Eventually the winter term will come to an end and with it, the end of the current term for the Algonquin College Students’ Association board of directors.
Every year the SA holds an election to create the new board of directors, but few students understand the process.
The process for selecting the new board has been underway since Nov. 25 when the SA began accepting nominations from students interested in a director position.
Each candidate was required to fill out a nomination package, which requires the candidate to write a cover letter and collect 50 signatures from students supporting their candidacy.
“It is a very complicated process,” said Shanti Cosentino, who is the current SA president following the recent departure of former president Deijanelle Simon. “Sometimes I think it does get misunderstood.”
The deadline for nominations was Jan.17, and all candidates were required to attend a mandatory orientation on Jan. 22.
“Every candidate, as long as they come to the orientation, they meet the criteria, they’ve checked all the boxes, they have the GPA, and the signatures, they are granted an interview,” Cosentino said.
The interview process is conducted by a special selection committee, which is usually made up of outgoing directors who aren’t planning to return to the board.
“This year is a bit of an anomaly,” Cosentino explained. “Because we’re a small board and we have had several directors who want to return. So, I’m the only director on the selection committee right now.”
Cosentino is joined on the committee by two former directors: Chris Kolberg and Matt Regnier, the board’s communications officer. Regnier, who is no longer a student, will merely be advising Cosentino and Kolberg.
After conducting the interviews, the committee will draft a recommended board from those they believe to be the best candidates.
“This then has to get approved by the current board of directors,” Cosentino said. “At this point, the recommended board is released, and we start something we call ‘proxy voting’.”
Proxy voting begins on Feb. 28 and allows students to vote for their preferred candidates, including the recommended board. Every student can fill out a single paper ballot, and vote for eight candidates.
“We fully support our recommendation,” Cosentino said. “But at the end of the day it’s up to the students who they want to be their representatives and advocates.”
After voting ends on March 9, the candidates with the most votes will be announced at the Annual General Meeting in the corner lounge of E building on March 12.
The new board will elect the president and vice president from among their members, unless two directors want either position, in which case an election will be held and students will have the opportunity to vote again.
The entire process will be finished by April 3, and the new board will begin assuming their responsibilities for the coming year.