Oxford Union
The Union holds elections in the penultimate week of each University term, in order to allow members of the society to choose officers and committee members for the following term. The elections are held to fill the offices of President-elect, Librarian, Treasurer-elect and Secretary, as well as 5 elected positions on the Standing Committee and 9 positions on the Secretary's Committee. The election for the Chairman of the Consultative Committee is held at CC on Monday of 8th week.
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'Hacking'
Due to the somewhat restrictive nature of the Union constitution, elections to positions on Union committees must be conducted without resorting to a publicity campaign of any sort. This directive, however, is routinely ignored by most student candidates, who engage in a continuous process known as 'hacking' in the pursuit of votes. This can be described as a concerted effort throughout the academic year to establish as many social relationships with other members of the Union as possible, steming from knowledge that come election time students vote more on popularity and familiarity than any purported policy distinction. The existence of this practice is universally known throughout University circles, and is routinely denounced by students who are constantly accosted, especially on election days, by individuals with whom only the most tenuous social connections are deemed good enough to secure a vote. Common practices on election day by these 'hacks' (sing. 'hack') include early morning phonecalls, doorstepping, constant monitoring of active social areas in colleges for possible stray votes, exploitation of close friendships, romantic connections, and owed favours for voting purposes, abuse of social networking sites and mobile telecommunications, and various other underhand activity. Some 'hacks' have been rumoured to calculate their chances of winning elections using a 'friend loss/acquaintance gain' formula, developed in order to maximise poll gain and minimise social damage.
On announcing that they are going to attend the University of Oxford, many prospective students also consult alumni on whether to join the Oxford Union. In many cases, the answer is affirmative, with one caveat: 'Just don't become a hack'. On asking what a hack is, the response is usually 'You will find out soon enough'. And it is safe to say that the vast majority of students do.
Whilst hacking is much maligned in Union circles, seldom is it acknowledged that as the Union actually has no official mandate apart from fostering debate and having parties, there are not very many core policy or issues that candidates can actually disagree on. As such, the degredation of elections to a popularity contest is somewhat predictable.
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Notes
- ^ Leonard (2004); p. 200
- ^ BBC News (2001a)
- ^ BBC News (2001b)
- ^ BBC News (1999)
- ^ Frei (2007)
- ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-171789593.html
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/nov/27/highereducation.studentpoliticseducation
- ^ http://www.uaf.org.uk/news.asp?choice=71119
- ^ http://www.ousu.org/news/ousu-council-votes-to-oppose-nick-griffin-and-david-irving/
- ^ Smith (1989); p. 180-184
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References
- BBC News (1999) Racism debate scrapped after bombings, Online news 27 April 1999, [Accessed 4 June 2006] - Cancellation of the debate involving John Tyndall
- BBC News (2001a) Oxford's star chamber, Online news 5 May 2001, [Accessed 4 June 2006] - Oxford Union history
- BBC News (2001b) Oxford drops Hitler historian debate, Online news 9 May 2001, [Accessed 4 June 2006] - Cancellation of the debate involving David Irving
- Frei, Matt (2007) Washington diary: Land of ideas, BBC News online 2 May 2007, [Accessed 4 June 2006]
- Graham, Fiona (2005) Playing at Politics: an ethnology of the Oxford Union, Edinburgh : Dunedin Academic Press, ISBN 1-903765-52-8
- Leonard, Bill (2004) The Oxford of Inspector Morse : films locations history, Oxford : Location Guides, ISBN 0-9547671-0-1
- Oxford Union (2006a) The Oxford Union Intervarsity 2007, www site [Accessed 4 June 2006]
- Oxford Union (2006b) The Oxford Union Schools' Debating Competition 2006/07, www site [Accessed 4 June 2006]
- Smith, Cameron (1989) Unfinished Journey: the Lewis family, Toronto : Summerhill Press, ISBN 0-929091-04-3
- Walter, David (1984) The Oxford Union: playground of power, London : Macdonald, ISBN 0-356-09502-9
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External links
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