Pirate Scott defies odds and sweeps to presidential victory
Live reporting from: Dan Whitehead, Henry James Foy, Jonathan Fransman and Sian Turner
01:31
Thank you all for staying with us tonight. Thanks to our guest bloggers for their contributions.
It’s goodnight from Sian, goodnight from Jonny, goodnight from Dan and goodnight from me.
It has been a pleasure
Find all the analysis, reports and reaction in Nouse, on campus on Tuesday.
May the fair winds blow…
01:28
Well there you go. A pirate for President. The joke candidate storms the YUSU towers. There will be those who are is disbelief, those who are outraged and those who are elated. But 2,984 students have spoken.
Who would have thought…?
01:23
“He’s got his head screwed on. He’s going to be a brilliant President,” says Canning. And she’s always right.
01:19
Boos, cheers, heads in hands, arms in the air. It’s carnage here in Derwent.
“I never wanted to be here. Somehow I’ve got in,” he says.
“YES!” he says - he will take the job.
“I be doin the best damn job I can!”
01:19
It’s over. Tom Scott has won it. The pirate is President. Shiver me timbers indeed.
01:17
After the first round of voting, Nadz has dropped out. The dream for the Obama-ite is crushed. But his votes mean a great deal to Payne and the pirate.
01:15
A big cheer for Scott. Has he won it? Has he? Really? Good God.
01:14
Alcuin goes to Kunwar, Derwent is too close to call, Goodricke goes to Scott.. This is oh so close.
01:12
“It’s the one we’ve all been waiting for,” says Canning. Ain’t that the truth.
2,984 votes for President, that’s more than Leeds apparently. Woop.
“We want Payne,” chant the crowd, as Canning describes the role as “the best rollercoaster you ever rode.”
Inspirational stuff from the Canning
01:08
So here we are… another YUSU election! Matt Burton has just been elected to a second term, and bless him for his forbearance. YUSU officers have to take an awful lot of trouble for their efforts, and anyone who’s willing to take the flack for two years running deserves a bit of respect. Here’s to another year of thwarted ambitions, but let’s hope he gets a little closer this time. The atmosphere in Derwent bar is notching up by the minute — although the Gladiators theme may have limited the appeal to those who were actually alive in the eighties — and we’re all quite literally soggy with anticipation for the presidential results.
01:05
“I’d just like to say thank you to all my campaigners. I’m looking forward to another great year,” says Burton.
No wiping the floor with anyone this year then.
01:04
And the winner is…Matt Burton. He’s done it, another chance to make a bar. Go Matt.
01:01
Socs and Comms…here we go…
1989 total votes cast.
00:56
It’s a bit like Ziggy’s in here. Crazy costumes, cheesy music, a dodgy smell but lots of fun. Whoever thought campus politics could be like this?
The pirates are ominously milling around the stage. Is the revolution near?
00:53
Alan Duffel, defeated in the race for Academic and Welfare is not disheartened. “I ran a good race and I’m not gutted at all.”
Nice bloke. Would have made a good Ac Welf Officer. Democracy had its wicked way….
00:49
Ten minutes until Services and Finance and President are announced. Can Burton win again? Will Thompson steal the day? Can Laura Payne take the Presidency? Will the Mad Captain bring us cutlasses for all?
Do we even want cutlasses for all?
00:45
Canning is back - how does she feel the night is going?
“I’m really happy with how it is going. The new team looks excellent so far, but only one girl so far. Interesting.”
Interesting indeed. Love a bit of Canning.
00:43
Webmeister Whitehead has worked his HTML magic once more, and there are pictures for you to view of the night’s action on the homepage. Is there an end to this man’s talents?
00:41
And with the onset of Presidential revelations, how does our campus-renown Pirate feel? “Not be confident at all matey,” he confessed. “The winds be changing mighty fast. I not be trusting the exit polls.” When asked what he’ll do if he wins, “I be crossing the bridge when I come to it,” he said, adding” I’m terrified I might win.” Shiver me timbers.
00:41
So, Services and Finance…can Matt Burton, complete with Gladiators helmet, swing it for another year? Hang in and see…
00:38
Exit polls suggested Leyland - the Derwent fans seem to agree….
The winner is…
Charlie Leyland!
“I’m serious and passionate about this position,” said Leyland, visibly delighted.
Well, only two more to go, its Service and Finance and the big one, El Presidente.
Stay tuned.
00:35
Next up - Academic and Welfare. Matt Pallas, Alan Duffel or Charlie Leyland?
2,373 votes. That’s the new vote leader.
00:34
The most contested position - with 5 candidates - AU President has been won by….
Alex Lacey!
That was tight, and required fourth preference votes. Fourth! Whoever thought it?
“This was so close,” says current AU Pres Jo Carter. You’re telling me.
Well there you go. A new AU President. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty drained after all that tension.
Whatever next?
00:29
Some comments from previous Nouse editors there. Now moving on to AU President…
00:26
Resolution is nigh. The Derwent theme is resounding in the eardrums of many a passionate election-goer. Shortly, the prospective reign of yet another YUSU President will descend, the cutlass of the mad captain may fall, the Obama-like face of Nadz may grace the podium, or the woman who wants to abolish women may triumph. The tension is palpable.
00:13
This is Heidi Blake reporting from YUSU elections to the tune of Mambo Number 5. Rory Shanks has just swept the board for Socs and Coms, as the last in a series of predictable results. Despite the early promise of an election night frought with arousal and anticipation (Foy’s erect nipples were an early warning) the results so far engender only oily flaccidity. With any luck, we’ll be standing to attention for the election of the good Cap’n later in the night, who may be the first candidate in living memory to pull YUSU out of the quagmire of tedious predictability. A walking spoiled ballot paper he may be, but it tells us something about the state of YUSU that he’s still the best candidate we have.
00:09
Shanks takes it - to the raptuous applause of the crowd.
“I’d like to thank my OTC group.” We all know how much Nouse loves them.
Well done Rory. His song is Balalalalabamba. Tune.
Ents officer gets a new position - can his fellow Ents Officer Nads Kunwar follow suit?
00:06
“The most demanding role in YUSU,” apparently. Bayley should know.
1,743 votes cast. Exit polls suggest its a two-horse race between Chaz Taylor and Rory Shanks.
00:05
A win for Tyler.
Exit polls win again. He looks pretty chuffed with himself. “You guys are amazing. I love you all. Thanks for all the effort in the campaign,” he says.
Aw, bless.
Socs and Comms next…
00:02
1,855 votes. That’s just manic. Will Derwent favourite Jamie Tyler win? Maybe Fran Olley? Sarah Witts? Let’s see.
00:01
It’s Saturday guys… And here is Student Development and Charities.
23:56
Pussycat Dolls definitely does set the mood…Matt Burton can currently be seen to be getting jiggy on the dancefloor. Resplendent in jelly bean helmet. Sexy.
23:54
A bit of Pussycat Dolls always keeps the atmosphere pumping. I think Colin Hindson put it best: “It’s so hot in here I’m sweating like a pig,” he told Nouse exclusively.
23:52
Recently elected Policy and Campaigns Officers, Tom Languish and Michael Batula, spoke to Nouse about their sucess.
“It’s been the longest week of my life,” said Batula, though Languish was keen to emphasize the ‘”great campaigns” that they’ve had over the last week.
Congratulations guys. Best of luck.
23:44
Well, that was a bit of a blitz. Three elections in 5 minutes. Good job there’s some Girls Aloud to provide some light relief
23:42
It’s gone to second preference voters…. Canning is visibly excited.
And there it is - a win for Tom Langrish and Michael Batula.
“I feel like that first time I saw Osmosis at school,” said Langrish. Whatever that means.
Apparently he bet Colin Hindson he couldn’t use Osmosis in a speech… Ok then.
Well done lads.
23:38
Lots of environmentally friendly speech stuff there from Thwaites.
Next up - Policy and Campaigns.
The exit polls predicted it - surely the YUSU veterans Langrish and Batula would win?
1,819 people voted.
23:36
Environment and Ethics next, with 1,723 votes cast.
Exit polls say its close between Lena Jeha and Joe Thwaites and John Nicholls.
The winners are:
Joe Thewaites and John Nicholls
Oooh it was close. That’s politics folks.
23:33
1,643 votes cast for Racial Equality officers…
And the winners are: Nadia Aziz and John Apea
Well done to them. Commiserations to the losers.
