In anticipation, many will already have begun planning alternative routes to lectures to bypass the concourse and give the morons hurling flyers minimal opportunities to interrupt an otherwise ordinary walk to class with banal reasons why they should be voted into a position of 'power'.

While second years and above have been through all this and have built up some passive mental defence against candidates' marauding minions, a first year, new to these concourse tactics can be easily identified from hundreds of yards away by the countless flyers and freebies protruding from their every orifice.

By the end of the canvassing, the mere smell of a Gummy Bear could send them into a Vietnam-style flashback, in which they scream: 'NO, PLEASE! I DON'T WANT ANY MORE HARIBO!'

It's not that I'm against student democracy. Many students have never had the chance to vote and student elections give them the opportunity to experience that feeling of enfranchisement for the first time.

Although I recognise that our student officers do a lot of good work, what makes me want to bang my face against a brick wall (assuming I'd be able find one in Sheffield that hasn't been covered with so many flyers that the effect would be similar to headbutting a pillow), is this Fisher Price, 'My First Democracy' style elections.

They do nothing but mask real issues under campaign promises of "free ice cream fountain in the IC" and "better pasties" – that's it? Just better pasties!?"

Whatever one's opinion of the Communist Society, their approach to last year's election – in which a communist representative ran for every post – highlighted the fact that we don't ordinarily expect our candidates to actually stand for very much at all.

It is only by sheer coincidence, it seems, that some of our elected representatives end up doing something positive, since these good intentions tend to be masked throughout their campaign.
Perhaps, it would be better if the title of sabbatical officer was taken literally; that is, a current student willing to take a year away from their studies in order to help improve the institution in which their future is still invested, instead of a soon-to-be graduate who is not quite able to let go of the uni lifestyle and/or realises that the old CV could do with some beefing up before entering the big wide world.

If this system was in place then, in spite of the unavoidable shallow election results, we might end up with more well-intentioned sabbatical officers, and a few less self-serving CV-stuffers working in our beloved Union.

Oh yeah and vote Daniel O'Brien for Union President – Vote O'Brien, He Won't Stop Trying… Tryin… "T-rien"...

This story is from the University of Sheffield's student paper, the Steel Press. Visit their webpage for more stories.