This is your student government

The University of Alberta Students’ Union is pleased to offer Stride Campaign School, a cohort program aimed at encouraging greater participation/involvement of marginalized genders from all backgrounds – race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, sexuality, and ability - in student governance. The program equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and network to run for a variety of student government positions and make meaningful change on campus. It will address challenges and opportunities that individuals from under-represented groups in student governance face, while giving participants the tools and resources necessary to overcome them.

Although 56% of undergraduate students at the University of Alberta are women, between 2005 and 2016 women have held only 30% of council seats and have made up only 25.5% of the 102 candidates running for executive elections. In contrast, non-binary folks are not represented in our statistics, showcasing just how crucial gender representation is in student governance. While there are many reasons for this imbalance, Identity Matters, a survey conducted by the Students’ Union, found that women were more likely to feel inadequate or ill-prepared for leadership positions on campus, compared to men.

Stride aims to give the knowledge and the community necessary to empower more students of marginalized genders to get involved in decision making at the University of Alberta.