News
Imprint, Friday, February 18, 2011 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Post-Election Reflections
Post Feds 2011 election, the Rhino Party talks about their controversial campaign and the incoming executive reflect on their election victory
Rhino Party reveals real deal Incoming executives reflect behind election campaign on election victory “I’m very excited to have been elected for an executive position this year, and look forward to transitioning into the role over the next two months. I feel that Feds is an exciting organization and I’m glad to for the chance to be a part of it for one more year.”
Matt Colphon gina racine
The Rhino Party, from left to right: VP education candidate Edgar Bering, VP administration and finance candidate Marc Burns, VP internal candidate John Stevenson, and presidential candidate Ian Charlesworth. Adrienne Raw news editor
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ith the Feb. 11 announcement of the winning candidates in the Feds 2011/2012 election, only one question remains unanswered: What was really going on with the Rhino Party’s controversial campaign? The satirical campaign provoked debate among students, who wondered if the Rhino Party candidates were just mocking student government and wasting student money. During the campaign and voting periods, Rhino Party candidates did nothing to respond to these questions, but now they’d like to set the record straight. The idea of the Rhino Party began in a conversation in August 2010 between Rhino Party presidential candidate Ian Charlesworth and VP education candidate Edgar Bering. Charlesworth joked that it would be funny to campaign as a Rhino party, playing on the long-standing Canadian political satire Rhinocerous Party. The idea was shelved until shortly before the candidate nomination period ended when the four Rhino Party executive candidates — Ian Charlesworth (fourth year pure math), John Stevenson (fourth year software engineering), Edgar Bering (fourth year computer science), and Marc Burns (first year math) — came together and decided to go ahead with their satirical campaign. There were several reasons that the Rhino Party decided to run in the 2011/2012 Feds election, said Charlesworth, and none of them were for the purposes of denigrating student government. One of the Rhino Party’s key motivations was combatting student apathy towards elections and student governance. “We were looking at the past few years, and election turnout has always been terrible,” said Charlesworth. “We were hoping that if we ran out there and made a bunch of noise, maybe people would start paying attention to the election and we’d get more people out.” Between their satirical and often comedic profiles and presence at candidate debates, the Rhino Party certainly prompted talk among students. The candidates pursued their goal of promoting student awareness by canvassing residences and the halls outside of classes. On Feb. 7 the Rhino Party executive candidates, in an effort to increase awareness about the upcoming vote, canvassed
students across campus. They were handing out 600-700 pieces of paper encouraging students to become informed and vote and talking to about 1,000 students overall, they said. Unfortunately, Charlesworth said, they didn’t get the results they were hoping for. Though the number of voters that participated in each of the executive races was, on average, 100 students higher than in the Feds 2010/2011 election, it wasn’t the significant increase the Rhino Party was hoping for. “I’m happy with how the votes were distributed,” said Charlesworth. “I’m not happy with the number of people who voted.” The Rhino Party campaign was about more than student apathy though. “We also wanted to raise criticisms that we have about the different, at least perceptions of the different, exec roles and certain things that we think are going terribly wrong, have gone terribly wrong, in the last few years we’ve been here and maybe the incoming exec can fix,” said Bering. “Part of why we did this was to, as I put it, shine a light into a dark corner and see what we find,” said Bering. Charlesworth said that a considerable amount of research had to be done for the Rhino Party’s campaign, including wading through paperwork, frequent visits to and communication with the Feds office, and a firm understanding of their opponents’ platforms. This research was necessary, they said, to be able to create an effective satire. The candidates also noted that their research uncovered several issues that they passed on to both their opponents and the current Feds executive, in the hope that these issues would be addressed. “We actually wound up emailing to our respective opponents, on Team Real and not on Team Real where there were people not on Team Real, ‘here are the sort of things we’re going to be saying and here’s the isssue we’re trying to point out with this, when we say it you might want to...’” said Charlesworth. Though the Rhino Party was determined to maintain its satirical presentation, they also wanted to ensure that important issues were brought to attention of students and candidates. “I think we’re the only candidates that worked on our opponents’ platforms,” said Stevenson. See RHINO, page 4
PRESIDENT
“I’m excited that the student body (those that voted) chose to elect me to the VP internal position. To be honest, I thought that voting numbers were going to be low, and unfortunately, I was proven right. For me, the election did not go as I thought it would, as one of the three candidates dropped out. This changed the entire dynamic of the campaign. I respect Rob’s decision, and know that he made it with the best interests of students in mind. There is so much work to be done within Feds and the university. Our term starts May 2, but the work really starts now. Arts students interested in university governance should stay tuned — I have to give up my seat on senate once my term as VP commences, so there should be a by election shortly. This is a great opportunity to really represent students to the highest academic decision-making body on campus.”
Luke Burke VP INTERNAL
“What can I say but that I am relieved and excited. I would like to thank all the students and volunteers that contributed towards this victory. I would especially like to thank Marco and his team for running a smooth and clean election. I congratulate all the Feds councillors and executives elect and look forward towards a dynamic and memorable year ahead.”
Prashant Patel
VP ADMIN & FINANCE I am thrilled that I was successful in being elected VP education. I was happy with the way the team dynamic played out, and I think it will be a fantastic advantage heading into office. Now that the election is over, I have lots to learn and can’t wait to get started! I don’t think anyone can effectively know exactly how an election will play out — there are so many different factors. What was surprising was how much fun the campaign trail was. A great opportunity to talk with students and hear about their issues — I hope these conversations will continue well into my time in office.
Natalie Cockburn VP EDUCATION