The BCIT Student Association (BCITSA) is led by the Student Council, a passionate team of Councillors and 12 elected Executive Board members, all representing the BCIT student community and dedicated to enriching the experience of studying here.
As you’re reading this article, your goal may be to participate in the 2024-25 election, as this year’s election period is already underway. Between now and next year, you can explore ways that may help strengthen your candidacy and prepare you for the role. I also chat with Sally Poon, current Chair of the Downtown Campus (DTC), about her experience and for advice you can use. Read on for what you can do:
Research, research, research…
To join Council positions, candidates can apply during the nomination period, which typically runs from mid-February to early March. But what if you’re interested in running, yet lack experience in student leadership?
In this case, take some time to find out what student government is like and what being part of it entails. Most information about student leadership roles can be found on the BCITSA website, with detailed resources about the election posted early in the year.
You can also reach out to current Set Representatives (commonly referred to as “set reps”), Councillors, or Executive Board members anytime and are encouraged to attend a Council meeting to gain perspective. As Sally suggests, talking to the people who are (or were) in these roles is one of the best ways to get a better sense of the position you’re planning to take on.
Sally had done plenty of this while considering whether to run for the Chair of DTC role. To confirm if she would be a good fit and able to complete the tasks involved, she reached out to the president of the SA at the time, Kevin Adlparvar, to ask about what his role was like and clear up other questions.
“I also spoke with Anmol [Anand], who was the current Chair of DTC at that time, and then the chair before him, who was Clint [Fernandes],” she adds. “I definitely did my own research. [So], if you’re feeling on the fence at all and you’re unsure [about whether or not you should run for Council], or [you] just want to get a better picture of what the work is like, I would really recommend reach[ing] out to Student Association execs because we’re here to [help].”
…and get involved
Beyond researching, consider taking on leadership roles. You can start out as a Set Representative or a Councillor, roles previously held by many students now serving on the Executive Board: President, Vice Presidents, and Chairs alike. Stepping into these roles will not only help you build the skills you’ll need in Executive positions, but they will also allow you to become more familiar with student government.
Sally, too, began her journey in Council following that exact path—before being elected as the Chair of DTC, she was a Set Representative, then a Councillor. To her, it was a gradual transition that felt natural:
“I found a lot of fulfillment being able to help and support my peers [as a Set Representative], so I carried that forward and became a student councillor. After doing [those roles], I knew this [Chair] position was coming up and I’d been working with [former Chair of DTC] Anmol quite a bit. I wanted to see where I could take my leadership skills, [to] explor[e] what else is out there and try to be in a place where I might be uncomfortable [while] also learning and adapting.”
While this is a common path most students take before becoming an executive, there’s no set process—it all depends on your level of comfort in student leadership. Just be sure to commit to your selected path. With consistency, you can gain the skills you need to run as a strong candidate.
How to campaign and what to expect for election season
The campaign period generally spans one to two weeks, with rules that candidates must follow as outlined by the BCITSA or by Stewart McGillivray, BCITSA Government Relations Strategist. During this time, candidates may create campaign posters and display them on free public bulletin boards around BCIT.
For Sally, who had been unable to come to campus frequently due to co-op, campaigning consisted of outlining the main objectives she hoped to accomplish as chair and reaching out to people online such as through Discord. She also created an ‘Ask Me Anything’ post in the BCIT subreddit.
I learn from Sally that the key strategy is to create ways for students to learn more about you. This can be achieved by taking initiative, using as many platforms as you can to promote your candidacy. It also helps to have a supportive team of peers to help you distribute posters.
Another piece of advice from Sally is to connect with students one on one, as personal outreach was her main strategy while running against other candidates: “It’s easy to deliver a message [online] to a big group, but most people will probably eye it or not read it at all. So, I reached out to people [by] individually messag[ing] them, just spending a couple [of] days, saying, ‘Hey, do you have a moment? I just wanted to ask if you’re planning to vote, and if you are, [could] I pitch a bit of my objectives?’”
Sally’s third tip is to make it as easy as possible for students to vote by providing direct links.
But what if the position you’re running for has no other candidates?
“Even though it’ll likely be a default, it’s good to still be upfront about what your vision is and what your mission is,” Sally says. “I think it’s important to demonstrate to [the] student body that you are engaged and you’re here to represent them, [as well as mention] what your ideas are and how you are going to contribute to the team. It’s good to still run as though you’re running against other people.”
So, why is it important to run?
For the BCITSA to continue to provide support and services to enrich the student experience at BCIT, we need students to lead the organization, representing the needs of the student community.
“There are a lot of leaders out there who have really great potential to help out.”
“It’[d] [be] fantastic to keep that going,” says Sally. After all, being a part of Council is all about building connections among students, fostering a sense of community, developing ways to enhance student life, and propelling forward the ambitions to achieve all those.
Plus, as Sally notes: “There are a lot of leaders out there who have really great potential to help out. [In particular] at [the] Downtown campus—we’re a little bit more isolated as a Specialty campus, so I would really love to see more people running and representing the folks [there], who I know to be a good community of very enthusiastic, very engaged students.”
But it may be challenging to put yourself out there, regardless of your interest in running for Council; it can be even more daunting if you’ve never taken on any student leadership role before. In cases like these, you may opt to do your own research prior to stepping up to these roles (as recommended earlier), but students are always welcome to connect with members of the current Council to ask lingering questions.
And no matter how intimidating it might be to take that first step, Sally emphasizes the importance of not letting that hold you back, especially when you have the potential to do something great:
“[Even] if speaking publicly or being in a public setting is what might make you nervous, that doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t be able to contribute in a positive way for students at BCIT. Being held back by nervousness is something that you’ll eventually overcome. I think [going out of your comfort zone] could be a skill that would benefit you as well if you joined the Student Association—which is awesome. You can develop as a person while also helping students.”
Resources
For more information on Council and student government: bcitsa.ca/leadership
For details and resources about the election: bcitsa.ca/elections
