Elections

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Results Announced: 2024 SU By-Election
Results Announced: 2024 SU By-Election 2560 1920 Caragh Clifford

CALGARY, AB – Results of the University of Calgary Students’ Union (SU) By-Election were announced at the end of the day on Thursday. There was a total of two seats being voted on, one in the Werklund School of Education and another in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Both races were uncontested, and have secured a majority yes vote from students within those faculties. Siena Yee was confirmed as the new Werklund School of Education representative with 96% of the vote, while Danielle Barry – who had previously been appointed to the position of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine representative as the position was vacant from the last general election – will continue on in the role officially, earning 94% of the vote.

There is still one open position on the Students’ Legislative Council as there is no current Faculty of Nursing representative. A viable student will be appointed to the position soon.

“I would like to welcome Siena and welcome back Danielle to the Students’ Legislative Council, and congratulate them both for their victory. Faculty representatives are the backbone of the Students’ Legislative Council, as they are our closest link to all students. I look forward to working with all of them for the remainder of this legislative year,” said Ermia Rezaei-Afsah, SU President.

Siena Yee (second from the right) is welcomed as the new Werklund School of Education Representative by SU President Ermia Rezaei-Afsah, VP Internal Naomie Bakana, and VP Academic Jessie Dinh (remaining, left to right)

The other item on the ballot during the 2024 By-Election was General Fee Referendum, which proposed an update to the SU’s fee structure for assessment of its general fee for specific categories of students: full-time medical students as well as part-time, co-op, and internship students. The referendum has passed with 57% of the electors voting in favour of the changes.

This year’s By-Election saw 425 students cast a vote. As this was a by-election, the faculty race votes were limited to students who are currently enrolled in the applicable faculties, and the general referendum was open to all eligible students. By-Election results become official on Friday, October 18th.

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NOTICE OF ELECTION: BY-ELECTION 2024
NOTICE OF ELECTION: BY-ELECTION 2024 150 150 admin

Notice is hereby given that an election will be held for the filling of the following offices:

  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (1 position)
  • Werklund School of Education (1 position)

Online voting will take place on the 8th, 9th, and 10th days of October 2024 through my.ucalgary.ca Student Centre. Voting opens at 9 a.m. on October 8th and closes at 4 p.m. on October 10th, 2024. All University of Calgary undergraduate students registered in these faculties: Veterinary Medicine and Werklund School of Education in the Fall 2024 session are eligible to vote.

VACANCIES

In accordance with section 48 of the The Union Bylaw, the Chief Returning Officer declares the following positions vacant:

  • Faculty of Nursing

See the ELECTIONS page for updates and information. 

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NOTICE OF NOMINATION DAYS – BY-ELECTION 2024
NOTICE OF NOMINATION DAYS – BY-ELECTION 2024 150 150 admin

Notice is hereby given that Nomination Days are Monday, September 23 and Tuesday, September 24, 2024. Nominations for the election of candidates for the following offices will be accepted virtually from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and in person at the SU Main Office (MSC 251) from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

OFFICES AVAILABLE (# of Vacancies)

  • Faculty of Nursing (1)
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (1)
  • Werklund School of Education (1)

As of September 9, 2024, Nomination Packageswill be available online.

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NOTICE OF REFERENDUM – BY-ELECTION 2024
NOTICE OF REFERENDUM – BY-ELECTION 2024 150 150 admin

Summary

The SU’s current fee structure is disproportional in its assessment of the SU general fee for full time, part-time, co-op and internship students. The SU proposes updating its fee structure as outlined in the table below by assessing MD full-time students at the full-time student rate while part-time, co-op and internship students will be assessed to pay two-thirds of the full-time student rate. The aim of this proposed update is to keep up with inflation and to ensure its services can cater to the 10,000 new undergraduate students the university seeks to add to the student population by 2030.

Background

The SU exists to advance and support the needs of undergraduate students at the University of Calgary. As an organization, one of our key priorities is to advocate for students’ interests to the university and all three orders of government. We also provide essential services, programs, and events curated to enhance the student experience, both in and out of the classroom. All undergraduate students are active members of the SU; they benefit from all advocacy initiatives of the SU and can access all SU benefits and privileges (i.e., scholarships and financial awards, the Clubs systems, advocacy efforts, Campus Food Bank etc.). While SU events are primarily accessed by students most frequently on campus, they too are open to all undergraduate students who are interested.

The SU has operated on a differential general fee assessment structure over the past few decades. This structure was created because the SU’s past offerings were largely events-focused, and the SU could not provide remote access to SU services because the internet was not a widely available utility until 2004. Furthermore, students on satellite locations found it difficult to access SU benefits and privileges on main campus due to limited transit connections as the City of Calgary was still expanding its fleet of buses and trains and its transit routing network to meet the teeming population growth in the city.

