Ah, election season. For some, merely a sign of spring. But for others this couple of weeks are met with a grimace. For those who see the swathes of student politicians and their campaigners as more harassment than excitement, this becomes a week of reclusion, silent scowls and hurrying to class at a brisk pace with your head down. Many feel stark and absolute indifference towards the elections and towards student politics more generally.
Student democracy is a great thing, but it is far from straightforward. At the most basic level, the student electoral system chooses the person that the majority feels has the best ideas and who is most likely to implement them. But I think everyone can agree that there are many other elements that can sometimes confound this system. Popularity is a big one: often it is the candidate with the biggest campaign team or who knows the most people that comes out on top. Additionally, deciphering the practical policies from the sillier ones can prove challenging. Yesterday, I even heard someone complaining that the candidates were “lifeless”.
I think the problem with many of the candidates is that they are impassioned to the point of inaccuracy.
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Personally, I think the problem with many of the candidates is that they are impassioned to the point of inaccuracy. Campaigns are full of buzzwords like “partnership” and “support”, but campaigns that are as inclusive as these words imply are rare. Yet they do exist. It can be difficult to remember this when reading through pamphlets that are often replete with typos, as well as hearing so many different opinions on candidates’ policies, often wildly misinterpreted. Student activism is very much alive, but so too is naivety and a tendency towards unrealistic proposals. That’s not to mention the ultimate reproach of the cynic – that it doesn’t matter a toss because student leaders won’t be able to change anything anyway.
There are certainly enough problems surrounding the TCDSU elections to fill more pamphlets than are left scattered around campus over the two campaign weeks. A friend on a campaign team told me that she tried to hand a girl a pamphlet, who instead walked by and snapped: “It’s going straight in the bin.” This outright dismissal doesn’t seem quite right either. Firstly, this is because the candidates deserve a large amount of our respect. The desire to provide positive change for students is commendable and the amount of work to organise a campaign is monstrous. That two candidates have already dropped out of the race is surely indicative of this. Campaigning takes a massive emotional and physical toll on candidates, as they are forced to engage with huge volumes of students, manage difficult questions at hustings, and juggle the demands of the Electoral Commission and its rules. Suffice to say, running for election is not a simple matter of putting your name up, and sitting back to let students decide. It’s a hard slog, and candidates should be commended for wanting it badly enough to take the various hits.
Call me naive, but people having ideas and wanting to invoke change has got to be a good thing on some level.
As a cynic or otherwise, everyone can appreciate that campaign week is a vibrant one. Call me naive, but people having ideas and wanting to invoke change has got to be a good thing on some level. Even if you dislike everything about the TCDSU elections and the associated madness, there may still be one policy, person, or funky t-shirt that speaks to you. If not, taking a simple step back works too. Your level of engagement in student politics is completely up to yourself. Over the next few days, I am working to keep my pessimism in check because too often I feel it’s closed-minded and unjust to react this way, given that student politicians often do great work.
Finally, I’ve learnt that everyone can easily gain from elections. Be it in appreciating the hilarity of the House of Cards-style relationship that can develop from candidate rivalries, or in the creation of genius mock campaigns on Facebook, TCDSU elections can be an amusing and engaging time. Perhaps they won’t inspire ground-breaking developments, but they should nevertheless be encouraged, as they are a valuable aspect of the College year.
