HSF president Nick Farnell hopes to double the number of students who decide to vote in this year’s elections.
photo by roselyn kelada-sedra
HSF hopes initiatives will boost turnout
Roselyn Kelada-Sedra
InFocus Reporter
The Humber Students’ Federation is gearing up to attract more voters for next month’s elections.
Current student government leaders say they’re trying to overcome historically low voter turnout due to being a commuter school and young people’s apathy.
Ercole Perrone, HSF executive director, said that average voter turnout for HSF elections has been six per cent.
“It’s not a Humber issue,” he said. “It’s a youth issue.”
Voter turnout in municipal, provincial and federal elections is conspicuously low in the 18 to 25 age group, he said.
Last year’s turnout was 6.7 per cent, which is better, “but obviously not something we’re extremely proud of,” said Perrone.
HSF president Nick Farnell said part of the problem is Humber is a commuter college. “There are a lot of students who just don’t spend a lot of time here.”
So, HSF has opened a night vote on March 3 for students whose internships and assignments keep them off-campus during the day.
Perrone and Farnell said HSF has been working hard to boost voter turn-out for elections March 3-7.
“We’re trying to drive them toward what’s important enough to get them to spend that 40 seconds and vote,” said Farnell.
HSF is running free lunches, concerts and movie nights to get students involved. They vote for what they want to eat and the kind of music they want to hear.
“We’re trying to get them in that mindset of ‘oh yeah, I’ll get something if I vote,” Farnell said.
Five student officers, including Farnell and four VPs – for administration and campus life at North and Lakeshore campuses – work with a budget of $5 million annually to support approximately 18,000 full-time Humber students.
So far, Orangeville Campus hosts about 60 students and does not operate its own branch of HSF.
Perrone said the budget is 100 per cent for student use. “The student officers tell us what to do with the funds,” he said. “It’s my job to facilitate that.”
The budget is posted online, so anyone can see how their student activity fees are spent.
Farnell said that a public budget is one of the commendable aspects of being a College Student Alliance member.
“We’re part of a well-run, well-respected organization that actually changes things,” said Farnell, who is a first-year rich media student and a 2007 graduate of the industrial design program.
#His term, during which environmental responsibility has been a top priority, expires May 1.
He said he’s confident that with so many candidates campaigning until March 3, twice as many students will vote.
First-year marketing student Khalida Abdul, 23, said she doesn’t vote because she doesn’t know much about the candidates.
“I’m not too aware of it,” she said.