Can we cure apathy?





 Elections are coming up fast. Only nine days until May 9th - the first day of election week. However, the voting turnout last year was less then 10%.

Why is this? Do people just not care? Are 90% of the students at SU lazy? Or is the lack of interest in student politics a sign of apathy?

I recently watched a TED-talk* by Dave Meslin called ”The antidote to apathy”. This guy claims that apathy doesn’t exist. He claims that people do care. But that we live in a world that actively discourages engagement by constantly putting obstacles and barriers in our way. I think Dave’s right.

Good news is: we can change this.

It’s easy. As long as we believe that the people around us are selfish, stupid and lazy then we’re in trouble. But if we can realize that apathy is not some kind of internal syndrome but rather a complex web of barriers that reinforce disengagement, then we can identify those obstacles and work together to dismantle them. And that makes anything and everything possible.

An example: One of the many barriers that TIP has identified is intentional exclusion, information is just not accessible to everyone. It might be that something is not available in a language you understand or that it is simply hidden away somewhere on a chaotic webpage. (Seems familiar?) 
How can you get involved when you just can’t grasp the information or the possibility to do so?

We know what we think about this obstacle. That is why TIP is here to create a campus with equal opportunities to access information, events and services for both Swedish and international students. 

We also know what other barriers we see. But what is more important - we know what we want to do about them.

What do you think? Is the lack of interest in student politics a sign of apathy? Or is it in fact a sign of something completely different? 

/Louise Dane

*TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. TED passionately believes in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. (www.ted.com)

Platform details are up! Check them out

Every TIP representative put their minds into action and delved into their experience as an aware and engaged student at Stockholm University and, in many cases, applied their experience from their home universities abroad, to come up with detailed plans for each of our platform goals.

We believe strongly in having a mission and a plan for each platform goal. No party should make promises or demands without either an incentive or a plan, and we believe that we have just set the standard at Stockholm University.

Check out our Mission & Platform page to learn more about our creative ideas.

Campaign week is coming up, so see you all soon :)

Kyle Verboomen, TIP Representative

Form the future with us

Time flies and as a student of Stockholm University and a member of The International Party (TIP) I have two very exciting weeks ahead of me. On Monday, May the 2nd, campaign week starts and this week is where the different student parties make their presence on campus. Posters are put up, hotdogs are put on the bbq, slogans are written, future promises are stated, pamphlets are given out, and ultimately, the student population start to decide on what party to vote for in the upcoming election.

This brings us to Election Week. On May the 9th you, as a member of the Stockholm University Student Union, can cast your vote in this year’s Stockholm University Student Union Election and you can do so up until May the 13th. You can vote either online on the SUS website, by using your Campus Card (Campuskortet) and the information on it, or you can do it the classical way, in a so called poll both on campus. Regardless of whether you act old school or do vote online I encourage you to vote, I also encourage you to vote for TIP, and these are some of the reasons why:

- We will bring back traditional student pubs as we see this as a fundamental installment of the union and something that has occurred for decades and has become a tradition at Stockholm University.

- We will make sure that the Stockholm University Student Union is a present force on campus and actively interact with the students of our university and becomes a transparent organization that actively takes part in political discussions once again.

-We will make sure that a bilingual newsletter is sent out to all Stockholm University Student Union members. This newsletter will act as a great platform and tool for communication as well as draw more students together towards unified events and activities thus ultimately promoting a better atmosphere with a student population that is engaged in their university also outside of the classroom.

I hope that you will vote for TIP the upcoming election, I know that I will.

Sebastian Lindholm - TIP Representative and student at Stockholm University

TIP's Been at It for a While

TIP members are among the most active at Stockholm University, leading and taking part in campus initiatives. Earth Week, Cinema Politica, UF, Symbios, Central International Student Council, and the English Tutoring Programme, are among the many things that our representatives are active in.

TIP has been concerned with the student housing situation in Stockholm for a while. In fact, TIP’s been concerned since…well…before it was even TIP. Here are some media clippings from last summer about some international students who decided to draw attention to the problem, and about the problem in general. Among the students were Heléne Hedberg and Kyle Verboomen, two of TIP’s founding members.

