From the Editor: Exercise your rights by voting in the 2025 KSA general elections
KPU students can vote in the 2025 KSA general elections on March 10 and 11. (James Timmins)
When you are a student, it can be easy to form a bubble where your studies and personal responsibilities consume you.
This can be especially true for students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, which is a commuter school. When students travel to KPU just to attend their classes, they may forget to take part in or pay attention to the student life that surrounds them.
One of the biggest contributors to student life at KPU is the Kwantlen Student Association, our student union. Most Canadian post-secondary schools have at least one student union on campus, which are formed to advocate, support, and represent students on school policies or campus issues.
These unions are run by students who have been elected by the wider student body. They are also funded by students, who pay a semesterly fee that goes towards its operations and student representatives’ salaries. At KPU, students are charged $3.89 per credit plus a flat fee of $11.60 per semester to support the KSA’s operations, along with several other fees to run various programs.
While student unions provide an outlet for student governance to thrive and foster student life, many KPU students are not active members of the KSA. Last year, only 6.9 per cent of the KPU student body voted in the KSA’s general elections. When less than a tenth of students are voting in elections, it leads to a student council and governance that is not representative of the entire student body nor its interests.
Over this past year, the KSA council has faced criticism from both KPU and local student advocacy organizations.
In September, KPU cancelled space for a special general meeting the KSA was planning to hold due to security concerns. Should the meeting have taken place, the student union would have proposed bylaw changes that limit students’ involvement in the KSA. The university also raised concerns about allegations of financial coercion among certain members of the council.
In October, the Alliance of BC Students (ABCS), a provincial advocacy group, publicly condemned the KSA’s alleged misconduct and planned to place the association in bad standing. At the same time, the KSA terminated its membership with ABCS, which was the second student advocacy membership it withdrew from in 2024 — the first being the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) in the spring. The KSA has said it is now advocating for student rights independently.
On March 10 and 11 from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm, KPU students will be able to vote in the 2025 KSA general elections and select a student governance that they feel best represents them. These student representatives are responsible for acting on behalf of KPU students, advocating for student rights and support systems, planning events, approving student clubs, and working with external organizations to provide student discounts, among other duties.
As members of the KSA, all KPU students should try their best to play an active role in the association, and this starts with participating in the general elections and making an informed vote.
Following regulation changes the KSA council implemented in December, The Runner cannot interview election candidates, who risk disqualification if they talk to the media. So to learn about the general election candidates and their campaigns, KPU students can visit the KSA’s website, which will list candidate statements after March 1.
Voting is a pillar of democracy, and being able to do so is often considered a privilege. KPU students should exercise their rights within the KSA and vote for a student council that they believe is representative of the university’s student body and interests.
To learn more about the KSA general elections, visit www.kusa.ca/elections.
