Who are we?
We are a collective of UBC Political Science students creating a resource for the voters of British Columbia. This website is the creation of POLI308D, a class of forty-five 3rd and 4th year students in the Political Science department.
We have created this website to be neutral on the issue of electoral reform. We are not taking sides.
Whats the idea?
We’re keeping an eye on BC’s media outlets and social media to check out what British Columbians are saying about the referendum.
We're analyzing and fact-checking all the claims made on all sides of the debate.
We're providing clear descriptions of the proposed PR systems and we've got a set of case studies on how they have worked in the countries that use them.
Our annotated media coverage page will share articles and editorials on all sides of the referendum. We’ll also be checking out what people are saying on social media.
Our Class Constitution
We, the class of Political Science 308, will create a safe and inclusive classroom environment for the purpose of creating an public website. We will produce an evolving, non-partisan resource for the public on the topic of the 2018 BC Referendum on Electoral Reform that will aid voters in making an informed decision.
Goals
Our goal is to create a comprehensive website on the issues surrounding electoral reform in BC.
We aim to make the website as accessible as we can given the constraints we face.
We strive to provide content and analysis that is unbiased and faithfully represents the arguments on all sides while also confronting those arguments with peer-reviewed scientific research.
Throughout the course, we will grow, learn new skills, and complete this project with a better understanding of referendums and electoral reform.
Commitments
We commit to extend learning beyond the classroom for the public good.
We will manage our expectations, communicate with each other, and deliver a finished website that encompasses the vision our class. Our website will be created with the intention of making a real world impact in regards to the 2018 BC Referendum on Electoral Reform.
We will acknowledge inequalities in our society while creating the website.
We will consider the public’s oral, written, and language abilities while creating our website. We will use a wide variety of tools for communication and to pass information to each other and to the public.
Principles
We believe that citizens have a right to accurate information free from bias.
We intend to use, value, and celebrate a variety of skills while creating this website.
We believe that decisions, while not necessarily unanimous, must be made while consulting everyone involved and with a majority agreeing to the course of action.
We accept, as political science students of UBC, that we have a certain perspective relative to others that may produce a biased opinion regarding the referendum, but nevertheless, we will do our best to not let this hinder our efforts in creating a non-partisan website resource for the public.
