The House Council Elections

It is striking to arrive back for the start of Term Four at College House and realise that you only have six weeks of lectures remaining for the year. It is equally striking, for those not returning, that soon we will be moving out of our home of one or two years. And the last three weeks have flown by, as is always the case around here.

With our thoughts turning to the new year, it was time to decide on the team to make up our House Council for 2017. All returning students have the opportunity to nominate themselves for as many of the eight positions on the Council as they please, and all candidates deliver a speech to the house. Following the speeches, which take place on successive nights for each position, students – and just students – get to vote on their preferred candidates for each role.

After the three-week process of nominations, speeches and voting, the College has decided on our leadership team for 2017. The House Council elects are:

Chas Wakefield – President

Jake McConnell – Vice President

Hugo Bidwill – CCACC

Grechen Nicholls – Secretary

Jordan van Riele – Treasurer

Daniel Edwards – Sports Rep

Mikayla Haycock – Social Chair

Connor McErlich – Cultural Rep

From left to right: Connor, Mikayla, Chas, Jordan, Dan, Hugo, Grechen, Jake

Congratulations rightly go to each of the elects. Individually, they are very talented and superb fits for their roles, and they also promise to be a strong, cohesive and efficient team. Given the enormous quantity of communal activities and events in this place, the volume of work the House Council put into making everything tick, and representing the students’ voices to management, is colossal. Speeches are done, but the work hasn’t even begun. With this quality team, we can be sure the tremendous effort of this year’s Council will be repeated.

However, for all candidates but these eight, the election is a disheartening and even devastating process. To stand up and deliver a speech in front of the house where you make yourself so vulnerable, and then not get elected, is a hard pill to swallow. My fellow Returning Officer, Sam Donald, and I had the pleasure of being at ease on the nights of the announcements, but to be in a room with twenty-five candidates and watch the majority leave disappointed made us realise how hard the process is. Those who were unsuccessful this time, however, have the opportunity this week to apply to be Room 16’s, and to make an innovative contribution to the College, despite not having a formal role. Besides, at its essence leadership is about contribution, and while having a position can help with that, there is just as much chance for students without a spot on the House Council to serve, and bring about change, in this place we call home.