Debate over Election Ban Policy draft sparked amid lobby brief proposal approvals
Photo by Belle White.
The most recent UVSS Board of Directors meeting passed motions relating to an upcoming “lobby week” and the 2026 election period, including an “election ban” motion that proved controversial among board members.
After the meeting was called to order, the drafted agenda was amended to include a director’s report that had been submitted late, as well as a new policy proposal, concerning banning students who have committed multiple policy infractions from running for future UVSS positions — which would later become the topic of much discussion. Both amendments were successfully passed.
With both the previous meeting’s minutes and the evening’s agenda adopted, the meeting moved on to priority business.
Committee vacancies
While the last two Board of Directors meetings have seen a slew of committee appointments, one remains unfilled: the position of Search Committee representative for the Associate Dean for the Faculty of Science. One undergraduate student enrolled in the Faculty of Science is eligible to hold the role, which begins in January and concludes in February.
However, no nominations were made and, thus, no appointments. The role remains vacant and was tabled until the next Board of Directors meeting — with the potential for it to go unfulfilled indefinitely.
2026 Electoral Policies
The two main motions of the evening regarded the upcoming 2026 UVSS Board of Directors elections. The first of which, concerning the dates for the next election cycle, was unanimously passed without objections.
On Jan. 26, 2026, the nomination period will open and remain so until Feb. 5. Following that, the campaign period will last for two weeks: Feb. 21 – March 6. Finally, the voting period will take place between March 4–6.
Those who are interested in running can find out more information from the UVSS elections website.
The other election-centred policy on the agenda was the newly added Election Ban Policy, which constitutes proposed amendments to the “policy infraction” section of the UVSS Electoral Policy as recommended by the Election Policy Committee.
The changes made to the document surrounded the definition of what constitutes “harassment,” and the implementation of a new aspect of the policy that would potentially bar students who have “committed repeated major infractions” from running in the subsequent election cycle.
Due to having strong personal opinions on the matter, Director of Outreach and University Relations Griffin Foster stepped down as board chair for this discussion, and Director of Campaigns and Community Relations Michael Caryk stepped in for the duration of the debate.
Foster said he had never seen a policy “so alarming” and “personally offensive” as this one, which he viewed as taking away students’ rights to participate in a fair democracy.
Others said they supported the policy, as they had personally experienced harassment during past election cycles and don’t believe anyone who commits said major infractions is fit to represent the undergraduate student community.
After a somewhat contentious debate, it was decided to move into a vote, as no opinions were seeming to sway. It was requested that the vote be held privately and was ultimately passed, though the final count remains confidential.
Lobby Briefs
The rest of the motions heard during the meeting, motions 3–11, were in preparation for the upcoming “lobby week” and included the UVSS’s endorsement and co-signing of a host of lobby briefs. The lobby week is an annual event that involves UVSS Directors lobbying the provincial government on issues relevant to students, often meeting with provincial Ministers and MLAs.
The briefs surround a number of initiatives such as food security, tuition caps, transit access, and sexualized violence action plans (among others) and call on the provincial government to commit resources, funding, or legislation to support student needs and concerns.
Notable among them were the three transit-focused briefs that include initiatives to establish rapid transit bus routes and implement a $10 university student fare on BC Ferries. Caryk said about these issues that they “will take some time, but …we need to get boots on the ground, we got to start somewhere.”
Also notable was the call for the provincial government to protect the 2 per cent tuition cap on both domestic and international students. While UVSS representatives are hopeful the tuition caps will remain equal for all students, there is the potential for the cap on international students’ tuition to rise to 5 per cent after bargaining takes place.
Due to the similar nature of these lobby-related briefs, they were omnibussed and voted on in one motion, which passed.
During his director’s report, Caryk expanded on the upcoming lobby days and noted multiple meetings with provincial MLAs as well as B.C. Premier David Eby. Caryk expressed excitement about the work he has been doing, and said he is hoping UVic can “take advantage of being the capital [of B.C.]” this upcoming week.
As there was no other pertinent business to address from the question period nor the director’s and committee reports, the public meeting was concluded and moved into the in-camera portion of the evening.
