Is this… an interesting CUSU election?

It’s that time of year again.

After a year of successfully giving no shits about CUSU, your timeline is flooded with invites to support every do-gooder under the sun’s struggle for power.

But this year? This year things have got oddly interesting. Nowhere is this more true than in the presidental race. This year, you can vote for Jam sandwiches with your change.

How? By voting for Milo Edwards, a man whose first policy on his manifesto demands than we rename Jesus Green after Professor Mary Beard, by calling it “Professor Green”. He also wants a “Reading week”, where all students must go to Reading.

The biggest surprise of all is that he also has some legitimately very decent policies, like making the intermitting process easier, free tampons and giving everyone Wednesday afternoons off for sport. Edwards is a joke candidate who is genuinely very electable.

He also has this sterling campaign video:

You can see his website here. He quotes Aristotle:

“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubblegum.” 

Good luck Milo. You may not be the change that CUSU wants, but you are the change it needs.

Don’t like him? There’s Katie Akers, who is pretty classic as Pres candidates go. She’s a former JCR President, and a fan of representation, accountability and visibility. Natch.Then there’s Priscilla Mensah, co-founder of Fly, who has some decent welfare policies going on.

There’s also Leo Kellaway who wants to get us a Student Union building that nobody will use. Although to be fair to the man, it will have a bar: something we can all get behind.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Officer race in particular seems to have become a referendum on the new brand of radical student politics that has become so controversial of late.

Popping up on Facebook so far have been Whose University? BNOC Daisy Hughes and Amy Reddington, both of whom seem to be running on a fairly standard platform.

And then there is Charlie Chorley, who is taking a new and genuinely exciting angle. Her Facebook event tells us:

“When feminist societies are being established in colleges but do not want to be affiliated with the Women’s Campaign, then there is a problem.

“When women are too afraid to post on the Campaign’s Facebook page because they are worried about the reaction from fellow feminists, then there is a problem. When only a small minority of women engage with the Campaign, and even fewer vote, then there is a problem.

“I want to change this and make the Women’s Campaign FOR women rather than simply ABOUT them.”

If Chorley is able to mobilise the apathetic middle ground, we could see some real change in CUSU. We’re keen to see a more accessible Women’s Campaign and wish Charlie all the best in her fight against the establishment.

Rumour has it, there is a fourth candidate. But this is as yet unconfirmed. Please do let us know if it is you.

For the first time in living memory, people are really talking about CUSU elections. And if you’re talking about it, so are we.

You’ll be able to follow all the gossip here on The Tab.