Give them #Five – that is all University Students’ Council (USC) officials are asking.
With USC elections slated for Monday and Tuesday, the #Five2Vote campaign is promoting student voter turnout across campus. Among its initiatives is a push to see students given time during their classes – perhaps five minutes at the beginning or during a break – to receive information on USC candidates and the ease of online voting.
This would all be done through the voluntary assistance of faculty members across campus.
“It’s an exciting time from the candidates’ side to get out there and see things from a different perspective and hear out students. You are getting the chance to become one of the biggest change-makers on campus,” USC President Bardia Jalayer said. “We’re happy to see a lot of the engagement so far, and we’re hoping as many students as possible get informed about the candidates and take the time to vote.”
Student voter turnout has hovered around 25 per cent the last few elections.
“It’s important for students to look at all the platforms with a critical lens and see who represents them the best and cast their vote. It’s important to be involved and know who’s representing you,” Jalayer continued. “We want students to know who they’re electing because, at the end of the day, the USC President gets more facetime with university administration on their behalf.”
John Doerksen, Vice Provost (Academic Programs and Students) [Registrar], has been happy to help promote the USC-led initiative to all associate deans, who in turn, decide whether or not to circulate the request across their faculties.
“Western is committed to seeing great participation on the part of students in the USC elections,” Doerksen said.
“Students are an important partner students on this campus in achieving our institutional mission. We often turn to the USC to give us a sense of what the issues are that matter for students. To the extent that students go out and vote, they can then have elected representatives who can advocate for the things that mean the most to them.”