Election time looms...

Voting for Union officers in my first year at Queen's was a whole new experience. Everywhere I turned, be it at the PFC, the Union or the library there were people desperate to assure me they were going to fight for my rights as a student in the coming academic year...

There must surely have been a special offer on sweets around that time with Refresher bars and Drumsticks being used as a 'carrot-and-stick' method to convince me to place a mark beside a particular name on a small piece of paper...

I'm not even sure who I voted for in the end but I definitely acquired a toothache. I distinctly remember however that I had never heard of any of the candidates (save for one Law Society president), I didn't know what their role would be if they were elected, and I'd heard nothing about the elections until the canvassing which took place that day.

This year let's hope it will be different. The March 14th/15th elections (not to be confused with those critical NI ones on the 7th...) will see 17 candidates vie for 5 positions within the Union. The voting will be online in the hope that more students will take an interest and use their democratic right to have a say in the running of their Union. It is unclear of course if it will make any difference - will 10 votes from close friends ensure a victory?

The Union certainly has gone all out in their attempts to create more student interest, with Little Britain themed posters dotted around Queen's and (most) candidate statements available on the website (www.qubsu.org). With none of the current executive running again it will be a fresh-faced team in September. What are your views on the whole process? Do the executive members really make an impact on your student life? Is the paid year in the Union worthwhile or simply an extension of their Uni life?