Twelve million reasons to vote

The budget of the University of Victoria Students Society (UVSS) is about twelve million dollars. It is definitely worth our while as students to vote March 4 to determine just who should have a say in where this money goes.

There are three slates running in today’s election: Invest UVic, Refresh UVic and the Independents. Now I won’t endorse any one slate on this blog (although I’m tempted to), since I know people in both Invest and Refresh. Which means I’ll be keeping my votes private, thank you very much.

Other than my appeal to financial concerns as a reason to vote, what others are there?

Well, according to the Martlet only 17 percent of UVic students voted in last year’s election. Now, that’s a pretty unfortunate turn out, considering how large the annual UVSS budget is, and considering that the UVSS also maintains and runs the Student Union Building (SUB), where many students (myself included) go to feast on various foods, hang out with friends, or host club meetings.

There have also been several debates and speeches given by the candidates of the slates, where they presented their positions, views and goals to the student body.

Just when you thought that was all to vote for, there are also REFERENDUMS!! There are several initiatives put forward by different groups on campus. We have the Students of Color Collective (SOCC) whose referendum goals can be found here. There is also the fee reallocation to the UVSS Food Bank. Finally, there is also the Divest UVic movement, which seeks an answer from students about if the UVSS should advocate for fossil fuel divestment by the university.

That’s a lot of information! All that’s left is where and when to vote. You can vote here https://webvote.uvic.ca/.

See you at the polls!