The Good
Voting turnout has topped records this year, making UoN’s elections the most popular student elections in the UK! Students responded to a big email push from Schools across the university encouraging everyone to have their say. Combined with a manic rush of campaigning from candidates on the last few days of voting, this meant we reached 11501 votes in total.
Morris’ Minions. Fair play to the guy – this was some campaign branding that made an impact. Callum Morris, who was running for SU President, fully embraced the theme with minion dungaree T-shirts for him and the team and a minion teddy that he carried around throughout the campaign like a child with a comfort-blanket.
Johnny Lawrence’s campaign in general. Courgette Tuesdays? Closing the Chamber of Secrets? Hopping Hopper Buses? As much as his campaign was witty, Johnny had good principles behind the jokes. He told Her Campus that he only had one serious policy because he doesn’t want to make a lot of promises that he realistically wouldn’t be able to fulfil. And he thinks people take the elections too seriously. This guy splits opinion, but he’s sure kept us amused!
General camaraderie. HC was lurking around Portland Building in the final minutes before voting closed, and felt slightly warm and fuzzy inside to see rival candidates congratulating each other. In his Presidential acceptance speech, Harry Copson first thanked the other President candidates, saying he was happy to have made new friends in the campaigning process.
The Bad
Anyone else got a News Feed that looks a bit like this..?
Looks like campaigns have hit social media big time. Although Her Campus have enjoyed election fever, we’ll be glad to get back the usual News Feed offerings of Crisis photos and irrelevant ‘sponsored posts’ that have become something like a needle in a haystack since the 6th March. Hell, we almost miss NekNominate.
The Ugly
Top prize here goes to our beloved student publication, SU-despised Tab. After it was revealed that the Tab had been backing one of the Presidential candidates, Katie Williams, students began voicing their disapproval.
Suffice it to say, the debate got somewhat heated. In one corner, were those saying that The Tab’s coverage of the elections was covertly biased. There had been specific coverage in support of William’s campaign, and a quiz posted on the website to help students decide who they should vote for was revealed to always produce the answer ‘Katie Williams’. Alex Mawby, features editor of Impact, reported on his personal blog that not only was Williams a friend of several Tab members, but she was herself an editor for the publication.
The Tab responded with a statement claiming that they have every right to back any candidate they choose because they are not affiliated with the SU. However their unarguably correct statement didn’t prove particularly successful in turning frowns upside down.
Students in support of both parties took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with The Tab’s coverage.
In true Tab style, they took the whole debacle somewhat light-heartedly. Any publicity is good publicity, eh?