Saturday, March 12, 2011

A Voice for Everyone

As simple as that is the core value of The International Party. Having been involved in student politics at four universities in three countries, I have seen how easily students' elected representatives lose touch with what's going on among their peers. Insulating themselves in a bubble, personal advancement and prestige becomes more important than addressing the issues that matter to those who elected them in the first place. This has a nasty habit of transforming a once thriving democracy into a secretive club for the privileged and connected.

In some respects, this is particularly visible here in Stockholm. The student union headquarters looms on a hilltop, and the wayward traveler seeking to vent his concerns is greeted by bolted doors. Notable achievements on the part of the student democracy this academic year includes liquidating pubs and party activities, promoting multinational companies and their products on campus, as well as being reprimanded by the rector for not keeping and publishing records of meetings and decision. Requests for information are met with silence, and the question grows in my mind; who are these people working for?

The International Party wants to change this. Enough of the secrecy, enough of the shady backroom deals. We deserve a student democracy that tends to the best interests of all its members, makes its deals in the open and gives the electorate a chance to hold it accountable. Not just on election day, but on all the other days as well. This is what the upcoming elections will be all about!

Andreas Nordang Uhre

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