Written by Gavin Armstrong
I would like to respond to the article ‘Our union. Our caucus’ that was published in the last issue of the Ontarion.
I commend the author for wanting to stimulate engagement and participation in the electoral processes, but it is critical that the facts presented are correct and coherent. In this case, they were not.
I would like to take this opportunity to present the correct facts.
There are three bodies identified in the original article: the Central Student Association (CSA); Student Senate Caucus (SSC); and the Board of Governors (BOG). The groups all serve different functions in the governance process and the elections to the three groups is different.
The CSA is managed by a board of directors that comprises representatives from the seven colleges and 10 special status groups, not “5 student groups.” In addition, the executive commissioners of the CSA have ex-officio positions on the Board. The election period for members of the CSA Board and the executive officers occur at the same time and students are encouraged to participate in the process. Some students chose to stand for the full-time executive positions and some serve in a part-time capacity as Board members.
The Board of Undergraduate Studies is a committee comprised of Senators. Appointment to this committee is made by Senate and its members are not elected. There is no connection between the electoral process for Senate and Board, as the article suggests and the appointment of members of the Board of Undergraduate Studies. The Academic and University Affairs Commissioner is the only member of the CSA who holds an ex-officio seat on Senate.
Election to the Board of Governors and Senate are different again. The office of the University Secretary manages these processes. As the two bodies are separate, students are elected to either Senate the Board of Governors. They may choose to run for both but that would be two separate elections.
All elections are now carried out electronically, which increases participation but it is important for all students to take the responsibility to be informed. Statements by candidates are made available and there are specific sessions for students to listen to candidates speak. It is regrettable that in the recent public forum very few students attended.
I believe that participation in all electoral processes is vital to the health of the democratic processes but it is important that students are presented with information that is correct. I would hope that the Ontarion would ensure that it information it publishes in future on the electoral process is factually correct.
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