YouAlberta Spotlight: Meet the CRO

It’s that time of the year again… SU ELECTIONS! This year, YouAlberta decided to have a chat with the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) to learn more about her important role in the upcoming SU Elections. We also asked her a bunch of random questions.... YouAlberta random questions. So, meet Jessica Nguyen, the University of Alberta Students’ Union’s CRO!




Of course, no YouAlberta interview would be complete without asking the YA Random Questions!



For more information about the SU elections, please visit the SU's election page.

And don’t forget to VOTE, UAlberta! :)

6 Ways You Can Spark Something Incredible

Voting: We should all do it whenever the opportunity arises. But it’s important to remember that our municipal, provincial, and federal governments represent us at all times (and not just during election periods). Plenty of students got involved during the recent provincial election, and hopefully just as many (if not more) will prove that the youth vote matters during the upcoming federal election too. In the meantime, we can still prove that the youth vote matters by keeping ourselves informed and engaged with political happenings. Here’s how: 

1. Read More

Image courtesy of giphy.com

Do you have strong opinion when it comes to politics? Fantastic! Is that opinion to the left? The right? Somewhere in the middle?  Do you know and understand the perspective of the opposing side? Do you try to? Because you should. It’s tempting to restrict your information in-take to those opinions that match your own (i.e. if you like the left and only follow left-leaning Twitter accounts, or if you lean to the right and only listen to right-wing pod casts)—but doing so can weaken your perspective. You are a part of a larger and diverse community, so while it is important to support your personal viewpoint, you have to be respectful of all other members of the community as well. Try to understand why someone might disagree with you and then look for common ground—or at the very least, learn how to better structure your argument to appeal to them. Stay well informed by reading a variety of newspapers (and yes, those still exist). Follow a bunch of political people on Twitter and try to understand the underlying values that they believe in. Stay true to your beliefs, but don’t fall for your own propaganda.

2. Debate

Image courtesy of reddit.com

One of the best ways to learn about political views is to discuss them. An even better way to learn about them is to debate them—from any side of the discussion. While talking with your friends, you can challenge one another to learn how well different viewpoints stand alongside one another, and you can understand where your own knowledge gaps are at the same time. The Debate Society might be a great option for those who really want to test out different perspectives. The group regularly hosts politically charged discussions that challenge members’ views. Debating allows you to learn more about what you believe in, and how to approach discussions with people with whom you may not agree. After all, learning to respectfully disagree can be a tough skill to pick up, but a truly rewarding one to have.

3. Aid a Campaign

Image courtesy of tierneymilne.com

Almost all political parties and interest groups need volunteers to make things happen. Fundraising, helping out with an event, and fielding calls are just a few of the ways volunteers are able to help an organization share their message. Plus, volunteering means that you get to choose who you spend your time with – if you have a specific view point that you’d like to share then you can volunteer with a political party or a special interest group; if you would rather just encourage community involvement, then you can likely find a bi-partisan group looking to do the same (like the SU’s Get Out The Vote campaign which encourages students to vote or one of the groups that fall within the Student Umbrella for Social Justice ).

4. Join a Party

Image courtesy of thedisneyblog.com

Most parties have an affiliated youth organization for members under the age of 25. As a member, you’ll get to help choose nominees for ridings and can vote on party policies. Some of those policies might even make their way to Parliament or the Legislature. A few parties give their youth organizations special representation within the main party allowing for greater say in decision making than general members. Joining a youth chapter will also provide you with educational opportunities, as they usually organize special guest speakers to talk on a variety of community focused topics. They can also help you to connect with volunteer initiatives that might align with the issues that most matter to you.

5. Be Proactive

It’s one thing to sit down and talk about policy, but it can feel like an entirely different world when you decide to get up to get involved. For example, the Alberta chapter of Delta Upsilon saw that the Garneau Elementary School had very little gym equipment. Rather than sit around and talk about how disappointing that was, members DID something. They hosted events to raise money that they then used to purchase balls, hula hoops, and other equipment for the kids. Having an impact really can be as simple as buying a ball. What is stopping you from doing something similar?

