Sydney Life

Wander through any of the Union buildings on campus, park yourself outside Fisher Library or alight the train at Redfern and you'll notice a common occurrence.

Wearing brightly coloured T-shirts pledging their allegiance to their candidate, hordes of loyal followers spruik the USU hopefuls by handing out flyers and decorating the campus with their neon chalk. The Graffiti Tunnel is thick with their names, they visit our lectures, and like characters on a soap opera, for a few weeks each semester, we get to know our USU candidates.

Yep, it's election time again.

I have always been apathetic about uni elections, I'll admit it. I'm not sure why, but in previous semesters I've followed the majority of my peers in thinking these candidates are notable for just one reason: their ability to skyrocket Broadway Kmart's chalk sales.

But this year, with the demise of compulsory union subscriptions, I have realised the importance of our Union and its student leaders. And so it was with a certain gusto that I consumed the USU Candidate booklet on Monday, eager to find out who was running, who had supported them and what their plans were.

Firstly, I predict a win for Rose Khalilizadeh - not because she promises anything spectacular, but because she will be able to cash in on Rose Jackson's success through her parent's fortunate choice of name. Yep - even though Mighty Rose Jackson can't sit for USU elections anymore as she is the University Senate delegate, I have a sneaking suspicion that people will recognise her ubiqitous name and unwittingly vote for Rose, Mark II. Call it the War of the Roses, but she will almost certainly win on this merit alone. You heard it here first, kids.

The other candidates are from diverse faculties, which I found surprisingly pleasant. In earlier years, I recall that most candidates were from Law - now we have people from Engineering, the Conservatorium, Science, Arts and Economics and Business. It's important to have a diverse union, and to have students from a variety of faculties, with different interests and concerns. After all, that's what uni is all about, right?

The other striking thing about the elections this time around is that there are two first year students running. Snaps for effort, guys! My first few weeks of first year were spent trying to figure out how to find library books and buildings on campus. These kids have found time to source out ten nominators, figure out a campaign platform and generally get into the swing of uni politics. I predict big things - memoirs at age 25, stints on Enough Rope and even charitable missions to the fledgling ALP. Again, you heard it here first.

Next Wednesday, May 10, is the big E-Day for the candidates, and it will be marked by the annual USU Election Bash at Manning. I promise to be the blog's own Maxine McKew and provide updates through the week and after the polls close.

Union politics is something all uni students should be interested in. I know I prefaced this article by telling you how ambivalent I have been in the past, but when VSU is threatening to destroy student life, placing our Union in the hands of responsible, capable leaders is more important than ever. I hope we don't all vote for Rose just because of her name, and that the lure of a free Chupa Chup will hook passers-by at the polls.