Interested in running for the position of section editor at the Charlatan? Here’s everything you need to know about our upcoming elections and their procedures.
Important dates:
- Applications due on March 16th, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. EST.
- Speeches will take place on March 18th, 2026 (between 5:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.), March 20th, 2026 (between 5:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.) and March 21rst, 2026 (between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.) via Zoom.
- Voting will take place from March 22nd and March 24th, 2026. Eligible voters will receive an email from the Chief Elections Officer.
- Results will be announced latest by March 25th, 2026.
Role description: Eligible candidates are permitted to run for one of the following sections: news, sports, arts, culture and community, features, or opinion/blogs. The elected editor for each section will:
- Develop story ideas for the Charlatan and plan coverage of events, including assigning all articles in the section to writers;
- Coordinate visuals for the section in conjunction with the graphics and photo editor;
- Maintain a section summary detailing all articles in the section, their assigned writers, visuals, expected length and due dates;
- Edit all section articles (2-3 a week, with the exception of features at 1 a week) to ensure the maintenance of high standards of accuracy, fairness and balance in reporting and writing;
- Maintain contact with, supervise and train volunteers;
- Coordinate section coverage with editor-in-chief and other section editors;
- Attend and contribute to all staff, editorial and copy meetings;
- Meet all deadlines set by the editor-in-chief;
- Coordinate with the social media editor, whenever necessary, to publish stories on Charlatan social media accounts;
- Other reasonable duties as requested by the Board of Directors or the editor-in-chief.
Compensation: Elected section editors will be paid an honorarium each semester for their work. This honorarium compensation amount will be finalized after the 2026-27 budget is passed at Charlatan Publications Inc.’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in April. In previous years, section editors were paid every other week. Given projected levy funding reductions in light of Ontario’s Bill 33, Charlatan Publication Inc. anticipates moving from a section editor bi-weekly pay structure to a section editor honorarium pay structure, subject to budget approval at the AGM.
To apply:
- Those interested in running for a section editor position must submit a cover letter (containing the candidate’s full name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, and valid student number) expressing their interest and qualifications for the position, a one-page (double-sided) CV, and a platform paper introducing the candidate to voters and expressing any ideas they have for the paper.
- Candidates may not run for more than one position.
- Applications should be submitted to the Chief Elections Officer (Ky Vellinga) at [email protected].
- During the speech period, candidates will give a speech of no more than three (3) minutes. A question period will follow and last fifteen (15) minutes, not including the three (3) questions from the current editor. Questions during the question period may be posed by current editors, candidates for other positions, and eligible voters. Each person is eligible to ask up to two questions, and candidates have one (1) minute to respond to each.
- Interested candidates must have contributed to the section they are running for at least four (4) times between May 2025 and the deadline for applications, with exception of those running for the features section, who must only have contributed once.
- Candidates for section editor positions must be a member of the corporation during the elections and during the time they hold such a position.
Campaign procedures:
- No candidate may actively solicit votes by using the Charlatan contact lists to phone or email volunteers. This does not mean candidates cannot attempt to garner votes; however, they must do it on their own time and with their own resources.
- Any current editor running for another position cannot solicit votes using any official communication or in any working capacity. A candidate found to be using the Charlatan resources to do so will be disqualified at the discretion of the Chief Elections Officer.
To be an eligible voter:
- One must have contributed once to the section they are voting for between May 2025 and the application deadline. If you have contributed to the Charlatan a minimum of four (4) times, you may vote for any position.
- A list of eligible voters will be posted to the Charlatan website no later than three days before speeches.
Additional information:
- Examples of previous position papers can be found in the following here.
- Any questions should be directed to Kyra Vellinga, Chief Elections Officer, at [email protected].
- Official electoral procedures can be found here.
- Zoom links to election speeches will be made available via the Charlatan’s website/social media the week of. Official schedules will be available at least one day before the speeches.