23:30
As Shakira blares out and the groovers get down, the Racial Equality, Environment and Ethics and Policy and Campaigns candidates are nervously waiting for their results to be read. Will Langrish and Batula win through? Can Thwaites and Nicholls take E & E? It’s getting tense.
23:23
A couple of YUSU oldies are here now. Amy Foxton, former Academic and Welfare Officer thinks its great that so many people ran for positions this year. Colin Hindson, former Socs and Comms Officer reckons Tom Langrish and Michael Batula have Policy and Campaigns all sewn up. Perhaps, perhaps…
23:18
Outgoing President Canning has joined us at the Nouse desk as the tunes blare out. Drinking her “second pint of gin,” she is keeping tight lipped about the Presidential result. Bayley is the best dressed Sabb as well, apparently. Gotta love her, dear Anne-Marie. We’ll miss her, I tell you.
23:10
New Student Action chair, Adam Wilkes, has descibed himself as “ecstatic.” “It’s given me a great opportunity to publicise the work of Student Action,” he said. “I’m so happy, it’s going to be great year for RAG!” We hope so too.
23:10
Well, from a total of 1746 votes, Helen Adams is our new RAG President.
Congratulations to Helen and commiserations to Alex!
23:10
And RAG President…will Alex Fink’s fears be confirmed?
23:10
Student Action, another uncontested position, went to Adam Wiles.
Well done Adam – 1439 votes were cast for this position.
23:05
Another Nouse chat…talking to former Societies and Communications Officer, Colin Hindson, he tells his he’s all for ‘Payne for President.’ We’ll just have to see…
22:46
Heads up, Nouse have had a quick chat to RAG Presidential hopeful, Alexander Fink. He says he’s “not feeling too confident after looking at the exit polls.” Suffering a setback after a large assignment this week, he told Nouse “it would be awesome if I could win,” but says that he’s enjoyed his week of campaigning, regardless of workload.
22:46
And next…Student Action Chair and Rag President. Twenty minutes of musical joy to come before that…enjoy.
22:44
No rest for the wicked - or Sam Bayley, announcing Entertainment Officer results.
And the winner is…. Naomi Dodds and Ed Durkin.
Well done to Naomi and Ed. No scalps for RON tonight so far.
22:42
After some fine grooves, much enjoyed by the pirate army, it’s back on to the results.
Congratulations to Sarah Fennell and Ben Humphrys.
1,509 votes were cast.
Don’t worry viewers, we’ll bring you some happy victors (and bitter losers) soon.
22:40
Uncontested LGBT Officers, soon to take on the mighty RON, are feeling pretty jovial: “I’m glad Ben Humphrys blow-job policy got us through. I’m also glad the motion to get rid of liberation officers failed.”
22:35
Nadeem Kunwar is looking nervous, Laura Payne is keeping her cards close to her chest… and Tom Scott is busting some crazy pirate moves to the beats of Britney. Read into that what you will.
22:32
Dance, dance, dance. It really is ’sizzling’ in here, to quote the omnipotent Black Eyed Peas…
22:22
After a brief speech from Canning, and some crazy tunes from our resident DJ (who’s doing a bloody good job, by the way), it’s time for LGBT officer…
22:20
More unopposed candidate action, this time with Women’s Officer.
And there it is, Sophie Harrison and Eilidh McIntosh are elected!
Wicked. 1,552 votes were cast
22:18
Unopposed candidates Rhianna Kinchin and Collette Kerrigan are elected.
Well done them. 1,388 votes were cast
22:18
Next up - Training Officer.
Tough one to call this. Will it be RON?
22:14
Here we are, the 8 delegates to go to the NUS Annual Conference are:
Andrew Dixon
David Levene
Laura Payne
Matt Burton
Matt Pallas
Sam Bayley
Tom Langrish
Turnout 1431 votes
There were only 9 candidates, so I’m guessing someone’s feeling pretty glum out there. No worries, there’s enough Carlsberg and 90s pop to go around.
22:10
If you’re interested to see the full results of the night you can view them here. There are big drums and an awful Gladiator theme tune, it must mean…the start of the elections.
22:06
Sam Bayley is dancing ladies and gentlemen, you need to see it to believe it. Meanwhile, the first results are about to be announced, NUS delegates.
22:02
For those looking for results, we’re still in the ‘let’s play really cheesy music and dance like our favourite YUSU sab’ stage. We’ll let you know as soon as they start getting on with the business in hand.
Keep those comments coming guys.
21:59
It looks like those exit polls are having an impact. Sarah Witts, trailing Derwent hero Jamie Tyler in the race for Student Development and Charities says she’s “not confident.” Remember guys, these are merely indicators. Just to clarify - the exit polls were released to Nouse, URY and YSTV, all exclusively apparently.
21:56
Hopeful Training Officers Rhianna Kinchin and Collette Kerrigan have just swung by the Nouse table. With them standing uncontested and the exit polls showing them having gained 91% of votes, they say they’re feeling “really pretty confident.” And let’s be honest, with figures like that, I think they have every right to be….
21:53
They’re queuing back to Langwith here. This is unprecendented YUSU popularity, SU President, Anne-Marie Canning is left stunned by the attendance. So stunned that she has turned into Ulrika Johnnsonn. Actually.
21:50
Popular local hero and JCRC chair Oli Lester is in the building. “I think it’ll be the pirate,” offers Oli. Controversial. Also, breaking news just in - Grace FH is not, contrary to popular belief, coming tonight. Sorry about that folks…
21:45
Suspicions confirmed. It was the £1.50 after all…
21:44
Rich Croker, I can confirm, is here. Shock horror. I wonder what he did to get on the guest list. Maybe he just sidled in offering his £1.50? Which other YUSU megastars might Grace the occasion? Do you like what I did there?
21:40
As it fills up, one candidate is definitely standing out amongst the masses…oh yes, the one and only Matt Burton, sporting an extremely eye catching Gladiators-style helment bedecked with jelly beans. Bring it on.
21:36
It’s filling up pretty quickly here, as Joey Ellis starts grinding out some moves on the dance floor. Joe Martin, queuing outside, says “I’m really excited. I can’t believe the queue is so long. I really want Laura Payne to win President. If the pirate gets it, my opinion of people at this university will plummet.” Wow Joe, that’s some pretty bold views you got there… Anybody out there agree with him?
21:31
We want to know who you think will win tonight? What surprises are in store? Who’s going to win? Comment on our blog or text in at 07515165755
21:26
The lights are off, and the disco ball is spinning. It’s like the Oscars in here… but with Matt Burton.
21:22
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. To the beautiful sound of Mika, presidential hopeful and our very own friendly neighbourhood Johnny Depp look-alike, Mad Cap’n Tom Scott, has arrived. Oh yes. And he’s declared himself “too damn confident.” Ouch!
21:13
Well James, results are supposed to start being announced around 10ish. However, judging from previous YUSU events, things might be ever so slightly slow. We’ll keep you posted.
21:06
‘Final Countdown’ can be heard campus-wide as the AV guys blare out the classic tunes…the scene is completed with the wonderful sight of lycra-clad enthusiasts dancing as the start of the night approaches.
But as the final countdown begins, all minds are turning to the eagerly anticipated announcement of results that looms. Will it be Payne or Kunwar? Or will the Mad Cap’n Tom be our next president? Stay tuned…
21:03
Sorry for the lack in recent blogging…interference by doorsafe left the news team stranded in the cold outside Derwent bar, anxiously searching for wristbands.
Outside, queues are forming for miles as eager students await the excitement of tonight’s festivities. At the forefront the Pirate Posse can be found, gloriously bedecked in full pirate gear. Stay tuned for more.
20:55
Tom Langrish, candidate for Policy and Campaigns with Michael Batula is floating around nervously. The bar is currently shut until the event opens officially, so there’s not a lot to keep the anxious candidates busy.
20:52
Hi there Chris how are you? Yes, it is free for candidates. No problem mate, on the house. Good luck
20:46
It’s good times ahoy in the bustling hive of activity that is the pre election results Derwent bar. There is definately a certain electricity in the air tonight ladies and gentlemen. Outside, a veritable mass of pirates que patiently (almost too patiently in fact) to gain entrance. Unfortunately for them the fee will be an entire, quite controversial, 1.50 worth of gold. I can assure you however, ladies and gentlemen, it will be worth it.
