Rooting for their favourites

Election Fever

There’s something about election which really brings a campus alive — and this is exactly what happened recently at Baldwin Girls’ PU College.

The institute’s yearly tradition of campaigning and subsequent voting is one of the highlights of the academic year and this time too, students put in their best to make sure it was conducted without a single flaw.

Candidates had to fill in electoral forms for categories such as vice-president, cultural secretary and sports secretary and students from both first and second pre-university were allowed to contest.

There was a palpable sense of anticipation on campus before the campaigning began. And when it did, students pulled out all stops to ensure that they grabbed as much attention as possible.

The candidates — along with their entourages of loyal supporters — made their way across the campus screaming out slogans, encouraging people to vote for them. Taking the process a step further, some of their friends even made colourful electoral posters, similar to the kind that most politicians hand out before an election. While a few groups produced a pair of pom-poms and went around campus dancing and screaming the name of their favourite candidates, others spent time designing supportive pamphlets and fliers, which they distributed among the crowd. One team even rode a two-wheeler around the campus to grab eyeballs.

For the candidates, campaigning was an exciting time. They were fully aware that their campaigning strategy could make or break their chances of snagging a post. Akshaya, a first-year PU student who was nominated to stand for cultural secretary, says, “I feel great to be elected to run for this post. I have planned certain things, such as organising a talent day in college to give everyone a fair chance to showcase their talents.”

Many other colleges stick to nominating their student councils but Maria Leslie, who was campaigning for the post of vice-president, believes that all students deserve a taste of democracy. “I think it’s extremely good as it gives the student body a chance to elect their own leaders. It also involves them in the process of bringing them closer to the elected representative. It’s also a lot of fun!” she concludes.