6. Do What You Do Best

Image courtesy of ourkids.net

At this stage in our lives, many of us can feel disenfranchised by traditional politics. However, what we need to recognize is that traditional politics are not the only way to be political. If parties, Parliament, and policy make you fall asleep, you can still be politically engaged. And although you may not know it, you might actually already be politically engaged if you happen to spend your time volunteering in the community. And at its core, that is truly what politics is about: making an impact on your community. Volunteering with an organization can be a meaningful form of political engagement, whether it be the Campus Food Bank, Engineers Without Borders, or the Boys & Girls Clubs of Edmonton. And if you feel strongly about an initiative, find people who also feel strongly about it. By uniting passionate people, you can spark something incredible.


Are you expected to run for political office? No, that’s not for everyone. Politics are now about making a statement through positive engagement. Politics is about being a member of a community: and that community is diverse and hosts multitudes of opinions and perspectives. It is our responsibility to learn how to respect different opinions and it’s our obligation to look for the commonalities that exist between all of those opinions (because we’re all a part of the same community and must have some key commonalities). After all, even the smallest change can have the largest impact and everyone should be involved in the process.

----About the Author

Chris

Chris is wrapping up his undergrad at the U of A having just completed his Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Trumpet Performance. When not practising, you can find him planning community service events for his fraternity, two-stepping all night long at Cook County, or discovering the best restaurants in Edmonton. He also loves long walks through the River Valley and enjoys looking at pictures of cute puppies by candlelight while watching romantic comedies—that’s only partially a joke.

2 Random Minutes with 2015 - 16 SU President Navneet Khinda

Earlier this school year we met up with 2014-2015 SU President, William Lau, and asked him some random YouAlberta questions. Because, why not?! 

So to finish off the the 2014-2015 academic school year, I thought it would be appropriate (and also fun) to ask Navneet Khinda, the incoming 2015-2016 SU President, these very same and equally  random questions. She rocked them, as per usual. Take a look! 

Navneet, previously elected VP External, will start her new position as president of the Students Union on May 1st.  

Welcome, Navneet! 

PS: Navneet would also like me to kindly remind you all not to “let other people make your choices for you” and those who are eligible (especially students!) should vote in the upcoming provincial election on May 5th. If you’re not in town for the election you can get a special ballot mailed right to you or you can also go to the advance polls. 

Check out Get Out the Vote and Elections Alberta for information on: 

• The Voting Process
• How to Register
• Where to Vote
• Pledging to Vote (which comes with your very own reminder to vote on election)

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About the Author

Jobey

Howdy. I’m Jobey-- a fourth (+2) year BA student studying Spanish Language and Literature and Women’s and Gender Studies. I don’t really know what I want to be when I grow up, but if I had to choose, I would probably say Shakira because her hips don’t lie. And honesty is important to me. 

I have two obsessions that keep my heart perpetually pleased and my bank account endlessly empty: shoes and travel.  To date, I have visited 14 countries (studied in three!) and I own more shoes than I care to publicly admit. 

I am totally stoked to be a member of the 2014 YouAlberta Blogging team! I hope that my unique educational experiences will help me find and highlight all of the fascinating students we have on campus.  Be advised: If you’re out there and you’re awesome, I will find you. And we will talk!  :) 

Please Don’t Be Boring UAlberta

My plea is this: don’t be boring. Just don’t do it. I bet that if I take a look at any one of your social media accounts right now, I’ll be lead to believe that you are an opinionated, fun loving, free spirit, who is passionate about [insert that thing that you absolutely love and when people think about you, they also automatically think about that thing, because, you + that thing = obviously]. And yes dear reader, I do know that the lives that we lead on social media are a little (or totally) misleading, and that everyday life is a tad more mundane, but there isn’t anything wrong with that. The point that I’m trying to make is this: you obviously have passions and you are capable of expressing yourself. And while social media is a fun way to show off, it isn’t the only way…


Did you know that you – yes YOU – can express yourself in a way that can have a huge impact on how the world around you works, simply by colouring in a dot (or by drawing an “x”… or by connecting two lines together, or even by writing a check mark)? Hopefully you do. And hopefully you know that I’m referring to the simple (but totally impactful) act of voting. But given that there are approx. 2.9 million eligible voters in Canada who are between the ages of 18 and 24, and only 38.8% of them voted in the last federal election (in 2011), I’m a little worried, that the majority of you may not have experienced colouring in a dot, or drawing an “x,” or connecting a set of lines, etc. (which are just a few of the different voting methods that the ballots I’ve used have employed). 

