It's election time again! Every year thousands of students get a chance to decide who leads their Union from a group of candidates who put them self forward. Don't think it is for you? Have a read of our top 10 false reasons many students have for not standing.
Find out more about The Big Elections here.
1 “I’m not political enough.”
You don’t have to have a particular view or stance to run in the elections; an interest in making things better for students at Imperial College Union is all you need!
As an elected officer, you can get involved in a variety of campaigns and issues or focus on other areas of the role. People with varying views and experience are elected at every set of elections so there is no right sort of issue or activity for those who put themselves forward or those who vote for them.
2 “I’m not the right sort of person...I don’t have the right experience.”
There is no such thing as the “right sort of person” to put themselves forward or vote in elections. There’s no such thing as “lack of experience” either. Enthusiasm and passion are the main criteria to win an election or to be a successful officer.
Every member of the Union has the right to vote and every year different people with different views, ideas and experience win. It is up to students to decide who has the best suggestions and enthusiasm. Experiences through Clubs, Societies or Projects, working at the Union or being a rep can provide a useful insight into how the Union and College function, but they are by no means essential. The Union provides training and support to help elected officers achieve their goals and each officer can really make their role their own.
In recent years some successful candidates have never been involved with Union committees of governance. Some have never held a position in a Club, Society or Project or a year rep within their department. The candidates that win elections run on good manifestos and campaign effectively.
3 “There is already a strong candidate running; I don’t want to lose.”
Most people who nominate themselves believe this, and yes, someone’s got to win. But with thousands of students voting there are no guarantees with elections.
You might think that someone else has more experience, more friends or is just more likely to win. There are often cases where people who didn’t think they would win are elected. Getting involved and running as a candidate is great experience in itself – as much as someone does need to win, it can be the taking part that makes the experience very beneficial and worthwhile.
4 “It’s just a popularity contest; I won’t win without a big campaign team.”
There are no guarantees or certainties with elections. Knowing people that you can talk to and try to persuade to vote for you can help but with thousands of votes cast in some elections, no one can know that many people!
There are a number of different things you can do to persuade people to vote for you (e.g. hand out flyers, speak in lectures and seminars, using social networking). These will all be detailed in Candidate Training before campaigning and voting begins.
Sometimes candidates end up helping each other out and it can be great way to get to know other people who might be your future colleagues, so don’t worry about not knowing a lot of people.
5 “I won’t have time.”
Nominating yourself doesn’t have to take long. It’s all done online through our eVoting system, so getting it done early is easy! Nominations are open for a whole month so can take your time to nominate yourself, fitting it in and around your current studies and work.
When it comes to doing the jobs themselves, the full-time and part-time roles are for one year from July until August (Felix Editor runs from September to July). They’re designed to be as accommodating as possible when it comes to completing your course or year of study, and the Union provides training and support to help you carry out your responsibilities.
The election campaign period is two weeks in total and it’s up to you how much time you put into it and how you balance it with your studies. You can always talk to your personal tutors about managing your time.
6 “It won’t look good on my CV.”
Running for and being in an elected position can provide you with great experience that will sit perfectly alongside your degree on your CV. Previous Sabbaticals have gone to work for BBC, top finance and consultancy firms, Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and even started their own businesses after finishing their terms.
7 “I’ll never be able to change anything, so there’s no point.”
Our current Sabbs are in the midst of making changes at the Union and also the College. However big or small, these changes go towards improving the student experience.
You just need to take a look at the Sabbatical Blogs to see what changes this year’s team have already made. From launching the new website, lobbying College on clearer fees for International students and securing more money from the IC Trust for student activities to reducing the entry costs to the Union on Wednesday nights, securing student discounts with local businesses and launching the new online Rep Finder: student officers are making real differences to College everyday.
There are also lots of examples of smaller changes that improve things for students in our You said, we did campaign, and many of these have been led by elected students.
8 “My course won’t allow me to take a year off.”
Imperial College Union has had Sabbaticals from every faculty in College, including Medicine. Every year we have elected officers who still have one or more years of study left to complete. In the 44 years we have had sabbatical officers, departments have become experienced in supporting students who are taking years out.
If you want to have a chat with your department about their procedures, get in touch with your Senior Tutor – or ask us here in the Union and we’ll check for you.
9 “I’m a Postgrad...it’s not for us.”
Being a Postgrad didn’t stop Stefan Nubert, coming to the end of his PhD in Civil Engineering, becoming the Deputy President (Finance & Services). Nor did it stop Nat Kempston our current Deputy President (Education) from taking up the position and finsihing her Maters in Public Health. Not to mention Dr Ashley Brown either, who was elected Union President in 2009 as he was completing his PhD in computing.
When we say any student can run, we mean it - doctoral researchers and taught Master’s students as well as undergraduates. We have a long track record of postgraduate sabbaticals, and since postgraduates are 40% of the student body, why shouldn’t they be 40% of the elected officers as well?
That said, it’s a good idea to chat with your department’s PG Tutor about running for election and how your funding could be rearranged. If you need support in this, ask the Union and we’ll give you help and advice.
10 “I can’t run for a Sabbatical position as an International Student because of my visa.”
If you are going to hold post as an Officer, you can get an extension of your Tier 4 visa without having to return home. If you have a different visa, we advise that you get in touch with us to discuss how best to proceed should you be successfully elected.
All you’ll need to do is apply for new visa before your current visa expires. The International Office is able to assist with these applications. ( www3.imperial.ac.uk/international/current/visas/visaextension ).
For any of the part-time positions (Student Trustee, Constituent Union President or Executive Committee member), you won’t need any visa extensions or changes to take up the role if elected.
