Photo by: Brenden Cowan
This week, from March 28 to March 30, students will have the opportunity to vote in the BUSU election.
Each year, BUSU holds two election periods under Brock Votes, where undergraduate students can elect BUSU’s new representatives.
The October by-election, which took place earlier this academic year, is dedicated primarily to filling any vacant seats amongst BUSU’s representative bodies. Meanwhile, the March election period is for students to elect their board of directors for the upcoming academic year. The board of directors is BUSU’s highest governing body and oversees legislation, human resources, financial decisions and legal decisions.
The board of directors consists of 13 voting members and the BUSU General Manager (non voting). There are currently 12 seats to fill for the 2023-2024 academic year, with both one and two year terms available. The board meets one to two times per month, with meetings typically lasting approximately two to three hours.
In addition to electing a new board of directors—both one year and two year terms—students will also be able to elect board candidates for the Brock Senate and The Brock Press. This year, BUSU has a total of 11 board of directors (one year) candidates, four board of directors (two year) candidates, four Brock Senate candidates and one The Brock Press board of directors candidate. A list of each candidate, as well as additional information surrounding the candidates, is available here.
The Brock Senate consists of approximately 70 members, including six undergraduate student seats, as well as BUSU’s vice-president, university affairs. All seats for undergraduate students are two-year terms.
The Brock Press’ board of directors is made up of members of The Brock Press editorial staff, as well as one elected student representative. The board of directors meets periodically throughout the year with the student representative responsible for attending all meetings throughout the year.
In addition to the election period, BUSU is also offering students the opportunity to approve a referendum for a new student centre, which will provide additional space for students on campus, such as bookable meeting rooms, quiet study spaces, student lounge spaces, coffee shops and more.
Although the referendum for the student centre was originally approved in 2019, some changes to the terms have resulted in the reinstatement of the referendum. The changes consist of flexible repayment terms and a commitment to not reversing the fee once the project begins.
For more information on the referendum for thetudent centre, be sure to read through the full Memorandum of Understanding.
Elections for both BUSU’s representatives and the referendum began at midnight on Tuesday, March 28 and will close at 9 p.m. on March 30. All Brock undergraduates should receive a ballot via their Brock email, which will provide a link to direct students to the voting.