Brag - Spring2023

Civic Engagement within
Campion and Beyond
Student Activities
BY BRONWYN HEERSPINK BA '23
“I first became
hooked on
politics at the
age of ten. I
was glued to
the television
the night of the
2011 election
... I guess you
could say I was
destined to
be a Political
Science
student!”
Upon wrapping up my degree, I have found
myself introspecting on the little moments
that led me to where I am today. Through this
process, I have come to realize how much
engagement has been a central focus of my life,
from high school to my undergraduate degree
at Campion College.
I first became hooked on politics at the age of
ten. I was glued to the television the night of
the 2011 election, following a few months of
learning about the Canadian government in
my social studies class. I guess you could say I
was destined to be a Political Science student!
Throughout my time in high school, I was
lucky to be exposed to several other opportunities
to further learn about government/
politics.
The semester I started my degree, there
was another federal election. I decided to
volunteer with an organization called Future
Majority to walk students to the on-campus
advanced polls. While engaging with students
about the election, I realized that my
knowledge of our country’s political systems
was not uniformly shared by my peers. I had
taken for granted all of the amazing opportunities
I had been given to meaningfully engage
in our democracy and assumed that those
who remained peripheral from these systems
were just as “in the know” as I was. Trying to
rectify this imbalance in engagement became
a guiding feature of my advocacy and research
work over the next four years.
I continued on with Future Majority for the
2020 Saskatchewan election and 2021 federal
election, becoming one of their Regional
Directors for Saskatchewan, managing a
team of over 20 student volunteers across the
province, and advocating for better integration
of young people’s priorities in policy. I also
became involved with UR POLIS, the representative
body of students in the Department
of Politics and International Studies, serving
two of my three years on the council as
President. I was the lead organizer for fifteen
events for UR POLIS, bringing leading
political figures to campus to educate students
on pressing social/political topics. We built
our team from a dormant student group to one
of the most active societies on campus.
As I move on to my graduate studies at
Carleton University, I am excited to continue
my work on youth civic engagement. I’ll
be writing a Master’s thesis which further
explores how provinces/territories engage
youth in the development of public policy,
building upon the work I did in my Honours
thesis.
To call back to the 2011 election, a quote from
Jack Layton’s farewell letter to Canadians
comes to mind,
“To young Canadians… I believe in you.
Your energy, your vision, your passion
for justice are exactly what this country
needs today. You need to be at the
heart of our economy, our political life,
and our plans for the present and the
future. I hope that my work will allow
my generation and future generations
to come to realize this vision—where
young people are central to Canadian
democracy.”
Intramurals are a great way for students to
get involved on campus. Currently, there are
basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, badminton,
soccer, futsal, ultimate frisbee, and cricket
teams that play all different levels offered at the
University of Regina. The Intramural Program
is designed to provide currently enrolled
students with the opportunity for experiential
learning through participation in organized
activities. Participating in the intramurals is
a great way to develop the essential qualities
of leadership, cooperation, communication,
planning, self-reliance, and a sense of fair play,
and provide lifelong recreation skills while
having a good time. Registration will open in
September for the fall semester so check out
imleagues.com to register.
“Thank you for sponsoring our basketball
league Campion Chaos. It’s been a lot
of fun, and was great to be supported by
Campion.”
Jonah Tremblay, Campion Student
16 Brag | VOL. THIRTY-FOUR | SPRING 2023
Campion College Campion College
Brag 17
| VOL. THIRTY-FOUR | SPRING 2023