Now that the election season has come and gone, maybe you’re relieved to have a break from the constant stream of political discussion on all of your social media. Or maybe you miss it! Either way you should know that the political conversation doesn’t have to stop here. Many fed bodies around campus are in by-elections and student politics can be just as enriching as our country’s politics (or at least it can feel that way).
Here’s why you should be more involved with student politics, either through volunteering at fed body events, looking into joining a student executive yourself or just learning a little bit about the faces in student politics around campus.
1) Helps Fight the Post-Election VoidAs I mentioned, some of you may be feeling like there is a hole in your life that used to be filled with discussions about voting, which party has the best foreign policy, the Stephen Harper going away party, etc. It can feel a bit like you’re going through an existential crisis. But there are plenty of politics in your own back yard (AKA on campus) that you can talk about. Discussing SFUO policies and events can be just as fulfilling.
2) Makes Campus Feel a Little More PersonalLet’s be honest, it’s easy to feel removed from the university if you’re not involved, and knowing about what’s going on in student politics is a good way to repair that. Especially if you volunteer with your fed body’s student executive (or for the SFUO), it helps you create a space within the university that makes you feel closer to it. But even if you aren’t volunteering, just being aware of what’s going on in school politics helps you claim this university as your own.
3) Helps You Make Some Friends!Maybe I’m a little biased because I’m on a student executive, but being involved in student politics, especially for your fed body executive, introduces you to a lot of people in your program and also just people who have similar interests at you. Going to your fed body’s social events brings you closer to the people who you see in your classes every day. Student politics familiarizes you with other people involved in student politics as well. There’s a lot of opportunity to make the best friends of your life when you get involved.
4) It Can Help You Discover New ResourcesThose in student federations are specifically there in order to help the students. So when you immerse yourself in the world of student politics the systems and resources in place to help students become much more accessible, because it is the job of student federations to make those resources accessible to you. The more knowledge you have about the aids that are available to you, the more you will feel comfortable using those aids.
5) It Develops Political InterestIf you’re in the former group I originally mentioned and you’re glad the election talk will be over shortly, it’s probably because you don’t have much political interest. So if you’ve even read this far, you’re probably wondering why you should be involved in student politics when you don’t even have interest in our actual government. The thing is, that being involved in student politics gives you a slightly better grasp on politics on a bigger scale. Student politics are easier to get into because it feels more personal, and it’s closer to home but they can really help you feel more interested in what’s going on in our country. And after the most recent election, you probably can see that being informed and involved in politics is essential to bringing about change.
6) They Host Fun EventsLet’s be honest, one of the best things about the student federations is that they host cool fun things to do. Many of the fed body’s host balls, mine specifically hosts a couple Wine and Cheeses throughout the year and everyone comes out and has a fun time. It might not be the most serious benefit of being involved in student politics but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t a huge reason why I personally got involved.
7) Being Passive is BoringIf you don’t know what’s going on in student politics, chances are you aren’t going to have an opinion and if you don’t have an informed opinion, you’re going to be more passive about the issues going around on campus. Where is the fun in living a passive life? Being involved and informed with campus issues keeps you opinionated, active, angry if you need to be and excited when things are looking up. As you will see all over Pinterest, lack of passion is fatal.
8) Because You CanYou have the opportunity to be involved in student politics, and that’s actually pretty amazing. This article led me to google a little bit about student politics around the world and more common than the encouragement of students being involved with politics were articles discouraging it, wanting to ban student politics entirely because students’ voices shouldn’t count because they’re “too emotional.” But I think that that is bullsh*t to be frank with you and we should take advantage that we live in a system that allows our political voice to be heard.
9) Why Wait Until Tomorrow to Start Running the World?They say we are the ones who will be running the world someday. You hear it all the time; tomorrow is in our hands. Well the thing is, we don’t have to wait until tomorrow to start participating and to start running this place. And the more involved you are in student politics, the more you can cultivate your leadership skills and practice for when we’re all apparently running the world.
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