Student Council elections

Phat Chance

In my school we are soon holding elections for student council representatives. I'm planning on running but I don't know what to base my campaign on. Has anyone here seen the same kind of thing done, and to what effects, how successful was the approach? What kind of goals should I aim for, what in a sense can I carry out while on the student council?

(I thought about putting this in the advertising and marketing thread but this seemed a logical choice)

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

angeldelight

Well what sort of things do you want to change? What interests you? Just curious, but why do you want to run if you don't have any thoughts about it yourself??

Ray777

Phat Chance wrote:

In my school we are soon holding elections for student council representatives. I'm planning on running but I don't know what to base my campaign on. Has anyone here seen the same kind of thing done, and to what effects, how successful was the approach? What kind of goals should I aim for, what in a sense can I carry out while on the student council?

(I thought about putting this in the advertising and marketing thread but this seemed a logical choice)

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Well, if you don't even know what to base your campaign on, why exactly do you want to be on your student council in the first place? You don't have any clear aim, no policies and if we're completely honest, you probably only want to be on the student council because it'll give you extra cred, time off classes and a sense of being 'above' everybody else. Actually, it sounds like I'm describing the Taoiseach there... You'll go far.

A good election promise would be for a student representative to be present at all staff-meetings. Obviously that would never be allowed, but that doesn't matter. It just might get you elected.

simu

Give out free lollipops! That's how they do it at third level anyway. :rolleyes:

Annasopra

Have a think about what you would like to see in your school and basically use all that as a basis for your campaign

Is your school affiliated to USS - how about promising to run an affiliation campaign

You might get some help here

http://www.carrigcs.ie/stucouncil/agenda.htm

http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2004/03/24/story546967960.asp

http://www.studentcouncil.ie/

http://www.ussonline.net/

http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/student_council_voice.pdf

http://www.nco.ie/press_room/41/

http://www.nco.ie/upload_documents/SCI_reportFINAL.pdf

http://www.nco.ie/work_of_the_national_childrens_office/student_councils/

http://www.studentxpress.ie/features/council.html

http://www.skoool.ie/skoool/senior.asp?id=3413

http://www.youreducation.ie/updates/detail.php?ID=27

Zombrex

simu wrote:

Give out free lollipops! That's how they do it at third level anyway. :rolleyes:

LOL .. u didn't go to UL by any chance ... or do they do that everywhere

sceptre

Wicknight wrote:

LOL .. u didn't go to UL by any chance ... or do they do that everywhere

It's certainly become almost compulsory in UL. No idea how people manage to reconcile that with the new restrictions on campaign costs. Let it be known that no campaign I was ever involved with ever gave out free anything except vague promises - they were run on issues, not personalities (there's a line from Blackadder The Third to follow that but I won't insult any of my friends by throwing it in there, at least one successful candidate visits boards.ie regularly).

Phat Chance, leaving aside whether you've got idears and notions for a moment - why do you want to run for this post? What makes you better than the other slobs? Elections have been easily won on nothing more than personality before so that would at least be a good start to consider. Without considering that, it probably wouldn't matter what policies or intents you have given that people probably know you in your school already. If you were campaigning for people who don't see you in the schoolyard every day I'd start with consideration of policies but given that you're campaigning to a relatively small number of people (and especially if voting is done in a way to make it effectively compulsory for that small number of people) I'd start with considering what would make you a good representative for your constituency, regardless of what policies you may have. Then make up, er, develop, that's it, policies (as if you don't have any already you might not be all that committed to them anyway).

And given that it is a close-knit community election, what you really need is a group of well-liked individuals to go and let others know that you're running and why you'd be good, one by one if necessary. If you haven't got that you haven't got anything (though out of pre-breakfast boredom and a sense of applecart upsetting I once ran a successful one-man campaign for a student union executive council post against a large grouping from the student cumann of a large political party which took up less than an hour of my time but I was lazy enough that I didn't campaign to more than two specific groups that might well have voted for a donkey if it turned up and asked, just enough to acquire the 450 votes I reckoned would be enough (it was). You won't have that luxury (and you actually give a rats tail about being elected))

