Returning to Edinburgh after reading week means one thing: the campus is about to be swarmed by Edinburgh University Student Associations’ (EUSA) election candidates. They ambush you outside your lecture, leaflet and free coffee voucher in hand, prepared to beg you to vote for them before, seemingly, fading into the abyss — never to be seen again. This is at least the sentiment that many people seem to espouse, believing EUSA to be remembered only in the form of a freshers-week moose cameo and a lacklustre, forgotten club, not a genuine organisational body working to benefit and represent them. But is this really the case?
The prevailing student sentiment seems to be that, largely, there is no point in voting in EUSA elections. This is highlighted by the fact that, in a University of over 49,000 students, 5,000 votes was the target for a free coffee. Despite the absence of major student engagement, every year, a (mostly) excellent set of students well-versed in the challenges students face run in the elections. The density of prominent issues in their manifestos reflects this: staff redundancies, divestment, mishandling of sexual assault cases, cost of living crises, the availability of study spaces and commuter students all feature prominently. When discussing amongst my friends whether EUSA has had any benefits or successes, we discovered that, luckily for us, EUSA’s Instagram has prepared a list of ‘Semester 1 Wins’. A few standouts include securing over £110,000 for a university-wide free breakfast scheme, a student-led programme for survivors of gender-based violence and the Freeze the Student Rent campaign.
The issue of EUSA’s inability to actually achieve many of their campaign promises lies within the fact that the issues that students grapple with are structural; they remain ingrained in a framework tarred by incompetence, questionable spending habits and national cuts to Higher Education Funding. Thus, it feels pointless to believe that anyone could ever contribute and enact meaningful change. This is not a comment on any of the candidates’ ability, but more so on the university as an institution that has refused to engage meaningfully with societies like the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society. We are dealing with a university that appears ingrained in its commitments and committed to preserving the status quo, and thus the likelihood of a new president, vice-president and welfare team managing to convince them of divestment or increased action feels impossible.
Perhaps part of our disappointment with EUSA is our own fault — expecting the team to enact such wide-reaching change is naive, and we should manage our expectations better. In reality, the logistics of achieving even smaller goals, such as introducing over-22 bus passes, would take months to negotiate and implement, and thus, perhaps we should stop expecting this of them. Equally, EUSA candidates should stop envisioning themselves as enactors of great change that can solve all of our issues. Focusing on smaller wins, such as reinstating period products on campus or extending library opening hours seem more feasible. I would feel more inclined to vote for a candidate who advocated for such smaller changes because I would genuinely believe that their role provides them with the capacity to achieve their promises.
Yet, still, it remains imperative to vote. Even if the elections are inconsequential, it is important to ensure that the candidates and beliefs you want to see have a chance of being heard — and it really does take only five minutes! Whilst I still begrudgingly hold the cynical belief that little change is likely to occur, I remain open to the hopeful prospect of this year’s successful candidates proving me wrong. However, if EUSA wants the student body as a whole to vote in and engage with the Student Association, more than just the promise of a free coffee is needed.
Image by Zosia Jastrun for The Student
Related
Will the promise of free coffee be enough to convince students to vote in the EUSA elections?
Returning to Edinburgh after reading week means one thing: the campus is about to be swarmed by Edinburgh University Student Associations’ (EUSA) election candidates. They ambush you outside your lecture, leaflet and free coffee voucher in hand, prepared to beg you to vote for them before, seemingly, fading into the abyss — never to be seen again. This is at least the sentiment that many people seem to espouse, believing EUSA to be remembered only in the form of a freshers-week moose cameo and a lacklustre, forgotten club, not a genuine organisational body working to benefit and represent them. But is this really the case?
The prevailing student sentiment seems to be that, largely, there is no point in voting in EUSA elections. This is highlighted by the fact that, in a University of over 49,000 students, 5,000 votes was the target for a free coffee. Despite the absence of major student engagement, every year, a (mostly) excellent set of students well-versed in the challenges students face run in the elections. The density of prominent issues in their manifestos reflects this: staff redundancies, divestment, mishandling of sexual assault cases, cost of living crises, the availability of study spaces and commuter students all feature prominently. When discussing amongst my friends whether EUSA has had any benefits or successes, we discovered that, luckily for us, EUSA’s Instagram has prepared a list of ‘Semester 1 Wins’. A few standouts include securing over £110,000 for a university-wide free breakfast scheme, a student-led programme for survivors of gender-based violence and the Freeze the Student Rent campaign.
The issue of EUSA’s inability to actually achieve many of their campaign promises lies within the fact that the issues that students grapple with are structural; they remain ingrained in a framework tarred by incompetence, questionable spending habits and national cuts to Higher Education Funding. Thus, it feels pointless to believe that anyone could ever contribute and enact meaningful change. This is not a comment on any of the candidates’ ability, but more so on the university as an institution that has refused to engage meaningfully with societies like the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society. We are dealing with a university that appears ingrained in its commitments and committed to preserving the status quo, and thus the likelihood of a new president, vice-president and welfare team managing to convince them of divestment or increased action feels impossible.
Perhaps part of our disappointment with EUSA is our own fault — expecting the team to enact such wide-reaching change is naive, and we should manage our expectations better. In reality, the logistics of achieving even smaller goals, such as introducing over-22 bus passes, would take months to negotiate and implement, and thus, perhaps we should stop expecting this of them. Equally, EUSA candidates should stop envisioning themselves as enactors of great change that can solve all of our issues. Focusing on smaller wins, such as reinstating period products on campus or extending library opening hours seem more feasible. I would feel more inclined to vote for a candidate who advocated for such smaller changes because I would genuinely believe that their role provides them with the capacity to achieve their promises.
Yet, still, it remains imperative to vote. Even if the elections are inconsequential, it is important to ensure that the candidates and beliefs you want to see have a chance of being heard — and it really does take only five minutes! Whilst I still begrudgingly hold the cynical belief that little change is likely to occur, I remain open to the hopeful prospect of this year’s successful candidates proving me wrong. However, if EUSA wants the student body as a whole to vote in and engage with the Student Association, more than just the promise of a free coffee is needed.
Protests across Europe should be a wake-up call for politicians
Image by Zosia Jastrun for The Student
Share this:
Like this:
Related