20:40
VOTE FOR PREZ - answer to your question, yes indeed, the runnings for AU President show Chris Collinson to be doing well…
Chris Collinson - 28%
Alex Lacy - 24%
Max Coney - 20%
Jack Kennedy - 17%
Aimee Gamble - 8%
RON - 3%
20:30
The atmosphere is starting to take off with a frenzy of blogging, decorating and techies running around like crazy with large speakers. Watch this space.
20:18
A quick thanks to everyone for tuning in. We’ve had almost 450 unique visits so far, and nothing has actually happened yet. Also thanks for the comments. Any text comments can be sent to 07515165755, at any time during the night.
Now, Student Development and Charities exit poll - and local Derwent hero Jamie Tyler is leading the way:
Jamie Tyler - 51%
Sarah Witts - 22%
Fran Olley - 21%
RON - 6%
20:18
A quick thanks to everyone for tuning in. We’ve had almost 450 unique visits so far, and nothing has actually happened yet. Also thanks for the comments. Any text comments can be sent to 07515165755, at any time during the night.
Now, Student Development and Charities exit poll - and local Derwent hero Jamie Tyler is leading the way:
Jamie Tyler - 51%
Sarah Witts - 22%
Fran Olley - 21%
RON - 6%
20:10
It’s all kicking off here. Balloons, bunting, black boxes full of techy stuff… And lots of Gladiatorially styled YUSU people running around. Joey Ellis thinks John Phelps, a Rory Shanks supporter - who is almost painted in lycra - looks “amazing”.
Anyway, another exit poll - Societies and Communications - and Phelps will be happy:
Rory Shanks - 52%
Chaz Taylor - 33%
Matt Harris - 8%
RON - 7%
20:05
Meanwhile, the Services & Finance position suggests a predictable win for Matt Burton:
Matt Burton - 54%
Nick Bradley - 28%
James Thompson - 14%
RON - 4%
20:00
Dan Whitehead here, Matt Greenaway has asked about the other exit polls. Firstly the Academic and Welfare position:
Charlie Leyland - 61%
Matthew Pallas - 21%
Alan Duffell - 14%
Re-open Nominations - 4%
19:47
All the YUSU crew are here now. Esteemed President Anne-Marie Canning is putting up bunting, and isn’t in costume. Not Sam Bayley, though, who is dressed as that famous referee guy from Gladiators. One another note, our first comment has come in from Dan “Menergy” Taylor, Criss Noice’s closest buddy:
If the pirate wins, “would the last person out of the uni please turn off the lights…”
Well that’s a bit negative now isn’t it.
19:45
YUSU hottie Joey Ellis has just sidled over to where we are sitting in a dashing little cheerleader outfit. Apparently her costume is for a thirteen year-old. She’s keeping her predictions to herself at the moment, but “clearly wants Matt Burton to win.” Burton, let’s remember, is the returning incumbment for the Service and Finance Officer position. He’s going for the legacy.
19:36
Ohoy, there’s movement in the house as just one loner diner remains, having a special night out in Derwent with his ipod. Techy people move about guerilla style, dressed in black and setting up some fuck-off speakers to capture the beautiful voices of YUSU hopefuls as the night progresses.
19:30
Chet Khatu is in the house - he’s pretty confident that Nadz has it in the bag. Joe Clarke strolls up to the Nouse booth too - he’s stumping for Nadz as well. Exit polls suggest otherwise…
19:24
Lots of comments coming in on the exit poll story. Who would have thought, a man in a pirate hat and a white shirt could walk away from Derwent bar tonight as the YUSU-President-elect. However, the President announcement seems a good while off to us 4 sat here as the tables are wiped and the chairs tucked in…
19:13
Sian Turner here, back from the long, cold search for cash in the unchartered land of Heslington. Can report that the Pirate Posse is out in force, seen stalking the dark depths of Derwent in search of Derwent bar, and are now casually supping rum in characteristic pirate style, lounging over the bar as the atmosphere vibrates with the sound of the pirate ‘arrr!’
19:01
Jonathan Fransman here, manning the post as the other vagabonds go in search of cash. The atmosphere here can only be described as tense. This has actually very little to do with election night itself but instead is due to the fact that the Derwent food outlet, “Da Vinci”, has run out of the foodstuff the canteen staff are attempting to pass off as meat thus leaving a rather portly man in the queue close to tears.
18:47
Not going to lie, there’s not a great deal happening at the moment. URY and YSTV are here, doing that running around thing in black clothes with lots of wires that techy people like doing. Any comments throughout the night, send them in and we’ll do our best to respond to them.
18:38
We’re going to be bringing you all the results as they happen, but at the moment Derwent bar is just full of students munching on their pasta bakes. Smells good. In the meantime, go check out the latest developments in the Pirate for President saga. Could he win it?
18:20 - Welcome to Nouse’s Election Coverage
Welcome YUSU-fans, you’re here with the news team of Henry James Foy, Sian Turner, Jonathan Fransman and our trusty top dog; Dan “Webmeister General” Whitehead. He’s here to make sure it doesn’t all go to webshit.
Dan Taylor
If the pirate wins, “would the last person out of the uni please turn off the lights…”
Matt Greenaway
I agree with Dan.
You have no idea how disturbing this is for me.
(Although I wouldn’t have made the point by quoting The Sun)
Josh
/sigh
If he gets it, he’ll take it seriously.
Matt Greenaway
Also - any news about the exit polls for the other positions?
Dan Taylor
Nor for me. Matt Greenaway agreeing with me. Pigs might fly. I think the poll may be slightly mis-leading but the high turnout suggests some of the more disenfranchised voters may have come to support the pirate. I would guess 8% of the turnout increase would go to him. Peter Snow swingometer anyone?
Lewis
But Josh, even if he does take the job seriously, he’s sidestepped any questions about experience or policy! If he’d run as a serious candidate, I’d very much doubt he would have won (assuming he does)….
I think its clever politicking, but that seems to be all it is….
Nick
“he’s sidestepped any questions about experience or policy!”
Ahhh, so Mad Cap’n Tom, not Nadz is York’s Obama then?
Tara Smith
This coverage is appalling. Are you seriously expecting people to take it seriously? And “increasingly more” is a crashing tautology. Stop writing like children and expecting people to value what you say.
Matt Greenaway
And the point isn’t weather he’ll take it seriously (he will), it’s weather the Uni will take HIM seriously…
Half the power the job has is in saying ‘this is what students want’, in being able to be a credible voice for the needs of all students, as the head of a credible organisation. Uni staff, who make the important decisions in the end, are quite capable of reading nomination forms and posters, and are capable of recognising when the SU has decended into a complete and utter farce that it’s safe to ignore.
The exit polls are interesting. Don’t write off Pallas or Bradley yet, though - both ran really good campaigns.
Josh
The SU was already a farce…
“whether” btw, not “weather”.
Lewis
With respect, both Obama and Nadz have some policies! I think Mad Cap’n Tom would be more Yorks Stephen Colbert!
Interesting question RE turnout. It would be interesting to see how that breaks down by day. I think Dan’s probably right, but equally there could have been a late surge against Tom if people thought he was gaining momentum and didn’t like it.
Either way, I think its fair to give him credit for an increase in turnout.
Marco McAllister
I did not vote for the pirate but, if he wins, student representatives in this university really need to stop and think.
The pirate’s success, whether it will result in a victory or not, is a symptom of how ill student politics is at York.
His success is a victory of democracy and a huge defeat of traditional inactivism and isolation of YUSU from the student’s body.
I would say thet this year’s elections represent the death of past student politics…
Whether things will change I don’t know, and I honestly don’t expect any change to happen, I’m quite disillusioned, but what’s sure is that what we have seen up to now is not what students want, and I reckon tonight’s results will be a clear sign in that direction…
James Benton
So what time do the results actually start to get released?
And what time do we find out that the Pirate has won? I know myself and many others only voted to ensure that we had a Pirate SU President…
Josh
He has certainly caused the increase in voting. All my friends that voted did so because they thought he was funny and student politics don’t affect them so why not take the piss?
Before one of you fanbois starts yacking on about how it affects everyone; they’re finalists.
