At the end of the first week of campaigning, the potential candidates are still upbeat and putting all their efforts into chatting to as many students as possible.
Some started early this morning, and Impact saw ‘Angharad for President’, ‘O’Connor for Education’ and ‘Nicole for President’ banners across the QMC roundabout, with the campaign teams chatting to students as they came onto campus. Many candidates will keep going into the night as well, as many prepare for a night of campaigning at Ocean.
Impact bumped into Yaks, running for Activities Officer, and his campaign team outside the Portland Building at lunchtime and he told Impact: “I’ve been campaigning on campus since Wednesday, and it’s really fun so far, I’m not too tired yet”.
“The most important thing is to speak to everyone, the aim is just to be seen by students and spread the message as much as we can”.
As he reaches the end of the first week of campaigning, Yaks told Impact that he was “excited” for the rest of the campaign, and that he hasn’t been thinking too much about his competition and the other candidates. “It’s important to really focus on what you’re doing”, he said.
Also outside Portland this lunchtime was Dan Rattigan, running for Education Officer. For the past few weeks he has been meeting with society presidents and education reps, to find out what their issues are and what it is that affects their education.
On Wednesday, he started campaigning on campus and two days in, he says it is still “good fun”. Dan told Impact that he especially enjoys nighttime campaigning, as it gives his campaign team a release from chatting to students and it is a lot of fun.
Dan will be at Ocean tonight and says that students “love a photo, but after midnight it’s less about the chatting and more focused on just being there and being seen”.
Dan also revealed that he has been doing lots of lecture shout-outs, which are “a bit of a thrill”. He is trying to do one every hour, and tailor them specifically to the students in that lecture, which has been nerve-racking.
He said that as he looks towards the next week of campaigning he is watching the statistics and who is voting, and thinking tactically about how to continue his campaign.
Outside Portland was Rob Clewlow, who is running for Equal Opportunities and Welfare. He told Impact that he had been campaigning around the clock, having been to most club nights to campaign and starting at the North Entrance from 8am every morning, he told us that he ‘wasn’t tired yet’.
Inside Portland was Aaron Watts, a sports candidate. He commented that there was a unique, friendly atmosphere on campus during this special time and is gearing up for Ocean campaigning as well as Crisis next Wednesday.
Beth Rowland and Caroline Chan
Images: Beth Rowland and Caroline Chan
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