At the time, the SU’s differential fee assessment was an equitable tool adopted to ensure students were charged general fees that reflected their accessibility to SU benefit and privileges. These concerns are less applicable today as the SU is primarily advocacy-driven and provides unfettered remote access to almost all SU benefits and privileges, thus making the SU’s general fee differential assessment structure out-dated.

Question

Given the background provided above, do you support the proposed update to the SU General Fee structure, starting Fall 2025?

  • YES
  • NO

A REFERENDUM FAQ is available for more information.

 

  • Nathan Ross
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Results Announced: 2024 SU General Election
Results Announced: 2024 SU General Election 1280 854 Nathan Ross

Calgary – The Students’ Union (SU) of the University of Calgary is pleased to announce the results of the SU General Election which will form the 82nd Students’ Legislative Council (SLC). Undergraduate students were able to cast their vote in the election from March 5-7 to determine which of their peers will represent them to faculties, the university, and the three orders of government.

Only one of the executive races had multiple candidates, and that was for the position of SU President. Both Sandra Amin and Ermia Rezaei-Afsah – who were both Vice-Presidents with the SU in the 81st SLC – ran in the hopes of succeeding outgoing President Shaziah Jinnah Morsette. With 66% of the vote, Ermia Rezaei-Afsah will be the SU President for the 82nd SLC.

They will be joined by Mateusz Salmassi, Jessie Dinh, and Naomie Bakana, who ran uncontested and received a majority of yes votes for the positions of Vice-President External, Vice-President Academic, and Vice-President Internal respectively.

The position of Vice-President Internal is a new position, which combines two previous Vice-President positions which oversaw the responsibilities for student life and operations and finances.

Also running uncontested were the candidates for both the Board of Governors representative and the Senate representatives. Siraaj Shah received a majority of yes votes to claim the singular Board of Governors’ seat, while Muntaha Aamir and Elsa Stokes were voted into the available Senate seats.

Jessie Dinh, VP Academic-Elect celebrates her victory

In the Faculty Representative races, Hannah Kim and Mirza Ali Beg were elected as the two Cumming School of Medicine Faculty. Kim garnered 46.2% of the vote, while Ali Beg received 33.2. Over in the Faculty of Science, Gabriela Dziegielewska, Ben Shi, and Emmanuel Trinidad were elected with 26.6%, 23.2%, and 19.2% respectfully.

Out of the six candidates running for the four seats available for the Faculty of Arts representatives, Aitazaz Shah (20.6%), Edom Girma (20%), Simchah Atanda (19.8%), and Martin Al-Najar (18.4%) were successful. Similarly, there were five candidates ran for the three available seats for the Schulich School of Engineering representatives. Tavish Comrie (25.7%), Debo Dam (22.6%), and Lujaina Eldelebshany (22.6%) have been elected to fill those seats.

Other Faculty Representative races asked students to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for candidates. All candidates running received a majority of ‘yes’ votes in their respective races:

  • Faculty of Kinesiology: Elbert Tom
  • Faculty of Law: Safaa Al-Khaz’Aly
  • Faculty of Social Work: Lorraine Ndovi
  • Haskayne School of Business: Farhan Chisty and Uday Singh Sandhu
  • School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape: Julia Law

Students also voted on a referendum regarding proposed changes to the SU’s governing documents. The referendum question is the official mechanism to adopt or reject the proposed incorporation of the SU Constitution into the SU Union Bylaw, and the subsequent rescindment of the SU Constitution. Students will vote to determine whether these SU governing documents can be merged into one. The referendum has passed with 92.8 of the students voting for it.

3,764 students voted in the 2024 General Election, which equates to 13.29% of the undergraduate population. The results announced today are provisional and become official on March 15. Students elected in this General Election will take office on April 29, 2024.

The SU will hold a by-election in October 2024 to fill the following faculty representative vacancies: Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Werklund School of Education.

