When someone asks you to define the feelings students at U of T have towards their campus life, it is generally difficult to respond to in a few words. However, some statements like, apathetic, not engaging, or plain boring do seem to be common. Though there are many students who appreciate the work the UTSU does, there are also many students who dislike it or are unaware of what it does. Furthermore, the friction between college and faculty councils and the UTSU is very high at the moment. The sometimes-vicious exchanges between elected representatives of the UTSU and various other divisions is a testament to that. But how do we know there are many negative feelings between UTSU and the student body? I believe elections statistics can provide the evidence we need.
Going back to the elections of 2010 there was a 16.4 per cent voter turnout, which was very high for a U of T election. Indeed, the heated contest between the incumbent and opposition slate drew out a lot of volunteers and coverage. In 2011 there was a significant drop to about a 7 per cent voter turnout, due to the absence of any organized opposition slate. Last year there was a 10.5 per cent voter turnout, an increase owed to the presence of an opposition slate and independent candidates.
This year there was once again a drop in voter turnout. Though the numbers are not official, a rough estimate was made by adding the number of votes casted for the president, and then divided by the approximate size of our undergraduate student population, 45,000. According to the rough calculations, 7 per cent of our student body casted a ballot in relation to the position of president, a significant decrease from last year’s turnout.
Why was there a drop in voter turnout this year? One explanation could be the lack of executive oppositions and the low number of candidates running for Board of Directors positions. More competition generally leads to more voter turnout. It is also possible many students did not vote because they felt their votes would make no difference to their student experiences. Another possible reason could have been that the student body is uninformed about elections issues or had no idea that the elections were going on. For example, while I was at the polling station in Sid Smith, a student walked up to the polling booth and said, “Hello. I was given this card and they told me to come here. What should I do?” The student had no idea what he was doing at the booth and was doing exactly what he was told to do. In the end, the student did not vote claiming that he was very busy. I know from experience that in every election there are many students who are only voting because they are following instructions. When I was campaigning last year in the 2012 UTSU elections, many students just voted for me because I made a good first impression. They really had little idea what was going on. Indeed, the incumbents and opposition slates at the time gained votes by the exact same methods. Voter turnout may also have been low because students didn’t think their votes mattered. In general, people will tend to vote when they feel that their vote can make a difference to their personal experience.
Asides from the dearth of student involvement with UTSU elections, there has been a clear anti-union sentiment among many students and divisions, which has grown remarkably this year. A few days ago, Victoria College students voted in favor of diverting their UTSU fee in a referendum, although their referendum did not meet turnout requirements. In the next few days, St. Michael’s College, Trinity College, and the Engineering faculty will all have referendums to vote on fee diversion. The signs all point to these referendums succeeding.
Why is the anti-union sentiment growing? What are the reasons behind it? There are several answers to these questions, some of which are related, in my opinion, to the reasons behind low voter turnouts. It is clear, however, that many colleges and students are in favor of de-federation, and want greater autonomy from the UTSU.
So what is the state of our union? As unfortunate as it is, the fact of the matter is that it is weak, unpopular, and disunited. The future of our union will be decided by the next batch of student leaders that inherit the divided student politics of our university. Will the student leaders reconcile differences and overcome barriers to unite our disconnected student body? Or will the path of apathetic attitudes continue to foster? Only they and the future student body can decide.
