Dear sir,
I am a past student election candidate. I remember the days of long, tense paper-balloted counts. A far cry from the shower I witnessed last night at the election results.
There was always anger at the election counts. But the anger was never about what appeared to have been endless well documented breaches of the rules, and nothing done about them by the returning officer. Putin would be proud. The laddish, childish jeering of ‘easy’ from the victors was disgusting. At least back in my union days, the jeering was about politics and about student issues. Not about getting students even more drunk in a VIP area. The context of the greatest threats to higher education as a backdrop to these pathetic manifesto commitments is unspeakably depressing.
Now it seems that the union is a hive for CV builders, those who just want a cosy job for the year.
With the greatest respect to Mr Doherty, it appears that for whatever reason, he is unwilling to enforce the rules. Perhaps we can’t blame him. I always remember him as an affable man, but at the end of the day if he makes a disqualification from the team that held the most complaints, then he has to work with them still for the end of the year. Pherhaps he is not in a position to disqualify. One recalls a recent incident in University of Ulster students union where over five candidates broke the rules. All five were disqualified – by an independent returning officer who was not a member of staff at the union.
I note that turnout was not high. Yes, higher than in my times, but lower than it has previously been. How many students out there felt turned off – indeed, DISconnected – because of the sight of huge, dominating tickets. Nobody ever used to run in teams. It could be argued that this is unhealthy for democracy. The noise from the crowd (apart from one noisy, laddish section) seems to suggest that a lot of people lost faith in their own union last night.
What will it take to restore it?
It should never be forgotten that the Students’ Council (or SRC back in the day) is the body that controls the union. It directs the work of the sabbaticals. It is not there to be controlled by the sabbatical officers, in fact it is the other way round. Those people on SRC are not requested to scrutinise. They are OBLIGATED to scrutinise. They will be failing in their duty if they do not, at the next available oppurtuinity, pass motions to:
- Bring in an independent returning officer for the 2013 sabbatical elections
- Ban tickets (They never used to be a problem, they are now. Whole cliques can win election not on merit, but on sheer overpowering force)
- Ban Ipads and mobile laptops being used by candidates (for one thing, as well as causing these well documented difficulties, its hard to argue that they don’t price out those less financially well off or well CONNECTED candidates that do not have access to high tech equipment)
Restore democracy in your union. I am embarrassed to be associated by it now.
Yours,
A disappointed former election candidate.
