All members of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) — including more than 38,000 students in colleges, academic divisions, and professional faculties at UTSG — have the opportunity to run in the UTSU’s spring 2020 elections and effect change at both the UTSU and in the U of T community at large. The unfortunate reality is that a lot of students simply do not run.
The UTSU’s Spring 2019 elections turnout was an abysmal 4.2 per cent, which necessitated an immediate by-election, as only three executive seats and just over one-third of the Board of Directors were elected.
One of the reasons for this low voter turnout is that there are negative perceptions of the UTSU across campus. This includes a belief that, painted dome and all, the UTSU is an ivory tower smack-dab in the middle of campus that students only venture to if they have an issue with their health and dental coverage.
I have run in two UTSU elections and a handful of other elections throughout my time at the University of Toronto. The incentives in place to impassion individuals toward candidacy can also be seen as possible barriers. Yes, if you run you’ll have a much larger platform to advocate for the change that you want to see, but the platform is accompanied by an equal, if not larger, spotlight that will amplify every mistake you make along the way. Campaign promises are temporary; Varsity headlines are forever.
Despite barriers like this, I am writing to you as someone who has faced the challenge and persevered. I recognize my privilege as a white, cisgender, heterosexual man and that there are vastly fewer barriers for me than there are for students who come from marginalized communities. But these are the voices we need to amplify the most. These are the voices that need the platform the UTSU is afforded. With that in mind, we’ve made progressive changes on a number of fronts to make our elections more accessible to students.
We’ve doubled the length of our nomination period from last year to allow students who are either unsure or not as well connected on campus to collect their signatures and get their campaigns together.
We’ve ensured that candidates get reimbursed for all of their campaign expenses, not based on the percentage of votes they have received.
We have increased the hourly rate for executives to $19 per hour for the upcoming year so that students who have the courage to take the leap into these positions will know that they’re being paid a fair wage.
We’ve tried to open doors for the next group of students who want to see more from their elected representatives. And even though we’ve tried to tackle the culture of exclusivity that has been perpetuated by our union for years, it is a constant effort that will need to be taken up by our successors. All this being said, I wish you the best of luck this upcoming election cycle. Create a platform, manage a friend’s campaign, put out a Facebook post with one too many emojis; just remember that this student union is yours.
Joshua Bowman is a fifth-year Indigenous Studies and Political Science student at St. Michael’s College and current President of the UTSU.
