Campaigning is underway for the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) fall elections, with Camosun students set to vote for several student representatives later this month.
Voting will take place online from Tuesday, October 20 to Thursday, October 22, with students receiving information on how to vote through their Camosun email. Positions up for election include directors at large as well as off-campus director, international director, and external executive.
CCSS women’s director Madison Huynh, who is also on the CCSS electoral committee, says student elections give students an opportunity to become more involved in the college community and have a say in decisions that affect them.
“It’s one of the best ways to actually interact with your college community. It’s a great way to make an impact in people’s lives, and also impact your own,” says Huynh. “It can be a hard job at times, but it’s incredibly fulfilling.”
The positions that students elect have different responsibilities within the CCSS. Directors at large primarily serve a supporting role, helping campus executives and constituency directors organize events and other initiatives. They also participate in CCSS board meetings and have voting power. Huynh says these supporting positions are important because of the amount of work involved in running events and initiatives across the college.
“A single person can’t facilitate all of this,” says Huynh.
Other positions have more specialized responsibilities. The international director advocates for international students and helps organize events and support for international students at Camosun, while the off-campus director represents students who study outside of Camosun’s two main campuses or take courses online. Huynh says this can include supporting students and activities at locations such as the recently opened John Horgan Campus in Langford and bringing the concerns of off-campus students to CCSS board meetings. The external executive works with organizations outside the CCSS and acts as an intermediary between the student society and other groups it works with.
“Their role is to facilitate contact with external groups that we might associate with, that we might work with,” says Huynh. “They’re kind of our main go-to person.”
Huynh says the external executive position can be particularly demanding because of the travel and communication involved in the role.
“I would say it is one of the hardest roles to fill,” says Huynh. “It involves quite a lot of travel and, I think, very strong interpersonal skills.”
While the different positions carry different responsibilities, Huynh says students don’t need previous experience in student government to consider becoming involved with the CCSS.
“I think that’s the nature of student governance. Everyone who comes into these roles is often new and has never done something like this before,” says Huynh. “It is one of those jobs you learn on the job, and normally you are supported by your peers and you are supported by staff.”
Students who are interested but unsure about taking on an elected position can contact current CCSS board members to learn more about their responsibilities. Huynh says staff members are also available to answer questions, while volunteering can give students an opportunity to become involved before deciding whether they want to pursue a larger role.
“If you’re curious about what the job entails, I think it’s completely valid to ask,” says Huynh.
For students who are worried that they don’t have the qualifications or experience necessary to run for a position on the CCSS board, Huynh says willingness to learn is more important than arriving with everything figured out.
“No one is expecting you to be perfect. You just have to care,” says Huynh. “I think that’s the most important thing.”
Huynh says participating in student elections is important even for students who have little interest in politics or student government because decisions made on campus can still impact their college experience.
“Even if people don’t want to mess in politics, or they don’t want to mess with changing things, the things that happen on campus will affect them no matter what,” says Huynh. “The policies that change on campus are going to affect people, and I think it’s important that they actually get a say in what happens.”
Huynh acknowledges that finding the time and energy to become involved in the college community can be difficult for students balancing classes and other responsibilities.
“I think recently it’s been a challenge, just due to the nature of the world, for everyone to get kind of involved in their communities,” says Huynh. “More and more, I think people are focusing on survival, focusing on getting through school.”
However, Huynh says student governance and advocacy provide students with an opportunity to improve the experience of others at Camosun.
“It is one of the avenues in which you can make everyone’s life a bit easier, or at least, you know, work towards a better future,” says Huynh.
With student governance positions regularly changing hands as students move through college, Huynh says each person who becomes involved can contribute to what comes next.
“The nature of student governance is it turns over very quickly, but every single person plays an important role,” says Huynh. “Everyone who joins a board, everyone who volunteers, takes another step towards students experiencing a better quality of education or having better experiences on campus. I just want to see more people take part in that.”