Despite being banned, Bains hasn’t stepped down. He continues to hold the title of Queer Students Representative and, unless clarified, appears eligible to receive stipends funded by student fees. The KSA council has not addressed this publicly. Students are left in the dark.

Close Ties to Executives?

Beyond social photos with council members, Bains’ own posts suggest he is in a relationship with Manmeet Kaur, the KSA’s current VP Finance and Women’s Representative**.** If true, that deepens the accountability question: how can students trust impartial oversight or disciplinary action when the person responsible for financial oversight of the council is also personally connected to him?

This is not a personal critique—it’s a conflict of interest issue. Relationships between officeholders in any representative body demand transparency, especially when one of those officeholders is banned from campus yet still holds their seat

Does he authentically represent the community?

Beyond his campus ban and use of an alias, one open question remains unanswered: does Yuvraj Bains (“James”) even identify as queer? If he is cisgender and straight, as his social media posts seem to imply, then his role as Queer Students Representative isn’t just questionable—it’s illegitimate.

The position was created to give queer students at KPU a direct voice, not to be treated as a resume builder or a placeholder by someone outside the community. There’s a phrase often used in activist circles that applies here: “Nothing for us without us.” Representation only works when it comes from within the community being represented. Otherwise, it becomes tokenism at best and silencing at worst.

Why this matters

This position exists to amplify queer voices at KPU**.** Right now, the role is filled by someone banned from campus, who campaigned under an alias, who may not even identify with the community he represents, and whose online persona raises serious concerns.

Students don’t need gossip; they need clarity:

• What happened?
• Why is he banned?
• Why is he still in office?

Until the KSA provides answers, queer students at KPU are being represented without representation.

— A Concerned KPU Student

Your words do carry weight. When used with intent, they can shift policies, spark dialogue, and protect what matters. 📩 Email KSA and KPU today.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University spans five campuses—Richmond, Surrey, Langley, Cloverdale (KPU Tech), and Civic Plaza in Surrey City Centre. That multi-campus reality isn’t a footnote; it’s the daily life of students who study and work where they are, not where student politicians wish they were. Even so, the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) keeps centralizing perks, events, and access in Surrey, creating inequities that are now impossible to ignore.

Perks clustered in Surrey

Repeated KSA promotions restrict discounts to Surrey Member Services. Example: multiple Instagram posts and reels advertise $6 Cineplex tickets “from April 16–30 at the KSA Surrey office” or “from KSA Surrey member service,” often with limits per student. That’s a direct geographic advantage for Surrey-based students and a de facto barrier for students centered in Richmond, Langley, Cloverdale, or Civic Plaza.

This isn’t a one-off; it’s a pattern. When the KSA controls where benefits can actually be redeemed, students without easy access to Surrey are functionally excluded.

Events promoted to the public—then gone in a flash

Take the “Summer Splash” Cultus Lake Waterpark trip. The poster (shared to KSA’s social channels) announces the registration window and meetup at Grassroots Café (Surrey). Within minutes of the announced time, students on the post report broken forms, “sold out” notices, and no confirmations—despite hitting the link right away. The screenshots provided show complaints like “tried registering… it says the Jotform is closed,” “response received right away but no confirmation,” and “I tried at 7:30 pm and it says sold out.”

On paper, the event is open to everyone; in practice, the process feels closed. The gap between a publicly announced registration time and near-instant sell-outs (paired with inconsistent confirmation flow) reasonably fuels the perception that friends or insiders can access registrations before the wider student body. (KSA’s website promotes the event; the clustering around Surrey remains.)

Accessibility isn’t optional—centralizing meetups makes it harder

When events and perks are physically anchored to Surrey, students who rely on closer campuses—or who have mobility, chronic health, or scheduling constraints—encounter invisible barriers. They must either travel farther (often inter-city), forgo the perk, or attempt late, glitch-prone online registrations that vanish immediately. That’s an equity issue and an accessibility issue.

It’s fair to ask: where is the Students with Disabilities Representative in this conversation? According to KPU’s June 2025 Convocation Program, current Disabilities Rep Bhoomika Seera (Jiya) (Instagram) appears on the graduation roll—i.e., she graduated. Does that mean she can serve for months while not taking classes, even as accessibility concerns mount for current disabled students?

Who’s representing which campus—and from where?

The KSA Council poster posted around campus lists the 2025–26 campus reps, including Akashdeep Singh (Richmond), Jobanpreet Singh (Cloverdale), Shawinderdeep Singh (Civic Plaza), and Prabhnoor Singh (Langley). Yet many marquee events and most of the headline perks still funnel through Surrey. In a multi-campus union, representation without distributed access looks like theatre. What do these representatives have to say about such inequitable distributions of benefits?

Source: https://kusa.ca/council/

Serving while graduated: the legitimacy problem

Leadership continuity matters—but student representation also requires, well, being a student. The KSA’s own rules (as summarized by The Runner) require elected councillors to submit proof of registration each semester. Meanwhile, the June 2025 Convocation Program lists Ishant Goyal—the KSA’s current president—as a graduate (BBA in Entrepreneurial Leadership). Unless he’s also actively registered for new coursework, this raises a basic governance question: who is being paid with student fees to represent students, and will they remain students for the foreseeable future?

