RRCSA hopes in-person classes will spark engagement in upcoming by-election
By: Victor Selby
Red River College Students’ Association (RRCSA) is running an in-person by-election to fill positions that are currently vacant. Students interested in running had until Friday, Sept. 23 to submit their nomination package.
“It’s a great opportunity. If you’re thinking about running, you must have something on your mind to help the students. We definitely want more students to get involved,” said RRCSA vice president external affairs, Harjinder S. Dhesi.
There are three positions to be filled at the RRCSA: vice president academic (Notre Dame Campus), vice president internal (Notre Dame Campus), and vice president external affairs (Exchange District Campus).
Students from any campus are eligible to apply for all three positions as long as they are able to travel to the other campus for required office hours, Dhesi said.
Dhesi says he believes the return to in-person classes will ignite interest in the students’ association and its initiatives.
“Last year so many students were not involved because they were at home. We know that students are excited because we’ve been doing orientations and spreading more awareness than ever before. So we think we can get a lot of candidates for positions. We definitely want more students to get involved,” Dhesi said.
The 2021-2022 school year was marked by low engagement from students on RRCSA initiatives. The Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) referendum failed to reach the 1000 vote threshold needed for it to be ratified by the Students’ Association Board, finishing with 408 votes in-favour and 307 votes against.
“I feel like my fellow students are a lot more involved in classes when we’re in person. I’d imagine the student association would also benefit from these changes,” said Jessiah Letwinez, a second-year Game Development student at RRC Polytech.
Dhesi said he wants students to know that even during the years of remote learning, the RRCSA remained committed to student needs.
“We’ve grown so much, even in these last six months to create services and provide more support for students… Even if you’re not a student representative, we consider you a valued member of the students association and we will work to adhere to you. Our doors are always open,” Dhesi said.
Voting for the RRCSA by-election will be open from Oct.17 to Oct.19, and the results will be announced on Oct. 21.