Chris Northwood
I think too much emphasis is being put on experience, and to a certain extent policy too. Sure, having little/no experience will undoubtedly make the job harder to start with, but I’m sure after a certain amount of time, the experience you get from actually spending X weeks being President and doing Presidential things will make overshadow prior experience. Similarly for policies, so he has no policies? The other candidates would have had their actual policies when elected dictated by UGM, so Kunwar would still have to campaign for bridges, buses and bars, and Payne might still have to run an International Viking Raid if someone proposes a UGM motion saying that we want that, and it passes. Just because a candidate loses, we don’t necessarily lose out on their policies, we can mandate exec to carry them out via UGM.
Marco McAllister
IF anyone is York’s Obama, and I think it is absolutely inappropriate to think that anyone is, certainly it is not Nadz, whose policies are as realistic as useless, since I could hardly believe any substantial proposal of change can be found in his proposals.
posters aside…
Matt Greenaway
RE: Josh
Dare you to say that to Matt Burton’s face after he’s had a few (and judging by last year, he will). I fancy experiencing the other side of a no confidence campaign.
Dan Taylor
If he does win, then I think it sums up people’s perceptions of YUSU. Of it being unrepresentative, unimportant, undemocratic and cliqy. I agree with some of these sentiments but most fundamentally, against the view that it is unimportant. It is infact very important to our societies and students as individuals even if it is a bastion of political corectness and driven by the top-down NUS. I think in [potentially] voting for a pirate, the students have not taken on board this point and I would agree with Matt Greenaway [AGAIN?!?!?!?!] that no-one is the uni establishment would take him seriously, and that would give them a real opportunity to take complete liberties against the interests of York students.
Lewis
Chris,
I think that’s a fair point, but equally I think that bearing in mind the role of President is primarily university liaison, pre-existing personal relationships, and an understanding of the relationship between the University administration and YUSU are pretty important attributes.
Sure they can be learned or developed, but why waste three or four months doing that?
Josh
Marco,
I agree. I commented on another article how I found his campaigning offensive and a mockery of what Obama has achieved.
Matt, say what; the SU is a joke or that the hugh turnout this year is because people can see it’s a joke?
Marco McAllister
oh, and if Matt Burton wins, well, congratulations everybody, we’ll have a professional non-student student representative in York.
what a joke.
I hope there will be a UGM motion soon to change YUSU’s constitution to prevent anyone from running if they are not students at the time of the election. if YUSU matters little to students, it certainly will matter even less if we allow non students to represent us.
get a life, this place is for sudents…
Josh
Haha, yeah; it is a little sad running for a position on a student union when you’re not even a student. Get out into the real world for God’s sake.
Dan, yes. The SU is important to our societies but I don’t think Tom will destroy that at all, he is in several societies and has chaired them. He knows how important they are.
Dan Taylor
Matt Burtin has career ambitions to become an administrator for YUSU on ‘leaving’ uni. His decision to re-run was essentially careerist and not to fully represent the views of York students. I think many people are supporting a possible constitutional ammendement.
Dan Taylor
Sorry not YUSU- the NUS. My bad.
Josh
Tara, the coverage may be shite but the banter is good. Plus as long as I see the results I don’t care.
VOTE FOR CHANGE
any news on AU Pres?
Josh
2 years on a small, worthless SU make up for 1 year on a good one?
Lewis
“oh, and if Matt Burton wins, well, congratulations everybody, we’ll have a professional non-student student representative in York”
And that’s a bad thing because…? Surely having a professional, experienced person, who is as close to being a student as you can get, keeping control over budgeting and events is a good thing?
I would have thought of all the offices S&F is the one which involves the least ‘representation’…and besides, why is spending a year working for the union any different from spending a year doing a masters?!
The constitution already places a two year limit doesn’t it….
Chris Northwood
How many of the 522 hits are just us few hardcore commenters hitting refresh every few minutes though?
Dan Taylor
I’m at home and would like to thank Nouse for their (all be it poor) banter and coverage of the night as I cannot be there. Get your rat out Tara Smith.
Dan Taylor
…Poor banter that is, not coverage.
Lewis
I’m in california and would like to thank Nouse as well! I’d have no clue what was going on otherwise….
Josh
“why is spending a year working for the union any different from spending a year doing a masters?!”
Because a masters is furthering your education? Because it gets you a better job? Because it’s a stepping stone towards a PhD? Because it challenges your intelligence? Shall I continue or have you realised comparing those two things was idiotic on your part?
Jo
For the record, I’m finding the coverage damn good
When do results start coming in?
Josh
Aye, cheers Nouse. At least your website loads! *eyes Vision*
Josh
Jo, if you like the coverage then surely you’d have noticed them telling us the results?
Josh
Or at least indicating what they’ll be like….
Dan Taylor
Your comment holds some weight Lewis but this then begs the question, why do we need someone with any uni experience at all if we are basing it purely on their ability to do the job? We could hire someone in who is qualified in this area and still pay them roughly the same amount because it would look good on their CV for future jobs.
His motives are purely careerist. He is NUS, not York Uni through and through and I believe that that is wrong. He wants to be an NUS beaurocrat in a years time and this would stand him is fantastic stead. YUSU needs to be kept fresh and having careerists in positions like S&F does not create those conditions.
Dan Taylor
Good to see Josh Chambers on here as well…
Marco McAllister
“I would have thought of all the offices S&F is the one which involves the least ‘representation’…and besides, why is spending a year working for the union any different from spending a year doing a masters?!”
well… spending a year working for the union, for the way the union works, does not have anything to do with doing masters. exception made for the fact that both things happen in York. certainly being in the YUSU exec does not seem to be a great way of being in contact with students, while doing masters means being a student, which is much different.
plus I think that the idea of a student venue needs some proper thinking, and Matt Burton gives me the idea that he’ll do it regardless of whether it is rational to do it, simply to leave a legacy.
plus, come on, he should get a real life!
Jo
Josh - yes, I’ve read the info about the Exit polls. If you read my comment, I’m asking when the actual results will start coming in, which could potentially be quite different.
Chris
Does anyone know if entry is free for candidates?
Chris
Lewis
Josh,
Before calling me ‘idiotic’ stop and think for a minute: clearly I wasn’t saying that doing a masters and working for the union was the same thing in the wider context, my point was in relation to being a good union officer, what difference is there.
Masters students have different funding setups, different course structures, different workloads, and in many cases, differing outlooks. People have stood after the masters and its been no problem, so why is it any different?
I’ve worked for the past 4 years professionally in event management, so clearly when I come to working YUSU events I bring a different experience set, so yes “I’m out of line with the majority of students” but thats hardly a negative thing is it?
I’d understand if we were talking about a middle aged person who had never even been to York, but I think that a someone spending a year working for union hardly creates a massive disparity between a finalist, if anything, it gives you the best of both worlds.
Gretchen
YUSU hottie? Such sexism! Unless you can point me out a male YUSU hottie…don’t want to set you an impossible task…
Josh
Jo, I know. Sorry, I’m quite drunk and tired and couldn’t delete my post so I tried to hide my misreading in my second response.
Damn you for pointing this out to the entire Nouse reading community!
Chris
Not bad thanks! I’m just coming over now; I’ll come and say hi!
See you in a bit!
Josh
Lewis,
I think Dan outlined it before saying he isn’t doing it for the students, he is doing it for himself.
In my experience though, the masters students and PhD students still join in with society events, drinking in bars etc as they’re not employed by the University. There is a difference.
Plus, it is a little sad. Go and get a real job for God’s sake. :/
Dan Taylor
“SUCH SEXISM”. Bring back witch-trials for men why not. Alternatively, have them castrated at birth!! Bad, bad nouse.
Lewis
Sorry, that should probably read “event production” not “management” before anyone accuses me of anything
James Benton
So…when do the results actually start to get announced?
Dan Taylor
Does anyone think GFH will turn up? Rumour had it on wall-to-wall with Langrish that she may well be doing so…
Nicky
Everyone’s loving the coverage, guys. I was wrong about the personal thing, it’s really entertaining. Keep up the good work…
Yorker-hater
Fantastic coverage so far guys, really builds the atmosphere, the Yorker hasn’t even started yet!
Dan Taylor
Gretchen, POI: I’ve heard Mad Cap’n Tom has more than a cutless in his armoury. I’m sure he’d love to take it out on you some day…
Jo
Do we know what order the results get released in? I’m presuming President will be the last one to be announced?
Josh
If GFH turns up she’s sadder than Matt Burton.
bob
Or Rich Croker.
Chris Northwood
I think the question we’re all asking is… Which Mika song?
