And just like that, another fortnight gone!

This blog will hopefully be a bit more exciting than others...

Because Officer elections are just a week and a day away!!!

Now, most of you will know that I’m on my second term as president, which means I survived not one but two campaign weeks. This is, dear reader, no small feat, and it takes a lot to put yourself forward and out there for this.

So, my first invitation to you during this blog is to be nice to all the candidates that talk to you – I can promise you they’re building up a lot of courage to constantly be out there and talk to all the students they see. How many candidates there are, we still don’t know. How many different costumes we’ll see on the Parade, only the last week of February will tell. How many Instagram requests you’ll get from candidates, you’ll know soon enough. But all in all, this is the most exciting time for us over in the SU and we’re thrilled to have people running for the officer roles.

I guess there’s a few things you can expect from us in the next couple of weeks, so here I go with summarising the timelines for you:

- By the 20th of February at midday, you’ll know who the candidates are. This means online campaigning is in full swing and candidates will start sending out emails, posting on social media, and trying to get those society endorsements. During this time, you won’t see any of them doing in-person campaigning.

- By the 23rd of February at midday, banners and campaign posters are allowed to go up on campus. I can already tell you that this looks like having hundreds of campaign team members trying to secure the good spots, and a whole bunch of colourful sheets will suddenly go up in a matter of seconds. I can’t wait to see what all the different campaign slogans will be.

- On the 24th, in-person campaign starts. Now this Monday will be key, because all the questions to candidates sessions will take place. This means that throughout the day, we’ll be hosting a version of a debate (or hustings) with all the candidates (sessions divided by the roles).

- On Tuesday the 25th, voting opens at 9:00 AM. This is when the fun really starts. You can see how many people have voted on the SU website, seeing from what societies and departments (but never the individual details of voters), and this is where the candidates alongside their teams will really step up their game. The next few days will be very intense for them, so do treat them kindly if you come across any of them.

- On Thursday the 27th, voting closes at 5:00 PM. After this, normally candidates go to get a pint together in the Plug – if campaign week has been a healthy competition one – and they can finally get some rest.

- Friday at 4:00 PM (Yes, during Happy Hour) results will be announced in the bar. And so another round of officer elections will have concluded. You’ll now know how your six officers are for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Your current officers will be in office until the 20th of June, so I’m afraid you’ll still have to put up with us for a while longer! Just thought you would all would appreciate a bit of a run-through of what’s going down in the next couple of weeks.

If anything wasn’t clear or if you have any questions about any of this! I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, right amid the election madness. In the meantime, stay warm and be kind to one another.

Much love,

Jiji x