By-Election
BCIT’s student council met again on Monday Nov. 3rd where a committee was chosen to manage the upcoming by-elections that will fill the position of Computing and Academic Studies Chair.
The committee will be composed of Chief Returning Officer (CRO) and Student Affairs VP Evan Findlay, Aerospace Technology VP Daniel Sumano, School of Energy student Trevor Mathews, and School of Business student Jennifer Nguyen.
The role of the Elections Committee is to ensure fairness and transparency, as well as oversee a smooth election process.
Candidates running have until Nov. 7th to submit their nomination form. Then campaign and voting period will begin on the 17th at 9:00am and will end the 20th at 2:00pm.
Only students who are eligible to vote, those in Computing and Academic Studies, have received an email with the information necessary to vote.
The official by-election results will be announced November 20th at 4:00pm.
Suzuki Request
Another item that was discussed during the meeting was a request from the David Suzuki foundation asking BCITSA for endorsement on a statement that will be made public next week.
The statement sent by the organization read as follows:
“The single most important decision facing Metro Vancouver for the next 20 years is the 2015 transportation referendum. A positive outcome is the biggest step we can take to improve the region’s health, economy, affordability, liveability, quality of life and environmental sustainability for the next generation.”
However, many councillors were concerned that neither a question nor a date had been set for the referendum; which meant endorsing a statement without knowing what will happen next.
“We shouldn’t just jump the gun in this particular situation as it could also lead to other things that they may ask in the future, so the question is not really do we agree with this statement, but do we agree in forming an alliance with the David Suzuki foundation?” VP of Aerospace Technology, Daniel Sumano, told council.
However, student Joseph Brini, amongst others, weren’t so concerned about endorsing the statement, “We are only supporting the fact that we need a better transportation system, nothing past that, so it all goes back to agreeing that transportation in Metro Vancouver does need change.”
After a lengthy discussion the motion was defeated with 16 people opposed to the motion, 12 in favour, and 4 abstentions.
With the fiscal year coming to an end, the next Annual General Meeting has been scheduled for Monday Nov. 17th, where the Student Association will review their financial statements. All students are encouraged to attend, as any student is eligible to vote at the meeting.
Council will meet again on Nov. 17th after the AGM.