GFC, Students’ Council elections start Thursday

Pete Yee

ALL FOR ONE ... Kusmu (left), Saidane (middle), and Rao make up half of the SUPA slate.

Not long after the posters for the Students’ Union executive election posters come down, the campaign starts for students hoping to fill General Faculty Council and Students’ Council seats.

Students will have the opportunity to vote for their faculty’s representative for both bodies later this week, on March 18 and 19.

Chief Returning Officer Jennifer Huygen noted how an increased interest in the GFC positions was a good sign.

“I’m very heartened with the number of applications we’ve got for GFC,” she said. “One of the things that needs to be underlined is the importance of GFC, which is often the younger brother, if you will, in terms of the elections.”

Because of a structure the encompasses all areas of campus, and includes all of the University’s top-level administration, the GFC makes decisions that really affect students, Huygen continued.

“Recognizing the channels which students could contribute to the formation of policy on campus, [the GFC] is one of the major ways, so we need strong people in these positions so we can drive these policies with a student focus,” she said.

In the Students’ Council election, a group of six Arts candidates have grouped together to create a slate, where they run together on a common platform.

This year’s slate labels themselves “Students United for Progressive Action.”

“I think the question is, ‘Why not a slate?’ It gives direct access to students to engage directly with not just one councillor, but in this case, six at a time,” said Aditya Rao, one of the slate’s candidates. “It automatically gives a push, it gives an amplified student voice.”

Election bylaws allow slates to exist, mandating candidates must give 10–25 per cent of their individual election budget to a collective pool, Huygen explained.

Once elected, in whole or in part, there are no rules dictating that the slate has to remain as a united body.

“We don’t have political parties in council, so they can choose informally to act in tandem in voting and policies and things like that. There’s nothing binding them to act as a slate once they’ve been elected,” Huygen said.

During the campaign, the slate is running under a platform emphasizing communication by working with student groups, the Collective Body for Arts Students, and promising to host townhall-style meetings for students to voice their concerns.

“Councilors are only strong when they unite together, so you’re voting for six individuals who are united, and dedicated for a cause of engaging students as much as possible, and who come from various backgrounds, so we don’t have any kind of secret agenda. We’re a very well-rounded six people,” said Petros Kusmu, another SUPA member.

“Our platform goals are pretty clear. It’s pretty hard to see we have anything underneath those,” added candidate Nariman Saidane.

As for their slate’s name, the group was hesitant to pin down what they thought “progressive action” would entail, but Rao said that that ambiguity is intentional.

“It’s a word that’s meant to be vague for a reason. The vagueness is so that it encompasses being open to change, being open to different viewpoints. The idea is to engage with students and take a progressive lean on things, and not be too conservative, and not be too closed on anything new,” he said.

Students’ Council is made up of 32 faculty councillors, distributed according to faculty populations, the SU Executive, and Board of Governors representative.

The GFC is a 158-member governing body, and is chaired by the University president. It consists of representatives for professors, students, librarians, and non-academic staff.

Students can cast their ballots starting this Thursday at polling stations around campus, or online at www.su.ualberta.ca/vote.