Yes, they are effective
by Cynthia Abramczyk
The question of student democracy at the UoE feels particularly weighty amid the still-ongoing (yet not particularly united) 5-week staff strikes, and general tensions between the student body and upper management. For years, student elections and referendums have been sent out over emails, and promoted to students on campus, yet little at the university feels truly representative of our wants and voices.
So, of course, I won’t deny that there is a blatant problem with our student democracy, and its (little-felt) tangible effects. However, to fully discredit the importance of these forums for student voices is unfortunately reductive, when the problem clearly lies elsewhere.
Students are not engaged in student life. It’s not surprising, considering how the university’s student culture has been constructed to be so painfully transactional. Tuition fees, for instance, have been incomprehensibly overblown; my course’s fees have gone up £5,000 in just three years.
Additionally, by focusing on funding ‘economical’ degrees — a very problematic narrative from the get-go — while cutting others, the institution discourages an environment dedicated to academic and creative passions; instead, the message seems to be that you’re paying for a degree to get a job, and that’s that. So how exactly are we supposed to care about student life, if the university isn’t providing a profounder, social reason to get involved?
Much like in the current political sphere, which has become heavily defined by feelings of hopelessness, students are frequently apathetic or sceptical about the transformative potentials of these student voting systems, so the numbers simply can’t reflect our wants.
But we can’t achieve anything by being so completely critical of these existing forums, when the issue lies in a cultural student-individualism and mass-apathy that ought to be tackled in more elaborate ways.
No, they are ineffective
by Ollie Laing
Referendums are supposed to be a cornerstone of the democratic process for students in universities, but they fundamentally do not represent our voices.
In the past week there have been posters and campaigns for the student referendum to change the way that student voice functions. Whilst the revamp of the process is overwhelmingly positive, the whole method is flawed because there was no campaign for keeping the original system. Without a proper campaign we never get the chance to weigh up both sides and decide for ourselves which completely undermines the whole process.
On top of that, I can almost guarantee that most voters do not have a developed understanding of the reforms that are about to come into effect. Even I only voted because there was someone with a big sign waving around a pack of Sainsbury’s brownies to give out to people who did.
How can you claim to be representing someone if they don’t even know what they are voting for?
There is also only a fraction of the university that even supported the motion. Out of the entire 50,000 students that study here, only just over 3,000 voted. These are sweeping changes that less than 6 per cent of the student population have said they want. In the 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, the vote for an assembly was repealed because less than 40 per cent of potential voters supported the motion despite the campaign winning. Try 5 per cent of the entire student body without opposition.
Student referendums fail to do the key thing that referendums are designed for, which is representing the public’s view. It’s a shame that such positive, democratic changes need to be authorised in such a reductive way, which means that lots of voters don’t know or care about them — unless of course, they can get their hands on a brownie.
One Coin Two Sides: Do student elections represent student voices?
Yes, they are effective
by Cynthia Abramczyk
The question of student democracy at the UoE feels particularly weighty amid the still-ongoing (yet not particularly united) 5-week staff strikes, and general tensions between the student body and upper management. For years, student elections and referendums have been sent out over emails, and promoted to students on campus, yet little at the university feels truly representative of our wants and voices.
So, of course, I won’t deny that there is a blatant problem with our student democracy, and its (little-felt) tangible effects. However, to fully discredit the importance of these forums for student voices is unfortunately reductive, when the problem clearly lies elsewhere.
Students are not engaged in student life. It’s not surprising, considering how the university’s student culture has been constructed to be so painfully transactional. Tuition fees, for instance, have been incomprehensibly overblown; my course’s fees have gone up £5,000 in just three years.
Additionally, by focusing on funding ‘economical’ degrees — a very problematic narrative from the get-go — while cutting others, the institution discourages an environment dedicated to academic and creative passions; instead, the message seems to be that you’re paying for a degree to get a job, and that’s that. So how exactly are we supposed to care about student life, if the university isn’t providing a profounder, social reason to get involved?
Much like in the current political sphere, which has become heavily defined by feelings of hopelessness, students are frequently apathetic or sceptical about the transformative potentials of these student voting systems, so the numbers simply can’t reflect our wants.
But we can’t achieve anything by being so completely critical of these existing forums, when the issue lies in a cultural student-individualism and mass-apathy that ought to be tackled in more elaborate ways.
No, they are ineffective
by Ollie Laing
Referendums are supposed to be a cornerstone of the democratic process for students in universities, but they fundamentally do not represent our voices.
In the past week there have been posters and campaigns for the student referendum to change the way that student voice functions. Whilst the revamp of the process is overwhelmingly positive, the whole method is flawed because there was no campaign for keeping the original system. Without a proper campaign we never get the chance to weigh up both sides and decide for ourselves which completely undermines the whole process.
I Forgot the Lib Dems Exist
On top of that, I can almost guarantee that most voters do not have a developed understanding of the reforms that are about to come into effect. Even I only voted because there was someone with a big sign waving around a pack of Sainsbury’s brownies to give out to people who did.
How can you claim to be representing someone if they don’t even know what they are voting for?
There is also only a fraction of the university that even supported the motion. Out of the entire 50,000 students that study here, only just over 3,000 voted. These are sweeping changes that less than 6 per cent of the student population have said they want. In the 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, the vote for an assembly was repealed because less than 40 per cent of potential voters supported the motion despite the campaign winning. Try 5 per cent of the entire student body without opposition.
Student referendums fail to do the key thing that referendums are designed for, which is representing the public’s view. It’s a shame that such positive, democratic changes need to be authorised in such a reductive way, which means that lots of voters don’t know or care about them — unless of course, they can get their hands on a brownie.
One Coin, Two Sides by Anna O’Gara
Share this:
Like this:
Related