Dan Taylor
…or me sitting updating the nouse website every 2 minutes…
Josh
Nah, no-one can top Rich Croker. I do love these eternal “students”.
Chris Northwood
Hmm, Dan, at least I’m leaving it 5 minutes between refreshes
Nix
or me……..Chris Collinsons sister, sitting reading a load of students comments instead of goin out on the town!! lol
Go Chris, go Chris!!!
Lewis
YSTV’s coverage online seems to have just broken…its making me tense looking at a black screen….
GWB
I think in a strange turn of events GFH will be re-elected as Welfare Officer.
Chris Northwood
URY are claiming exclusivity on the exit poll results
Jo
Listening to URY, they seem to think the exit polls are exclusive to them, and are confused about how people already know what they say!! Maybe someone needs to burst their bubble…
Dan Taylor
Eastenders repeat for me at 10 I am afraid. Chris, that will mean I leave it a full…30 minutes :P!
Maths student
Just a statistical comment from a maths student 27% of the university (say 10,000) = 2,700 votes. A poll of 100 people from Monday, not as representative as you may think.
Mitch
Surprised you’re not there Dan!
Chris Northwood
Ah, Mitch, made the trip across from The Yorker I see!
Chris Northwood
Was it just me, or were Harrison and McIntosh “erected” to the position of women officers?
Jo
I’m listening to URY at the same time, who are broadcasting the stage output “live”, but Nouse are still managing to get the results out first!!
Mitch
Long time reader, first time commenter - thought I’d join the banter
Philip
Hmm, people are posting comments in the future. Something broked?
Dan Taylor
I’m at home Mitch meaning that sadly, I am unable to attend as much as I’d like. The chat is pretty good on the wall. Shame about the women’s officers though- they would never have put through the UGM Laura did as they are not feminists- they hate men.
Chris Northwood
I think the website clock is still on British Summer Time - it’s been an hour in front for ages!
Admin
Thanks Chris, I will change the time. Unfortunaely it really messes with the blog currently. Changes will be made after this evening is over.
Mitch
Hmm… feminazis perhaps? I can’t say I’m familiar with them or their policies.
The only elections I seem to vaguely remember attending was in 2006, having not voted and finding myself incredibly drunk, I stole a musketeer wig and streaked topless across the dance floor. Good times.
P.S. Dan, you might be pleasantly surprised by my recent reply on the Israel issue…
Dan Taylor
I’ve seen it Mitch! Just replied. It addresses some of your resolutions ;). Have a look! GO NADZ!
I
Mr. Taylor seems to be posting much on this wall!! Can Nouse interview him please. I’m sure he would LOVE IT!
Dan Taylor
Bad effort there. Fink deserved RAG!
Oscar
Oh sheesh. After the whole Grace no-confidence issue, I wrote an article for a separate off-campus publication, where I basically defended the characters of her and Dan Taylor. It seemed to me that people were judging both of them unfairly. I regret this now. Having read most of Dan Taylor’s comments throughout the Nouse website, he’s clearly nothing more than an opinionated tit. Bad call on my part.
Mitch
I can only dream of being such a prolific poster that I get asked to do an interview.
Oh no, wait a minute… that’s already happened.
I have to say this election has been possibly the most inconsequential thing I’ve been vaguely excited by in a long time.
Chris Northwood
Anne-Marie will indeed be missed! YUSU needs more straight-forward no-nonsenseness of a Donny lass
Kim
When the hell do they announce president?! I want to go to bed!
Mitch
1am Kim, you’re in for a long wait!
Dan Taylor
Oscar said: “opinionated twit”. Does anyone else see the irony in this?
Mitch
Yup. Irony factor 10.
(Holy crap, I agreed with Dan Taylor…)
Kim
Sod that then.
Dan Taylor
Mitch; has someone checked your temperature? In the space of 2 hours, yourself and Matt Greenaway have agreed with me. Its this election fervour…
DC
Anyone elses URY fecking up? Getting no sound at all from mine atm.
And well done to Tom and Mike by the way.
Oscar
Oh yes, irony factor very high. Of course, it didn’t escape my attention. Nonetheless, you are the one that everyone thinks is a tit. Not me. It’s a shame they seem to have good cause for so thinking. I hoped perhaps you were better than this.
Dan Taylor
Yes Oscar, and your assertion is based on a poll of 3-400 leftist students/journalists who don’t like what they THINK I believe in. This Nouse feed is not about me, it’s about the election results so take your namby-pamby ramblings somewhere else because at the moment, it’s not me they think is a tit. I’m sorry to have dissapointed you. And yes DC, by URY has not worked all evening when there is normally no problem what so ever.
Mitch
Does someone making comments that don’t agree with your own beliefs, or that are perhaps misinformed really mean they are a tit?
I certainly don’t see eye-to-eye with Dan, but I almost have to (dare I say it?) respect how strongly convicted he is on certain issues no matter how much his opinions differ from my own or how inaccurate his facts might be in some cases.
To (probably) paraphrase someone else, “Don’t hate, educate.”
(Now I find myself actually defending Dan Taylor? “Curiouser and curiouser!”)
Anyway, BACK ON TOPIC FOLKS!
bob
Really great coverage so far guys.
Are we going to get any photos?
Mitch
P.S. What happened to the photos Dan was uploading?
Dan Taylor
Innaccuracy of facts?! Have a look at my response on the Yorker Plaestinian debate wall…! This election melake does drag out a bit. Kim is right- 1am for the final results is a bit extreme. What do we think about the pirate? I’m hearing Payne is not to confident.
Dan
Have a feeling it would have been a landslide had the pirate suggested said Taylor walk off a plank. Into the lake. With a ball and chain firmly affixed to his rather large mouth.
Mitch
Pirate will win, albeit for the wrong reasons but it will serve as an important lesson in campus politics.
Chris Northwood
I agree with Mitch, I’m pretty sure the Mad Cap’n’s got it down - the high turnout pretty much proves it, in my reasoning (the same amount of people care about SU politics as before. The new amount of people who are voting voted for the pirate)
Dan Taylor
Definately agree with Chris. The pirate has upped the turnout and taken no-voters or potential ‘RON’ voters. That is the substantial electorate that both Nads and Payne may regret not doing enough to target.
I do think however that it represents a basic view of students about YUSU. About it’s perceived cliqyness and the usuall criticisms, most of which are right. However electing a pirate is not the way to go about addressing these. Still, this turnout is fantastic for university democracy.
Chris Northwood
I’m quite looking forward to what York Press and the commenters on thisisyork.co.uk will say (I assume that if the pirate gets in they’ll have something about it - they love any opportunity to berate students)
Mitch
I don’t think it’s necessarily about clique-iness, it’s more about how the majority students see the SU doesn’t actually affect their university life very much at all, which is how I and many of my friends feel.
The same kind of people get elected generally anyway, and the same kind of things happen within the union. The only difference this time is that instead of voting for RON, a large number of students are turning to the pirate as a “comedy” vote, no matter how serious he might actually be.
I just can’t believe people still think pirates are cool - surely that got old about 2 years ago?
Dan Taylor
Delighted for Charlie and Lacey!!!
Chris Northwood
“I be crossing the bridge when I come to it,”
He’d best do it quickly before it gets knocked down then…
Mitch
Dan’s HTML talents? He seems to have neglected anchor tags - all I can see is thumbnails! :p
Who’d'a thunk Wordpress actually required work?
Noel
Just a slight issue I have.
I’m not really that arsed about the notion of a comedy president, as embarrasing as that will be in terms of the Uni’s, or rather YUSU’s prestige.
But a fucking pirate? Somebody who spends his whole life pretending to be a pirate. Jeez, that sort of person belongs on Jeremy Kyle not at the forefront of the Uni… The minute I outgrew Captain Pugwash was the minute I stopped finding pirates “cool”…
Andy
Also delighted for Charlie, met her a few times and she seems like a lovely girl!
Mitch
Got your “pirate victory” comment prepared already Dan? :p
Chris Northwood
I for one welcome our new pirate overlord.
Dan Taylor
The pirate winning this is a joke. YUSU was rarely take seriously before tonight. Now it will be the laughing stock of those far and wide. Students wishing to see change in YUSU should not go and vote in someone who did not want the position, ran as a joke and instead have chosen one of the two credible candidates. It was all a ‘good laugh’ him standing (for some), but now we have him as our chair. What a joke.
