With this year’s Governing Council election coming to a close, past student governors are questioning the impact of student votes in the council.

Having eight students out of a 50-member council makes it difficult to effect major change on any front, said James Park, speaking from first-hand experience on the council in 2010–11.

“Sometimes we would get a few of the alumni or administrative staff governors supporting us, but in the end the votes were never close,” he added.

According to Park, a weak electoral mandate and pervasive apathy towards which students sit on the council, or what they do, can also be an issue.

Last year, only 7.6 per cent of students voted in the full-time undergraduate constituency, while 5 per cent voted for the part-time undergrads.

Appointed student governors who few people voted for have a difficult time claiming a mandate for change, Park said.

This year, three student governors will be acclaimed to their positions, running unopposed in their constituencies.

Past student governor Margaret Kim also pointed out that one year in office is a “very short period of time.”

“By the time new student governors learn about the protocol, half of the year is gone,” Kim said.

External appointees to the Governing Council serve for three-year terms, while staff and alumni often serve for successive one-year terms.

Spending many years on the council, these governors are generally more familiar with policies and governance, explained Kim.

Richard Nunn, for instance, was first appointed to Governing Council in 2004. He serves today as the council’s chair.

“I think that student governors have a great voice,” Nunn said. “It’s a question of how you use that voice effectively and understanding the context of the things you can change.”

Nunn pointed to the most recent Governing Council meeting, where student governors’ lobbying about U of T’s new copyright agreement won it a space on the agenda for discussion. This, to Nunn, is an example of student-led change.

Although the copyright agreement eventually passed despite student opposition, Nunn said this is an example of the contributions student governors make on a regular basis: raising new issues, highlighting things that are of concern to students, even if they are not always successful when it comes to votes.

Student victories on council, however, have not always been so modest.

In 2007, a proposal to build a Student Commons that would revitalize campus life was championed by student governor Estefina Toledo. The proposal received overwhelming support from the council.

This success took years to cultivate, however, and relied on the vocal support of not only students but also ranking members of the administration.

Five years on, a generation of undergraduate students has passed through U of T, and ground has yet to be broken for the construction the Stdent Commons.

As Chair Nunn puts it: “Change takes time and large change takes an incredibly long time.”