GET OUT THE VOTE (Then come party)

All right everyone,

It is that time of year again. Thats right, it is time to vote in the ULSU Elections.

It is super easy. All you have to do is go to the website, log in, and VOTE!

WWW.ULSU.CA

There is literally no reason not to vote. Seriously, if you are reading this, then you can vote. Just open the site in another tab or something. Go. Do it. Now. VOTE!

Voting is open until March 5th at 3:00 pm.

Then, come on up to the Zoo for the Election Results and Big Rock Bash Party.

At 5:00 pm, the winners are announced. Then comes the music. With performances by The Record Holder and Chief Mountain, it promises the be quite the night. Also, there is no cover.

But it doesn’t stop there. At 7:00 pm, our friends at Big Rock Brewery are giving a little presentation on how you can enter to win $10,000, just by entering a contest. Also, you can go the Eddies (apparently these are a big deal in C-town).

All in all, looks to be quite the night. So, come on out, welcome in the new council, say goodbye to us old hacks, listen to some cool jams, and find out how you can win the big bucks.

Not too bad, for a Thursday in Lethbridge.

Check out the FB for more info:

ULSU Elections and Big Rock Bash

Adam Vossepoel

President

Introductions and Head to Head

Well Folks,

It’s that time of year again. If you hadn’t noticed, there are a whole bunch of posters plastered around this University, trying to get you to support candidates in their bid to rule the ULSU! Cue dramatic music!

Who will be the next crew? Guess what, it is all up to you ( Ha, that rhymes. (I wish I could do that all the time!)).

So come on out to the Atrium on Wednesday, February 25th, at Noon, and meet the candidates. This is our annual Town Hall, where all prospective candidates will tell you why they want to be on the next ULSU Council.

Then, it gets really exciting. Thursday, February 26th, again at Noon in the Atrium, come on out for the Executive Candidate Debates! Now, you may ask, “Who are 3/4 candidates going to debate, when they are acclaimed?”. Well, have no fear, except for the VP Internal position, all other candidates will be up against myself, and the current VP Admin, Brodie Pattenden. And my goodness, is Brodie a ferocious debater!

For more information about the ULSU Elections, or to find out about the candidates, visit WWW.ULSU.CA

Adam Vossepoel

President

Lowest voter turnout in the history of Canada…

Yesterday, the Canadian election saw the lowest voter turnout in Canada’s history.

59% of Canadians went to the polls yesterday to cast their ballot for who they believed was best fit to lead our country.

Newfoundland/Labrador, NWT, Nunavut and Alberta led the country with the four lowest turnouts from all provinces, according to the CBC as of 11:44 this morning.

As I moan and sit here incredibly disappointed, I ponder on the factors that come into play here.

Yesterday while running after students and confronting them on their apathy towards our democratic system, the most common answer I heard was that they felt no one represented them and that it didn’t matter which party got elected. It wasn’t because of inconvenience or because they just didn’t care, it was the lack of engagement towards all Canadians. In fact, many students I spoke to said they were simply going to spoil their ballot.

I personally cannot be content with the status quo of this country, and I feel that this voter turn out is a call to all politicians in all parties and to Elections Canada to make politics relevant. Parties, get it together. All of you are disappointing Canadians and the silence in our democratic process is deafening.

vote out of spite

As you have probably heard, Elections Canada has changed their mind about having the on-campus polling station open to all students. Now, if you are like one of the many people of the Facebook group that is absolutely disgusted by this move, I hear you loud and clear. For an organization that says they WANT to get students out voting, Elections Canada just took two massive steps backwards.

So what am I going to do about it? Just what Mr. Mercer said, vote out of spite.

 I’m well aware the system doesn’t give a crap about me as a student voter. I’m aware that the PSE portion of most platforms is lip service. I’m aware that Elections Canada caters to other voter groups, such as mobile polling stations for the elderly. I’m aware the technology is available to allow people to vote at any station within their riding. I remember when I was told by a member of Elections Canada that it is “too much paperwork and time” to get polling stations on campus.

But I’m going to vote anyways.

I’m going to show that I don’t care if you make it more difficult for me to vote. I’m going to show that, at least for my part, that the youth of today is not a bunch of apathetic whiners that couldn’t care less about the democratic process. I’m going to show that I care about this great country of ours, and the sacrifices people have made for me to have this right.

I hope that you do the same.

 

Brodie

Elections Canada squashes all-student polling station at the University of Lethbridge

Press Release sent October 9th at 5:45PM

In spite of their groundbreaking announcement of an on-campus polling station open to all students on Tuesday, October 7, Elections Canada has rescinded their previous pledge to ensure student accessibility to the democratic process.

Elections Canada will have a polling station on campus October 14 for residence students only.

 “Despite multiple confirmations of the recent announcement, Elections Canada has gone back on their assurances that all students will be able to vote on campus,” says Adam Vossepoel, ULSU president.  “We feel incredibly let down by our electoral system and their commitment to democracy.”

“We are disappointed, but the ULSU has full intentions to work with Elections Canada in the future to take the next step to increase accessibility for student voters,” says Vossepoel. 

Thank you Elections Canada for destroying my faith in the electoral system.

B

Students welcome pledge of long-term predictable federal funding for post-secondary education.

Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations is encouraged by the pledge of the New Democratic Party to create a dedicated funding transfer from the federal government in each fiscal year to support the post-secondary educational services of the provinces. The pledge, announced today as part of the NDP’s “Education Opportunity Plan”, would guarantee each province a long-term, predictable level of funding each year, provided that each province satisfied certain criteria and conditions set by the federal government regarding program quality, accessibility, public administration and accountability.

