Written by: Victoria Sasu, USC Councillor
Hey Social Sci! Happy New Year and Happy Elections Season <3
My name is Victoria Sasu, and I am one of your Social Science Councillors this year! For those who are thinking of running in the USC election or a little bit on the fence, this is the blog post for you – I’ll be sharing some tips and tricks on running a campaign, and why you should just go for it!
#1 Believe in yourself
This is probably the most important advice of this whole blog post and potentially the only thing holding you back from having a successful campaign. Even I felt a little bit nervous about running for Councillor. I was only in first year, and thought that because of that I was inexperienced and didn’t have the network of say, someone older. I then learned that this was farther from the truth.
Something that really helped me finalize my decision to run was visiting office hours with some of the Social Science Councillors in my year to ask any questions and hear about their experience. Shoutout to Jordy (Councillor 2022-2023) and Ann (VP Advocacy 2022-2023) for encouraging me and hyping me up during this office hours session!!! They gave such supportive advice and made me want to join SSSC/USC even more 😊
If you are thinking of running but feel unsure in any way don’t hesitate to reach out to your Councillors! We love helping our Social Science community!
#2 Stay true to your vision
What inspired me to run for Councillor was my passion for engaging with students and the general school community. I loved being part of Student Council in high school and knew that getting involved with the SSSC was the right path for me.
Having the right motivation for running is essential in any elected position. It makes your advocacy plan a lot stronger as people can feel the passion behind what you want to achieve. Whatever your passions are, whether it’s accessibility, environment, engagement or more, make it a part of your campaign! Stay true to your vision and you will shine ✨
#3 Consult with constituents
Flowing into the next piece of advice, make sure to consult with your constituents! At the end of the day, you are running to represent them so make sure you know what they want to see from your leadership. Having consultations with diverse groups of people will make your platform and campaign much stronger and resonant with the student body. You can even amp up what you are passionate about by getting additional, maybe more student-centric experiences with these issues. The relatability of your campaign will take you far.
Consultations can take many different forms, they can be a more structured Zoom call perhaps with other student leaders, or even a conversation with friends about your campaign.
#4 Get creative with presenting your platform!
If you are someone like me who loves TikTok, Reels, iMovie, any media platform really, you will have so much fun with designing and launching your campaign online. Social media is such a powerful campaigning tool so make sure you are keeping it updated, fun, and fresh!
It’s also important to note the different ways to present your platform. Instagram is great for putting yourself and the main points of your platform out there, but perhaps you will attach a separate document going into more depth about platform points as not to overcrowd a post. Think about the ways you like to receive media and structure the release of your platform around that.
#5 Stay informed with USC Elections Rules
Like everything, there are certain rules to follow when campaigning that are super important. Follow this link for more information https://westernusc.ca/governance/elections/ and reach out if you have any questions! Better to double check rather than risk your campaign.
Those are all my tips for today! For those of you reading, I hope this helped in your decision to run and inspired you to take the chance. I was in your position last year, and although it was new territory for me, I’m so glad I did it. Being on the SSSC and USC has been an unforgettable experience and I believe that engaging with advocacy is one of the ways to make the most of your experience at Western. I have learned so much, met so many amazing people along the way, and I’m brought back full circle, writing this blog post on campaigning when only last year I was wondering how to run a campaign myself.
With that, I wish you a happy campaigning season, and who knows, I may just vote for you 😉