Results

The results of the UCLan Students’ Union elections 2008 were:

President: Gavin Jones

Education officer: Sarah Delli-Colli

Activities and participations officer: Kelly Burdett

Media officer: Andy Squire

Campaigns officer: Lee Bradshaw

The results seemed to go with ‘facebook form’ in that those with the largest group on facebook and online campaign seemed to end up winning. A trend for the future?

Sarah Edwards drops out of election

It’s a morning of dropping out. Sarah Edwards has reportedly dropped out of the race to be the new President of UCLan Students’ Union.

In a message to her Facebook group she said: “Hi guys, Thanks for all your support so far. I have decided to withdraw from the elections due to a change in circumstances next year. Please remember to vote in the elections on Monday!”

This leaves Gavin Jones and Chris Ward to fight it out, for Chris Ward it’s the second time he’s been in a direct run-off for the position.

James Gibbs out of Campaigns race

It’s been confirmed this morning that James Gibbs has withdrawn from the race to be Campaigns officer, this leaves four candidates left. He’s believed to have withdrawn citing mounting coursework deadlines as the reason.

‘Election candidate punched’

No not here at UCLan, it hasn’t reached that stage yet! The Lancashire Evening Post is reporting that an election candidate for the local elections was allegedly punched by another candidate’s campaign team. Democracy eh?

Two drop out of Media officer race

Last week saw two candidates drop out of the race for Media officer. Steven Cookson and Mark Roles have withdrawn leaving Dean Barker and Andy Squire to battle it out. It’s not clear whether any Cookson/Roles followers will switch allegiance to other candidates.

Both candidates withdrew citing personal reasons and the build up of course commitments that would limit their campaigning ability.

This is the first time the role has been contested (it was previously Communications officer) since the 2005 election with Mark Hudson beating one other candidate.

Note: Apologies for the lack of updates, been away at NUS Annual Conference. All candidate interviews will be posted up over the week beginning April 7.

‘How to make people vote’ - be different

Polly Toynbee writes in The Guardian today about ‘How to make people vote’ and it’s a question that the Union has pondered and no doubt the election candidates are pondering even more.

The main thrust of the article is that voters want a choice. Everyone’s competing for the politically correct middle ground, but actually if people had a clear choice turnout would go up. We don’t all want to vote for three Mr or Mrs X’s, we want a Y and a Z to pick from.

The lesson for candidates, pin your colours to a mast and make voters believe that you can climb to the top of it. Don’t just follow the herd.

Edwards withdraws from election

Mark Edwards has withdrawn from the race to be president.

Edwards is believed to have cited a build-up of university work and other personal reasons for dropping out.

The news leaves three candidates left in the race to be President: Sarah Edwards, Gavin Jones and Chris Ward. Edwards was running as part of a trio with Adam Slaughter and David Watters - we’ll see if they back another President candidate or stick as a duo. Edwards was expected to command the sports vote, but this could shift to Sarah Edwards who could expect to inherit voters who would have backed Mark Edwards.

Going on facebook group members the current favourite for President is Gavin Jones on 395 group members, Chris Ward is second on 149, while Sarah Edwards carries 89 members. Mark Edwards’ shared group with Slaughter and Watters currently has 112 members. But will facebook support translate into solid votes?

The Guardian: Ministers back voting reforms

With the news that the government is tabling a motion to switch to the Alternative Transferable Vote (ATV) election system, we’ll be taking a look over the next week at how the UCLan Students’ Union system of Single Transferable Vote (STV) works, the drama it’s caused in the past, and assessing whether it’s the best method available for student elections.

Why only one person stood for education officer

This is the most hotly contested election at UCLan Students’ Union for a long time, but there’s one position that hasn’t attracted the same level of candidates. The Union’s education officer has one candidate, so what happened? We spoke to Peta Carter, the current education officer to find out why she thinks this is the case.

Why do you think only one person stood for education officer?

Possibly because it is not seen as the ’sexy’ position or the position with the most fun.  But I have had so much fun, especially with course rep training and with course rep social events but also working with university staff with various issues that this is a misnomer.  Then again, some people think that ‘education’ is simply gaining a qualification and don’t see the wider enjoyment of learning and passing on these skills.  Others may see it as a position that only complains about things but it is also a position which encourages the university to continue good practice and consultation with students and also keeps the staff in contact with real student issues.  Students do not always come and simply complain, they often require assistance to channel their positive suggestions, and this role provides that.
 
Did the governance review get it wrong with the education position?

The Education Officer had to remain as a separate position as it encompasses a very wide range of skills and needs.  Any SU staff to support the position would be gratefully received.
 
Do you feel you’ve set the bar too high for others to follow?

I hope that I have set the bar high and for that I do not apologise, but no bar is too high for someone else to break that record.  I would prefer to say that I have helped established the continue way forward.  Every position must be aiming to improve the standards of student representation and support year on year so that no-one rests on the laurels of their predecessor and lets standards fall.
 
Is the education officer position outdated?

Absolutely not.  After all, education is what everyone came to university for, isn’t it?  The student perspective needs to be heard at all levels within the university; not so that we always get want we want, but to ensure that our needs are understood and open debate can take place to satisfy the needs of our education.  We have a very good course rep system here but it is not perfect and still needs progressing.  But recruitment, induction, progression and retention still need continual addressing, along with academic regulations, degree classification systems (or not), academic appeals, information sharing, academic penalties; student views to validations and departmental reviews are carefully listened to.  Whilst neither the students nor the institution are perfect, frank discussions need to be maintained to raise the attainments on both sides.  The Education Officer is the moral reminder keeping the university on its toes so that it is constantly improving, and trying to put pressure on the national scene to ensure that British education standards remain amongst the best in the world.  After they have canvassed actual students for their opinions, the EO often works more with university staff for positive and more permanent change.
 
Should the education officer position have been merged with something else?

Absolutely not.  There is too much to do.  See above.
 
Is the education officer not having a high enough profile, despite historically being #2 to the President?

Perhaps not in this institution, but it is not the celebrity of the person in the role that may need improving, rather it is their ability to quietly get the job done without shouting too much about it that hasn’t raised the profile enough.  
 
What should the priorities be for an incoming education officer?

Continue building up the status of course reps within the institution; encouraging students to register AND vote in the possible general election in 2009 considering the best candidates with respect to education proposals [demonstrating rarely changes opinions positively whereas voting really can make a difference]; positively working with NUS about the ‘lifting the cap’ discussions due to take place in late 2009; working more with part-time and postgrad students [as these groups are very difficult to engage]; ensure that the university continues in providing some of the best support facilities in the country; getting more faculties to have students on their validation panels for new courses; and… continue with everything that has been going on over the last 20 months.  Oh, and get another team together for University Challenge!

BBC: vote fraud undermines democracy

Story on the BBC site this morning about vote fraud in an election in Slough, this was during a conventional paper election. It raises the question, could e-voting be the safest option to stop bent politicians getting into power? We’ll be interviewing someone from the Electoral Reform Service who are providing the system for the UCLan student elections to see how safe their system really is.