Nick
Couldn’t agree more with what Dan Taylor just said.
Running as a joke is all well and good, but this is quite literally the equivilent of the “Monster Raving Loony Party” winning a general election. Load of bollocks.
Oh, and as for “I never wanted to be here.” then DON’T RUN FOR IT. Christ’s sake, what a shambles.
Oh, and as for people meandering around dressing like a pirate and talking like one etc, gah nevermind…
Mitch
Sweet. York gets to be the laughing stock of the the NUS
Dave
It’s a complete fARRRRRRce.
Hahaha
It’s a joke alright… a very funny one! Hahahahahhahahahahaaaa
Chris Northwood
Best comment ever on URY! “Will you be getting a cannon?” “As soon as I can source one ethically”
Disgruntled student.
right, so if he does take it seriously, then he’s then going against the very reason people voted for him in the first place.
It’d be like a Labour government coming into power and then overseeing an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor.
Oh, hang on a minute…
I love Uni!
Good job there’s a solid, experienced Finance and Services Officer to help out, eh?
Lewis
“I never wanted to be here. Somehow I’ve got in,”
Well two people did want to be there, both of whom seriously wanted to help make york a better place, and help york students. That quote says it all really, He should be truly ashamed of himself.
djb
“He’s got his head screwed on. He’s going to be a brilliant President,” Slightly different sentiments to Canning’s previous “If he gets in, we’re fucked”
Mitch
“Will you be getting a cannon?” “As soon as I can source one ethically”
AWESOME. At least you can’t fault his sense of humour and quick wit.
I don’t necessarily believe he’ll do a better or worse job than any of the other candidates on the whole. Just that well… he’s a wannabe pirate…
Dan Taylor
Guys, again, it’s all a bog joke in having a pirate running but this is the president of our SU. Someone meant to represent us on local issues, uni issues and on the national NUS.
No doubt many of you were in favour of AMC’s negotiations with FTR, Cantor, The Gov’t. over tuition fees etc etc. Now I do not agree with all of them and accept there are sometimes common causes that are politically motivated but how the bloody hell will we be represented properly by such an idiot who did not WANT to win and had no intention of doing so in the first place.
I think significant pressure, and by that I mean SIGNIFICANT pressure should be placed upon him to resign and a by-election called.
This is more serious for this Uni. than most imagine.
Long Dong Silver
THE PIRATE WON! THE PIRATE MOTHERLOVING WON!
Dan, this man will probably be the most responsible and least spineless YUSU president since records began. If you want to leave, don’t let us stop you.
Well done to everyone who voted for him.
I’m damn glad Nadz didn’t win. The cap’n has better policies and that Obama schtick smelt like playing the race card to me.
Long Dong Silver
“He should be truly ashamed of himself.”
And so, I gather, should that large majority of people who voted for him. In fact, this whole democracy thing is a bad idea. Let’s just let the outgoing president nominate a successor.
anon.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11137553271
A group calling for the immediate resignation of the pirate.
I don't want to sound Apocalyptic, but...
This may very well be the beginning of the end.
In future years we will have not one, but possibly two or even three candidates ‘in character’ in fancy dress hoping to pull off a fluke maverick victory (let’s face it; this is what the result is). As such, ‘serious’ candidates will be laughed at and ignored.
Congratulations to the students of York Uni, you just shot yourselves in the foot…with a fucking nuclear missile.
Louise
I am just an ordinary 3rd year student at York and have no particular interest in the SU. However, I feel strongly that it is important to participate seriously in all elections I am entitled to vote in so I have followed this (and previous) elections with some interest. I decided to vote for Tom Scott after hearing his speeches - I felt that once I looked past the ‘joke’ side to his campaign (which at least got students interested in the election) he made a lot of very well-researched points which really resonated with what I felt was wrong with the uni (and not just the SU). I’m really alarmed by the people who are already calling for a vote of no-confidence/ resignation - surely this is disenfranchising the huge number of students who were motivated to vote in this election and is completely undemocratic.
There’s absolutely no reason why *any* student at a good Uni. like York can’t do a credible job as the SU President - particularly with the support of the outgoing President (that’s surely the point of having the summer term to ’settle in’?) and the new SU team.
Stop throwing tantrums when things don’t go the way you want them and start seeing something positive in the changes!
Matt
You simply can’t ask for the Mad Cap’n to resign before he has even had a chance to prove himself. The students of the university have voted him into the position of President, and he has accepted the post. Reserve your judgement until he has shown how effective he is - until then, pressure for him to step down is completely unfair, both on him and the large number of students who voted for him.
There is no reason that someone like Tom who is admittedly rather unconventional cannot be as strong a President as any ’sensible’ candidate. Rather than make personal attacks on him, respect the fact that he has had the balls to accept the post and take on the responsibility.
Addressing Mr. Taylor:
Dan Taylor:
If the pirate wins, “would the last person out of the uni please turn off the lights…”
Dan,
Will you be leading by example?
Lewis
“There’s absolutely no reason why *any* student at a good Uni. like York can’t do a credible job as the SU President”
But Louise, don’t you think that there is an essential contradiction between wearing a pirate costume, talking like a pirate while discussing serious issues, with serious people wearing suits. Surely acting like a pirate in that enviroment precludes any kind of seriousness or credibility at all.
I’m not sure that there should be a vote of no confidence as that would, as you say disenfranchise voters, but I think Tom really needs to have a think about whether being a serious, credible president is possible when you’re wearing a fancy dress costume and talking with a made up accent….to me, they seem mutually exclusive….
Long Dong Silver
Well said Louise. I think a lot of people feel that.
And as for “Addressing Mr Taylor”; well spoken.
Of course Dan, if you get him removed it’s a choice between a woman and someone in an ethnic minority, so you’ll still be dissappointed. Why didn’t you try and run the union seeing as you seem so interested in (undermining) the democratic process?
Addressing Mr. Taylor:
Dan,
Perhaps you could attempt your second no-confidence campaign in as many months. I see that you are already very active in it on facebook. It seems that you’re becoming a rather public figure in this department. Any Presidential ambitions next year?
anon.
Long Dong Silver:
Accusing me of racism is entirely unfounded and incorrect. I do not have to justify anything to your bigoted and judgemental statements that everyone knows to be exactly that.
JR
I’d like to make rerefence to fletchergate please.
Mr Dan Taylor said, democracy had spoken, the people voted grace out. It might not have been the right thing, it might have. Who knows?
Dan, shutnup bleeding whinging.
The people have spoken! They want the pirate!
And I think Tom Scott will make a ruddy great president!
The Dan Taylor Fanclub
We all love you Dan! Don’t ever leave us! Next year you run for president and show us how it is meant to be done! I’m sure that the students will turn out in their thousands in support of such a well-mannered and balanced young gentleman!
Irritated with people voicing their oh so important opinions because they actually think it matters...how pathetic.
Well, this could be fun. I say good luck to him. People who are complaining…who are you really kidding? For gods sake, let the man at least attempt to do a good job - if he doesn’t, then all well and good, keel haul him. If he does, then oh well…how amusing, we have a pirate who does a good job and it gets us some positive press coverage.
You’re a bunch of twenty-something students half of whom probably wont be here in a years time to see a new president anyway. Your ‘real lives’ are far more important, and anything this pirate does wont really affect you or your learning capacity at this university in the slightest. Trust me, i’ve been here three years and YUSU hasn’t especially affected me, my course or my quality of life here in any way whatsoever. You’ll leave here in a years time and not give a shit about this anyway because there are far more important things than some shitty little student election to worry about - like ID cards, taxes, immigration, the EU, the war in which ever middle eastern country they see fit to invade next, pensions, NHS, the environment and our effect on it(most important of all i’d say). So please stop throwing your toys out of your collective prams and just get on with life and have a good time instead of feeling like you should be outraged. Go and have a beer and laugh about it. Personally, I reckon he’ll do an alright job of it anyway. I’d be willing to bet on that, quite heavily.
In Support of the Pirate
Not all of Tom’s votes came from people wanting the joke option. There are plenty from people who wished he’d got in as Socs and Comms instead of Colin Hinson, particularly since Colin failed to communicate to society about budget changes.
There are societies backing him who know how good he is at organising people, getting people involved and working out what needs to be done in a reasonable way. He’s run a society and been actively involved in many.
