Issue 7 Editorial: CUSU elections

Shyness is nice... We'll admit we're finding it a little difficult to summon more than mild enthusiasm for the CUSU elections. A process that generally tends towards the usual run of ex-committee members and careerist student politicians uttering the same platitudes has been made even less interesting by the fact that a number of positions are uncontested and the race for President might as well be. As well as being a bit boring to write about, this does the democratic process no favours. The lack of competition for most positions is worrying, but particularly concerning the presidential race. TCS has chosen to endorse Tom Chigbo, though the word 'chosen' is less than ideal, given that his 'opponent' is both an unserious and highly unsuitable prospect. While Chigbo is a balanced, intelligent and experienced candidate who served his peers capably as President of St John's College's JCR, Guolong Li's only interest- as described on his bizarre blog, written in the third person- appears to be himself and, more worryingly, his Facebook profile says that his political views are "Communist Party of China". There hasn't been a match this one-sided since Simpson vs Tatum in '96. However, we are less than pleased by Chigbo's manifesto pledge that TCS will apparently automatically print what goes on at CUSU council just because he moves the day.

Education and Access are more interesting as there are more candidates to choose from, but the range is still disappointing, representing a largely similar range of policies. While we wouldn't necessarily vote for them, we'd like to see some openly right-wing candidates to oppose the overwhelming left-wing consensus. The Cambridge Right has seemingly decided to remain sniping from the sidelines rather than fielding a candidate to engage in open debate. This is a shame.

Nonetheless, we're not saying it is pointless or a waste of time to vote. Far from it; the only way for students to take control of their union is involvement in the democratic process. We urge our readers to read the manifestos published in this paper thoroughly, and visit the CUSU elections section of our website- which we will be updating regularly as polling day approaches- so that they can make an informed decision about who will represent them for the next year.

In particular, we feel that the position of Education Officer will be of crucial importance.� These elections come at a time when the Government is shaking up research funding and planning to review top-up fees. We need a candidate who will represent us stridently and defend our interests vociferously. That is why, in addition to Tom Chigbo, this paper is backing the outspoken activist Ed Maltby, someone who has shown consistent dedication to campaigning on behalf of students.

Watch this space for further discussion of why we are backing these candidates.