Union Elections

Riamfada

Story!

HEY HEY HEY : Its that time of the year again, lies, backstabbing, finding out who your friends really are and finding out all your friends were never really you friends at all ! Do you vote for the nice guy with the flashing disco lights and bikini clad girls or the other guy with the flashing disco lights and bikini clad girls. Both would make great Welfare Officers! Free BOOZE if you Vote for me! We love Sabat Elections!


I was going to post this on what was the "Newswire" but seeing as they have the same Mod. Its all the same . I just wanted to see what you people thought of the Union elections. Traditionally voter turnout is very low and its seen more and more of a clicque or expensive society for a small group of friends. You dont get in if you dont hang with the right people . Thats the perception and I argue there is no smoke without fire. What do you think?

This isnt my opinion, just trying to gauge opinion.

PS: I realise that only the Union hacks here are posting over xmass

Regards

G to the Izzle

redcar

As with all elections anywhere, I really don't care, but it is important to vote. If you look nice, you get my vote. If you don't sound like a total tool, you get my vote. But if you make an effort and talk to me, you get my vote. Quinlivan shook my hand last year and talked to me... so I voted for him. Didn't really care about what he said but he talked to me!

Stepherunie

Over the years I've seen the best candidates lose election because they haven't had the right machine behind them.

I've seen the worst of candidates who have broken laws in some of there work and it really bugs me that they get elected when those who want to genuinely help people get bypassed because they didn't have the machines behind them.

What always sticks in my head is the education race of 04/05. Shaun Smyth was running for election and in his manifesto he said he wanted the Earlsfort Terrace library to be open on Sundays like the library was in Belfield.

That seems very good and logical. But for those who weren't around in 04/05 the library wasn't open in Belfield on a Sunday.

To me this is the key problem with a lot of people who run - they think they know what they're doing but they never actually research it enough. It' strikes me that many have the idea of how great the whole concept of being is a sabbat is but the lack the foresight to actually realise what the job entails.

I could reel off way more instances of this but I couldn't be bothered.

To be honest you can hang out with all the right people, be the best candidate but if you don't have the likeability factor you won't win.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

I'll sell my vote to the highest bidder.

Young Siward

Stepherunie wrote: »

Over the years I've seen the best candidates lose election because they haven't had the right machine behind them.

Doesn't just apply to Student Union politics....see US presidential election 2008.

Speaking of machines, if you look at the last election swing in particular, you need to study B&L, be in B&L or pretend to be in B&L to have a chance!

Riamfada

That used to swing true but B&L seems to have nosedived this year. Possibly to be replaced with C&E but i dont think they have their sights on SU yet

pretty*monster

I feel very old. I have no idea wht the kids are up to these days, I have to rely in scraps of information from may many minions and young upstarts who ask me for advice on running for sabat, which is rather amusing.

dajaffa

Well firstly I'm a big hack so I'll just get that out in the open!

I think generally pepople vote for someone who they think is nice + comes accross as being competent. On top of that there are people connected to the SU itself, clubs + socs who have a lot of contacts who can get people they know to vote for them. Generally that's what it comes down to for the most part in my experience.

As for the Union being cliquey, I find the opposite. Yes a lot of people are friends from hanging out together etc, but the Union is really open to anyone who wants to get involved as theres always something going on + people are grateful for any help they can get. Now yes most of the candidates are usually involved with the union (save for Ents perhaps), but thats just how it is. People who are interested usually don't grow it overnight, they get invovled one way or another + develop enough of an interest to run for a sabbat job. Anyone can run if they so choose, but having a bit of experience probably makes people more likely to vote for you. If you haven't been invovled, but know your stuff + come accross as being good + competent there's noting stopping you!

pretty*monster wrote: »

I feel very old. I have no idea wht the kids are up to these days, I have to rely in scraps of information from may many minions and young upstarts who ask me for advice on running for sabat, which is rather amusing.

We'll have coffee, I'll catch you right up

panda100

Stepherunie wrote: »

Over the years I've seen the best candidates lose election because they haven't had the right machine behind them.!

Tell me about it. Its annoying seeing inexperienced candidates winning who have no real desire for the job. Its got to the stage where If your a commitee member of BandL or lucky enough to have a political machine like fianna Fail behind you,you've as good as won,Regardless of your experience or actual passion and dedication you have for the position your running for.

Regards to what Grimey says I think its pretty obvious to see why theres such a low turnout at union elections. As an ordinary student nothing is more annoying then union elections. You have canvassers annoying you at lunch,in lectures,on your way to the toilet,in the bar,everywhere and then you dont hear or see them again until the next sabbat elections a year later. For many students their only contact from or with the union is in February each year where they get harrassed by wannabee politicans who think a sabbatical position will further their greasy climb up the fianna fail/finna gael/labour ladder. Students are not stupid and see the politcal careerism/Cv filling for what it is. That is generalising a bit because sometimes we do have really genuine,proactive sabbats and exec officers.

I can only speak of my own experience of running in the womens officer race last year.It was a position that I really wanted to do something with and make a differnce within the union.I knew at the start of the election It would be very difficult to win from an outlying faculty (I was in the mater at the time).Since all my mates were based there and vincents It was difficult to get people to come in and canvvass for me so I had to rely on a lot of old world aiders,which unfortunatly doesnt have the same electoral pull as B+ L Its saddening now to see that the candidate who won has done little with the position and fuffilled almost none of her election promises.

I think the most frustarating thing for me as an election candidate was the lack of any orgainsed debates with the other candidates. There was no hustings for the sabbat or exec elections last year,which I think makes a bit of a mockery of the whole election process as su elctions now are just reduced to what seems like a bunch of monkeys waving papers and shouting at each other at the blob,with all non fresher students just keeping a wide birth of the whole area.

P_1

Agree completley with panda. Nothing I hate more than some prat who you couldn't give 2 monkeys about calling for your attention at the start of a lecture. (That includes those L&H muppets telling you about their 'unmissable' debate for the third time that day)

arbeitsscheuer

Absolutely 100% concur wit the sentiments of panda.
The whole thing is a pretty abysmal affair that highlights the sorry state of student politics in UCD. This isn't to deride the Student Union as a whole, purely the electoral process used for the Sabbats (and to a lesser extent the Class Reps) that actually serves to undermine the union as a whole and lead to heightened student apathy and cynicism.

I'm still gonna vote (if I can get a blasted student card, don't even get me started about the cr*p I've been going through trying to get one of them) but let's just say I probably won't be very enamoured with it.