As February approaches, the chance for undergraduate students to get involved in student governance becomes accessible to all through the 2024 February BUSU Elections.
The BUSU Elections taking place from Feb. 13 to Feb. 15 will give Brock students the opportunity to elect fellow students for BUSU’s Board of Directors and the Brock University Senate. In preparation for the election period, there will be a nomination period from Jan. 15 to Jan. 26 for students to nominate themselves for the 13 available seats.
After the nomination period is over, candidates will have a Prep Week from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 to develop their campaign strategies and learn about the positions they are running for. Following Prep Week will be the Campaign Period from Feb. 5 to Feb. 15, where candidates will officially campaign and gain support from other students prior to the BUSU Elections.
The upcoming election period will fill various available seats across the Board of Directors and Brock’s Senate: (5) one-year BUSU Board seats, (4) two-year BUSU Board seats, (3) two-year Brock Senate seats and (1) one-year Brock Press seat.
Additionally, the election will give students the chance to vote in favour or against a proposed referendum, which will be revealed during the campaign period between Feb. 5 and Feb. 15 and voted on alongside the election of candidates on the ballot for the elections.
In the case of BUSU’s Board of Directors, elected peers will serve as part of BUSU’s governing body, which oversees multiple levels of financial and legal decision-making for the student union.
At large, the board is composed of 13 student representatives with voting power and the BUSU General Manager, a non-voting member. For those interested in getting involved, the board usually meets once or twice monthly, entailing a voluntary time commitment of two to three hours for each meeting. Also, elected students will undergo training in May to learn board-specific procedures to meaningfully participate in the Board of Directors. The requirements for undergraduate students to be able to run to be part of the Board of Directors include a completed nomination package, maintaining a minimum 60 per cent average and being 18 years old or older.
For the Brock University Senate, the three students who will be elected for two-year terms will be tasked with overseeing academic policies set by Brock University. The Brock Senate is composed of over 70 faculty members and administration, including six student leaders elected through BUSU. The Brock Senate meets monthly for two-hour sessions, and extra time may be allocated to serving in Senate committees and meeting with fellow senators to discuss the agenda prior to Senate meetings.
Students in the Brock Senate will also receive an honorarium for their contributions based on their participation and attendance. The requirements that students must meet to run for Brock Senate include being a registered undergraduate student, submitting a nomination package, maintaining an average of 60 per cent and over, and completing four university credits.
Once nomination packages are submitted and Prep Week begins, candidates will receive a budget of $100-150 to develop various areas of their campaign, which can be used for social media advertising, headshots or other promotional materials for the campaign. The expenses incurred within the budget will be reimbursed when the election period is over, and students must note that going above the budget may result in being removed from running, or financial penalties.
Students interested in running for the elections are encouraged to visit the BUSU Front Desk to pick up a nomination package to nominate themselves for the Board of Directors of Brock Senate. The nomination package entails the gathering of undergraduate student nominations, and it is due on Friday, Jan. 26 at 12:00 p.m.
Those with further questions on election rules should contact BUSU’s Returning Officer through email at elections@brockbusu.ca or Kayleigh Rosetto at krosetto@brockbusu.ca.