He knows about student issues but he’s not going to make rash promises without all the facts. He’s not promising an SU bar without looking at studies on how the possibility would affect other bars. He’s not determined to split sabs positions before hearing the findings of an expert who’s looking into just what organisational changes need to be made.
Most YUSU Presidents don’t keep their campaign promises. I have no real complaints about the job Anne-Marie has done, but do you see a pharmacy on campus?
Someone who’s able to raise thousands of pounds for charity each year is someone who knows how to communicate to people. He can let the students know what’s going on with YUSU and get them interested. The fact that this huge turn-out is still a small proportion of students shows that there’s a long way to go in getting people involved. I think Tom can do it.
Good luck to him.
Stop telling him to get out before you’ve seen what he can do.
Image is everything
To “in support of the pirate”,
Your name says it all. The very fact that you say you are in support of “the pirate” as opposed to being in support of “Tom” or “Tom Scott” shows that even you, a loyal supporter, have to refer to him as such.
In years to come, people will not say “we had Tom Scott as YUSU President”, they will say “do remember the year that the pirate guy won it? What a joke that was!”
When the FTR phone rings, will the secretary pass it over to her boss saying “it’s Tom Scott, that nice young man who is President of YUSU”, or “it’s that bloody pirate again”?
Image is everything, and until his fan base can get over the costume and start referring to him as “Tom” rather than “The Mad Cap’n”, the rest of us don’t stand a chance of taking him seriously. Let alone the outside world.
Delighted in James
I voted for the Captain, simply because he was the only one I saw campaigning. I saw him three times, and never saw the other two. If the other two can’t be bothered to get my vote then why do they deserve it? Long live democracy I say. Trying to remove the Pirate by petition is a pointless and stupid idea because it goes against everything that elections stand for. Though if it wastes more of Dan Taylor’s time, can’t say I’m against him trying.
Jonathon Day
The Captain has won this election. He ran as a valid candidate and people should accept that.
Yes he ran for comedy but having seen him at debates and hustings I feel he is actually very capable and sincere.
He will be just what YUSU needs to get the wind back in its sails.
YARRRR
Anon
I have just been invited to the group ‘Petition for Mad Cap’n Tom Scott to Resign as YUSU President’ on facebook and am fuming after reading Dan Taylors’ quite frankly stupid comments about the whole president situation. Am i the only one that believes him to be a petty child who should have thought about growing up before coming to university? The results were only announced last night, give the guy a chance to do the job which so many students have voted for him to do before trying to get rid of him.
anon
As for the exit polls comments above, in all previous years they have been URY YSTV exclusives. Nouse reporters pressured YUSU into giving them to them as well.
Fair play good luck next time you need support.
Marco McAllister
Well,the pirate won, and as was predictable, a whole lot of angry people cannot get their head around this simple fact: people chose Tom Scott as their president.
the angry party that created a group on facebook for the resignation of Tom Scott from his position even before he could start ding anything reminds me so much of American politicians t the dawn of Hamas’s victory in the Palestinian elections in January 2006.
for all these people democracy seems to be good only if and when people make the “right” choice, a choice that they think is right…
yesterday student politics in york died, or at least th kind of student politics we were used to, based on silly promises, and pretence of competence and commitment to the student body, died. and it was about time…
now, a pirate might not be the best person to lead our student union, but what makes people think that a very conservative candidate ridiculously comparing himself to the icon of change, Barack Obama, or a very idealist girl, whose core promise was to campaign for pretty much anything would have done any better???
(Here I must say that I did vote for Laura Payne and I did hope that she would win. I belong to thet group of peple who believes in electing someone who seems to truly care about student politics and tries to make clear to everybody what she’s going to do if elected and tries to show a true commitment to student problems. but this does notmean that i cannot accept Tom Scott’s election,or that I have to see it as a terribly bad event)
the students in York wanted change. they chose not to elect someone for whom change was simply a word on a poster; they chose not to elect someone who matched the characteristics of a standard SU presidential hopeful, full of ideas which may or may not have turned into tangible results. they chose to change. to give a signal. to ask for something different. to take the piss. to trust a candidate who proved to be as valid as any other in all his speeches, if not much more realistic and down-to-earth.
things need to change.
maybe Tom Scott will manage to help this process. maybe not.
certainly he might have to renounce to his costume, at least for a few meetings here and there; and he might well get bored of talking like a pirate.
but this is a turning point; the students chose change.
and it is up to all of us to make sure this ideaturns into reality, to make sure lots of people keep voting, to make sure involvement stays high, to make sure next year we’ll be able to choose someone with good policies, as well as a funny appearance, to make sure this is a step forward for York, and not only an interesting event.
Anon
Marco, please shut up. You speak utter rubbish in person as well as online.
Please go away.
Anon
This has happened before. The last surviving web-account of the event is, of all places, on a sci-fi forum: http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=66909&view=next
Tom Langley
Whatever he does, a lot of the damage has already been done. I can’t imagine what impact this will have on the president’s standing in University committees (and not just the pirate, but AMC’s and future presidents too). In any university committee the strength of the predisent’s voice lies in the fact that he/she is the primary representative of the student body, and they are arguing on behalf of students. If there’s an argument about portering, or bars, or rent structures, or the welfare of the students who will be living on Hes East next year, or top up fees - or indeed all of the above - how will the president look when what the student population have decided they want is ‘cutlasses for all’?
I wouldn’t mind so much, but the joke isn’t even that funny. He’s dressed as a pirate. That’s it. And given its been made at the expense of the welfare of students who aren’t even here yet, it should have a much better punchline.
Just to make this clear: in 2008/9 we will see the final decision about a student venue; the building of the first accomodation and academic space on Hes East; the largest environmental issues the Uni has ever seen; and of course A PARLIAMENTARY VOTE ON WHETHER OR NOT TOP UP FEES WILL BE RAISED TO £10,000. This is on top of all of the usual conversations, accademic tribunals and campaigns. And who will be our representative, fighting our corner and arguing on our behalf? A pirate..
What’s all this talk about ‘we need change’? Change from what? A union to a costume party? Students were hardly disenfranchised in this - they had access to a wealth of information and candidates eagerly going round canvassing . The sad truth is that so many students never take an interest in what is going on around them, and have both a terrible sense of humour (priates are funny? I’m sorry, but how old are you people?) and a complete lack of common sense. They couldn’t be arsed to read manifestoes, watch 1 minute videos, stop and look at a poster, and most of all they couldn’t be arsed to THINK.
That this was the choice of the student body tells us a lot about what many students are like: shallow, ignorant, selfish and short-shighted. I can only hope that this serves as a wake up call, and intelligent young people realise what they’ve become. Wake up, grow up and start thinking.
I don’t think I have ever been so ashamed to be a student as I am at this time.
Paul Giannaros
It seems that the two opposing views are those in the “stop taking life so seriously, student politics doesn’t matter” camp, versus those who actually realise that, you know, people on YUSU do actually do important things.
The majority of students don’t take an interest in what’s being done, and can meander by blissfully. That’s OK; not everyone is interested in their university experience or attempting to make it as good as possible for future generations. As our dear Captain says: “there’s a whole world out there that doesn’t care about any of us, and it’s fantastic”.
It’s just a shame that ignorant students used their vote to such a damaging result for the sake of novelty.
I don’t believe that any of the other newly-elected YUSU officers who have proved themselves competent enough to win through their own right will let Scott screw up. I just believe it’ll be harder for them to do their job properly, and that we will have less credibility in this episode of the battle for better bus fares, a student venue, etc. I’m with Langley above on this one.
Chris Northwood
* And who will be our representative, fighting our corner and arguing on our behalf? A pirate..
Stop being so shallow and look past the costume.
* That this was the choice of the student body tells us a lot about what many students are like: shallow, ignorant, selfish and short-shighted.
Well yeah, I mean shallow like someone who judges someone only on their personality, ignorant by not fully researching how knowledgeable the person they’re slating is, selfish by throwing a hissy fit because the candidate they voted for didn’t win, and short-sighted by only thinking that people voted him for the comedy value?
The point is that for whatever reason YUSU does not engage with the majority of the student body, this is evidenced by the low turnouts, therefore by engaging with more of the student body (still not a majority though) we’re more likely to get a candidate who is *more* representative of what we want.
As for those that think York is now going to be a laughing stock by external Universities, I was talking to one of my friends last night. She’s a lecturer with the Classics Faculty at the University of Oxford and she thinks that it’s fantastic.
