by Sofia Lammali
With polls for the LSE Students’ Union Michaelmas Term elections having been open from 25-28 October, the LSESU held two “question time” sessions on the previous Wednesday and Thursday, the 20 and 21 October. There were no more than five attendees on the SU’s Facebook livestream on both days.
The Wednesday session was held exclusively online, with SU candidates and moderators speaking over Zoom. There was only one candidate running for the Democracy Committee and Postgraduate Research Students’ Officer respectively, both of whom attended the event. By contrast, 15 candidates ran for Postgraduate Students’ Officer, 10 of whom were in attendance. It is the only paid part-time sabbatical officer position up for grabs and is the most contested position during this election. Almost all candidates spoke of creating opportunities for networking with postgraduates across departments, while a few mentioned the importance of career support and suggested the SU should put a stronger emphasis on supporting postgraduate students.
The Thursday session, which was held in-person at the SU, hosted candidates running for Athletics Union Engagement Officer, Mature and Part-Time Students’ Officer, Anti-Racism Officer, International Students’ Officer, and Members of the Academic Board. Out of the 13 candidates who were set to speak at the event, 5 were in attendance. The candidates running for Anti-Racism Officer emphasised policies to encourage LSE students’ political involvement, proposing that a newsletter on social movements, including on Palestine, be circulated once every two weeks and that LSE openly support social movements.
Out of the 17 positions up for election, 11 positions are either uncontested or have no candidates.
