Back to the books for many student candidates

U of R student Alex Mortensen was one of five student candidates running under the NDP banner. Photo by Natasha Tersigni.

by Sarah Ritchie

For most of the student candidates who ran in the 2011 Saskatchewan election, it’s back to school.

Of the handful of candidates who chose to balance a slate of university classes with campaigning and canvassing for votes, only one was elected.

Jennifer Campeau was part of the movement that saw several traditional NDP seats in the province turn Saskatchewan Party green.  

Campeau is an instructor and a full-time PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan. Now she can add Sask. Party MLA to her resume, after winning the Saskatoon Fairview seat.

For the remainder of student candidates, the 2011 election proved bittersweet.

Shawn Setyo ran unsuccessfully in Saskatoon-Eastview, a riding that has been held by the NDP since 1988. 

Setyo was one of four student candidates who ran under the Green Party banner.

In a province that has never elected a Green Party MLA, it has been difficult to get the party’s message out during the campaign.

“I think there's the illusion that we were that one-issue party that was just environmental,” Setyo said.“But that's what we’re working to change by educating the public and providing them with our platform.”

Passion for the Green Party message is what motivated Setyo to take on the extra workload this semester.

“Well, the goal (for me) was never really to win,” Setyo said, adding that he didn’t choose to run in this election under any illusion that he would become an MLA.

“But I am happy with my personal result. I broke the 200-vote threshold, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is better than the last election (for the Green Party). It’s a good sign for the Greens.”

 Alex Mortensen is a current University of Regina student who ran for the NDP in the riding of Cypress Hills.

The NDP won only nine seats, down from 20 in 2007. Dwain Lingenfelter lost his own seat, and promptly resigned as party leader.

“It’s a little bit disheartening. (We) expected to get a few more seats. But I’m really excited for the rebuilding process that we have to look forward to,” Mortensen said.

Now that the election is over, she plans to shift her focus back to her studies.

“The last two months have been so dedicated to the election that I haven’t really had time to think. So I’m going to take some time tonight to plan things out,” Mortensen said.

 “It was busy. I did a lot of my campaigning stuff and a lot of school and not much else, so it was tough.”

Setyo agreed that striking a balance between school and campaigning was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” But he said having student candidates on the ballot is important.

“I think the parties understand that students are a good source of work and talent. And parties understand the importance of students as candidates because they don't want to make it seem that they're only tailoring to one group,” Setyo said.