Why vote?
The SU election is well under way and soon, if not already, you will be seeing posters, banners, flyers and candidates all over campus campaigning for your vote. Whatever happens, 5 students will be elected to lead the Students' Union for the 2013/14 year. All of the positions have more than one person running so there is a choice for every position going – so why should you vote?
Changes
The elected students will have the power and opportunity to create and influence change not only in the Students’ Union, but around the university as well. You may not always hear about these changes (perhaps you should ask candidates about this?) but they happen.
Changes and influences can affect anything from;
• Social Space
• Funding & money (e.g. books +, aspire, fee waivers)
• Implementation of new systems
• Library opening times
• New resources on campus
• SU events
• New scoreboards on campus
• More communication boards around campus
• Funding for Clubs and Societies
And lots more
But it’s not just the changes they make, they will contribute to hundreds of University meetings during the year and it's their job to make sure your voice is heard and the interests of students are represented effectively.
So why should you vote?
5 students will be elected and their job will be to represent YOU. It is so important that you have someone who you think will do a good job.
Imagine if you didn’t’ vote and ‘Chugger’ got elected; a self-confessed party animal where all he wants to get from the job is the fun from fresher’s fair. Imagine if the 5 Officers elected actually didn’t care about students, missed all their meetings so no students where represented? Don’t worry, ‘Chugger’ isn’t running!
Take some time before voting to read the manifestos and pick the candidates you think will best benefit YOUR student experience. If you’re still not sure, catch the candidates around campus or send them an email and ask them about the things they are standing for.
You can see who is running in the election
here