tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post6981581191816750389..comments2022-03-08T01:26:13.872-08:00Comments on <a href="https://votermedia.blogspot.ca">Votermedia Democracy Blog</a>: UBC VFM Committee Minutes 20070802Mark Lathamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05570922352903867246noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115556433372076865.post-56728703069564127972007-09-18T18:22:00.000-07:002007-09-18T18:22:00.000-07:00Two comments:1) I believe the committee should spe...Two comments:<BR/><BR/>1) I believe the committee should spend considerable time thinking about the entry fee problem this year. If there is nobody on the committee that wants to advocate a no entry fee model, I think the committee is deficient. Gina made a (however belated) strong case against entry fees last year, and she is right that the AMS should not be promoting contests that have the potential to INCREASE the gap between privileged and underprivileged students. At the very least there needs to be an accessible method for students to have the fee waived if their financial circumstances merit that. Relying on The Ubyssey to sponsor entries also shouldn't be considered a solution.<BR/><BR/>2) I believe the committee this year should look towards developing effective methods of surveillance in the contest. One immediate issue at the end of last year's contest was evaluating whether the experiment was a "success". Since there is no way to run two separate elections in parallel, one without the contest and one with, it becomes an almost intractable problem if evaluation is only considered after the fact. I would advise having separate surveyors during the contest to walk around campus and assess the level of knowledge students have of the elections, and what media sources they are aware of / reading / etc. Also, a requirement for web-based entries could be including tracking code in each page that links to an external tracker (this is easy and widely-done) so that the committee can monitor web traffic as the contest progresses. Finally, I would advise adopting Bruce Krayenhoff's citizens assembly to work in parallel with the contest, to perhaps report weekly on their perceptions of the election and the media sources. The step of having this assembly advise the student body on who to vote for does not need to be taken, but it would be useful to see how the assembly's viewpoints evolved over the course of the campaign, and to see if their final viewpoints correlate with that of the student body.Mike Thickehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390160289333884633noreply@blogger.com