GCSU Elections: I’m Running for President!

In September, I wrote about one of the most exciting times of the year, GCSU elections! Check out my post here for more information about elections.

The difference between my post then and my post now is that I am running for President!

Making the decision to run for President of the Glendon College Student Union wasn’t as easy as you would think. Although I had been on council for 3 years and presidency seemed like the only option for me, I still was nervous to run.

In those three years on council, I served as:

First Year Representative (2012-2013)

VP Social (2013-2014)

VP Finance (2014-2015)

Being a member of the GCSU council has been amazing. You get to meet some really awesome people, gain valuable experience for future jobs, and give back to the community.

I have been on the GCSU almost as long as I’ve been a student at Glendon. When you’ve been part of an organization that long, you can’t help but want it to excel and become something special. But that can only happen with the right team. And believe me, I thought day in and day out about whether or not to run for council again this year.

The “road to elections” went something like this:

1. GCSU elections are being advertised; do I want to run?
2. I think I should take it easy my last year and not run
3. I have been a part of GCSU for so long I am going to run
4. So, President?
5. But what about school, do I want to be taking a full course load and be President?
6. Bilingualism; peux-je parle français? I know I can get by, but how well?
7. I can’t even French, so I should just let someone who can better represent all students at Glendon be the President
8. I am not going to run
9. If I am not President I could focus on my future and maybe find a business-esque summer job
10. But I’ve planned this path for so long (Be VP Social, then VP Finance so I know everything about the GCSU and then run for President)
11. return to step 3

/endless loop

Needless to say, I put a lot of thought into running for President. I wasn’t indecisive, I knew I wanted to run. I just had to be sure that I believed I would be the best person for the position. I do think I am, but that’s beside the point.

When I graduate, I want to be able to say I was here (- Beyonce). No that doesn’t mean I want my face on the wall. I want the people I’ve met in university to know that I genuinely cared about their needs while I served as a member of the GCSU council.

I think what pushed me to decide to run was the fact that whenever I went home, or was hanging out with friends/family, all I could think about was “If I was President I would…”

With all those thoughts rushing through my head, I decided I could not go a year without being on GCSU. What was stopping me was that I didn’t know if I would be the “perfect” candidate. It took me a long time to realize that there will not always be a perfect person for a position. But I know that I am passionate about leading the GCSU to a great year, and if elected, I hope to interact with a lot of you next year! To get a little taste of what to expect if you ever want to run in elections below is my poster and here’s a link to my campaign page.

If you visit the campus next week, you’ll be able to see all the fun election posters around too!

 

GCSU Elections!

I can’t believe it is that time of the year again… It’s GCSU ELECTIONS!

The Glendon College Student Union, or GCSU, is basically the “student council” of the Glendon Campus. The GCSU is responsible for creating events for the student body, they provide the cheapest printing on campus, and they also advocate for students on many issues ranging from academics to student life. In addition, the GCSU is also responsible for the majority of the clubs on campus. They are essentially the “student life gurus” at Glendon.

I am currently the Vice-President Finance on the GCSU. I’ve been a candidate in 3 of the 4 elections at Glendon thus far, and each time is better than the last. I have served as an executive on the council for 2 years, and even though I may complain about it sometimes, I couldn’t picture my life at Glendon without being a part of the GCSU.

Witnessing elections at Glendon is so exciting! As a candidate you get to interact with so many students that you otherwise wouldn’t. This is one of my posters for VP Social last year. As a voter, you get to hear all the great ideas from candidates. It is also great to note that during election periods you will be asked for your feedback on student life at Glendon. I know first hand that you all have great ideas to share. If you don’t want to run for elections but want to see change, this is a great time to have your voice heard.

One thing you will find is that at Glendon it’s less intimidating to get involved than you think. In first year it can be scary to have to run a campaign, make speeches, and talk to a bunch of students from other years in order to get votes. But it can completely change the course of your university life.

During elections, the GCSU ensures that all candidates are running clean campaigns. This means you won’t see any candidates bashing each other at all. It makes elections a lot more fun in the long run. The CRO (Chief Returning Officer) is hired by the GCSU to run elections and is always available to address controversial situations and has the candidates’ best interest in mind.

Getting involved in general will make university a much more fun place! You get to meet people who share the same interests as you. You will also meet upper years who have lots of experience with some of the things that you may be pursuing, whether that be career paths, or even just advice on courses to take at Glendon. Most importantly, you’ll make long lasting friendships.

GCSU nominations start next week. There are 2 first year representative positions, 5 councillor positions, and two executive positions, Vice President Campaigns and Advocacy and Vice President Operations. I am so excited to see what the candidates come up with this year. A running theme in elections are funny puns associated with names and witty slogans, so I’m definitely looking forward to those.

These will be the second elections where I haven’t run for a position, so it’s going to be exciting to be able to just witness the elections without having to be stressed out about campaigning and trying to rally votes.

If you are planning on taking a tour of Glendon, I highly suggest booking one for the next couple of weeks. Especially during campaigning period, campus will be covered in clever posters and will be an exciting place to be.

Until next week,