Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/662335
5 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2016 News Wanted: Radical overhaul of the university student council Student organsation Pulse opts to sit out KSU election as it prepares to campaign for student referenda, electoral change, and conversion of council into a student union TIM DIACONO STUDENT council election season is looming at the university, but it will take on an unusual tinge this year, following student organisa- tion Pulse's decision not to contest. "This is not a boycott; we plan to spend time mobilising univer- sity students, campaigning to com- pletely restructure KSU and its electoral system," Pulse president Wayne Sammut told MaltaToday. "As it stands, a lot of university stu- dents want to become more pro- active but are put off by the parti- san rivalry between Pulse and SDM [Christian Democrat students] and the whole 'us against them' mental- ity. It shouldn't be this way; we're talking about a university at the end of the day, where people study for their Master's and PhDs." Pulse's main demands are three- fold – they want to change the electoral system into one of pro- portional representation, introduce student referenda, and revamp the entire KSU into a student union. The centre-left organisation has long criticised the first-past-the- post system, through which party candidates are elected to the coun- cil based on how many votes they can obtain against their rivals for KSU's 11 posts. No non-SDM candidate has to date ever been elected to the coun- cil. "Pulse once won 1,400 votes in an election against SDM's 1,800, but those votes ultimately counted for nothing as SDM still got to elect all its candidates," Sammut recounted. Through a proportional represen- tation system, students would be elected to the council based on the percentage of votes obtained. With a council of 11 elected students (plus an education commissioner and a social policy commissioner), a student organisation or an inde- pendent candidate would therefore need to obtain only 9% of the total vote to be assured of a seat. Critics of PR argue that the sys- tem would create an unstable KSU, with executives of the minority party putting spokes in the wheel so as to show the majority party up as ineffective to further their own partisan goals. However, Sammut insists that university students hailing from Pulse and SDM are perfectly ca- pable of working as a team for the good of the students, drawing par- allels with how local councils are composed of representatives of two or more political parties. Moreover, the presence of a second party in the council could ensure internal checks and balances on KSU. "The party that wins most votes in a PR system will still earn the majority of seats and get to appoint the president," he said. "The major- ity will still have strength in num- bers, but the minority will be given a voice." Student referenda 'could stimulate national debate' One of Pulse's more intriguing proposals would allow students and organisations to call a uni- versity-wide referendum if they obtain enough signatures on a pe- tition. Such referenda – which are held at institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge and Leeds University – could range from changes to KSU's statute to university proposals to policy positions on national issues. As it stands, KSU policy deci- sions – such as their recent stances against spring hunting and the con- struction of a private educational institution at Zonqor – are taken following debate among student organisations at the social policy commission (KPS). The university boasts several or- ganisations, ranging from univer- sity course groups to special inter- est groups. With each organisation granted a seat on KPS, policies adopted by the commission are tak- en as representing students' public opinion. However, Pulse is arguing that since a vast chunk of students are not active in organisations at all, referenda would be far more indica- tive of public opinion on campus. "KSU's policy positions on na- tional issues would be politically stronger if they were to be formu- lated following a student referen- dum that is preceded by a cam- paign," Sammut said, while arguing that students could also use a refer- endum to stimulate debate on so- cial changes that are currently too controversial for political parties to take a stand on. Another Pulse proposal to strengthen KSU's voice on the na- tional arena involves transforming the council into a student union. "A KSU union would focus on policy and on defending students' interests, while leaving the organi- sation of events up to student or- ganisations," Sammut explained. Where does SDM stand? SDM president Ian Zahra told MaltaToday that he will not rule out supporting Pulse's proposals, but wants first to discuss them ex- tensively within KPS and at KSU's annual general meeting. "We have never shied away from discussion, but the discussion must take place. It's useless to fire off proposals such as the introduc- tion of PR in a press release without first discussing how such a system would be implemented in practice. Healthy discussion can take place within KPS, which has several dif- ferent voices." Zahra admitted he was left disap- pointed with Pulse's decision not to contest the election, which is likely to see all 11 of SDM's candidates elected to KSU by default. "Pulse's decision came as a shock to me," he said. "I personally don't like the fact that SDM will not compete against anyone this time round. It won't look right, and I would have preferred a healthy de- bate between SDM and Pulse. How- ever, we can't force Pulse to contest. On our part, we will still issue our manifesto, unveil our candidates, and conduct our campaign as we always do."