Why should I give a %*&$ about student elections?
Long answer short: Because the student union doesn’t have to care whether or not you do.
by Scott Walsh, storyteller with RU Student Life
The Ryerson Students’ Union has ranked in the bottom 10 Student Unions for the past two years. With controversies surrounding gender issues to choosing to shun companies that do business with Israel, there has been no shortage of controversies concerning the group of students who claim to be representing our campus. And for the first time since I’ve started my undergraduate, the current group that leads us, Unite Ryerson, is being challenged by a new slate, Transform RU.
It’s not my place to tell you who to vote for, and both websites have their platforms currently available, Transform RU’s here and Unite Ryerson’s here. But I think it’s very important to vote, not just because our student union represents us across Canada, letting other students and prospective employers get a glimpse into Ryerson, but because you’re paying a hefty fee for them. Let’s use Business Management, one of Ryerson’s biggest programs, as an example. If you’re taking 5 courses, you have a mandatory payment of $110 a year to the RSU. If I’m giving someone over $400, then I should know where my money is being spent.
As the representative of Ryerson students, the RSU is responsible for representing students in areas that are typically associated with students: campus life and fun, equity/social justice, and cost-saving services. Some of these have been highly beneficial for Ryerson students — like having health insurance as an option that might not otherwise be available to students, but giving those already covered by their parents the opportunity to opt-out. Others have been more controversial — the women’s only gym hours, which Zahra has given her thoughts on, but a significant portion of Ryerson students vehemently disagree with. And then there are some choices that have received nothing but criticism, such as, you know, when they made their budget as clear as brick and we saw how(one year, they put down $20,000 in the budget for telephones. Yes, as in, twenty thousand dollars.
I’m not saying you have to be emotionally invested in the results. I’m just saying that the hundreds of dollars you are forced to give to the RSU is non-negotiable. You might as well spend a couple of minutes browsing the controversies to see what fits your opinion on the way that Ryerson should be represented, and what way you want to be represented.
The voting period for the Ryerson Students’ Union elections is from February 9th to 11th, in various locations across campus. Find out where and how to vote, here. All you need to vote is your OneCard or a valid piece of ID, and polls are open from 10:30am — 5:30pm. You can also check out how the debate went between the two parties running, in the following video.
