Students organizing ahead of transit referendum
Posted January 21, 2014 11:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS1130) – Virtually every politician has tried to figure out a way to coax a larger student vote out of the libraries and dorms and into the polling booths during an election.
Now, the SFU Graduate Society is trying to do the very same thing when it comes to the upcoming transit funding referendum.
It’s the first time all three official student societies at SFU have worked together on the initiative says Julia Lane with the graduate society.
“Certainly we want all students to get involved. Really it’s about improved transit, generally speaking in Vancouver and ensuring that we are a city that prioritizes transit.”
That encouragement extends to all college and university students in Metro Vancouver.
“It’s our hope that they will, when they have the information, feel empowered to vote.”
Organization is key admits Lane as students often amount to a fairly poor voter turnout when it comes to elections.
“Most people don’t know anything about what’s going on so we want them to be proactive about getting information,” she jokes.
But Lane is optimistic for a big turnout because transit is consistently a hot topic among students.
“Transit is consistently in the top 10 things that are listed as something that could be improved to make their university experience better.”
And that makes her hopeful for a large turnout come referendum time.
The date and wording of the referendum question have not yet been announced.
