Laura Pedersen

Student representatives from post-secondary institutions in Calgary have united as the Calgary Student Caucus to gain more political clout

Calgary’s various post-secondary student representatives are hoping to regain lost ground this year after attempts to effectively engage and communicate with the student populace largely failed.

Last year, students’ union and association members from the University of Calgary, Mount Royal College (MRC), SAIT, Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) and Bow Valley College formed the Calgary Student Caucus. The purpose of being under one umbrella: to provide better representation for Calgary’s 55,000 post-secondary students and gain more political clout when dealing with various levels of government. However, if last year’s student elections are any indication, more focus needs to be placed on engaging the student bodies they represent.

The U of C, SAIT and MRC all experienced significant declines not only in voter participation in student elections, but also in attracting candidates to run in those elections. Last year’s voter turnout ranged from six per cent at SAIT to 11 per cent at the U of C. At MRC, meanwhile, the students’ association is still in the process of appointing students to fill 10 seats left vacant due to a lack of candidates.

“It comes down to communication,” says new U of C Students’ Union (SU) president Dalmy Baez. “If students aren’t really sure what their student government does then they’re not really sure how they get involved. This year we’re really aiming at helping students understand what it is we do, how they can get involved and be part of this process.”

According to John Roe, editor-in-chief of the U of C’s student newspaper The Gauntlet, the low voter turnout and participation at the U of C last year was in part due to how the orientation week was run. In the past, students were typically introduced to campus life over a couple days, which included optional sessions with the Students’ Union and various clubs. However, last year those sessions were cancelled.

Roe argues that not having a chance to connect with students from the offset generally hurt every community group on campus. “I’m not sure if a lot of people even know what the SU does or who they are, so that may have something to do with the fact that they have a hard time engaging people.”

Tapping into student clubs on campus is a start, says Baez. Encouraging various clubs to co-ordinate on similar events allows for resources and costs to be shared and raises the event’s profile. “We have all these really bright, engaged students, but they just don’t know what events are going on or how they can get involved in everything,” she says.

Largely a trade- and technology-based school, SAIT’s students’ association (SAITSA) has its own challenges when trying to prod its student body. Students there do not have the convenience of an orientation week to settle into their surroundings and instead hit the ground running. “The second that you’re here is the second you start learning,” says SAITSA president Dave Jones. “You’ll learn for two years, get your degree and get a job.

“We see ourselves as a premier institution, and we are,” he says. “But the place where we’re lacking is engagement from day one. I think we need to be more out there, more involved in the community, engaging the students more, more face-to-face time.” He admits the same tactic was attempted last year, but after a couple months of poor feedback, the student association quit trying.

This failure to communicate on the part of SAITSA made it difficult to deliver information to students about campus issues, says Michelle Butterfield, former editor of SAITSA’s Emery Weal. “I just think there was a general lack of communication between the students’ association and the student body,” she says.

Jones acknowledges the lack of communication is an issue, but says he has been approached by post-secondary schools across Canada inquiring about the success Calgary’s students’ unions have had. “We don’t protest, we don’t rally, we do stuff civil,” says Jones. “We don’t burn anything down and we’re open for communication. We’re just communicating the message.” Protests, he says, are counter-productive.

Butterfield argues that SAITSA often had administration’s interest in mind rather than the students they are paid to represent. “You would want them to be on your side, helping you write your story, and all you’re getting is a bunch of bullshit, playing-it-safe quotes to protect SAIT,” she says.

She points to the 2001 Millennium Gift, which saw SAITSA hand over $1 million to SAIT for various student-oriented projects, one of which was the long delayed on-campus Odyssey Coffeehouse. The non-alcoholic student lounge didn’t open until May 2008, seven years after the deal had been inked.

“I haven’t actually seen [SAITSA] fight for anything,” says Butterfield. “They go to their meetings. They use their student dollars to travel all over the country. The communication is terrible.”

Roe also criticized the U of C SU for being too buddy-buddy with administration instead of speaking up for students. “I think that’s where we focused the most of our criticisms last year,” he says. “We felt they were working with administration too much and forgetting the fact they are supposed to be lobbying for students’ rights.”

A voice for students

Student representatives are chosen by students at post-secondary institutions to be their voice on issues ranging from housing and tuition to student life on campus. They can also help put students in touch with the various services, clubs and events taking place on campus. To contact your school’s student representatives, or to get involved yourself, go to:

• University of Calgary Students’ Union: www.su.ucalgary.ca

• Students’ Association of Mount Royal College: www.samrc.com

• SAIT Students’ Association: www.saitsa.com

• Alberta College of Art and Design Students’ Association: www.acad.ab.ca/acadsa.html

• Bow Valley College Students’ Association: www.bowvalleycollege.ca