I almost missed the fact that AUSU council held an e-mail vote to decide whether or not to call a by-election to fill a vacant council spot. The current council is a year and a bit into its term and in the interest of transparency I for one would like to know the rationale council used to decide not to call a by-election. Having read the by-laws and policies on the matter it appears as though council was operating within the rules, and were within their rights to decide as they did, but is that enough?
As a member of two boards I can attest to the fact that running for and being part of a board or council is an enriching experience. Athabasca is a learning institution, and the courses offered by the university are one way to access learning. The other way is to learn by immersion, if nothing else the negative vote will deprive one of our fellow students from accessing a learning experience that is hard to come by.
My opinion for what it is worth is council should reconsider its decision. I also think this decision deserved more than an email vote and at a minimum should have been on the agenda for the upcoming June 10 general meeting. I also think a new tweet should take place to correctly state the motion was defeated and that council in fact was NOT in favour of a by-election.
J. Gaetan
It’s hard to get people involved if they’re not given the opportunity – Ed.
