Science - June 7, 2007

VeSte wins student council majority

VeSte has won the Student Council elections. The party backed by the three largest student associations got 7 of the 12 seats. The only opposition party, the Progressive Students Faction (PSF), got 5 votes. Rector Professor Martin Kropff announced the results on Tuesday 5 June.

The election turnout was 37 percent and 5 international students were voted in. VeSte candidate Mandy Dodden thinks that their success is due to the support from the student associations. ‘We also fought a hard campaign, made sure we talked to everyone and handed out flyers.’ The PSF candidates’ first reaction is that VeSte indeed made good use of their relations with the big student clubs. They still have to examine why they lost. ‘Maybe we have to set aside our ideals to get more votes,’ ponders ex-council member Cathelijne Stoof. PSF representative Edwin Zea Escamilla remains true to his ideals: ‘I would never use our relationship with ISOW for political goals, for example.’

During the election debate on 23 May, VeSte presented itself as the party prepared to compromise. Whether this still applies, now that the Executive Board has come up with the proposal to combine all four representative councils into one central council, is not clear. ‘Of course we are against the proposal,’ says VeSte representative Ricky van Lingen. Fellow member Mascha Rasenberg qualifies this: ‘The way it’s presented at the moment, we are against, but we are open to discussion.’ The candidates who just missed being elected still have to adjust to the disappointment. After a silence, Rishi Kukreja, the PSF number 6, comments: ‘I guess that’s democracy for you.’