The normal buzz of the Forwell Hall was there as usual: Students bustling about, hurrying from place to place, perhaps stopping to sit at a nearby table for lunch or peruse a small kiosk selling assorted toys and keychains. People stopped, talked, looked around, and then went back about their business.
That was until another kiosk, one with a phone mounted on a tripod in front of a banner emblazoned with the CBC logo, caught their eye.
CBC News London was at Forwell Hall on Thursday, Sept. 17 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., interacting with students and finding answers to key questions regarding the awareness of students about the municipal elections in London and the issues that matter to them. Hala Ghonaim, the Community Engagement Producer with CBC News across Ontario, explained that they were on a fact-finding mission.
“We’re doing this for a lot of CBC newsrooms across Ontario,” she said.
CBC reporter Kendra Seguin speaking with a student at the ‘Speaker’s Corner’ in Forwell Hall. The CBC hoped to learn what issues in the municipal elections matter most to students.
Photo by: Curtis Stokman
Beside the kiosk itself was a ‘Speaker’s Corner’, where students could be filmed answering questions about issues in the city election. If they declined that option, students could instead fill out a survey, and no matter what they chose they could grab a CBC-themed tote bag, pens, and other items as souvenirs.
“We decided to also go the extra mile,” Ghonaim said.
Lya Skinner and Eve Brandael-McKay, both students in the Fine Art Foundations program at Fanshawe, said that the giveaway items were what attracted them to the kiosk.
“I saw a spork on the [kiosk],” said Skinner. “It really catches your eye.”
The free items were simply the first step, though. Before long, both Skinner and Brandael-McKay were speaking with CBC reporter Kendra Seguin on the issues that mattered the most to them in the city. Both cited the affordability crisis and London’s unemployment rate, which currently sits at 8.7 per cent according to Statistics Canada, as being important.
Ghonaim said that affordability and cost of living were the major issue for most students.
“Another issue that’s been raised is also transit… getting from Point A to Point B is taking a really long time, so they’d like their elected officials to do something about that.”
Ghonaim also said that while students seemed to know what issues were important to them, awareness of the city elections was mixed.
“This could look like… they know there’s a municipal election coming up,” she said. “but they’re unsure when voting day is or where to go to vote.”
For Skinner and Brandael-McKay, this was their first time hearing about the elections, which speaks to the trend in London of a lack of youth voter engagement.
Even so, after stepping in front of the camera for the CBC and receiving their free pens and disposable cutlery, Skinner and Brandael-McKay
Tote bags at the CBC kiosk. Items such as these were offered to Fanshawe students who spoke to the reporters.
Photo by: Curtis Stokman
both believed the kiosk was raising awareness of the elections.
“There’s still so much local stuff you could actually get into,” said Brandael-McKay. “Just spread the word.”
Ghonaim added that while spreading awareness wasn’t their specific goal, students at Fanshawe were receptive to them.
“They really have a lot to say,” she explained. “We’re happy to be talking to students.”