What was accomplished? Twenty accommodation-less international students were provided temporary housing at the campsite. The camp organizers assisted in finding permanent housing for all twenty. This also led to our outpouring of thousands of phone calls from concerned Stockholm residents offering their homes temporarily or long-term to the students of Stockholm. The leading student unions in Stockholm gathered together to form a hotline and database for all of these generous offers of accommodation, it was a real team effort. There was also another, lasting accomplishment: the local and national media took to the event, giving Stockholm’s student housing situation the attention it needs. An initiative like this has not been seen for some time at Stockholm University.

Hats off to you, campers.

Here is a sample of the news coverage this important campaign received:

The Local

Aftonbladet  

And there’s even a video!

- Andreas Kidane, TIP Representative

A piece of advice from TIP on Gaudeamus

Check it out: Gaudeamus published an open letter which The International Party sended to the electoral board last week! Again, it refers to the trouble we have because of the elimination of 5 candidates from our official list of candidates. Read it online now and from tomorrow on in the new edition!

http://www.gaudeamus.se/artiklar/debatt/a-piece-of-advice-from-tip

Asking the Students

TIP is a practical party and we are interested in the opinions of students of Stockholm University. We care about their problems and difficulties. So we actually went out this week to talk to them in order to ask what they know about the current state of affairs on campus, what they think is lacking and what they experienced that needs to be improved. It was very exciting to get the chance to talk to all these different students. All of them were not just willing to talk and share their ideas, but also there was a will to contribute to the development of a better student society at SU! When you are still thinking that students at Stockholm University do not want to participate in student politics, read their statements below! Most of them just didn't know that student politics exist here or what the Student Council is actually doing.
		Name:   Gabriella Rondahl
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   Law
		“The best way would be to integrate all the international students with Swedish students. So, perhaps, send out a news letter that is posted in both English and Swedish, so that all the international students and Swedish students are brought together.”
		Name:   Abouzar Jalalian
		Origin:   Iran
		Field of Studies:   Marketing
		“I was a student of an International program and, I would say, 90 percent of the information that we received, and these were necessary for managing our studies, were in Swedish.”
		Name:   Mawindu Dhillon
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   English Literature
		“I have been to English literature classes and there are a lot of foreign students there, but it’s not like the university is doing anything to connect them [with the Swedish students]. So you don’t have these events, like you have in other universities, that (…) really make them come together.”
		Name:   Fredrika Olausson
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   French
		About the existence of student politics at SU and the upcoming elections: “The fact is I didn’t know that there were any student politics. It’s not very visual. If we haven’t seen it, then it means that they are not out talking to students. Well, it’s not anything that you get to know about when you inscribe yourself at the university.”
		Name:   Julia Hackman
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   French
		About the Student Council: “We need a common place for all the students to sort of gather. There are so many different, separate organizations that exist in their own little sphere and there is no communication outside of that. Or it’s very difficult to have communication outside of that because you don’t know where to go. So you should have some place for all the student organizations to meet. And then you could be more open.”
		Name:   Metuge Ekane
		Origin:   Cameroun
		Field of Studies:   Political Science
		About the student life on campus: “There is no fun. You don’t feel like you actually studying at the university. You just come here and just go home. You don’t know your classmates.”
		Name:   Kerstin Olasog
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   Political Science
		“It’s just like you study and go home. It’s not like, kind of “student life” that you hear about before you start to go to the university.”
		Name:   Eugene Lim
		Origin:   Singapore
		Field of Studies:   Political Science
		About problems upon arrival: “There is no English paper. News papers. It’s all in Swedish!”
		Name:   Linda Hedenberg
		Origin:   Sweden
		Field of Studies:   Criminology
		About what needs to be changed: “Maybe it could be more organized; in the university matters.”
		Name:   Ruchika Sidhwani
		Origin:   India
		Field of Studies:   Law
		About upcoming elections: “I saw some brochures about that near Tunnelbana. It is all in Swedish, so I guess I just passed it by.”
These students were interviewed by TIP members: Raphaëlle Jamet, Kseniia Beznos, Christine Schwarz and Sadiq Malik

REGISTRATION POSSIBILITY

Hej there,

if you are interested in becoming a TIP member, you will finally have the chance to register.