Phat Chance

Well, I feel I'm the best suited for the job, as I was chairman of the comittee to start the elections off last year. (Don't worry, I resigned when I declared I was going to run, last week). I'm interested in politics and I'm not afraid of speaking to crowds etc. (I'm on the public speaking and debating teams also). I do give a rats ass about the running of the school, unlike the other two candidates I'd say, who also don't have the first clue about meetings. One's a class clown, the other an out and out jock. Proble is they're both far more popular than I. I had the idea to challenge them to a Q&A session before the election, each of us giving a speech then the audience posing questions. Both of them are no good at speech writing, except Clown, he may be able to ad-lib it, whereas I've had practice and I do write reasonable speeches.
About what I'm campaigning for I've no idea what the council will do. No-one does. I've taken the line on facilites, from litter crew to maybe a students newsletter, perhaps bi-monthly

Annasopra

Phat Chance wrote:

About what I'm campaigning for I've no idea what the council will do. No-one does. I've taken the line on facilites, from litter crew to maybe a students newsletter, perhaps bi-monthly

I understand where you are coming from BUT well if you are starting your campaign like that you are on to a loser - if you go around telling people well I don't what the SC does but sure I want to be on it - that is definitely not gonna get you votes

Read some of the links I posted - if you don't find anything - google student council - that's what I did

You say you care about the running of the school - how could this be improved? what can the SC do? what experience can you bring to the SC?

RandolphEsq

say you'll do things like making lunch longer, or you'll try and make school start later or say the food will be more varied in the canteen,people like their food

Phat Chance

BrightEyes wrote:

say you'll do things like making lunch longer, or you'll try and make school start later or say the food will be more varied in the canteen,people like their food

Problem 1, no canteen, not yet anyhow, new building should start in November.
Problem 2, the Principal and the Vice, will be keeping enough of a hold on it to not let that happen.

segadreamcast

Phat Chance wrote:

Problem 1, no canteen, not yet anyhow, new building should start in November.
Problem 2, the Principal and the Vice, will be keeping enough of a hold on it to not let that happen.

Personally, you don't sound like much of a leader at all to me - you seem to be just doing it out of spite towards the two present candidates...

simu

NoelRock wrote:

Personally, you don't sound like much of a leader at all to me - you seem to be just doing it out of spite towards the two present candidates...

It's only a student council. Go on and do it, OP, it'll be fun and you might even learn something along the way.

Phat Chance

Okay, my first campaign poster is made, but guess what I saw today on a billboard? Almost an exact copy of my idea. I had this idea two weeks ago, made the poster on Saturday and saw the official one (it's a Ryan Tubridy ad, the Stand out From The Crowd one) but here's mine.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/Phat_Chance/Campaign1.jpg

Crania

Just say differnet things that you think would be good like establishing a breakfast club or something like that, I'm on my schools student council but we don't do much.

Just out of interest, what school do you go to?

Phat Chance

I'm in Bridgetown VC (in the sticks). I've got a definite campaign slant, anyway. One fella went around with a petition last year for a battle of the bands/showcase thing for the students bands. I'll do what I can if I get on to help him get it underway, maybe as a charity event aswell (we have a few of those every year). Other posters, which went up today, I definitely prefer them to the first one.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/Phat_Chance/Campaign3.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/Phat_Chance/Campaign2.jpg

Crania

Oh right, I'm in Good Counsel in Ross. I can't believe ye put up posters and things before the elections, in our school we don't even have a speech, the people in opur class just vote for two people to go on the Student Council

patzer117

Why aren't you trying to make your school a better place?

I suggest doing things for charity, getting yourselves a study room for your LC students, letting students have an influence in what will be sold in the new cantine, campaign for new sports or some sort of new facilities in the school if they are needed.

A sure way to get elected is to see what the people want - invariably to make the school better. Talk to the voters, see what they want in the school and ask them why. Act concerned (if you can't be) and then tell them that you're on their side and that you'll do your best to get whatever it is they want.

Also drumming up a bit of school pride (if i'm elected we'll cease to be this bally-go-backwards school etc.) isn't a bad idea.

But hell i didn't get elected so don't listen to me if you don't want to :-)