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 mattblackall 1 year ago
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 I am MattPosts: 16 Member rating: 1
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It's a sad day for deserving student represenatation and a good day for popularity voting.
I am very sad.
Firstly only 10% of students actually voted (roughly), the other 90% dont understand what they are voting for and what it means to them.
Secondly. i am sad because its obvious that most students (remember i said most because i know a lot didnt) voted on impulse, on names they remember, on randomisation and on who their friends tell them to vote for or who they are friends with.
Dont get me wrong i know some students actually looked at the manefestos, but can i say those who didnt yet still voted should be ashamed of themselves.
Plus can i add that i hope that most of the people who voted would vote for me to become prime minister even if i did advotcate the destruction of the capitalist system and an anarchist rule just because i went to pompey uni, because i know your all very loyal to your own type.
My mini rant is over, you'll be hearing from me again hopeflully...
Matt Blackall
p.s. i am planning on making some badges stating: "I voted for student representation not popularity", so if anyone wants one let me know
p.p.s. i am not stating any names of people i disagree with being elected that this message is being directed at, its stil a democratic election...
p.p.p.s well done to the people who did get elected!! those who i supported know i supported them! |
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thegumqueen 1 year ago
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 enigmatic do-gooderPosts: 56 Member rating: 3
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Congratulations to all of you that were voted in!
I was campaigning for Elle, not because she was a friend, but because I believed in what she had to say, and could see that she had the experience for it. And I'm glad to say that we have become friends over the last week. I believe strongly that she will be able to do what needs to be done to make it understood that these elections DO matter.
One thing that keeps coming back to me is that there are so many students that do not realise these are paid jobs. We need to ask ourselves 'if we were put in a personnel role, would we have given these people a job?
I think that there needs to be a thorough review of the election procedures to ensure that subsequent years are not the popularity contest that they have been. But enough of my ranting, It's time for bed!!!
Message edited by: thegumqueen at: 17/03/2007 09:01 |
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davelipscombe 1 year ago
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 Posts: 10 Member rating: 0 |
interestingly at southampton they arent allowed to use facebook and such like for the elections, pretty much due to the fact it turns into a popularity contest.
perhaps online voting should also be looked at next year - this would probably help get a higher voter turnout. |
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Alex Harries, UPSU 1 year ago
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 Grumpy, geeky old grey-headPosts: 476 Member rating: 0
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Dave - interesting point. The flip-side of the Facebook argument is that UPSU.net wasn't (as far as I am aware - I did ask) allowed to play host to any individual campaign materials before the start of campaigning.
For me, this meant I could only write generically in my blog, forum messages, and on my public profile. Conversely, Southampton SU's elections website carried candidate blogs throughout as far as I can tell.
Another point is that what happens on Facebook seems to translate very loosely if at all into real-life, beyond the fact that candidates are able to promote their manifestos and engage in discussion with potential voters in a widely accessible environment, something I think has been a real boost to many of the campaigners this year.
I would be devastated to see social networking sites as well-made as Facebook becoming a no-go area for campaigners, partially because policing such media would be effectively impossible, but most importantly because the interweb - and especially Web 2.0 - provides an amazing chance for real discussion and a real level of understanding of the candidates, and their strengths and weaknesses, something which is nigh-on impossible to achieve using only an A6 flyer, or a shouted "Vote Tom!" message.
The last reason I would hate to see social networking websites not being allowed to play a part in campaigners' campaigns is purely selfish: the internet opens a huge range of opportunity for people to be able to quickly and easily find what interests them without having to deal with irrelevant information.
If people lose that opportunity to interact with candidates, we could find student apathy increasing whereas, properly used, the internet can inspire action in students who would normally be apathetic to a democratic process they may not know the reasons for.
Sorry for the long reply, and I hope what I've said here makes sense :o)
/al |
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Alex Harries, UPSU 1 year ago
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Grumpy, geeky old grey-headPosts: 476 Member rating: 0
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I forgot to mention online voting in my reply:
Online voting has the potential to completely change the campaigning landscape as far as student elections are concerned. This is entirely down to the fact that students can cast their vote without ever leaving the house, meaning they then wouldn't be exposed to the majority of campaign activity on campus.
It's very hard (but not impossible by any means) to convey a campaigner's manifesto in the few seconds most people are prepared to listen on the street, so this exposure might not be missed if students who voted online were encouraged to read the candidates' manifestos and literature.
The downside of that is that it becomes very hard to allow campaigners a degree of individual expression in their campaigns to catch voters' eyes; if campaigners could actively campaign in the UPSU.net elections mini site, where and how would you draw the line between fair campaigning and simply flooding the website with "spam"?
Online voting is an area which I think could be great for student democracy, but it is something which needs to be properly designed and implemented by people far cleverer and more experienced than I am.