So, what’s going on? Why do we youths (as the older people might call us) seem to be in-experienced when it comes to voting – or WORSE… why do we come across as being apathetic? 

Image courtesy pandawhale.com

“Young people often say they aren't informed enough to vote or that they are too busy to vote. The real reason young people don't vote isn't actually about them at all, it is a catch 22,” is what Ilona Dougherty of Apathy is Boring told me. “Elected officials / candidates don't think young people will vote so they don't reach out to them and engage them. Research tells us that the number one way to encourage a non-voter to become a voter is for an elected official or candidate to talk to them face to face.” And just what are we supposed to do with this catch 22? Ilona told me “to fix this we need both young people to recognize the value of their vote and we need elected officials to realize that youth will vote if they make the effort to reach out and engage them.”

So, right about now, you might be thinking “right… like my one little vote REALLY counts” and the reality is, that it does. It TOTALLY does. Youth have the potential to decide who wins an election. We do. It is that simple.  Remember when I mentioned that only 38.8% of eligible voters between ages 18 – 24 voted in the last election? Well that means that approx. 1,125, 200 young people could have voted but didn’t… and do you know how many votes ultimately decided the last election? Only 6201. That’s it. I might not be a “math person” but I do know that over 1 million votes is greater than 6201 and might have led to a different outcome if they had been cast. (Or, maybe it would have resulted in the exact same option, but the reality is that we just don’t and can’t know now.) 

So, if the majority of us didn’t vote last time (and yes, I do realize that the 18 – 24 crowd of 2011 is now the 22 - 28 crowd now), who did express themselves and decide how things should be run? Our parents and grandparents, that’s who. Even though we are adults who have every right to act as the previous generations’ democratic equals (because we are… our opinions are just as valid and just as worthy of being counted as theirs are), when it comes to our democracy, we’re letting them call the shots. “Think about the things that bug you in your life and remember that most of them are probably impacted by decisions that governments have made. Do you want your parents and grandparents making all the decisions for you?” Ilona asked me. “By not voting and getting involved that is what young people are letting happen. By not voting and getting involved that is what young people are letting happen. By not voting and getting involved that is what young people are letting happen.” And ya know what guys? She’s right. 

What are we to do? Number one, we can start paying more attention and admitting that we DO care about what happens. We can acknowledge the fact that governments have an impact on our daily lives, and that we have an impact on government. On all government – whether it’s the various councils and elected student bodies on campus, or the various levels of Canadian politics, we have the opportunity to say how we want things to be done every time an election is called. And most obviously of all, we can vote when the opportunity arises. We can express ourselves by marking a ballot. We just have to actually get up and do it. 

So, please, please, please don’t be boring UAlberta. Be you – that awesomely thoughtful, lively, and engaged you that you like to show off to the online world… but in real life. 

- Updated on October 8, 2015

Quiz: Should You Vote?

We are only a few days away from Alberta's 2015 provincial election, and while there are still a lot of questions to ask about who to vote for, who represents out, which vision is best for the province, etc., the very first question that you have to answer is this: Should you vote? 

I already know my answer (and if you were to read my plea to not be boring, you'd likely be able to guess it too), but that doesn't mean that you know you're answer just yet. So, take YouAlberta's "Should You Vote" quiz to find out what you should be doing on May 5, 2015.

Other election related things to check out:

Elections Alberta 
Learn where to vote, how to vote if you’re planning to be away, and any other vote related info you need for the day. The site also includes information about the candidates running in your riding and the parties that they represent.

Get The Vote Out 
Pledge to vote. 

The CBC Vote Compass 
By no means do you have to follow your Vote Compass results, but this online tool is a great way to see where you place on the political spectrum compared to each of the parties in the election. It’s also a great way to learn more about the parties who are running. Plus, who doesn’t like an online quiz? If it were on a site like Buzzfeed, you know you’d try it. 

Apathy is Boring 
Learn why young people usually don’t vote and why they should. Because they should. Because you should.