Conversations beforehand brought up some fatalistic concerns about the elections. “Everyone knows how they are going to vote before they’ve heard a single candidate speak,” said a member of the audience.
Walking into a cold and bright Academy 2, there is a sense of déjà vu. Much like General Meetings, only a fraction of the student population are here. A sixth of the audience are standing for Executive positions themselves.
A few key issues came up time and time again; tuition fees, university cuts and liberation issues. Nearly all candidates addressed the most pressing issues: participation. Why do some students feel so disconnected from the Union? There is evidently a malaise about student politics at the University of Manchester. If a General Meeting cannot muster 300 eager decision-makers, why should elections be any different?
Hustings did provide some entertaining moments. ‘Big Z Bear’ or Zubair Asghar, a candidate for Engineering and Physical Sciences Faculty Officer, sat in the second row making his feelings clear on who he supported out of candidates. He eventually took to the hustings microphone and delivered his own speech in rhyming couplets.
Hustings was host to some impressive public speakers. You can picture these speakers, not just as winners of this year’s election, but also as politicians of national importance. Others provided little or no depth and no applicable ideas.
It was a hustings of extremes. Student elections often drag up the unusual, the unprepared and some genuinely impressive candidates. The most promising aspect of the evening was how many questions were asked to the candidates. There is legitimate passion in Manchester’s students. It has just yet to be harnessed.
The room near-emptied after two hours of hearing the sabbatical candidates. The final few struggled through the non-sabbatical officers speeches. ‘Big Z Bear’ encapsulated the feelings of the few remaining audience members: “No one dare ask a question.”
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