Cambridge Union Society Election

Monday was a pretty exciting day. I spent most of Sunday reading and doing homework and Monday I found out the details on my election at the Cambridge Union Society. I threw my name in the ring last week when the President and Vice President suggested I do so.

On Monday I found out that as a candidate I would not be able to contact anybody electronically to let them know I would be a candidate for election. I also learned that I was barred from posting fliers anywhere that non-Union Society members might see them. In a sense, the campaigning was relegated to calling friends on the telephone. The Union Society had each candidate make a manifesto (a flier), and then printed 100 copies for each candidate -- with each copy having a unique barcode on it so that no duplications could be made. If any candidate were to use any other form of campaign literature, he or she would be disqualified. Needless to say, the restrictions were strict, but not with the aims to be exclusive (as I saw it), rather the society just wanted the campaign to be personal in nature – the rules were designed to force human to human contact.

In the end three people from the House Committee resigned, so I was elected by default (as Homer Simpson would say, “the two greatest words in the English Language. De-fault, De-fault”).

So tonight, I will be on duty at the Union during its busiest night – the all you can eat Ben and Jerry’s night of the year. Tomorrow at the Union, debaters will argue, is religion the “opiate of the masses?”

Meanwhile I will be hosting a friend who will be in town for a few days…