Students head to the polls

McMaster undergraduate students will head to the polls this week to vote on whether the student union should oppose McMaster's exclusive rights contract with Coca-Cola. Students also will vote on a McMaster Solar Car Project student levy and will elect new members of the Student Representative Assembly.
Student will be asked if they support removing McMaster's exclusive rights contract with Coca-Cola/Cold Beverage. The referendum will ask if the McMaster Students Union should oppose the McMaster University – Coca-Cola Exclusive Supplier Agreement, if it should renew its own memorandum with the school regarding the deal, and if it should urge the university not to renew the agreement.
The referendum stems from questions about human rights and freedom of choice in Colombia, where critics allege the company is linked to violent paramilitary security forces. McMaster's 10-year, $6-million deal with the company was inked in 1998 (source: The Toronto Star).
Students also will determine whether a supplementary fee of $1 per student should be implemented to fund the McMaster Solar Car Project (MSCP).
“Student levies for solar car projects are common across Ontario,” says Karleen Dudeck, business manager for the MSCP. “Teams at both University of Toronto and Queen's University have similar fees, if not higher,” she says. The McMaster team plans to use funds from the student levy to support the environmental and educational of their project, which is currently underfunded.
She adds the project's modest budget limits the scope of its public outreach program, since many costs associated with running events cannot be easily donated or subsidized. Such costs include support vehicle rental and fuel, stationery, printing costs, office supplies, and other logistical costs. “The funds collected from the levy would greatly increase the size and scope of the educational aspect of the project,” she says. “In the past month alone the team has had to turn down four off-campus educational events including National Science and Technology Week in Ottawa and EcoFair in Toronto.”
Voting will take place Wednesday, Oct. 19 and Thursday, Oct. 20 from 9:20 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
More than 17,000 full-time students are eligible to cast ballots at any one of the following 12 polling stations: Ewart Angus foyer, John Hodgins Engineering Building lobby, Burke Science Building lobby, Mary E. Keyes Residence lobby, Mills Library lobby, McMaster University Student Centr atrium, Commons lobby, Gilmour Hall basement (near Titles), Ivor Wynne Centre, School of Business lobby.
The MUSC poll station will be closed for one hour, from 12:30 – 1:30p.m. on Oct. 20. Poll hours will be extended to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday to compensate for this closure.
You must be an MSU member to vote on these issues.
Students also will vote for new members of the Student Representative Assembly (SRA). The SRA is a body of elected undergraduate students from each academic division that act as the governing body of the MSU. The primary function of the SRA is to approve and set MSU policy and make major decisions on behalf of the student body. They also approve the budget of the MSU and are responsible for making changes to the MSU constitution, bylaws and policies.
Polling stations:
Health science poll: Ewart Angus foyer
Engineering poll: JHE lobby
Social science poll: MUSC atrium
The candidates:
Health Science:
Jeffrey Chadwick
Bikramjit Rai
Mohammad Zubairi
Engineering:
Ali Al-Tahan
Christine Gomes
Muhammad Shah
Social science:
Laura Hamilton
Scott Miranda
Matt Terry
Voters will be required to have a valid student card to vote. For questions or more information, contact the chief returning officer, MUSC 204A, 905-525-9140 ext. 24118, election@msu.mcmaster.ca