Running For a Student Board? Here Is Your Guide To Victory

by Indigo Tjan

Elections at UCU are huge. Election events, posters, campaign videos, a group of suddenly extremely friendly students, and not to forget, the controversies. The weeks after Spring Break are marked by the extravert election periods for CAR, Student Council and the UCSA Board. Having loved campaigning but not being able to run again for a student board, I have decided to help you win.

Tip 1: Prepare well

Firstly, look critically at yourself. Why do you want to run? What makes you valuable? What do you want to improve or change? What are your strengths and weaknesses (both for campaigning and being on a board - two very diferent things)? Do people know you? What is your reputation, and how can you use it? Get a pen and paper and take your time to answer these crucial questions.

Furthermore, actively reach out to relevant people based on your priorities. Current and former student board members can give you information about the job itself. Also impor tant are members of interest groups such as the Wellbeing Team, the Diversity Committee, track representatives (if running for Student Council), and UCSA committees (if running for the UCSA Board). This will help you understand campus and will perhaps shed light on what you want to change. It also shows them that you actually take the topic, and them, seriously.

Lastly, it is good to have thought on all important issues on campus. Mental well-being, diversity and inclusivity, and student representation are relevant topics for all boards. Regarding Student Council and UCSA Board specifcally, I suggest looking at earlier campaign pages on Facebook and talking with current and former board members. Regarding CAR, I think that the main issue is the role that it should play. Should it be more of an activist body (aka housing union) or a communication tool between Lekstede/Diederix/College Hall and students?

Tip 2: Have an election team

You don’t need a big team but you increase your chances by having people help you. You need one or two close friends that will be 100% honest with you. Get together with them to discuss your strategy, brainstorm campaign ideas, proofread all of your correspondence, and practise your election speech. They should tell you well and have gathered input from as many stakeholders as possible. Sensitive topics are more something to have prepared well in advance in case you get questions. Discussing your running points with others in advance can also help discover weaknesses or even reveal their irrelevance.

Tip 4: Create a memorable PR token

People have to remember you. When voting, students go over the list, not knowing most candidates. Having just completed a group project together can be the reason to either vote or not vote for a particular candidate. In other words, you sometimes don’t need a lot to win. This is where the PR token comes in. By ‘PR token’, I mean a recognisable thing that makes people remember you.

what sucks but also help motivate you. My advice is to look critically at what you are lacking and see if their talents can be utilised to help you in these areas. For example, I am pretty mediocre at speech writing. Luckily my good friend writes insanely well and could give me very valuable feedback on my texts.

Tip 3: Get an easy-to-campaign political agenda

Candidates need to have running points. These running points often stem from a passion but can also result from a (long) process of identifying issues at UCU. I suggest having a couple of issues (about 3) that you can campaign very well. These issues should be relevant, realistic, easy to understand and, preferably, not controversial. What is controversial? In general sensitive topics and ‘radical’ plans such as removing the whole committee structure.

Radical plans can work (and can even be an asset), but only if you have thought it through very

The PR token can be a video, a strong slogan, a song, a rap: whatever works and stays in the mind of voters. The token should embody how people ought to look at you (remember my point on reputation). It should not only show the hard work you put into creating it; it should impress the whole of campus. If done well, the token can be the deciding factor in getting enough votes. I have many examples but also a word limit: I suggest asking your unit mates what they remember from earlier elections.

Is this the only way?

All candidates have their own way of campaigning. However, having talked with many other former (winning) candidates, I am sure that all of them can agree that good preparation and having an election team are key. The agenda-tip is more personal, but it helps make the elections more about content instead of just popularity. The fourth tip is my favourite because it makes the campaigns fun.

The election week is extremely exhausting but also an amazing and unique experience. Both campaigns, even the second one, which I lost, defnitely belong in my UCU highlights. One last tip: plan something fun for the day after election night. To either celebrate your victory or get distracted from your defeat.