Last week, candidates for the upcoming SFUO elections participated in a series of debates against their fellow candidates. These debates, occurring over three days, were meant to engage the entire student body, let each candidate state their case as to why they should be elected, and allow campus media to get their scoop. However, these debates realistically only fulfilled two of these goals – the most important goal being left behind.
I sat in on the debate held in S.I.T.E. on February 5th. The candidates for VP Finance and VP University Affairs debated at length; however their voices appealed only to a total of 30 students in the audience. The majority of the audience comprised either candidates themselves, or official representatives of candidates. Where was the general student body? Do students care about these debates? Do students even know about these debates? Do students care about the SFUO elections?
Unfortunately, the answer to these last three questions is a pitiful no. In order to engage the general student body on any given topic, students must be aware of what is going on. There was very little publicity for the SFUO election debates, with the posters for the debate printed on the back of La Rotonde, and no information available on the SFUO website. How can students care about these debates when they do not know about them? Isn’t it the job of the current SFUO to make information available – especially when pertaining to their organization?
Regardless of the lack of publicity, the general student populous of uOttawa has a track record of not caring about SFUO elections, and ultimately, not voting. In past years, as low as 3,000 students cast their ballot for the elections – this is just over 11% of the student body and the number is increasing at a slow rate. But hey, why take the time to vote? Why stand in line on February 12th, 13th and 14th to cast your ballot? Why care?
The fact of the matter is student politics does matter. Even if you do not want to be involved in it, as a student, you give about 125 dollars in annual fees to the student federation. The SFUO has an annual budget of over a million dollars. Each executive member gets paid $30,000 to do his or her job. They are our union. They are supposed to represent our interests, our concerns and our voices as students studying on this campus. Basically, they work WITH and FOR us. So if we want our voices to be heard, if we want to make sure our student federation legitimately represents us, then the only way to do so is to VOTE.
So uOttawa students– get informed, read the elections platforms of all the candidates. Simply looking at a poster or hearing a class presentation is not enough. Listen to what each candidate has to say and think about who YOU want to represent YOU. Spread the word, tell your friends, and on February 12th, 13th, and 14th, VOTE. You are too lazy to do so ? Well you shouldn’t, voting for SFUO elections will highly influence your student life on campus and at the end of the day, you cannot complain if you did not event vote! In order to vote, all you need to bring is a valid piece of photo I.D. and your student number. If you are too lazy to find a polling location, this is not an excuse, they will be all over campus and it will take two minutes of your time. Check out http://electionsuo.ca/ to learn more about the elections and the candidates running.
Millions of people across the world do not have the privilege of voting. Democracy does not just matter on a federal political level, but it matters on every level it is exercised. When you vote in the upcoming SFUO elections, you are not just voting for your next executive, but you are keeping the privilege of democracy alive. Your vote is your voice. USE THAT VOICE.
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