2023 SU general election supplement
We seem to be back in motion at the University of Calgary this year, with basically a “back-to-normal” election underway.
There have been several issues that have been affecting students, especially this last year. With tuition continuing to rise, budget cuts affecting our institution and students not being able to decide whether to pay for food, housing or their education. Those three issues should not even be a reality for many students in the first place.
With this said, we’ve seen our Students’ Union advocating for our needs by challenging the Board of Governors and protesting against their decisions. We’ve seen greater student engagement through a full return of Clubs Week and Sex Week, and just more people on campus in general.
We’ve stumbled upon the time of the SU General Election, which takes up almost the full month of February in preparation. In the election, students enrolled in the Winter 2023 semester have the opportunity to vote for who they want to see leading us to change. The elected officials and representatives will hold their positions for an entire term, with the vacant positions up for grabs during the by-election in the fall.
During the week before reading break, the Gauntlet conducted interviews with many of the candidates running in the election, both contested and uncontested, to learn about their platforms, why they’re running, and what students can expect from them. We’ve also included our thoughts on their platforms and our endorsements.
We were surprised to see so many vacant and uncontested positions this time around, especially now that things have started returning to the way they were. Although, it’s not surprising many students may feel unmotivated to run and frustrated to see great candidates in the past get shut down by administration and outside organizations so much. However, we do hope that the students running in this election will help turn that around.
Regardless of our honest opinions, we acknowledge that running in the SU General Election takes a lot of courage and hard work, so we wish all the candidates the best of luck.
Voting days are on March 7, 8 and 9. Voting starts at 9 a.m. on March 7 and closes at 4 p.m. on March 9. Students can vote online through their myUofC Student Centre, or at polling stations located at the MacEwan Student Centre, Science Theatres, and the TFDL.
—Sophia Lopez, Editor-in-Chief
Schulich School of Engineering