We are the students of George Brown College, committed to supporting each other in the struggle for student rights, the pursuit of quality education and the provision of services in a safe, accessible and equitable environment.

The Student Association functions as the central student government representing the interests of all George Brown College students.  The Student Association focuses on representation, advocacy, and the delivery of services and the operation of businesses to support its overall mandate.  The Student Association’s basic objectives shall be:

• To build a united student movement among the students of George Brown College regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, language, ability, sexual orientation, age or socio-economic status.
• To provide a democratic forum to voice students’ concerns and issues.
• To provide the opportunity for students to unite in various student groups to address concerns specific to particular constituencies of the Student Association.
• To facilitate cooperation among all students and student groups to work towards common goals on a cooperative basis.
• To voice the students’ perspective on issues that the College, municipally, provincially, and federally and to represent those interests at all levels.
• To promote awareness of pertinent College activities and policies.
• To strive towards a high-quality education by providing optimal support services which are accessible to all students.

You might ask how the SA runs the programs and services it provides to students.
The vision and direction for the organization is crafted by elected student representatives — those students who are voted (or appointed) into seats on the SA’s Board of Directors in elections such as this one.

The Board of Directors conveys the vision and direction for the organization each year to the core staff of the SA.

The staff then implements the vision, directions and ideas of the Board. The staff also serves another key role at the SA by providing the organization with year-to-year continuity, and by providing Board members with training, advice and mentorship.

Essentially, the Board of Directors (or BOD) is invested with the responsibility of ensuring that a plurality of student voices from all areas of the college is represented. If elected, you would be one of those voices.

The Board of Directors has three important types of members: the Executive members, the rest of the Voting Directors, and ex-officio non-voting members.
The Executive — the President, the Vice-President Education, and campus-specific Vice-Presidents — are also Voting Directors, but they hold paid positions, and a greater responsibility for Board leadership, Board governance and Board activity. (If you compare our Board to the federal government, then you might think of the Executive members as the Cabinet Ministers and the other Voting Directors as MPs).

The Executive Members are usually elected during the main Spring Election, along with Campus Directors. The other At-Large (including First year), Program-specific and Constituency Representatives are usually elected in the Fall By-Elections. Ex-officio non-voting members e.g. the Executive Director and the College’s representative are, by nature of their position, automatically appointed to the Board.

The Board of Directors usually meets at least once a month throughout the year and forms important sub-committees that work hard to tackle specific issues and challenges for students.