This same tension applies more broadly: when representatives (including constituency reps) graduate but remain in office, their incentive alignment with currently enrolled students weakens, especially across issues like commuting, course registration pain points, and campus-specific access.

Spending choices that amplify the perception of insiderism

In July, the KSA’s executive approved over $30,000 in concert tickets for distribution to students (Nirvair Pannu, Babbu Maan, Atif Aslam). The Rough math may fit within a budget line, but the method of distribution matters for equity: The Runner reports that 30 tickets for one show were given away on the Surrey campus by “asking random questions,” and that a promotional post was taken down “due to high demand.” The optics are exactly what you’d expect: scarce perks distributed in ways that privilege who is physically present in Surrey—and who is in the right place at the right time.

Why are all of these concerts geared for Indian audiences?

The Queer Students Representative who can’t set foot on campus

Multiple queer KPU students published an open Letter to the Editor stating that the KSA’s Queer Students Representative, Yuvraj Bains, has been temporarily restricted from accessing any KPU campuses by the Student Rights and Responsibilities Office (SRRO). In the same piece, they note he ran under the name “James,” was absent from the AGM oath of office, and has not engaged the campus queer community meaningfully. Whatever the underlying conduct matter, the practical effect is stark: a constituency rep barred from KPU spaces cannot perform core duties that depend on in-person presence.

One open question is does Yuvraj Bains (“James”) even identify as gay or queer? Representing the queer community while not being a member seems problematic in the very least. If not, the problem sharpens: representing the queer community while not being a member is, at the very least, a conflict of principle. Communities facing marginalization have long insisted: “Nothing for us without us.” If representation is to mean anything, it must be rooted in identity and accountability, not just a ballot slot filled under a pseudonym.

A similar question stands for Disabilities Representative Bhoomika Seera. Does she relate to her constituency by having a visible or invisible disability?

A representation gap KSA won’t measure

The current council appears visually homogeneous on official materials, and the election slate/candidates list shows a narrow band of names and networks repeating across roles. They all seem to be international students from India. How can they legitimately represent the needs of the entire student body at KPU? KSA does not publish demographic breakdowns of candidates or of the council, making it impossible to evaluate how well the board reflects KPU’s very diverse student body. The absence of demographic transparency deepens mistrust—especially when combined with Surrey-centric service delivery.

The bottom line

Across perks, event logistics, spending choices, and representative capacity, the through-line is consistent: students based outside Surrey face structural disadvantages created by the KSA’s own decisions. When discounts are redeemable only at Surrey, when high-demand events meet only at Surrey, when scarce tickets are handed out on Surrey, when a key constituency rep is barred from campus, and when some reps appear to have graduated while collecting student-funded stipends and salaries, students notice.

At a five-campus university, fairness isn’t a slogan; it’s about where benefits live, how access works, and who is accountable. Right now, the KSA’s choices privilege one campus—and the people at it—over everyone else.

— A Concerned KPU Student

Your words do carry weight. When used with intent, they can shift policies, spark dialogue, and protect what matters. 📩 Email KSA and KPU today.

A new video from the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) features president Ishant Goyal (Goel) promoting free copper water bottles for KPU students, “while supplies last.” In the video, Goyal claims these bottles “help boost your metabolism,” “increase good digestion,” and offer “many more benefits”.

The problem? Most of these health claims are scientifically shaky at best.

While copper does have antimicrobial properties and is an essential trace mineral, the idea that sipping water from a copper vessel can dramatically improve digestion or metabolism is more wellness folklore than fact. There’s limited evidence suggesting any significant physiological benefit from drinking copper-infused water, especially in the small doses leached from these bottles. Overuse, in fact, can even be harmful.

Then there’s the curious packaging: these bottles don’t appear to be KSA-branded. That raises fair questions:

• Who supplied them?
• What company sourced these bottles for the KSA?
• Who led this initiative?

What’s more ironic is the video opens with a complaint about the high cost of food and drink on campus—an issue that disproportionately affects students already burdened by fees. Yet it comes from a president who has routinely voted in favour of increased pay for himself and fellow board members, funded directly on the backs of students via student fees.

So while free copper bottles may seem like a generous gesture, we might be better served with transparency, scientific integrity, and financial priorities that reflect our actual needs.

Sometimes what looks like a gift deserves a closer look.

— A Concerned KPU Student

Your words do carry weight. When used with intent, they can shift policies, spark dialogue, and protect what matters. 📩 Email KSA and KPU today.

After months of swirling rumours about problematic behaviour, multiple sources have confirmed that a current Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) executive (currently a sitting executive) was found to have engaged in workplace harassment following a formal investigation.

The individual’s conduct was described in the findings as creating an “intimidating, hostile or offensive” environment and found it in breach of both internal KSA policies and WorkSafeBC standards for workplace behaviour.

We’re in the process of reviewing the relevant documentation and will publish further details as they are corroborated.

Updates to follow – stay tuned.

— A Concerned KPU Student

Your words do carry weight. When used with intent, they can shift policies, spark dialogue, and protect what matters. 📩 Email KSA and KPU today.