16th March
latest news: Green Zone

latest news

Chris Young

Know your YUM Chair

Monday, 15th March 2010

Elections are over and the results are in! The Yorker talks to YUM Chair-elect Chris Young, to find out what he's all about.

Porter Poster

“Second Stage” approved but Ngwena and Humphrys not censured

Friday, 12th March 2010

Miles Layram’s censure motions against Tim Ngwena and Ben Humphrys have failed at the most recent UGM, but two motions on portering have passed.

Nick Scarlett

Scarlett responds to criticism

Friday, 12th March 2010

Nick Scarlett, one of the four candidates for Student Activities Officer, has released a statement responding to criticism from incumbent Rhianna Kinchin.

New YUSU Logo

Know Your Campaigns Officers

Friday, 12th March 2010

The Yorker speaks to Suzy Dodd and Luke Sandford, who are running together for the role of Campaigns Officers.

more news

YUSU
YUSU Elections Logo 2010
New YUSU Logo
YUSU Elections Logo 2010
New YUSU Logo
People and Planet
YUSU Elections Logo 2010
YUSU Elections Logo 2010
Fusion 2010

Scott requests opinions for elections review

YUSU
Saturday, 13th June 2009
YUSU President Tom Scott, who acted as Returning Officer in last term's YUSU elections, has put together a survey as part of his review of the current election process.

The survey asks a number of questions aimed at improving the way YUSU's elections are run, including "What problems or uncertainties did you personally encounter?" and "How can we make sure the election process treats all candidates equally?"

Scott's survey follows his Returning Officer's Report, published on 3rd June, which raised a number of issues.

The report listed a total of 11 problems in this year's elections, including campaigner uncertainty over which publicity had to be approved by the Returning Officer and a clerical error that led to the nimlock boards, normally placed around campus, never arriving.

Scott also highlighted the series of events that led to him becoming Returning Officer after YUSU Services and Finances Officer Matt Burton stepped down from the post. In the report, Scott said: "There is no explicit 'order of succession' for Returning Officers, and Council meets far too rarely to step in."

Another key problem noted was electronic campaigning, which Scott said "posed problems for both budgeting and rule enforcement". Scott added that the various ways of campaigning online, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, are too vast to be regulated properly.

In addition, Scott noted an issue with media equality. He said that, although all campus media attempted to stay independent and neutral, and liaised well on contentious articles, there were still times when articles or videos about candidates were released at different times. He suggested putting together a formal policy and guidelines for media neutrality.

In spite of these issues, Scott concluded the report by saying that, "there were no serious problems with this series of elections, and I am happy to certify their results." However, in his latest blog on the YUSU website, he expressed hope that his elections review can lead to next year's Returning Officer not encountering the same problems he had to deal with.

Check out The Yorker's Twitter account for all the latest news Go to The Yorker's Fan Page on Facebook
#1 Anonymous
Sat, 13th Jun 2009 1:19pm

http://tinyurl.com/mvs8zn to actually take the quiz.

#2 Ben McCluskey
Sat, 13th Jun 2009 1:25pm

If you click the word "survey" in the article, it takes you to it

#3 Anonymous
Sat, 13th Jun 2009 3:31pm

always bemused me why hyperlinks on the yorker are in grey - hardly distinguishable from the plain black of the text. orange would be a much more logical choice

#4 Anonymous
Sat, 13th Jun 2009 4:52pm

Yup!

Add Comment

You must log in to submit a comment.