An APPEAL to the masses – Help for those that weren't elected.

It’s been a whirlwind week for an overexcited minority who spent the last 7 days consuming their bodyweight in alcohol as they harassed freshers in Jesters over how great x candidate is, and how they should vote for them because “they’ll work really hard”. The candidates themselves hurled themselves right into the middle of this process, and dedicated their lives to the cause during such a frantic time.

But now, it’s all over. Students walk through campus to receive only occasional pestering from someone handing out leaflets for the latest student theatre production. Facebook profile pictures are restored to less colourful images of nights out, and newsfeeds are emptied of that link “vote.susu.org”. But in the aftermath of all this carnage, we cannot forget those who need help in such a tragic time – Those who weren’t elected.

To be rejected by the student body after such rigorous campaigning is a story of tragedy and love loss. In fact right now, as you read this, Nick Johnson is probably lingering on concourse dazed and confused, while Simon Boyce sits on the steps of the Stags with a bottle of White Lightning wondering where it all went wrong. I wouldn’t be surprised to find all the ex-Sports candidates lined up on treadmills, running for hours on end while their minds go blank.

What kind of a society are we to cast these people on to the scrap heap now that their campaign slogans are redundant? This is not the time to return to Hartley Library. This is the time for compassion and comradeship. And that is why I appeal to the next sabbatical team to organise a support service for these people.

They need counselling to talk about that time they fell off their bike when they were ten, or to look at phallic shaped pictures and reflect on what they “see”. They need help taking those vital steps back into lecture theatres to remember their courses and why they came to university in the first place. And most importantly of all, they need support in realising that they actually have to find a job outside of the student bubble.

I may be just one man in a university of 24,000 students, but did that stop Gandhi? Did that stop Martin Luther King? Did that stop Jesus? It only takes one voice to motivate the masses, and I hope that in reflection of what I say here today, you will stand up and fight for those who weren’t chosen on election night. Because together, we can build a brighter future for these people.