Election fever

DSU online polls are open until Thursday at 6 p.m.

Whether having their say in the SUB or sitting at home with their laptop, Dalhousie students are taking to the polls this week to vote for the next generation of student union leadership.

Positions up for grabs in this year’s election include the DSU president and three vice-presidents, as well as board of governors and undergraduate senate representatives. Also on the ballot is a referendum on the DSU Health Plan that would enable the adjustment of premiums based on claims experience or inflationary costs.

Polls open at 9 a.m. Tuesday and remain open until 6 p.m. on Thursday. All voting takes place online but the DSU elections committee is doing everything they can to encourage students to vote. Be on the lookout for pink shirts and polling stations around all three campuses.

“Even if you have only a few seconds to spare, we’re doing our best to make it simple for you to sit down and click in your vote,” says Sarah Amyotte, fourth-year political science student and the election’s chief returning officer. She explains that the DSU’s voting system has students rank candidates preferentially, and even provides a digital option for spoiling a ballot should they wish to register their discontent with their choices. Ms. Amyotte, however, believes that students are being presented with an ideal array of options this year.

“It’s been a really friendly, productive campaign, which is wonderful,” she says. “The candidates have been amiable and supportive in the debates and on the campaign trail…we’ve got a plethora of fantastic candidates this year.”

Last year 16 per cent of students voted in the union elections, a number that Ms. Amyotte wants to see increase this year.

“It’s their school,” she says of Dal students. “It’s their degree. Their student union has a lot to do with defining both of those. Plus, students pay the DSU $117 each year. Would you pay someone to do a job without having a say in hiring them?”

To vote if you’re a student, or to learn more about the candidates and the positions they’re seeking, visit http://www.dsuelections.ca