By Alice Azhikannickal
When it comes time to vote, theatre students aren’t satisfied with standing backstage.
A breakdown of voter turnout for RyeSAC executive elections shows that 38 per cent of theatre students cast their ballots — 14 per cent more than social work, the second most active program.
“The biggest factor that determines voter turnout is probably the excitement that the candidates generate,” said chief returning officer Rob Emerson, who compiled the figures. “The faculties that had candidates had a higher turnout.”
Of the top four voting programs, three had at least one candidate running.
But the total voter turnout of 1,085 is 368 less than last year when 11 per cent of the student body came out to vote. Dennis Loney, RyeSAC’s executive assistant, said he wasn’t surprised by the poor turnout. “It was what I would have expected,” he said. “The election wasn’t really that contentious this year.”
Business management, one of the largest programs at Ryerson, finished near the middle of the pack, with 7 per cent voting.
Gregg Lee, president of the Business Students Association (BSA), said poor advertising and campaigning in the Business Building can be blamed. “People don’t really know what [RyeSAC] is about,” he said. “[Students] aren’t going to vote for someone when they don’t know what’s happening.”
Percentage breakdown by program
Theatre — 38
Social work — 24
Journalism — 17
RTA — 13
Engineering – 11
Applied Geography — 11
Food and Nutrition — 10
Urban Planning — 9
Computer Science — 7
Business Management – 7
Graphic Communications – 7
Diploma in Arts — 7
Nursing — 5
Administration and Information Management — 5
Retail Management — 5
Early Childhood Education — 4
Image Arts — 4
Environmental Health — 4
Hospitality and Tourism — 3
Fashion — 2
Interior Design — 2
Architecture — 2
Leave a Reply