The Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) will soon be holding their annual spring elections, where students get voted on to the student society board. CCSS external executive Puneet Kaur encourages all students to participate.
“I think, as with every election, it’s important to vote because you decide who should represent you. Student leaders are student representatives and they have power to do certain things on campus,” says Kaur. “It’s an opportunity, I think. In a democratic world, students should participate in voting and select the person they want to be on the board.”
The elections begin with the nomination period from March 3 to March 16, during which time prospective candidates will register their candidacy, their platform statements, and their student nominations. Following this is the campaign period, spanning from March 22 to April 1. Finally, the voting period will take place virtually from April 4 to 6. Those who get elected will work with the CCSS advocating on behalf of student issues.
“We are, at CCSS, the main group for students. We provide UPass, food banks, and other services,” says Kaur. “If a student faces any troubles within the college—issues like affordable education—we go and advocate, internally as well as with the federal government and the provincial government.”
Kaur says that the CCSS plays an important role within the school because government is often more likely to listen to students than to institutions when it comes to student issues. This year the CCSS has been advocating around issues pertaining to, among other things, student-loan debt and international fees.
“Students should not get their education according to what they can afford, they should be studying what they want to study,” says Kaur. “And students have a huge debt. We don’t want that. These issues can only be addressed within the student society and we can take them to the government and the government will listen.”
Issues relating to student fees, debt, and inclusivity impact all members of the student body, and that’s why student elections are so important to participate in, says Kaur.
“I hope everyone on the campus participates in this election period and comes to vote and select their representatives,” says Kaur. “And I hope we will get maximum participation from our college, because as college students we work for college students.”
Students can expect to receive an email from the CCSS containing an electronic ballot. The CCSS started having its elections online in 2017; this is the third year that elections have taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaur is confident that this won’t impact voter turnout this time around.
“When we first had online voting [during COVID-19] in 2020 it was impacted, but in 2021 students were usually available to vote in online elections,” she says. “In 2022, everyone is used to online environments and we have had online classes so I believe this time it won’t have any impact on our election.”
Open positions in the spring 2022 elections will include several executive positions as well as a variety of director positions including pride, sustainability, First Nations, and women’s directors. Students can find more information and a complete list of positions at camosunstudent.org.
CORRECTION: We originally stated in this story that the CCSS has been having online elections for three years; it has been having online elections since 2017. We apologize for the mistake.