Voter Turnout Increases for DSU Elections Dan Nicholson Elected Union President
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Email Eleanor and Sabina at news [email protected] LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Jesse Ward Editor-in-Chief ecause it is impossible to embed the music video for Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) into a paper object, and because this issue is running out of room, I am comfortable seeing thisB final entry to volume 147 of the Gazette go off to print without including a substantial end-of- year editorial summarizing my perspective on the state of Dalhousie. As an alternative, I would love to exchange unfiltered opinions on Dalhousie, the Gazette, or any other topic with anyone reading this. Please call or text me at (902) 452-9273 or email me at [email protected]. Dalhousie Gazette, 1868 'til infinity. Voter turnout increases for DSU elections Dan Nicholson elected union president Jesse Ward Editor-in-Chief oter apathy lessened on campus this year as a total of 3,260 Dal students voted in the 2014-15 Dalhousie Student UnionV (DSU) elections, an increase of more than 1,400 from last year. A total of 18 per cent of students voted, meaning turn- out was the highest it’s been since 2011. 4 news Apr. 10, 2015 - Aug. 31, 2015 • an Nicholson, a newcomer to ballot, bringing a year as O-Week Coor- DSU politics and president of the dinator and two years of experience The official elections results as pro- dents who voted for candidates, there DalhousieD Undergraduate Neurosci- working under current VPSL Danny vided to the Gazette by the elections is a remainder of 31, meaning 31 stu- ence Society, was elected DSU presi- Shanahan to the role. committee saw that 3,260 students dents in the Faculty of Agriculture dent, beating out current Vice President Anthony Saikali, founder of the voted for candidates, but only 3,229 that has over 900 students voted. (Internal) Jennifer Nowoselski by 7.43 Dalhousie Medical Campus Response students voted on referendum ques- This number may initially seem per cent of the vote. Team, will be representing Dal students tions. too small to be of any consequence, John Hutton, current Board of on the Board of Governors after he This is because agricultural students but the third Senate seat was won by Governors rep on council and long- received just 43 more votes than Yazan were not given the option of voting on just six votes. time DSU council member, was elected Matarieh, current member-at-large on the referendum questions, which only The elections committee received a to the position of Vice President (Aca- DSU council. affect the levies of students on Dal’s formal complaint regarding the sud- demic and External) with 14.3 per cent Three seats on Dalhousie Sen- Halifax campuses. den addition of Agricultural students more votes than first-year political sci- ate are going to Sarah Dobson, Jeremy This was the first year Dal’s Agricul- to the elections voter pool, but the ence student Cody Couture. Banks and Liam Hunt. The race for tural Campus students in Truro were committee did not forward the com- The two executive positions of Vice Senate came the closest, with Hunt only able to vote in DSU elections, in a plaint to the DSU Judicial Board, so President (Finance and Operations) garnering six more votes in total than move that has been formally chal- the complaint was not seen and the and Vice President (Internal) were won candidate Jad Sinno. lenged by some students after it was election results will not be overturned. by Mahbubur Rahman and Kaitlynne only announced they could vote with Lowe, who both ran uncontested. Rah- less than two days before the cam- A version of this story first appeared man will be returning to his second year paigning period for candidates ended. online on March 25, 2015. See this in the VPFO role while Lowe will tran- Subtracting the students who voted story on dalgazette.com for complete sition to VPI from her current seat on for referendum questions from stu- elections statistics and more. DSU council as the President of the Dal- housie Arts and Social Sciences Society. Kathleen Reid was elected Vice President (Student Life) on the second majority of students voted to sup- year provisional increase in funding. A port the levy questions posed in To keep the increase, they’d have to this election by the Dalhousie Outdoors run another levy question this year. Dal 1200 Tower Rd Society, DalOUT and South House. students voted for South House to keep The Dalhousie Outdoors Society the increase, which added $2.85 per Suite 101 (DOS) is now scheduled to receive a full-time student and $1.65 per part- levy for the first time, with 50 cents per time student to the $3.15 per full-time Halifax, NS semester per full time student and 25 student and $1 per part-time student cents per semester per part time student the group already received. B3H 4K6 going towards various outdoors societies Members of the organization say under the DOS umbrella and the soci- they’ve used their increase to double ety’s general operations. their staff hours, increase the hours DalOUT is seeing their first levy their South St. space is open to the pub- increase since they first had a levy lic, and double the amount of emergency • Mac & PC Repair University Ave. approved in 2007. Their increase from bursary funding they give out to stu- 25 to 50 cents per semester per full time dents, among other initiatives. • Computer Sales student will be met by a new levy of 25 The question for campus radio sta- South St. cents per semester per part time stu- tion CKDU 88.1 FM, which would have dent, with their stated aim being the hir- been their first levy increase since 1985, • Laptop Rentals ing of a paid volunteer coordinator. failed to pass by 4.61 per cent of the vote. South Park St. Last year, the South House Sexual They ran a question for an increase of Robie St. and Gender Resource Centre saw a suc- 25 cents per semester for full time stu- • Screen Repairs Rd. Tower cessful vote for their levy to be increased dents who already pay them $4.50, and before imprecise wording in their refer- 50 cents per semester for part time stu- endum question resulted in Dalhousie dents who already pay them $1.