On Feb. 10, the voting period for the YFS General Elections began on campus. Students were able to vote for several candidates vying for spots within the YFS. Additionally, other candidates were also running for director-at-large positions with York University’s colleges and faculties. For students interested in voting, several polling stations were set up on all three campus locations, along with a virtual option as well.
Unofficial election results have been posted to the official YFS website, with Symone Lennon winning the president position, Shallin Scott winning vice presidency, Farida Fouad winning vice president campaigns and advocacy, and Shahzeb Saleem winning vice president campus life. The winners for several faculty and college positions were also posted.
As with recent years, voter turnout was low. An unratified election result post revealed that last year’s election turnout was a miniscule 6.40 per cent. This year’s turnout was up a few percentage points, to 8.60 per cent. Low voter turnout is not a new phenomenon — this is seen across the political spectrum, from student government voting to federal elections. In Canada’s 2025 election, for example, low voter turnout in eight ridings significantly affected the results.
Low voter turnout may indicate a broader sense of public apathy toward the election. On campus, there are many students who feel unrepresented by their student union. One of these students is fourth year psychology student Ruby Almandarez, who says the YFS is “not as efficient as they should be.” She adds that the school’s reputation has suffered “because they lack the structure of actually listening to the students.”
Fellow student Dawinder Kaur, a second year economics student, echoes similar sentiments, commenting that she believes the YFS should be doing things “more students would appreciate” and should “actually [try] to make a change.” She’d also like to see them be more engaging with the student body, and remarks that “they are students as well, so it’s kind of weird how they don’t understand our perspective.” Almandarez and Kaur aren’t alone — opinions on the YFS are also rife online, with some students taking the opportunity to put out blasts on social media.
A Reddit post from three months ago illustrates one poster’s grievances with the political positions of the YFS and its members as of late, with the caption accusing the YFS of being a “far-left political organization” that “no longer speaks for the entire student body.” The poster also accused the student union of making “anti-Canadian” and divisive statements, recalling how they failed to acknowledge Remembrance Day and Canada Day. Indeed, when referring to Canada in their posts and statements, the YFS has adopted the term “so-called Canada” several times.
Another post, also from three months ago, reveals further discontent with the student union’s capabilities. The poster asked about community members’ thoughts on the YFS, and — among others — one comment accused the YFS of not caring for students and being “corrupt” and “disfunctional.”
It would appear that regardless of the election’s winners, many students don’t appear to be interested in what the YFS does or says. Though voter turnout picked up this year, the overwhelming consensus is that many students will continue to be apathetic towards their student union, both online and in-person, unless significant changes are made.
