The Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) is getting ready for its spring elections and hoping that students get involved and vote.
Camosun students should have received an email from the CCSS containing information on the nomination and voting periods (the nomination period has ended; voting will take place on April 8, 9, and 10). You can find the spring candidates’ platform statements in the April 3 issue of Nexus (also available online).
Jagjeet Singh is finishing his time at the CCSS after holding the position of external executive for two years. Before his departure, he’s urging Camosun students to participate and vote during this election period. He says that the CCSS does a lot of advocating on behalf of students, which is why students should take part in deciding who represents them.
“We do a lot of advocacy, a lot of events on campus, student representation, provincially, federally… just hearing students’ concerns whenever they have any,” says Singh. “One of the things we [worked on] last year was international [student] working hours, federal student loans, so we do things like that. We just try to help out the students and make sure that students are heard and represented at the school level also.”
To inform students of the election, the CCSS has been promoting it on social media and during its events.
“So we started promoting the elections, everyone was sent an email,” he says. “And then I believe, during the Valentine’s event we also gave out cards which were kind of like a way to promote elections, I think it [said] ‘be my board member.’ So that was one of the ways that we did it. And then social media, Instagram, I believe X, also, we have been posting over there. And if anyone has been asking any questions, board members and staff have been helping out with that.”
One of the benefits of having a bi-annual election is the constant introduction of fresh, new voices, says Singh. He believes that having a variety of board members is vital in representing a diverse student body.
“Every year, new students and new voices come on the board,” says Singh. “Like in the two years I’ve been here, I’ve seen drastic change in implementation, demographically, or in terms of what classes they take, or what schools they go to. So it’s always nice to see that because there’s a new perspective that comes every year, or every six months, which is very important in an organization like this, because we need to know what our students are struggling with.”
Singh is hopeful that the student body is aware of CCSS advocacy efforts, especially when it comes to elections, because the candidates voted onto the board will directly represent students.
“The more the students know about what [the CCSS] can do for them, the easier it becomes for them to access those services,” he says. “There’s an easier connection with them because of that, so our students in need are not by themselves. So it’s really important that our students know that we can advocate for them, and we can help them. It does tie in to voting because having a board that represents a wide variety of our students, the more voting we have, the better it is for that.”
Singh has high hopes for the new board. He anticipates that successful candidates will form strong bonds and work hard together to ensure that Camosun students are well represented.
“I think [it’s really important to have] a board that can act together and help each other whenever needed,” he says. “Having that bonding is also helpful at times. So, just hoping that they align with each other and the staff, really, so that it helps them do better things in their time.”
See camosunstudent.org for more information on the CCSS and its elections.