Tom Langley
Chris, unless there’s something significant I am missing, Tom Scott is not actually a pirate - if he is then I think we may be in something of grey area as to the legality of some of his pastimes. It’s not him I’m concerned about - from what I’ve heard he’s intelligent and capable enough, and I sincerely hope he’ll rise to the challenge.
I’m not judging him on his costume - I have no doubt that someone in a pirate suit can argue as capably as anyone not in a pirate costume (though not, incidentally, without contravening the union code). The difficulty is that he entered the election as a joke candidate, asking only to be judged by his costume, and presenting no serious policies or other criteria by which to judge him as a candidate. He stood as a pirate: not as a serious candidate with an eccentric wardrobe , but as a self-proclaimed joke. It was on this basis, by this image, that york students voted for him - the fault isn’t his (beyond a slightly tedious snese of humour perhaps) its theirs for failing to take student politics seriously. There are so many times I’ve heard people say ‘it’s only student politics, it’s not real or anything’ over the past few days.
Student politics isn’t so called because it’s not real, or becuase it’s a step down from ‘grown up politics’ or because its a practising ground for the ‘real politics’ as seen in the House of Commons (there are plenty of debating societies that will cater for that kind of whim), but because it’s the politics of being a student. This encompasses everything from the day-to-day representation of students to their departments on University commitees and academic tribunals, to the hugely significant conversations he will have to have about fees and student welfare and provision on Heslington East. Student politics has a massive impact on every student’s experience here, whether they know it not, and the conversations going on currently will have a collosal impact on students who will be here in a few years’ time. It’s your admission, your fees, your course, your feedback, your supervision, your accommodation, your welfare support, your portering and cleaning, your college, the events you meet friends at, the society you’re a member of, the sports equipment you use, the safety net you know that you’ve got if everything goes wrong. You might not realise it, but pretty much everything about your time here is at least partially dependent on the hard work of Union officers and staff and other dedicated student volunteers (JCRC’s etc.) It’s important, whether or not you like to admit it. You might not feel ‘engaged’ with YUSU, but it’s been engaged with you: you’re a part of it, and you probably have no idea how many of your experiences have been dependent on that membership.
Who cares what other Universties think? The important thing is what York Uni thinks about the student body and their representatives. Any succesful argument in a University committee (I speak from experience) will be made by demonstrating that you have a mandate from your students and that you are representing what they want. York students have given their primary representative a mandate of ‘cutlasses for all’ - a provision I can only imagine Brian Cantor being all too happy to agree with once he has £7,000 extra per student per year to play with. In doing this they have sent the Uni administration a loud and clear signal that so many of them are not aware of what is going on on their behalf, and that they do not care about it, and they have terminally undermined the authority of their primary representative. It’s not just the president’s position that will be undermined as a result of this, its every representative of York students - on accademic, financial, environmental and every other issue.
In perhaps the most crucial year this Union has ever faced, in which we face issues that will have a real impact on current and future students, the student body has voted for a joke.
Josh
Tom, you say YUSU has affected me greatly during my time at university. I’d like you to expand on this wild claim.
“It’s your admission, your fees, your course, your feedback, your supervision, your accommodation, your welfare support, your portering and cleaning, your college, the events you meet friends at, the society you’re a member of, the sports equipment you use, the safety net you know that you’ve got if everything goes wrong.”
Admission - YUSU had nothing to do with me being admitted to the university, care to explain further?
Fees - Fees are standard across *all* Universities in the UK (except that private one), how can YUSU affect this in the slightest?
My course - You have absolutely no say in how my course is run. All feedback from course students goes to the lecturers and they decide how things should be done.
Feedback - All my feedback was given to lecturers in my department. What do you have to do with this?
My supervision - I’m supervised by my department.
My accomodation - My accomodation in the first year was shite. I asked for non smoking and got smoking. Cheers for sorting this out for me! (Sarcasm by the way, I suffered a floor of smokers all year)
Welfare support - Haven’t used it, so this doesn’t affect me.
Portering and cleaning - I’m not in student accomodation anymore, so it doesn’t affect me.
My college - I haven’t actually set foot in there since I left halls.
Events I meet my friends at - I didn’t know you guys ran the Lowther…
Socities - I’m not a member of any YUSU run socities
Sports equipment - Ditto
Safety net - If I had a serious problem, YUSU is the last thing I’d thing of turning to for “support”.
So… care to explain how *I* was affected greatly by the YUSU? I think you’re trying to make YUSU look more important and useful than they actually are. I’m pretty sure the majority of students agree with my viewpoint. Actually, isn’t a joke candidate being elected proof?
Chris Northwood
Tom: Why do you belittle the people who voted for Tom Scott so? Why do you assume that they only voted for him because he’s a joke? Read the group on Facebook in his support, people are explaining why they voted for him, and the overwhelming opinion is that they thought he was the best candidate.
Remember that he’s also said that he’s going to be going the best job he can.
* The important thing is what York Uni thinks about the student body and their representatives.
And the student body has spoken in a bigger voice than ever before saying “This is the guy we want to represent us”.
You also contradict yourself, you say in one line that he’s capable and will hopefully raise to the challenge, but later down you make the assumption that he’s going to let a proposed increase in top-up fees pass by. You can campaign and represent without being political.
* In doing this they have sent the Uni administration a loud and clear signal that so many of them are not aware of what is going on on their behalf, and that they do not care about it, and they have terminally undermined the authority of their primary representative
That’s a very sweeping claim. Got any evidence to back that up?
I’m fed up with all of the “oh noes, the person who won the election is a pirate, the sky is falling” claims that assume the worst in the general student population and have no substance behind them.
I love Uni!
Tom, I don’t agree with everything you say, and without meaning to be condescending - that was superbly argued!
David
Likewise, I think Tom’s got some good points and he argues his case well, but he also overstates it. It’s unduly pessimistic to suppose that on issues like student fees we’re definitely going to be worse off because we elected Tom. The huge election turnout shows that he’s engaged well with students and I believe he can continue to do so. I actually think Tom Scott has a unique opportunity to do an immense amount of good as president. While I think Anne-Marie did an amazing job znd I agreed with her on pretty much everything, having the right direction is not enough; you also have to have momentum and I think Tom Scott could gather more momentum behind him than any other president in YUSU history. Simply by dressing as a pirate he’s impossible to ignore and if he does take the opportunity to make a difference on the issues facing students I think he’ll have great potential to do so. On fees for example, a simple cry of “Arr mateys let’s rally against the scurvy dogs of rampant capitalism” will probably get more people interested than ever before and I wouldn’t be surprised if York students’ involvement on campaigning events increases significantly. Why? Because people will start to realise that they can also be fun. As someone who’s been involved with campaigning societies on campus, I’ve had to put up with a lot of apathy from people who won’t even stop and sign a petition without some incentive and certainly won’t do anything that they see as undignified like drawing a picture or having an extended dialogue with a group of protestors. If the head of our whole SU is a man dressed as a pirate, people might start to worry a bit less about keeping up appearances and maintaining their dignity and be more willing to get active and have fun doing so.
I’m not suggesting that any large number of York students will start going to anti-fees demos (or whatever) and going dressed as pirates; that is implausible. But if they hear Tom and some of his most committed supporters are doing so they might think it will bring a bit of fun to demonstrating about an issue they care about.
Also, I think there’s huge potential for getting more people involved in RAG and Student Action if we’re seen as a fun university where people don’t have to take themselves 100% seriously to get involved with good causes. Unfortunately we are a small university and our voice in politics is always going to be limited. We do still have to make an effort to be heard but I see charity as the most direct and reliable way that students here can make a positive difference in the world. Even a couple of big pirate-themed events could raise a lot of money for RAG.
Of course, I could be wrong about this. Perhaps Tom Scott will get pissed on (discount) rum, spend most of his presidency in a drunken stupor and generally be a disaster. But I see no reason to think so and I’ll be looking to him to use the broad appeal he’s obviously got to make a genuine positive difference to students.
Sam Bayley
A couple of things to reply to Josh:
Fees: Come the “lift the cap” decision, fees won’t be standard. It’s the Unions that argue and fight to make sure you’re not paying £10,000 a year in a couple of years’ time.
Your course and feedback: Who trains your Board of Studies Reps? And who chases up the departments (we’ll name no name