Eight votes decide Societies

In the tightest race in the election, Societies Officer came down to a mere eight votes.

Like many of the elections this year, the result came down to the final two candidates with James Hall beating Oliver-John Hemmings in the final round. The final benchmark was 967, with Hall receiving 971 and Hemmings receiving 963 votes.

Hall said he felt “privileged” and “very grateful to all the people who voted for me”.

Hall was not present for the announcement at elections night because he had a prior commitment to a concert in London, so Lucy Reynolds, the current Societies Officer, accepted the award on his behalf.

He arrived back on campus around 1am saying, “I’m completely shattered… but campaign week, I’ve never had such a good week in my life. I’m just really looking forward to getting involved next year”.

Hall thinks his visual campaign may have just tipped the balance in his favour. He spent over a third of his total expenditure on socks, buying 76 pairs from eBay for £10.25 and attaching them to his posters.

He said, “I really think having something slightly different in your campaign sets you apart… People remember ‘Oh you’re the socks guy’”.

He emphasised the need for continuity in the running of Societies. He does not think there is anything particularly wrong with the current system but that it needed “little tweaks here and there”.

Like Alex Twiss, the new Sports Officer, Hall has had the issue of sponsorship raised to him throughout the week. “[I was] asked a lot about sponsorship… the majority of students I spoke to, felt society execs should be able to ask whoever they want for sponsorship.” He said he would consider taking a motion through to referendum if it was proposed by a student.

He also advocated a sponsorship database as a “very useful resource”.

The current economic climate’s impact on societies will be at the top of Hall’s agenda next year: “I believe that it should never be for financial reasons that a society should go under.”

To increase communication between societies, Hall plans on creating some kind of forum solely for society members to communicate.