By Barb Wright
Get out and vote March 13, 14, and 15th! It’s Students’ Union General Election time again, and this year it’s more important than ever to get out vote.
With a new university president in his first year, provincial government funding woes, and proposals for new directions at the University of Calgary, the voice of students must ring out true and clear. Pay attention to all the candidates, read all the platforms, ask questions at the forums. These are the people who want to be your voice next year.
Although there aren’t as many races as last year, the three executive positions being contested in the election are crucial. The VP Academic will represent what students want to the rest of the university, the VP External will be your voice to government, and the VP Events will direct the kinds of activities that happen on campus.
Each candidate has his or her own vision for what student life at U of C should look like. Each candidate has his or her own ideas on the issues. Each candidate has the potential of affecting your life and your time at U of C in some way, and it’s up to you to choose how that will be.
Do you support a tuition freeze? Are you worried about what would happen with differential tuition? Do you want more attention to be focussed on student talent? Is there something that is missing from your U of C experience? All of these concerns and more will fall into the hands of the representatives of the next Students’ Union. You have a duty to make sure they are capable.
There’s a bit of a twist this year, apart from the President and the VP Operations and Finance being acclaimed. We have online voting for this year’s General Election.
That means you don’t have to go to a polling station, you don’t need to be on campus, and you don’t need to remember to bring your student ID card. You can vote from anywhere that you can access the InfoNet: go to a computer lab, the Info Commons, or sign in from home. There’s even a link to all of the candidates’ platforms so if you haven’t had a chance to pick up a Gauntlet you can still make an informed decision.
Voting is more than a right: it’s a powerful tool. Use this individual power that you have as a voter to give direction to the SU. Use the next week to find out a little bit about what the candidates think about issues that matter to you, and use your vote to make your voice stronger. In return, you’ll see a stronger Students’ Union with the ability to do more for you.