gair rhydd Monday February 25th 2013 | freeword - Est. 1972 | Issue 999
Quench
The countdown begins Students’ Union elections 3rd - 7th March
The time of year is upon us again: elections. Soon, the crossroads on Park Place will be littered with fancy dress wearing students, campaigning for a Sabbatical role worth £20,000. With the recent reshuffle of the Sabbatical positions and the downsizing of the team from 8 to 7, competition is set to be fierce. Over the years, much controversy has been raised about whether the positions are worthwhile, and whether the amount of money spent on them can be justified with student awareness and interest so poor. Traditionally, student
interest in the elections has been remarkably low, with only sixteen per cent of students turning out to vote last year. This figure was down three per cent on the previous year, when nineteen per cent took part in the elections, indicating a worrying trend in student interest. As covered in last weeks gair rhydd (issue 998), the elections will fall over reading week. With the campaigning commencing on Sunday 3rd March and ending on Thursday 7th, many students will potentially have returned home for reading week, meaning that they may not have chance to experience the candidate’s manifestos and enthusiasm, and make an informed decision. This too is a worrying indicator for the potential turn out. The 2011 elections were marred by various
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disputes between candidates, from allegations of candidates setting up alternative polling stations, to claims that candidates abused loopholes in the rules to acquire significant numbers of t-shirts to boost their campaigns. The 2012 elections saw rules set up to specifically combat similar abuses occurring. However, they were not without incident, when one candidate running for the position of AU President was forced to withdraw from the race after an incident at The Lash caused his membership to be revoked. Afterwards, several people posted on Twitter about the event, drawing attention to the incident. Student awareness of the elections have also been cause for concern, with Chris Williams, current Head of Student Media claiming: “many candidates, myself included, had to tell people what the elections were, why we needed to vote and what our roles were. I spent a lot of time
with potential voters talking about all of these things before I could start discussing my policies…simply because we didn’t feel enough people knew or understood the process”. Questions were also raised last year when a survey was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the sabbatical officers’ presence around the University, with only one third of students recognising the elected officers when presented with a photograph of them. Out of those who knew they were sabbatical officers, only 12.5 per cent were able to name them. Only 12 per cent recognised the President of the Students’ Union, whose job description reads “the public face of the Union”. In last years issue 981, it was discussed whether the elected officers were worth the £20,000 spent on their annual salary, with former Finance and Commercial Officer Nick Matthew stating, “the elections are ninety per cent a popularity contest”. The sabbatical officers’ role includes managing the Students’ Union budget, communicating with members of staff and representing student interests.
Most current officers agreed that manifestos were a vital part of keeping the election process fair. Ex-Au President Ollie Devon declared, “I think the manifestos are one of the only factors that stop it from being a popularity contest”. Yet despite this, none of the officers in the 2012 election year were able to deliver on their manifestos. The previous Head of Student Media, Oliver Smith said: “manifestos are very outdated: the promises you make often have very little relation to what you actually do. When coming into the job, you have lots of projects you want to do, but then you have so many things thrust upon you which you did not expect”. Nevertheless, it will be hard to avoid the elections. With much free chocolate, fliers and interrupted lectures, the forthcoming week promises to be a memorable event in the university calendar. The Sabbatical Officer team are an important part of the way the Union functions, with the decisions they make affecting every student on many different levels. They have the ability to bring about the change that students want to see and every vote counts in electing worthy candidates. AH
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