It’s 15 degrees outside, sunny, and warm and happy, and it is the time for yet another U.T.S.U (or just SACed) election. I want to tell you why it is important to vote “Change U of T” this year.

I am not going to tell you about their solid campaign points, or about Jimmy Lu who is the current President of EngSoc and is running as part of this organization, or the fact that their orange banners just make me happy. I want to tell you why you should get off the couch, come out of the classroom, come out of the library, or a bar, or a night club and go vote this year!

Yes, this is an annual election and for the last few years that I’ve been at UofT the same story kept happening over and over again. SAC (aka U.T.S.U) spams the campus with fliers and obnoxious people who promote “cutting tuition fees” and other random shit like that. Then, when an opposition coalition tries to run, SAC usually implements some tactics to get them out of the race, or maybe to mis-count the ballots, or to perhaps just explain how “anti-socialistic” these coalitions are. Whatever it is, the opposition never wins.

Year after year the same SACed people get behind the steering wheel of the student union and pretend to do their jobs. Year after year nothing ever changes. I am not even saying they are doing a bad job, I am saying I never saw them do a good job either! They just sit their, in their tiny stuffy building. O, and they also get paid a load of money for sitting there and shuffling papers around, just like the real government.

Every year a small percentage of UofT community votes, and based on those votes the union gets elected. Then, for the whole year the Union represents “you”, while really they only represent some 5% of the voters. That is not fair to you, and to the rest of us who vote every year! I want U of T to be a community of student who are the best in their fields in Ontario, in Canada, and in the World! I want us to be known for discoveries in research, for start-up companies, for amazing athletes, for great artists, for superb doctors and lawyers … you name it! I want us to be known because YOU have made a difference, and this is a chance to start. Throw away the apathy and come out to the polling stations today!

I want you to vote for the Change U of T candidates not because they are smart people with good ideas who will do a good job at running the student union, I want you to vote because it is the time to give underdog a chance. I can’t promise that when these guys take a stand they will do everything right, but sure as hell they will try their hardest to do as much as they can, and because they don’t have the privilege of just getting elected every year, they will try x3 as hard as they can!

Disclaimer: In no way am I actually associated with the Change U of T  team and all the opinions represented here are mine alone.