This time next year...

So, well done to Max. In the end it came down to 10 votes (0.3% of the votes), it doesn't get much closer! Also, a big thank you to everyone who voted, especially Jess Miles (my amazing campaign manager, as she insists on being called).

Max I'm sure will do a fantastic job and I'll be working with him up to the JCR handovers anyway, so no hard feelings at all. We're planning on making some videos to promote JCRs and get more people involved in them, as well as seeing my all-halls events go ahead in the near future (watch this space!)

Finally, even though I'm on a 4 year course, I will be running in next years elections, so see you again next year!

Voting now open

Woo, finally! Get yourself over to http://vote.susu.org and choose your executive team for next year! It takes all of 3 minutes and I'm keen to have this year be the biggest voting turnout EVER! They did it last year, and this year we'll do it again!

I'll probably still be coming round some lectures today, so say hi if you see me!

Kinki

Last night was awesome fun. I don't think I've seen the Cube so busy for quite a while!

All the campaign teams were out in force, including myself, but it was interesting to see the different tactics people were using. I personally don't like jumping on people, especially when they have come out for the night, so I went for a lot softer approach. I still managed to speak to a lot of people and had some interesting discussions about my manifesto.

It's worth noting that I haven't actually got all my ideas on my manifesto (as was pointed out last night)! Issues like freshers who don't have a place in Halls haven't been addressed, even though I have plans. In this case, I want to get the Private Rented Society more involved with JCRs by inviting the president to JCR Committee meetings and getting the society involved in all-JCR events. Secondly, I want to try and get "catchment areas" around each Hall, so if you live near the halls but not in it you can still get involved in Freshers week. I trialed this at Highfield Halls this year with great success and I would roll it out to all Halls if elected.

If you have any questions then please do ask. As I said, my competition and I have similar manifestos and what better way to decide who to ask?

:)

Winchester!

Today we all went up to Winchester for Hustings there. Ok, so only about 5 Winchester students were there, the rest were candidates and campaign teams, but it meant everything was less formal and people loosened up a bit. We actually had fun!

I didn't realise 1 minute would go by so quick, so I didn't manage to raise my ideas about Erasmus Park JCR (Winchester's hall of residence). To sum them up for those interested, I want to help Erasmus Park by building a larger awareness in Southampton-based JCRs so joint events will include them (like my up-and-coming all-JCR sports day. Keep your eyes open!). Also, even though Winchester is further away, the JCR still operates the same. I want to work with the Winchester president to help get WSASU and Erasmus working together better, to get better events for residents. Of course, that's all on top of my generic JCR restructuring plans, which will help up at Winchester as well.

Right, I'm off to bed. I'm exhausted and have a splitting headache, which Neurofen isn't helping with. Til tomorrow!

Hustings

So, today was Hustings (a technical term for speeches and question time basically). JCR Officer was the first position to talk, so it was quite exciting to have the largest audience (probably). Admittedly it was also a little nerve-racking and, to take a great quote from a movie:

"I got that 'excited/scared' feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more. It could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense"

The speech went alright, though I didn't get everything I want to across. Hopefully it was enough to explain why I'm running and why I'm worthy of your vote. If I didn't ask me any questions you have.

Also, I put my flag up on the concourse. It's hanging outside the Union shop, can't really miss it, though the concourse is pretty hectic. Keep an eye out for it!

That's about it really. I'll be going round some of the Halls tonight to speak to residents and find out some of their concerns, as well as show them what I can do for them.

 See you around...

The Beginning

Now, I'm not one for talking about my life on the web. If I'm going to let people know what I'm up to I'll pop round and have a chat with them in person. One of my aims for campaign week is to talk to as many different people as possible, in person, so that I can not only get my views across but get the best picture of what students want from JCRs. That said, with everyone else running in the elections detailing their lives on scrapbook, I felt it neccessary to follow suit.

This next week is going to be a stress on all of us - the candidates, the campaign teams, the people working behind the scenes. It's a massive effort to coordinate the whole week, which not only involves the obvious campaigning, but lectures and coursework as usual. It's a lot to fit in and, as much as I can't wait to start, I equally can't wait for it to end.

Oh, and if you see me out and about campaigning next week then stop by and have a chat.