A city council candidate crashed a UCI poetry open mic to try and win votes

You need more than flyers and smiles

Politicians do what they can to get the peoples’ vote. They smile for the camera and hand out flyers indicating key points in their policies. Yet often times in their eagerness to get the votes, their impressions fall flat as they pop in for ten minutes and leave out the door – before asking for your vote.

While they may have the best interests in the community, these tactics leave people feeling puzzled and, dare I say, used. This is how several people this Monday felt on the first meeting and open-mic session of the UCI-based poetry collective, Uncultivated Rabbits.

The room was over-packed and several first-time performers anxiously waited to get their turn on the mic. Ms. Khan, the first one up, mentioned she wasn’t from UCI before starting her performance. “Election year,” her poem began as she held her typed piece of paper. Members, old and new snapped their fingers in unison as she read each line of her stanzas.

Her poem stressed the importance of voting and soon everyone realized her purpose. “My name is Farrah Khan, I’m running for City Council,” she stated. Some members couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief as she gave a brief speech. “Remember, I’m the first one on the ballot,” she continued.

After a brief speech she left to attend other meetings. “Smooth,” one member remarks when they realize Ms. Khan used the stage for her own agenda. In a matter of ten minutes, the group experienced, in that tiny room, an event that occurs in all levels of politics; smiles and flyers.

First impressions are very powerful. Whether or not Farrah Khan has the best interest of the UCI student community—all that was heard was “I was invited so vote for me.”

Next time Ms. Khan, stay and hear the students perform and get a better understanding of the students here at UCI. As your flyer expresses, “Let’s work together.”

 

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