Inquiries may be directed to:

Nathan Ross
Manager, Communications & Government Relations
nathan.ross@ucalgary.ca
Cell: 403-835-1836

 

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NOTICE OF ELECTION: General Election 2024
NOTICE OF ELECTION: General Election 2024 150 150 admin

Notice is hereby given that an election will be held for the filling of the following offices:

  • President (1)
  • Vice President Academic (1)
  • Vice President Internal (1)
  • Vice President External (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Cumming School of Medicine (2)
  • Faculty Representatives, Faculty of Arts (4)
  • Faculty Representative, Faculty of Kinesiology (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Faculty of Law (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Faculty of Science (3)
  • Faculty Representative, Faculty of Social Work (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Haskayne School of Business (2)
  • Faculty Representative, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Schulich School of Engineering (3)
  • Senate Student at Large Representative (2)
  • Board of Governors Student at Large Representative (1)

Online voting will take place on the 5th, 6th, and 7th days of March, 2024 through the myUofC Student Centre. Polling stations will be available at these locations: MacEwan Student Centre, Science Theatres, and TFDL. Voting opens at 9 a.m. on March 5th and closes at 4 p.m. on March 7th, 2024. All University of Calgary undergraduate students registered in the Winter 2024  session are eligible to vote.

VACANCIES

In accordance with section 48 of the The Union Bylaw, the Chief Returning Officer declares the following positions vacant:

  • Faculty Representative, Veterinary Medicine (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Werklund School of Education (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Nursing (1)

For all SU Election news and udpates visit WWW.SU.UCALGARY.CA/ELECTIONS.

 

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NOTICE OF REFERENDUM: GENERAL ELECTION 2024
NOTICE OF REFERENDUM: GENERAL ELECTION 2024 150 150 admin

Background:

Between 1948 and March 2023, the Students’ Union (SU) experienced significant changes to its governance processes due to changes in provincial legislation and the strategic decisions of past Students’ Legislative Council (SLC) cohorts. These changes have resulted in the SU having two main governance documents: (a) the SU Union Bylaw, which incorporates information from the Post Secondary Learning Act and the SU Constitution, thus making it a significant reference document for guidance and direction over the SU governance processes and operations; and (b) the SU Constitution, which is a residual document due to most of its provisions already being reflected in the SU Union Bylaw.

In line with best practices, the SU aims to modernize its governance processes by improving student accessibility and ease of understanding of its governing documents. To implement this governance modernization, the SU proposes a consolidation of the SU Union Bylaw and the SU Constitution, by incorporating the only provision of the SU Constitution not reflected in the SU Union Bylaw, into the SU Union Bylaw. This will make the SU Union Bylaw a “one-stop-reference” document students can rely on for all information on the SU governance processes and operations. Thereafter, the SU Constitution would be repealed for being redundant.

Other student associations in post-secondary learning institutions within Alberta such as the University of Alberta, Mount Royal University, MacEwan University and Athabasca University have either repealed their constitutions or recognise their union bylaw as their highest governing document in their governance processes. The SU has also consulted the Governance and Oversight Committee which comprises Active Members, the University and Government Relations, and the SLC on its proposed direction and these bodies have indicated their support for the following question to be presented to all Active Members.

Question 1:

Do you support the proposed incorporation of the SU Constitution into the Union Bylaw, and the subsequent rescindment of the SU Constitution effective on April 16, 2024?
• YES
• NO

Full details of the proposed update to the Students’ Union’s governance documents and a Referendum FAQ are available. Complete details and updates on the 2024 General Election can be found on the www.su.ucalgary.ca/elections page.

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NOTICE OF NOMINATION: GENERAL ELECTION 2024
NOTICE OF NOMINATION: GENERAL ELECTION 2024 150 150 admin

Notice is hereby given that Nomination Days are Monday, February 12 to Wednesday, February 14, 2024. Nominations for the election of a candidate for the following offices will be held virtually from 9 to 12 p.m. and received in-person at the SU main office from 12 to 3 p.m. on these days.

OFFICES AVAILABLE (NUMBER OF VACANCIES)

  • President (1)
  • Vice President Academic (1)
  • Vice President External (1)
  • Vice President Internal (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Arts (4)
  • Faculty Representative, Cumming School of Medicine (2)
  • Faculty Representatives, Haskayne School of Business (2)
  • Faculty Representative, Kinesiology (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Law (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Nursing (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Schulich School of Engineering (3)
  • Faculty Representatives, Science (3)
  • Faculty Representative, Social Work (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Veterinary Medicine (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Werklund School of Education (1)
  • Faculty Rep., School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (1)
  • Board of Governors Student at Large Representative (1)
  • Senate Student at Large Representative (2)

More information and announcements can be found on the www.su.ucalgary.ca/elections page.

  • Gene Baines
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Results Announced: 2023 SU General Election
Results Announced: 2023 SU General Election 1400 560 Gene Baines

Election Results: 2023 Students’ Union Elections

 

Calgary – The Students’ Union (SU) is today announcing the results of its general election which will form the 81st Students’ Legislative Council (SLC). Undergraduate students have made their voices heard and have chosen fellow students who will represent them to faculties, the university, and the three orders of government.

