Its been half a decade since the days of Your Essex United. I can still remember all the trials and tribulations of it as though it were yesterday. The University of Essex Students’ Union elections of 2009 changed my life in ways that I never expected. It taught me lessons that remain relevant till today. (You can read a list of the lessons that the elections taught me over here, originally published in Feb 2009). It taught me the importance of hard work, trust and thinking ahead. It made me prepared for the elections of the following year (where I ran for the post of President and won). But looking back at it today, it also amuses me how I lost sleep over what, retrospectively looking, were minor issues in the bigger picture. Will I look back at the problems of today in five years and laugh at their pettiness? I’d say yes.
Below is the photo story that I posted after the elections in Feb 2009, along with the original captions.
I finally have a free weekend, hooray! And I thought I’d use this time to make the photo story of the elections that I had been promising for awhile. There are a total of 41 photographs which were taken at various times throughout the couple of weeks of campaigning. You can read more about the elections here and here.
The Official Candidate Badge. They allowed all election candidates to gain free entry to all the nightclub events for 10 days. Each Badge had the candidate's name and slate written on it.
Your Essex United managed to get the top spots on most of the poster boards with their team coordination. This caused the opposition to slightly panic but they had to use the lower spots. Few of the Your Essex United posters were torn/defaced over the course of the elections by miscreants, most probably from the opposition since all of the opposition posters remained untouched.
Late night cutting and preparations at Base Camp - Flat 13, Bertrand Russell Tower. Chris was dressed in the team colours to go to Sports Fed and catch some attention and do some subtle campaigning.
Recording of Chris' alternative minute-to-win-it video. Each candidate had an official minute-to-win-it video shot in a studio while they listed their policies. Your Essex United decided to go a step further and shot their own video for publicity. The video got a lot of attention but was also the cause of some controversy since a few complaints were made against it. However, Elections Committee ruled out the complaints and let the video remain.
Discussing points for Macken's alternative minute-to-win-it.
Macken chose to do push ups on the kitchen table while reciting his policies for his alternative minute-to-win-it. This proved too tough for him so we wrote the policies on Post-Its and stuck them on Saad's hand so that he could read them out.
Saad typing away as usual, oblivious to the activity around him.
Campaigning during the weekend. We left no stone unturned as we went to campaign across all accommodation areas around campus twice over the course of a couple of weeks.
Ubuntu Cola, official campaign drink. Chosen because it was fairtrade and also because it was 'buy one get one free' at the campus shop.
Giving instructions. Coordinating everyone during the accommodation runs was very important since we didnt want to go to the same place twice on the same night.
A quick catch up on the streets with the other campaigners to see how their progress had been.
A long walk home after a long day of very positive campaigning.
We had our fun times having our tea breaks at various friends' places that we came across while campaigning.
It was quickly back to business though as we calculated our next plans of action.
Chris on a tea break at the Quays but still continuing to talk to more people and getting their support.
Waiting for a door to open. During the peak times of the elections, we went to each single person's room and talked to them individually to get their support and vote.
Jun proudly wearing our sandwich board
The pitch black darkness didnt stop us from campaigning.
Saad and Macken do a quick 'street gangsta' pose for the camera.
Meeting at the stairs. We usually had one team start at the top and one at the bottom of each building and meet at the middle when they were done.
Macken campaigning with his trademark hat in the rain.
The Presidential candidates at the Candidates Debates. They had a high level of attendance and seemed popular but also got along an unprofessional crowd who had some very immature reactions to the statements made by the candidates..
Yes, this man is our new VP Education 🙂
Saad loved the sandwich board and wig a lot and it did a great job in literally grabbing public's attention. Macken apparently thought otherwise.
The usual crowd trying to present a natural pose for the camera but failing miserably.
Chris continues to campign during lunch breaks and talking to people while they had a bite outside the SU Bar.
We once again managed to get the top spot for our banner on the glass wall. The stark and bold colours of the banners did a good job in getting the attention of a casual passer by.
Plastered with posters. We covered most of the wall with our posters since there was no limit to the number of posters that we could put up. We were allowed to put up posters from 9 AM but the opposition was seen putting them 10 minutes before 9 AM but we still managed to get majority of the spots.
The lonely clown.
Banner and Flyers. We had them out in the squares every morning from 8:30AM to 4:30PM.
Free Ride for the Saul from the supporters!
Jun and Matt in a pensive mood on the night before the results.
'You Know You Want To' was our slogan. It gained a decent bit of criticism from a few extremists but the everyday student liked it for its cheekiness and the reflection of our down-to-earth attitude
More late night discussions over coffee, lasagna and pizza.
Cell phones were an essential part of this campaign to keep in contact with our supporters, other campaigners and even the opposition. The official phone was the Nokia 1650, Chris had one and so did I.
The badges we handed out with our name on it made people to feel like they were involved in our campaign and was seen as an innovative and new way of campaigning.
The large meal in Mondos after all campaigning finished and voting had closed. We had to wait for 4 hours before the results were announced and the tension in the air was high.
Post results party at Flat 13. It was hard to acknowledge the brutal truth and nobody in that room liked it but it was something we had to accept.
Macken looking ecstatic after winning his position and beating the opposition by a margin of 100 votes.
The truth is accepted and we now look forward to a brighter and better future.
You win some, you lose some. Saad strolling around SubZero at the end of the results party in a confused state of mind. He had won his position but Chris had lost presidency by 9 votes and that just left everyone going home with a mixed feeling.
I hope everyone enjoyed my first photo story and I would appreciate some feedback, positive or negative.
Currently listening to – An End Has A Start by The Editors
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