“Since the 1990’s, the responsibility for funding post-secondary education in Canada has largely been offloaded to individual students and private enterprise, placing the accessibility, affordability and quality of the system in jeopardy,” said Zach Churchill, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. “Depending on the amount, a dedicated transfer can help to reverse this process, allowing the federal government to reclaim its abdicated responsibility for ensuring a properly funded and accountable public post-secondary education system.”

The NDP Education Opportunity Plan also promises:

- A grant of $1000 by 2012 to all undergraduate or equivalent students who qualify for student loans, paid at the beginning of each school year
- A promise to forgive the student loans of health professionals who commit to dedicate the first 10 years of their careers to family medicine in Canada
- A promise to reform the Canada Student Loan system, including providing interest relief, to ensure that students will not be forced to start repaying their loans until after they have completed their education

CASA calls on the New Democratic Party to follow-up on today’s announcement with more specific details about how their dedicated education transfer payment will be funded each year. With reference to this, CASA recommends that a dedicated transfer be funded at an initial level of $4 billion in annual cash transfers, with increases made accordingly for annual inflation and demographic growth thereafter.

CASA will continue to call on the other parties in this election to create progressive solutions designed to increase the participation rates of Canadians who are currently underrepresented in the post-secondary system, while sustaining students currently in the system by reducing the amount of debt incurred in pursuit of a post-secondary credential

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit national student organization composed of 23 student associations, representing 300,000 students from coast to coast. The University of Lethbridge Students’ Union is a proud member of CASA.

Brodie

A U of L Students’ Guide to Voting

Congratulations! Just by reading this far you have become 40% more democratic! Jokes aside, if you are a first time voter (that includes first time voting away from your home town “home”), the process can seem quite daunting and confusing. This piece will clear up those confusions and misconceptions. Before anything else, find out where you can register to vote and what you will need for identification purposes on the Elections Canada website (www.elections.ca) or the ULSU website (www.ulsu.ca ).  You can also contact the Elections Canada Lethbridge office at 403.329.2111.

And now for the fun part, actually voting!

If You Are From Lethbridge

You should have received a voter information card from Elections Canada providing the hours and locations for voting on Election Day or at the advance polls. However, if you have recently moved or turned 18 years of age, it is possible that you are not on the list of electors. If you have not received your voter information card, you can call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868, or visit their office in Lethbridge Center Mall by October 7^th. If you miss that deadline, you can still register in person on any of the advance voting days (October 3^rd, 4^th, &6^th), or on Election Day at your assigned polling station. Once you are registered all you need to do is show up at your assigned polling station on Election Day with your voter information card (if you have one) and the proper identification and cast your vote!

If You Are Not From Lethbridge and Want to Vote For Your Home Riding

For this, you need to either 1) Go to the Elections Canada office in Lethbridge Center Mall before October 7^th and vote by special ballot, or 2) Drive back to your home riding on the 14^th and vote there. I highly recommend not skipping a whole day of classes and just voting by special ballot.

If You Are Not From Lethbridge and Want to Vote In the Lethbridge Riding

If you are like me, due to the constant moving you have probably never changed your driver’s license or passport to show a Lethbridge address. That’s ok, you can still vote here. Again, there are two options: 1) You can go to the Elections Canada office before the 7^th and request to change your residence in the voter registry. All this requires is you filling out a piece of paper that contains your Lethbridge address, and signing it. You will then be able to show up at a polling station on the 14^th and vote. 2) Show up at your assigned polling station on Election Day and register to vote. You will need a piece of photo identification showing who you are (ie: drivers license, passport), as well as a certified original document showing your Lethbridge address (a copy of your lease or utilities bill with your name on it will suffice). You will then need to register at the polling station, and depending on the time of day this could take a while. Again, I highly recommend doing option one and taking care of it in advance.

Make your vote an educated vote!

As a part of its promotion of a Post-Secondary Access Agenda, CASA has launched a web video entitled The Education Challenge, aimed at encouraging students and the general public to strongly consider the issue of accessibility to post-secondary education when casting their ballot on October 14th, 2008.

Stay tuned to State of the Union as we will be releasing more information regarding each of the party’s platform on PSE, and our thoughts regarding them.

Brodie

Students welcome promise of largest boost to non-repayable student grants in recent history

Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations welcomes the pledge by the Liberal party of an estimated $25 billion to post-secondary education support.  The plan, announced this morning at the University of Western Ontario, has vowed to nearly triple the amount of non-repayable student grants provided by the federal government each year, from $350 million to $1 billion.  This represents the largest funding increase to student grant assistance in recent history.

 

“CASA believes the measures proposed by the Liberal Party will help students and families cope with the accelerated costs of education,” said Zach Churchill, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.  “The proposed plan, if implemented, can significantly enhance access to post-secondary education system, by providing funding to students who need it the most, while helping to lower the epidemic growth of student debt in this country.”

 

The plan promises:

-          A guaranteed universal education grant of $1000 for each full-time student in Canada each year

-          200,000 needs-based grants

-          100,000 grants to promote access for underrepresented students

-          A pledge to reduce interest rates on federal student loans to prime + 0.5%

-          More funding for graduate students

 

“As CASA has stated before, Canadians know that our continued prosperity hinges on our ability to graduate enough students from university, college, and technical programs to meet the job demands produced by our economy,” continued Churchill.

 

CASA will continue to call on the other parties in this election to create progressive solutions designed to increase the participation rates of Canadians who are currently underrepresented in the post-secondary system, while sustaining students currently in the system by reducing the amount of debt incurred in pursuit of a post-secondary credential.

 

The University of Lethbridge Students’ Union is a proud member of The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA). CASA is a non-partisan, not-for-profit national student organization composed of 23 student associations, representing 300,000 students from coast to coast.