The Student Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU) is urging students to vote in Monday’s civic election.
Polling stations were open last week at Wyckham House, a welcome sight for student leaders after Elections Canada snubbed campuses during the recent federal election.
Rachel Timmermans, the vice president external for SAMRU and a policy studies major, is partly responsible for providing that access.
“We were very excited that we were able to convince Elections Calgary to place advanced polling stations on a number of our campuses here in Calgary,” she says.
But despite the polling presence, some students say they’re not paying attention to the civic election, in the midst of an ongoing pandemic and so close to a federal vote.
“I haven’t heard about it anywhere from anything. So, no, I wasn’t prepared to vote,” says Cameron Williscroft, a student at Mount Royal University.
In order to battle this feeling many students face, Timmermans says SAMRU is focusing on getting information out to students.
“SAMRU hosted a forum for the candidates of Ward 8. We had some fantastic answers and discussions between our candidates and I’m hoping students feel that it was a good opportunity to get informed about this election,” she says.
The Calgary Journal went to Wyckham House during advanced polling to gather the opinions of students on the municipal election.