Nearing the end of my fourth term on the Board of Directors of the SFSS, I feel that this is an appropriate time to share my experience with all students, especially those interested in running for office this year.
I served four terms as a member of the Board — two terms as the Applied Sciences representative, followed by serving as the last Member Services Officer (now split into two positions, VP Student Life and VP Student Services), and am presently serving my final term as the VP University Relations.
I ran for the first time in my very first year at SFU without knowing anything about the Simon Fraser Student Society. It seemed like a mad decision, but I went for it anyways.
Being new to the campus and to university life in general, this seemed like a risky move. I expected to be humiliated by my opponents, who were all more involved around campus, especially the incumbent — but I was wrong.
Running for the first time was the best decision I ever made. I met so many enthusiastic people who cared enough to put their name forward, step out of their comfort zone and try to make a difference for the student experience at SFU.
I wasn’t elected the first two times I ran for office, but I finally succeeded in a by-election in 2010.
There are certain factors you need to consider before and during the election period to ensure success. Your goal might be winning the position you run for, but that doesn’t happen to majority of people who participate. Your chances as a first timer in the election might seem low — but is it worth a try? Absolutely!
If you think you can bring new values to the table and improve the SFSS organization in any way possible, you should run in the SFSS elections. Some people are motivated to create awesome events, some want to get into advocacy work, some want to increase our collaboration with external organizations. The choice is yours.
This leads me to my main point: how to be a true winner in the SFSS elections.
There are a lot of things you need to do before the campaign period even begins. Before you put your name in the ring, you should research the SFSS organization thoroughly: the projects, committees, bylaws, and constitution. It is a lot of information, and you are not expected to memorize it all; you should strive to become with the structure of the society and its operation.
Talk to as many current and past Board directors as you can. Share your ideas and what you want to bring to the table. Familiarize yourself with the current issues the society is facing (financial, operational, communicative — whatever it may be) and see if your solutions can assist the situation. Maybe even include them in your platform!
Create a solid platform with a maximum of three key points, and don’t bullshit. If you promise lowering tuition fees you better have a plan to execute with a timeline. Otherwise you might find yourself making false promises.
Design awesome posters and campaigning material, but don’t rely on them. During the election period, the school gets filled up with thousands of posters. Yours will likely be lost in the pack.
During the campaigning period, I suggest running independent rather than being part of a slate. Slates at SFU don’t work. They take away from the freedom of candidates, as you must confirm everything with your team — and if someone screws up in the slate, everyone gets blamed.
Slates also create the illusion of support in a free-for-all game. If you are part of a slate, remember that the chance of your entire team winning is very low. So be nice to everyone running in the elections, because you never know who you might be working with.
You should also talk to clubs and Departmental Student Unions. We have hundreds of these groups, and they all vote. Go to their meetings, learn their struggles. Also, be nice to the staff at the SFSS. They may not be able to vote, but if you do get elected, you’ll be glad you made the effort.
Personally, I am against classroom speeches. It’s a waste of the tuition students pay to be in class and learn. If you plan to give classroom speech, arrange it with the professor beforehand, and keep it short.
Focus on meeting people, rather than hanging out with the people that already declared their support for you. Spend one minute maximum talking with each student when campaigning, and aim to reach out to as many students as possible. It’s a lot of work, but if you don’t waste your time, you can do it.
Lastly, do not fall behind your academic commitment. School comes first, and you should learn how to manage the SFSS work and schoolwork simultaneously from the beginning — otherwise, your term will be hell.
During the voting period, you are not allowed to campaign, but you can still remind your friends to vote in the elections.
Lastly, if you win the election, please remember that it is just the beginning. You have accepted the serious responsibility of representing over 25,000 people, and you will be making a lot of difficult decisions. In doing so, always keep in mind those who trusted you with their vote, and the impact your choices will have on the SFU community.
If you lose, it is not the end of the world. You have expanded your network and learned a lot through this new adventure. I strongly recommend getting more involved in the society initiatives and committees, in order to get ready for the next year.
Best of luck to all candidates and future board members!
