By Louis Wertheimer, Y10
The way that StuCo elections work needs to change. Every year, year 12s, desperate to be elected, try every way they possibly can to achieve their goal. Attempting to get hundreds of people to vote for you is no easy task, but this year we have seen the introduction of a new competitor, money. To be elected as StuCo, you used to only have to spend a few CHF on printing. But with a very crowded field this year, the simple poster was not going to cut it.
I spoke with the four candidates just days before the release of the election results, asking what tactics they used on the campaign trail. All of the candidates got back to me, except ASAP.
My question did not mention money but MYLE StuCo did focus their response on the subject. They told me how the fact that they didn’t spend any money on the campaign made them clean candidates, not tangled up in useless expenses. I also spoke with Solar, who said that it was hard to know what other years were thinking about the election, making it difficult for them to campaign. Finally, I talked with the winner of the election, Juice.
Early planning and an active Instagram account was what Juice thought to be a good technique for winning the election. Although school degradation via stickers and a $59 video of a public figure endorsing them might have helped them secure this year’s nomination. Once the winner was announced, and Juice was now the school’s new StuCo, I asked them what they would change if they were to run again. They told me that good communication and utilisation of the cafeteria’s monitors would be top of their priority if they were able to change their election strategy.
After the election saga was over, I thought about how in need of change the campaign process was. With 4 candidates, it was almost impossible to decide properly about who to vote for. The different parties never spoke to each other once, and never put their ideas to the test.
For better elections in the future, with possibly a more crowded field, there would need to be a number of changes. Firstly a debate could help give clarity to voters. This could have one person from each group defending their ideas, and answering questions from a moderator. After watching the debate in mentor class, there would be a primary vote. The two candidates with the most votes move on to a final vote, which would take place the week after, following a final one on one debate.
A system like this would prove to the student body that the future StuCo’s ideas are defendable and realistic. It would also let the student body ask questions to the candidates. In order to hold fairer elections, there should be spending limits for every candidate, so that, unlike this year, budgets do not affect the ideas that are put forward. To finish off my idea of an ideal election system, halfway through the year, a town hall style event should be held where the StuCo takes questions from students, to give an idea of if the StuCo that was elected was a good choice.
Overall, the Student Council elections need to be changed, and the system is in a desperate need of reform. Hopefully, elections in the following years will be progressively fairer and more democratic, and that money in elections does not become the norm.
