By Brian Irwin (Residence Advisor-QLXN House)
Did you know as a UBC student you pay a $38.13 annual Alma Mater Society (AMS) membership fee? Did you know you pay an $80.00 fee annually to fund the construction of the new Student Union Building (SUB)? Did you also know UBC students chose to build the new SUB in a 2008 referendum? All of this is thanks to the AMS, and if you do not know much about the AMS, now is a great time to learn since AMS elections are happening in just 1 week! That’s right, voting is from Monday, March 9th to Friday, March 13th, which is only 1 week away! As your student society, the AMS plays a key role in advocating on your behalf, and some key elected positions include:
- President
- Vice President (VP) Finance
- Vice President (VP) Academic and University Affairs
- Vice President (VP) Administration
- Vice President (VP) External
( More information on these positions can be found at: http://www.ams.ubc.ca/leadership/executive/ )
The AMS is responsible for running businesses such as Pie R Squared and Bernoulli’s Bagels, in addition to hosting and organizing events such as the annual “Block Party” and “Welcome Back BBQ”. The AMS also supports the majority of student clubs under its umbrella, from the Ski and Board Club to the Fencing Club. Given the large impact the AMS has on campus, it is important we do our civic duty as students by informing ourselves and voting in the upcoming elections. Voting was also designed with the student in mind, as voting happens online at:
https://amsvoting.as.it.ubc.ca/
In addition, if you find the number of elected positions overwhelming, that’s okay because you do not have to vote for each and every position since abstain is an option on most ballots.
However, AMS elections are not the only upcoming student society elections. Below is a list of other upcoming student society elections:
- Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) – Monday, March 23rd to Friday, March 27th
- Kinesiology Undergraduate Society (KUS) – Monday, March 23rd to Thursday, March 26th
- Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) – Mid-Late March (Specific dates TBD)
- Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) – Mid-Late March (Specific dates TBD)
The above student societies operate similar to the AMS, but perform more faculty specific roles. As a result, these societies often have an even more direct impact on their members than the AMS, so be sure to vote in your undergraduate society election as well!
More links: http://ubcengineers.ca/eus-elections-2015/ , http://kus.ubc.ca/ , http://aus.arts.ubc.ca/ , https://www.facebook.com/susubc
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