Ben Haines: The elections and “The Fear”

Hiya.

Apologies to all of you who over the last week were pestered, harassed, shouted at, flyered, postered, written on and so on and so forth.  Anyone who doesn’t know why this was needs to have a word with themselves.  The RUSU elections 2011/12 took place last week and were a serious success.  The funny thing is, though I just apologised… I’m really not sorry.  Not a sausage. I’m sorry that I’m not sorry.  The elections are magic. 

How did we do?

Here we go jargon and serious face time: Within one week more students take part in a democratic process than any other time during the year.  Nearly 3000 handsome and well-groomed Reading students got online and voted for who they want to lead their student union next year.  More, ladies and gents, than ever before.  If you were part of this, cheers.

Like Kelly Rowland, usually I’m down for whatever  - but in particular I’m down for democracy.  It’s a nice feeling knowing that though on the outside people tend to seem apathetic and a bit sluggish to get involved, they do care about this stuff!  Even the nice young lady who came and sat down and said to me “You do realise I’m only doing this because I want free pizza.” The fact she then sat down and took the time to look at the candidates and work out who she wanted to vote for is a success.

So, who have you got coming in to replace me next year? I know what you’re all thinking…how do you replace the irreplaceable? STOP IT you flirts! Ceri jones, Nick Cook, Cara Swift, James Fletcher and Sophie Davies all did really good campaigning, and off the back of this they are going to be your Student Officer team for next year.  And what a pleasant and amusing bunch of cats they are.  I for one will be happy to hand over my office to Ceri , your new VP for Democracy and Campaigns, secure in the knowledge it’s in safe hands. She’s nice and that.

The Fear

One other thing I wanted to talk about is “The Fear”.  I remember this time last year, when The Fear hit me.  It comes to a point in the year when everyone panics about work, and people become irrational.  The remote gets lost for the TV and there’s a Cluedo-style witch hunt for whose fault it was.  Someone doesn’t do the washing up and they’re now “just the worst guy”. 

Listen Colonel Mustard/ Miss Scarlett! Put the lead piping down and take a little breather.  This time of year is stressful. You need the people around you, like your friends and housemates, to be the ones helping you to calm down.  Make sure you give people some slack, because come exam time you’ll be relying on them to keep you sane.  In the meantime, don’t peak too soon.  Get in some time for R & R, make time to go out with your mates and enjoy the weekends. You’ll feel much better about work when you know you’ve got something to look forward to!

I love feedback.  So… even if you want to just come and have a nag at me about last week, my office is in the RUSU hub.  I’ll provide biscuits and a cup of tea for anyone who does, like the good host I am. 

Finally, I can be followed on twitter! For all things democracy and campaigns follow @rusu_vpdc or for the more exciting stuff without the watershed follow @benjhaines.

I’ll write again before Easter about some really exciting stuff we’ve got coming up in the summer.  In the mean time, I’ve missed you guys.

*flame rekindled, walks away slowly, looks back over shoulder and smiles*

See you all soon

Ben

P.S Campus Central now sells hot-dogs. Quality right?! Another huge win for students, get in there and give them a try, they’re DE-lish.

Nominate yourself: Get paid to be a student!

Want to know more about the Elections? Check out Alex's post below...

Let's be serious for a second. We're all at university for one very simple reason... to better ourselves in order to gain that job we've always wanted. We do everything that we can to make sure we hand our essays in on time, (even if that involves an all-nighter the day before the deadline). We work ourselves to tears when approaching the exam period. Then that magical moment comes when you get your email through saying your grade (whether that be a 1^st, 2:1 etc). We’re happy because we know that at the end of the day, we can put our hand on heart and say we did everything in our power to get us to that point. 

Then what? 

Round the country tens of THOUSANDS of students are all doing exactly the same thing. So why would you get that sick job you've always dreamed of over them? What evidence have you got of the skills they want? Why don’t you give yourself something amazing on your CV that will catch their eye, while also earning some dosh?

If you haven’t worked it out yet, I'm talking about taking a year out (whether that be before, or after your studies) to become a Student Officer. I can only really speak for myself on this one when I say ‘THIS IS THE BEST JOB I WILL EVER HAVE!’ There is no other organisation in the world that is going to give anywhere near this much responsibility at such a young and inexperienced age. To walk into your own office, chair a meeting, go to lunch with the Vice-Chancellor and really make a difference to student life - isn’t that something that all graduates want to say they've done?

So what will you get from this year that makes you so employable? For a start, it’s a year's work experience line-managing the Chief Executive of an organisation that turns over £4million a year. It’s a chance to get a taste of the real world while the current job market sorts itself out. With an annual salary of £17,000 a year, you are on one of the best graduate schemes you will ever achieve. Anyone can apply, anyone can win. You are in the position to change anything within the University that has bothered you, anything that you thought would make life easier for students.

Want to know more? 

OK! There are the five positions available.

· PRESIDENT – He is a point of contact for the university and external stakeholders. In this role you will have the ability to attend the highest decision making committees within the uni, chair the Trustee boards and liaise with the media (BBC Berkshire, The Times Higher, potentially anyone).

· VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS – This is where you make sure that everyone is as happy as they can be, line-managing a team of 365 course reps via the 10 faculty reps. Problem solving, communicating, generally being amazing (Yeah, I'm biased!)

· VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES – Ever played a sport for your uni or took part in a society? Then this role might be of interest. Here you get to secure resources that benefit those who get involved. You organise the Fresher’s Fayre, converse with Sports Park, and be a point of contact.

· VICE PRESIDENT OF WELFARE AND REPRESENTATION – It's awful when you wake up with a hangover, feel unsafe on the walk home or feel under represented because you’re a minority group. These are just some of the things a Welfare and Representation officer will cover.

· VICE PRESIDENT OF DEMOCRACY AND CAMPAIGNS – we want to make sure that we are being fair to everyone, reaching the groups that are not being reached. The VPDC is here to target the students’ needs. They are here to keep us thinking about what you guys think. This is done by arranging Student Voice, Service and Ents and SOS.

Create Some Change

The job market can be a scary place, with an average of 83 people going for every one graduate job. Have your chance to make sure you are the one who gets the job. Be a Student Officer, create some change.