With a return to campaigning as usual and in person, candidates were able to speak directly with students through forums, debates, interviews, and one-on-one conversations.

Two candidates with previous SU executive experience, Mickail Hendi and Shaziah Jinnah Morsette, sought the role of President to succeed two-term President Nicole Schmidt. The 81st SU President is Shaziah Jinnah Morsette with 64% of the vote.

For the role of Vice-President Student Life, two candidates were vying for student votes. In the end, Ermia Rezaei-Afsah was elected with 66% of the vote.

In the race for the role of Vice-President External, Mateusz Salmassi defeated one other candidate and earned 53% of student votes.

The remaining two executive roles went to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote with one candidate running for each role. Sandra Amin was elected as Vice-President Academic with 90% of the ‘yes’ vote, while Arlington Antonio Santiago was elected to the role of Vice-President Operations & Finance with 86% of the ‘yes’ vote.

In the race for the Board of Governors student-at-large role, Taimur Akhtar was elected with 51% of votes cast.

In Faculty Representative races, Jessie Dinh was elected as Kinesiology Representative garnering 69% of the vote. Over in the Faculty of Science, Ben Shi, Erica Peng, and Eyerusalem Tadese were elected with 31%, 27%, and 23%, respectively.

Other Faculty Representative races asked students to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for candidates. All candidates running received a majority of ‘yes’ votes in their respective races:

  • Faculty of Arts: Muntaha Aamir, Siraaj Shah
  • Cumming School of Medicine: Angelica Uy , Chaten Jessel
  • Haskayne School of Business: Hari Sing, Md Asif Khan
  • Faculty of Law: Safaa Al-Khaz’Aly
  • Schulich School of Engineering: Abhari Limbu, Fardeen Islam
  • Faculty of Social Work: Jessica Klaassen
  • Werklund School of Education: Elsa Stokes

Finally, Senate student-at-large candidates were elected with Aly Samji and Reeana Tazreean garnering a majority of ‘yes’ votes.

Students were also asked, via a plebiscite, about their thoughts on the mandatory Athletics Fee imposed by the university. Students each pay about $115 annually and the fee supports the Dinos Athletics program. The SU decided to ask for student feedback on the fee to inform advocacy efforts towards the university after years of consecutive increases to the fee and a lack of financial transparency on the part of the university.

Students were provided seven options to choose from and could choose any number of options. The top three choices were: Students being able to opt out of the fee, the fee is not good value for money, and the fee should be reduced.

3,865 students voted in the 2023 General Election. The results announced today are provisional and become official on March 17, 2023. Students elected in this general election will take office at the beginning of May 2023.

The SU will hold a by-election in October 2023 to fill the following faculty representative vacancies: Faculty of Arts (2), Schulich School of Engineering (1), Faculty of Nursing (1), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (1).

 

Inquiries may be directed to:

Mike Brown
Manager, Communications & Government Relations
Michael.brown1@ucalgary.ca
Cell: 403-560-0577

 

  • Gene Baines
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GENERAL ELECTION 2023: NOTICE OF ELECTION
GENERAL ELECTION 2023: NOTICE OF ELECTION 1920 1080 Gene Baines

Notice is hereby given that an election will be held for the filling of the following offices:

(Parentheses denotes number of positions to appear on the ballot.)

  • President (1)
  • Vice President Academic (1)
  • Vice President External (1)
  • Vice President Operations and Finance (1)
  • Vice President Student Life (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Arts (2)
  • Faculty Representative, Cumming School of Medicine (2)
  • Faculty Representatives, Haskayne School of Business (2)
  • Faculty Representative, Kinesiology (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Law (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Schulich School of Engineering (2)
  • Faculty Representatives, Science (3)
  • Faculty Representative, Werklund School of Education (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Social Work (1)
  • Senate Student at Large Representative (2)
  • Board of Governors Student at Large Representative (1)

Online voting will take place on the 7th, 8th, and 9th days of March, 2023 through the myUofC Student Centre. Polling stations will be available at these locations: MacEwan Student Centre, Science Theatres, and TFDL. Voting opens at 9 a.m. on March 7th and closes at 4 p.m. on March 9th, 2023. All University of Calgary undergraduate students registered in the Winter 2023 session are eligible to vote. 

VACANCIES

In accordance with section 48 of the The Union Bylaw, the Chief Returning Officer declares the following positions vacant:

  • Faculty Representatives, Arts (2)
  • Faculty Representative, Nursing (1)
  • Faculty Representatives, Schulich School of Engineering (1)
  • Faculty Representative, Veterinary Medicine (1)

 

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