As a first year student, there’s so much to wrap your head around when it comes to university life —– you’re (possibly) living on your own for the first time, meeting dozens of new people, trying to find your way around campus, all while trying to stay on top of your courses. Amid all of this, it’s easy to overlook one key part of the experience: student politics.
It’s an important way to get involved. Not only because it looks excellent on a resume and develops your leadership skills, but because it allows you to shape your campus life for years to come — including how your tuition money is used, what kinds of events are hosted, what services are offered, and what policies are put in place.
Your student association, the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) is run by a Board of Directors. UW itself operates under a bicameral governance structure, made up of a Board of Governors and Senate.
WUSA
As an undergraduate student at UW, you’re automatically a member of WUSA. This means you can vote in elections, propose motions at the Annual Members’ Meeting, and even run for a position yourself. Membership comes with perks, including discounts on transportation, food and drinks, and entertainment. Learn more at wusa.ca/deals.
WUSA is governed by a Board of Directors, which includes a president and vice president, and 11 at-large directors. They meet monthly in the Student Life Centre in room 1103 to review and establish policies, as well as report on advocacy issues. These meetings are open to the public (space is limited) and livestreams on the @yourwusa YouTube page. Meeting agendas are typically made public on WUSA’s website about one week before each meeting.
For the 2025-2026 term, the board includes president Damian Mikhail, vice president Remington Zhi, and directors Katie Traynor, Merochini Manohar, Rida Sayed, Samir Sharma, Iman Khan, Skyler Duggan, Muhammed Kanji, Mélanie Bouzanne, Arya Razmjoo, Andrew Chang and Rory Norris. You are encouraged to reach out to them with any concerns you feel WUSA should address, or if you’d like to speak or participate in a meeting.
There are also board committees who provide recommendations to the board of directors, including ownership consultation, governance, advocacy positions, elections and referenda, audit, academic affairs, and strategic and long range planning.
There are plenty of ways to get involved, from chatting with a director, attending a meeting, joining a committee, running for a director position, and more. Job and volunteer opportunities are regularly posted on WUSA’s website.
“You could join a club on campus, or join your faculty program society,” said Michael Cimetta, administrative officer at WUSA. “There’s so many different student groups under the umbrella of WUSA that it’s easy to get your start in.”
WUSA elections typically take place in February, and members are elected for 12 month terms: spring through the following winter. You can run for a WUSA position in January by filling out a nomination form and getting the appropriate amount of signatures – ranging from minimum 25 for directors to 100 for president and vice president. Voting usually takes place online in mid February.
Board of Governors
The Board of Governors is responsible for overseeing UW’s operations, including its property management, finances and business affairs. The board has the authority to appoint or remove the UW president, grant and revoke tenure, establish and collect fees, impose penalties and fines, and more.
The University of Waterloo Act, 1972 Act prescribes that there are 36 voting board members, although at press time, there were four vacancies. Governors include community leaders, staff faculty, students and alumni. Members include chancellor Jagdeep Singh Bachher, president Vivek Goel, Waterloo mayor Dorothy McCabe, Kitchener mayor Berry Vrbanovic, Regional Chair Karen Redman, Audrey Basdeo, Linda Blair, vice-chair Teresa Fortney, chair Murray Gamble, Bilal Khan, Brian Lipskie, Tracey Primeau, John Saabas, Andre Hladio, Terry Mundell, Sahezad Pardhan, Dan Eber, Nasser Abukhdeir, Achim Kempf, Neil Randall, James Skidmore, Jennisha Wilson, Nancy Heide, Catherine Dong, Avery Akkerman and Nicholas Pellegrino.
Meetings are open to the public and scheduled for Oct. 28, Feb. 3, 2026, April 14, 2026, and June 23, 2026 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Needles Hall 3407 and Zoom.
Anyone interested in attending in person or online are asked to register in advance through email to board@uwaterloo.ca by 12 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
Senate
The Senate is responsible for academic programs, educational policies, faculty appointments and tenure, qualifications for degrees and diplomas, appointing the chancellor and conferring honorary degrees.
Senators include faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, governors and administrative staff, including chancellor Bachher, president Goel, dean of health Lili Liu, dean of arts Aleixe Tcheuyap, dean of engineering Mary Wells, dean of environment Bruce Frayne, dean of mathematics Jochen Koenemann, dean of science Chris Houser, along with about 80 other members. The full list is available on UW’s website.
The Senate conducts its business through committees that bring recommendations forward in regularly scheduled meetings throughout the year. Anyone interested in attending an open session of Senate meeting can do so by emailing senate@uwaterloo.ca by 12 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
Meetings are scheduled on the following days at 3:30 p.m. in Needles Hall 3407 and online: Sept. 22, Oct. 20, Nov. 24, Jan. 26, 2026, March 2, 2026, April 6, 2026, May 4, 2026 and June 8, 2026.
