Low key programme for secret uni election

You get to vote for student representatives for the Board, academic councils, study boards, and PhD committees. The candidates have just been revealed, but no-one really knows who’s who. What is exactly going on? Here is what we know

by Anna Meera Gaonkar

Let's face it, elections to the democratic institutions of the University of Copenhagen are probably not going to make world news. This is not the place to find blistering debate, fall-down gaffes and spin.

This said, the University of Copenhagen may be a bit too secretive about its democratic structure. Either this, or students have lost faith in their voices when it comes to university politics: At the student elections last year only 11.7 per cent made use of their right to vote.

No matter whether you are a permanent, or a visiting, student at the University of Copenhagen you can vote for new student representatives to the various boards and councils from 24 November to 28 November, through Self Service on KUnet (needs log-in)

Read previous article from earlier election: Vote at the election – if you understand Danish

Faculties with actual elections

The elections are a little tricky though. For several of the student candidates, there will be uncontested elections. There is only one candidate that has offered themselves for the post. At some faculties and institutes only one prioritised candidate is running for student representative. There are even places where there are no candidates. Naturally this means no elections.

For academic staff there are, however, contested elections for the Board. For PhD students there are for example contested elections at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Health Sciences.

For students there are contested elections for the Board, academic councils at the Faculty of Humanities, Law, Social Sciences, and Health Sciences as well as for the study boards at History, Law, Political Science, and Medicine.

Candidates want to be heard

There is some good news though if you are a stickler for democracy and political representation.

If you make it through the scarce information on the upcoming election, you will find that enthusiastic candidates, fighting to be elected, actually do exist. Some of them are even talking about how they want to change the whole student election process at the University.

Candidate Tine Rubeck Andreasen, from Frit Forum, is running as student representative for the University’s Board. In our sister-section Universitetsavisen she argues that students aren’t voting because the University is neither covering the student election, nor conveying the opinions of the candidates.

Use Google to check out candidates

Whether Tine Rubeck Andreasen’s peers agree with her, only the election will tell. The fact of the matter is that students who want to, or feel obliged to, vote can only view a list of the candidates’ names on KUnet for now.

No pictures, interviews, or candidate statements can be found on the University’s website or Facebook site.

If you do not know any candidates in person, an old-school Google search may be the only way to find out where to place your vote this autumn.

anna.m.gaonkar@adm.ku.dk

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