RRCSA hoping for more turnout than past elections
By: Tyler Searle
Election season at Red River College is underway, beginning with the Student Association Board (SAB) nominations. The board consists of 15 seats, and this Fall, ten are up for grabs.
The SAB is a student organization that provides oversight for the Red River College Students’ Association. Their primary responsibility is to review and approve the SA budget.
Spring 2020 was the first time a SAB election was held. There were five seats available, but ultimately only three were filled.
SA President, Yash Chopra, 21, said there were a lot of students who expressed interest in running, but only three students completed their nomination packages.
Melissa Ghidoni, 24, is the VP of External Affairs with the SA, and she said the election went well considering it was inadvertently held in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ghidoni said although pandemic restrictions will be a major factor in the Fall election, remote learning has increased online interactions between students and the SA. The SA hopes this will help students stay informed and engaged in the upcoming election.
A successful election requires students to vote, and not all students are fully aware of what the SAB can do for them.
Monika Pichor, 25, a Community Development student, remembers the Spring election and reinforces Ghidoni’s belief that Covid-19 affected the results, but students also face other obstacles.
“As a new student I didn’t feel comfortable voting, and I didn’t know what I was voting for,” she said.
Pichor said her understanding of what the SAB does is unclear.
“I know that they make decisions regarding the SA budget, but I don’t know where that money goes.”
The yearly budget is available online, and students who are curious are free to review it.
The budget is collected through a variety of revenue streams, including tuition and sales at RRC’s multiple retail stores. Essentially every dollar is student money.
Students who sit on the SAB have the power to influence how and where that money is spent.
Ghidoni said that the SA exists to serve students. SAB members have the power to determine how student money gets redistributed back into their education
“Everything that we carry out is the will of the board.” said Ghidoni.
Every RRC student is eligible to join the SAB, but they are required to submit a nomination package before the deadline.
Nomination packages became available on Sept. 4, 2020 and can be found on the SA website. Packages remain there until the application deadline on Oct. 2, 2020.
