Cut them down

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We should be streamlining URSU to make things simpler

The University of Regina Student’s Union had been on such a roll when it comes to getting students to vote. The previous set of elections in March saw over 3000 students vote, and the recent URSU “Get Out and Vote” campaign for the recent Canadian Elections saw them register over 500 students to vote. Some candidates didn’t even hit double-digit votes. So why was there such a low turnout for the recent URSU By-Elections? Why is it that nearly all students were unaware of these elections?

While the low voter turnout is definitely shocking, and does not exactly paint a great picture, the problem upon examination, is not students not wanting to vote. URSU had a very nice turnout last semester, and had a ton of interest in their campaign for the Canadian Election. The biggest problem appears to be why students have zero interest in these particular elections.

Students just do not seem to understand why they should care about these elections. Why should they commit their time and effort when they are unsure of whom they are voting for, and what they are voting for? I understand that URSU was busy with their efforts in helping to get students out to the federal election polls, but there appears to be very little done in order to inform students of who is running for these positions, what the positions are for, and why students should care about them.

So this raises the question of whether URSU actually cares about these positions, and whether they are important enough to even be a part of URSU. If URSU cannot promote their elections to the fullest of their abilities, then why should students take interest in them?

So what’s the solution to this problem? Moving the elections to March would not be feasible because it would probably cause more chaos and work than it’s worth. And if students just do not care about voting for positions they don’t have anything to do with, then I feel there’s one solution: cut down on URSU positions.

I know that it seems like the nuclear option, but how important are some of these positions? Are they worth going through an entire election process only for one person to run, and a couple people to vote? Of course, representation for a number of these seats, like First Nations Director, LGBTQ Director and Disabilities Director are very important but is KHSS Director and Luther Director necessary? I’m all about making things simpler, and cutting down on things that aren’t necessary. If cutting down on URSU Director positions that hardly anyone cares to actually run for, makes things more streamlined, then I feel like you could potentially do without them.

If you really want to keep these positions, and feel that representation is absolutely necessary, remove the voting process. If only a handful of people actually vote on these things, then maybe the more informed decision would be to appoint people to these positions. URSU has to do something to shake these elections up, and it either means garnering more interest in what URSU does, or cutting the unimportant bits.