The people have now spoken, and the new SUSU Sabbatical team have been chosen by a record number of student voters.

Democracy is a great thing, but sadly it does mean elections sometimes turn into popularity contests - I have to admit I am surprised by some of the results. Most candidates should have, and did, win because they are the ones who have volunteered hours of their time to the Union, who know what the job entails and have excellent ideas. Sadly not all candidate were as dedicated to the Union as some though, there are those who have no real idea because they have not put as much effort in during their time at the University despite the many opportunities there are, and therefore do not have the ideas to take into the job.

The winning candidate’s manifesto for VP Media and Communications reads as though he has woken up one morning, decided he would quite like to run for VP Media and Comms, and written down a bunch of random thoughts about the Union with no thought to feasibility or money. He seems to think his job involves events, when we already have an excellent events team, and his main points seem to be getting celebrities involved with student media, making it less about students. Including guest articles by professional journalists sounds impressive, but the Wessex Scene is for students to express their views and find out what is going on in their Union. Taking away the space and opportunity for a student to get involved, so a professional can, does not seem fair or necessary to me. His ideas, extending the FM license for Surge and getting more advertising screens for example, are not possible because they are so expensive, and the Union cannot afford it. Further manifesto points, such as giving The Edge writers privileges such as free CD’s and gig tickets, and bringing more up-to-date films to Union Films, show that he has no idea of how the media departments work and what they need. The Edge already has extensive music contacts that have been built up steadily over the years, who send advance copies of CD’s and provide guest list entry to gigs and events, and Union Films could only show current films if they charged cinema prices, something no student wants! The rest of his manifesto is vague, with points such as increase student involvement and awareness - something that is definitely needed to move SUSU media forward, but is already the main aim of everyone involved in each department.

This is not an attack on the VP Media elect; the winning candidates have earned their positions because they have put in the effort campaigning - anyone who can survive that fortnight of madness can most likely cope with their demanding Sabbatical role. I merely want to point out that lack of experience and knowledge of the roles means lots of hard work ahead. This year we have had an amazing Sabbatical team who have put every effort into moving SUSU forward. I have no doubt the new team can be as successful as their predecessors, but they will need to work extremely hard and learn quickly to match the high standard set for them.