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Hi there!

My name is Callum Robertson, and I’m the Vice President of University Affairs for the Alma Mater Society of Queen’s University. I’m currently completing my Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Studies with a minor in Computer Science (an unconventional combo, I’m aware haha). I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the 2022/2023 Steering Committee and am looking forward to being a part of the amazing work being done at OUSA!

Howdy!

My name is Anthony Coulter, and I am the Vice President of University Affairs with the Trent Durham Student Association (TDSA).

Hey everyone, my name is Austin Hurley. I'm the Vice President of External Affairs for the Brock University Students' Union (BUSU) and the representative for Brock students on this year’s OUSA Steering Committee.

Hi there,

My name is Kayla Han and I am the Vice President of Government and Stakeholder Relations at the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union (WLUSU).

Hi Everyone!

My name is Sahiba Gulati, and I am the Commissioner of External Affairs at the Alma Mater Society (AMS) at Queen’s University. I am currently in my 4th year of completing a degree in Biotechnology as well as a Certificate in Law. This is my first time being on OUSA, and I am incredibly excited to be a member of the 2022-23 Steering Committee.

Hi there! My name is Stephanie Ye-Mowe, and I'm the Vice President Education of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA). This is my 2nd year on OUSA's Steering Committee and so— Welcome! To Intro Blog 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Hi everyone!

My name is Ana Tremblay, I use she/her pronouns, and I'm the Vice President Education at Laurentian University's Students' General Association (SGA) in Sudbury. I grew up in a small town in northern Ontario called Kapuskasing which has a majority French population and a little over 8,000 residents. 

My name is Jessica Look, and I’m the Vice President of External Affairs at Western’s University  Students’ Council (USC). I recently graduated from Western University, where I studied Political  Science and French Studies. I’m beyond excited to be a part of OUSA this year, and can’t wait to start working with the incredible individuals that make up Steering Committee and Home Office.

Happy June everyone!

My name is Jessica Look, and I’m so excited to serve as OUSA President for the year! My home institution is Western University, where I serve as Vice-President External Affairs at the University Students’ Council (USC), . I’m happy to be joined by Stephanie Ye-Mowe, Vice-President Finance, and Ana Tremblay, Vice-President Administration & Human Resources, to form OUSA’s 2022-2023 executive team. I’ll be writing monthly presidential updates to keep you in the loop with all of OUSA’s exciting initiatives throughout the year!

Advance polls are open from May 19th to 28th – skip the line and head to your assigned poll station. Don’t know where to go? When? And what to bring? For answers to student-centered (and general!) FAQs on voting, visit ousavotes.ca.

Voter apathy amongst young Canadians has been an increasingly interesting subject for political scientists to study. Young Canadians are becoming the largest demographic group, giving them the ability to significantly affect the outcomes of elections. However, their presence is not felt when the time comes to cast their vote. Reports from Elections Canada found that over 40% of Canadians under the age of 25 chose not to vote as they felt disconnected from politics and didn’t feel candidates represented them at all.(1) Students are often told to vote if they want to see any change, but if no candidates effectively represent their demographic and they don’t feel there is any change in their local communities, what value is there in a vote?

This blog is our search for an answer to the question:

Why should I – as a young person, a student, perhaps a settler, a stakeholder in the fate of Ontario – vote in this upcoming election?