By Teoman Sevgen, Second year, Law LLB
'Why does it even matter?' is a canon question I get whenever SU elections are brought up to my close circle. 'It's a popularity contest' or 'They're all careerists!' is usually followed right after. However, just as 'there are cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see’ - there are tangible achievements of the SU all around, all pushed by officers who elected by your votes.
While I acknowledge cynicism is a quintessential aspect of British-ness, I do believe a substantial reason for such thinking is the simple fact that many of us jump into ‘uni life’ without properly understanding what the SU actually does, or what it has achieved.
In essence, the SU is a pressure group: a dedicated campaign organisation to pressure the university and other public authorities to enact change for the benefit of the students they represent. Hence, why we elect representatives to its executive body.
Some tangible examples of Bristol SU’s successes are the Bristol Bus Boycott in the 1960s, where the union pressured the bus company of the time to end its discriminatory hiring practices against ethnic minorities, and in the 1970s, where Bristol became one of the first universities to provide nursery services for its staff with caring responsibilities.
But there is no reason to look back so far. It was not even a year ago when the university started to offer reduced rates for food, after a year-long campaign by the union to promote affordable catering options on campus.
For the current year – the SU's focus has been on housing. The SU networks and officers holistically campaigned for the Renters’ Rights Bill, published a detailed guide to inform students of their rights while renting, and just this week, I brought the issue of housing to the Bristol City Council, to an audience consisting of every councillor in the city.
‘Teo, good for you, but why do I not feel the effects of student politics in my life?’ you might reasonably ask. To which I would point you towards one of the SU’s burning issues: insufficient academic feedback. Let’s compare how some courses, and their reps, have addressed it.
It is not surprising that undergraduate law is one of the courses that always have the highest turnout in student body elections. Is it because all law students are overly ambitious careerists? Well yes, but also no. Regardless, what matters is the outcome here: turnout delivers.
Thanks to the exceptionally high participation of the law cohort, from voting in elections to constant feedback to our representatives, we enjoy schemes such as ‘festivals of feedback’ where we can, for the lack of a better word, corner our lecturers on their commentary, and dedicated 1-to-1 meetings with our personal tutors for the feedback we received for every single assessment we sit.
Importantly, none of these schemes were legacy traditions, they have all been introduced in the past 2 to 3 years.
Therefore, I want you to consider, if you do not enjoy such ‘luxuries’ with your course – you may want to scrutinise what was the turnout from your programme in the last elections. ‘Your voice matters’ might be the most cliché campaign slogan ever, but in the case of student bodies, it indeed does – you can and should demand better. The tuition you pay is the leverage for the better services you deserve, not just as a student but as a customer in this market economy of ours.
If you stop caring about student politics - just like in national politics - why should it care about you?
Has Teo's argument convinced you to vote?
