Is a tight deadline enough to know who’s running and who to vote for?
With less than a week between the start of the campaigning period and the opening of the ballot, some U of R students say this year’s University of Regina Students Associations elections are moving too fast to follow.
Campaigning began on April 2. Voting is supposed to run from Apr. 8, 12:01 a.m. to Apr. 10, 11:59 p.m. That leaves six days for the candidates to introduce themselves, and for students to decide who to support. For some, that window is not enough.
“I didn’t even know campaigning started today,” said second year arts student, Priya Mehta. “By the time people notice, voting will have already begun, I think the only people that know about the election are the ones that follow their Instagram. For me it feels too fast.”
Tight timeline and busy end of semester
The elections are taking place at the busiest time of the semester. Assignments are due and exams are just around the corner. For some students paying attention to campus politics is not a priority.
“I’m more worried about my finals, however I do think six days is way too less for us to decide on a good candidate,” said Aaliyah Hassan, second year psychology student.
Hassan said she only heard about the election through her friend, and also added she had no idea who the candidates were and what they could promise if students would vote for them.
“I would vote if I knew what goals or intentions the candidate had even if it’s in a short amount of time […] I’ve heard some students are still facing trouble with URSU materials on campus like projectors so I would be glad to see a new student association officially take control of things. It’s good to have a student association since the university officials might not understand your issues as well as another student could,” stated Hassan.
The Carillon asked interim president, Matthew McStravick on what URSA could do about such issues, and he responded in an email stating, “I would ask that they please let us know so we can pursue the matter with U of R Student Affairs. We have been assured that any complaint arising from URSA regarding hospitality will be taken seriously.”
He also mentioned, “URSU has yet to dissolve. Despite its final SGM providing a strict deadline for engaging a liquidator, it creates frustrating uncertainty. Students deserve closure and an end to URSU related headaches, and we are keen to see them get it.”
The nominees running for elections
This year’s elections consist of multiple contested positions. Ethan Wiechart and Md Khaled Hossain are running for president. Teniola Omotayo is set to become VP External by acclamation. Kelvin Chai, Mary Makinwa, and Siddharth Modi, are running for VP Internal. Lila Banionyte, Hafsa Kadwa, and Anhad K are running for VP Student Life. It’s almost a full ballot and that calls for debate and discussion.
“You need time to compare the candidates, especially with what happened last year,“says Danielle Kim, a third-year history student, “I hope they can put up what each candidate intends to do for the following year in an email or on Instagram, that might make it easier to make a decision to vote.”
The Carillon had a phone call interview with Teniola Omotayo, a third-year political science student and also the acclaimed VP external, who said she had no idea she was being acclaimed until her friend told her. Teniola also discussed the apathy issue on campus, “I think students had some trauma from URSU last year and did not like the idea of a student representative on campus.”
The Carillon also asked if students were given enough time to choose their candidates because of last year’s fiasco, “Honestly, no, I was shocked when I saw the period of time for campaigning and elections. I tried to make it a huge part of my strategy so far to actually go to students on campus and tell them what I stand for, so they know what they are voting for.”
When she was asked her priorities as VP external, she stated, “I’m a woman of color, a black woman, so I know what it means to have to be like the least disadvantaged group in a room and not have things necessarily catered to you. So my top priority is listening to students so when a policy is made, students would know they had an influence on that.”
“I’ve spoken to many students on campus and the biggest issue is the reduction of international students, and a lot of students just say they would like to be heard on campus about their issues so I think it’s important to have a student body for that,” she said. As she wrapped her conversation she said it was important for students to vote,”Students get to choose who represents them and if you don’t choose, talking about the way things are being run when students had a choice to set in in motion what happens, I think it would be a disservice to ourselves not to participate in this election.”
You need time to compare the candidates, especially with what happened last year“ – Danielle Kim, third-year history student
URSA says timeline was necessary
URSA says the time was not ideal, but it was important to decide. In an email to the Carillon, McStravick said the schedule was made in order for students to vote before their final exams.
“It is pretty tight, yes. Our timeline for this year was proposed by our governance consulting firm on the basis of our indication that we needed to have an election before the end of classes this semester and campaigning could occur in full while students are actively on campus.”
Transition plans in place
URSA says it has a plan to support the new team after the elections as the interim team will be graduating.
“We will ensure that the future elected team and general council have the policy foundations needed to begin hiring processes as soon as the financial resources are available. We are keen, also, that URSA not suffer from a common problem that has plagued many other student governments, namely senior staff supplanting elected executives as the de-facto leadership of what is meant to be a student-led organization. Continuity of confident student leadership is very important to us.”
The Carillon also asked how the newly elected team would take over responsibilities.
“We do have a transition plan in place. URSA’s outgoing interim executive team will remain in place during a transition period as outlined in the elections policy, with this time being used to train the new executive, familiarize them with their responsibilities and important points of contact, and ensure continuity,” said Mcstravick.
A short window to decide and limited information
With voting set to begin on Apr. 8, the campaign period is already nearing its end. URSA is encouraging students to engage through social media channels as well as the URSA All-Candidate’s Forum event taking place on Apr. 7 at 12:30 p.m., at the Research and Innovation Center where students can meet and learn about their candidates.
