The handshake circuit

Polls in this year's DSU elections open on Monday.

If the prematurely warm weather isn’t an obvious sign that the winter term is winding to a close, the scattering of campaign posters, sidewalk chalk and candidate hand-shaking is a clear giveaway.

Yep, it’s DSU election season once again.

The campaign began on March 11 with a kickoff party at the T-Room and events continue through Sunday, making this one of the longest campaigns in recent years. Anne-Marie Dubois, chief returning officer for the election, says that’s by design.

“I wanted to see if we could fit more events into the schedule this year,” explains the third year political science and international development student. “We really want to get our candidates out there campaigning.”

One of those new events was Monday’s election breakfast in the SUB, which turned out over 350 students to meet and greet the candidates. Tuesday saw the first all-candidates debate; a second one will take place on Thursday in the Alumni Lounge on Sexton campus at noon. The presidential debate will occur Friday at 3 p.m. at the Grawood.

As is the case every year, several positions are up for grabs, including president, vice president internal, vice president education, vice president student life, and undergraduate senate representative. Students can read about the candidates and their platforms at http://www.dsuelections.ca. When the campaign ends, the website will be the destination for students to cast their vote, with the voting window open from 8 a.m. on March 22 until 6 p.m. on March 24. There will also be 11 stations around campus where students can drop in and vote if they’re on the go.

The results will be announced the evening of Wednesday, March 24 at the Grawood, coinciding with the finals of the Dalhousie’s Got Talent competition.

Last year’s turnout was just under 16 per cent of students; Ms. Dubois says that this year’s goal is 17 per cent. She admits that getting students to take part can be an uphill battle, but that she’s working hard to make that case. “It’s your DSU, your voice,” she says. “They deal with your money and your issues. Now is the time to get out there and tell them what you want.”

And her advice to candidates?

“Get out there and talk to people,” she says. “Go to classes, meet people on the streets or around campus. The more face-time they get, the better. If they’re just going to sit back and think that their website or their blog is enough, it’s not.”