It could happen, but having seen how complex the system is I suspect it won't happen any time soon.
/al
Message edited by: alexh at: 18/03/2007 00:46 |
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Steve Baker, UPSU Membership Services Manager 1 year ago
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mattblackall wrote:
It's a sad day for deserving student represenatation and a good day for popularity voting.
I am very sad.
Firstly only 10% of students actually voted (roughly), the other 90% dont understand what they are voting for and what it means to them.
Secondly. i am sad because its obvious that most students (remember i said most because i know a lot didnt) voted on impulse, on names they remember, on randomisation and on who their friends tell them to vote for or who they are friends with.
Dont get me wrong i know some students actually looked at the manefestos, but can i say those who didnt yet still voted should be ashamed of themselves.
Plus can i add that i hope that most of the people who voted would vote for me to become prime minister even if i did advotcate the destruction of the capitalist system and an anarchist rule just because i went to pompey uni, because i know your all very loyal to your own type.
My mini rant is over, you'll be hearing from me again hopeflully...
Matt Blackall
p.s. i am planning on making some badges stating: "I voted for student representation not popularity", so if anyone wants one let me know
p.p.s. i am not stating any names of people i disagree with being elected that this message is being directed at, its stil a democratic election...
p.p.p.s well done to the people who did get elected!! those who i supported know i supported them!
Hi Matt,
You make some very good points.
Unfortunately in Student Union Elections across the country voter turn is set at about the level of this participation. I think one reason for this is that for each student the Union represents something different i.e. a Society, Club, Volunteering, RAG etc. The step we have yet to make is the cross over between this involvement and the understanding to students that they actually run the Union.
On a positive note the numbers involved in Union activity is far great than 10% and UPSU have been growing these numbers at a significant rate for he last few years. Therefore with some concentrated and organised communication increased representation is not that far away.
I would like to add that you as a student individually represent exactly the type of student the Union needs to continue this change and I am happy that the development of this website as a communication tool has allowed you to have your say.
If you would like to come into the office to discuss any of this further I am in the Sabb Office on the ground floor of Gun House.
Steve |
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davelipscombe 1 year ago
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Posts: 10 Member rating: 0 |
Alex - i appreciate the problems presented with an online voting system. Yet surely if campaigning were allowed on the minisite, then there could be a template for each candidates page - e.g. photos, manifesto etc. So each candidate gets a fair and equal say.
As well as this, if each manifesto was available together in one place, I feel that i would be more likely to take the time to sit there and read what everyone has to say, giving me the chance to make a more informed decision... when im wandering around university, im only exposed to a small number of candidates, who are never going to be able to put everything across to me in a few minutes.
Sorry to bring Southampton up again (my partner goes there), but they have a very succesful online voting system - although im not sure on what their voter turnout is like in comparison.
Hope this is useful in some way. |
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peachyraver 1 year ago
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Posts: 103 Member rating: 6 |
who cares |
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Alex Harries, UPSU 1 year ago
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Grumpy, geeky old grey-headPosts: 476 Member rating: 0
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davelipscombe wrote:
Alex - i appreciate the problems presented with an online voting system. Yet surely if campaigning were allowed on the minisite, then there could be a template for each candidates page - e.g. photos, manifesto etc. So each candidate gets a fair and equal say.
Well, each candidate does have a manifesto online at the moment. However, it's also important to remember that not every candidate will be computer-literate enough to keep an online campaign running as effectively as another candidate, so it's important to determine whether that constitutes an unfair (dis)advantage, in my eyes at least.
davelipscombe wrote:
Sorry to bring Southampton up again (my partner goes there), but they have a very succesful online voting system - although im not sure on what their voter turnout is like in comparison.
I didn't know that! Looks like they've kicked our butts on that one then ;o)
Seriously though, I do want to provide online voting on UPSU.net, but I want to make sure we do it properly.
davelipscombe wrote:
Hope this is useful in some way.
Always :o)
/al |
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Alex Harries, UPSU 1 year ago
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Grumpy, geeky old grey-headPosts: 476 Member rating: 0
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peachyraver wrote:
who cares
Stop trolling, peachy  Anyway, I know *you* care, because the Sabbs can - with the help of the Union's trading arm - work towards improving the diversity of music at the Union.
I for one know how vocal you are that there isn't enough fresh dance music at the Union. With the help of the trading company, I'm hoping to have a good shot at changing that for the better next year. |
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skribla 1 year ago
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 Posts: 75 Member rating: 0 |
With regards to the online voting thing, I had to scrutineer on Friday night and one of the NUS guys there said that online voting has been trialled at a few unis and they've found that really only a large percentage of the people that voted were on computing courses - not sure how recent this was though as more students than ever seem to be using the internets! |
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