Tomorrow, Friday (April 15th) in room D 315 in Södra Huset. Be there between 2 and 4 pm and talk to our representatives and other active members about TIP's mission and how you can get involved.

If you shouldn't have time tomorrow, do not worry: there will be other registration possibilites during the next weeks: April 19th and 28th. We will keep you posted!

See you soon,
Tine Schwarz

Finding Student Housing in Stockholm: A Real Pain in the SSSB

Right, so we all know that finding housing in Stockholm is a pain in the ass even for the employed native. I’m not employed and I’m not a native, so of course I’m struggling to find a place to live after my current lease expires in June. It’s not just me. Many of us international students are in similar positions.

SSSB.se is there to help us, right? Not really.

Take this hypothetical. A Swedish student – let’s call him Anders – graduates from secondary school, gynmasiet, and immediately signs up on a student-housing queue in Stockholm. A foreign student – let’s call her Mary – applies to SU in the winter for admission the following fall, and while she applied to the university, she signs up on the same housing queue as Anders. Well, Anders doesn’t go straight from gymnasiet to university, like many Swedish students: he travels for a bit, or maybe he works a job or two, taking probably an entire school year. By the time Anders applies and is accepted to SU, he’s got well over a year in credit days on his queue (i.e. from his June graduation until his admission for the August of the following year, approximately 15 months). Well, by the time Mary is accepted to SU and arrives in Stockholm, she’ll have only 8 or 9 months of credit days, for the time elapsed between her winter application and autumn admission would be, say, December to August. Both Mary and Anders are equally qualified students and are both afforded the right to live and study in Sweden – Anders by being a Swedish citizen, Mary by earning admission to SU and by being granted a student visa by Migrationsverket – but only one is likely to find student housing.

Does this make any sense?

Sure, SSSB has just announced that only those registered with a student union can queue on its list, limiting Anders and putting him on the same playing field as Mary. But the policy is not retroactive, meaning that Anders’s friend – let’s call him Johan, who began queuing right after high school, took three years off, and is now beginning studies at SU – will have over one thousand SSSB credit days while Mary – and, for that matter, Anders – are still at the bottom of the list. All three began their studies at the same time, all three proved student union membership at the same time, but only one is likely to find student housing.

Does this make any sense?

Andreas Kidane, Representative

Heat

The International Party (TIP) has within only a couple of weeks made a major impact on the political- situation and -discussion at Stockholm University.

When writing this it is less than a month left to the Stockholm University Student Union Elections and things are heating up. Political debate is on the agenda and tomorrow there is an entire conference day dedicated to student governance and later on during the evening there will be a debate session on the use of nuclear energy.

University magazine Gaudeamus will in their next number feature several articles dealing with the upcoming election. Some are more trivial and their purposes are to inform the students of our university, what is going on prior to the election, and how to vote. Other articles are opinion based pieces criticizing the methods of the election board and the chief electoral officer. Earlier this month there was also an article criticizing an advertising campaign that the student union made in cooperation with Kellogg’s among other things.

All in all this is an interesting time to be a student at Stockholm University and I hope that more and more students becomes aware of what is going on, how important this election will be, and ultimately, cast their right to vote on May 9th.
I am proud to be a part of The International Party (TIP) and everything we have done thus far and I am sure that with time come experience and we can only grow stronger from here on now.

Are you interested to become a member of TIP? Do not hesitate, leave a comment on our blog or on Facebook and we will register you. It does not cost you anything but you gain everything.

Sebastian Lindholm

Important English pages remain outdated

Just weeks before election time, and The International Party's mission remains the same: improve the level of accessibility and equality at Stockholm University. One of our biggest points that we wish to fix is the continued provision of outdated information, or the lack of information, offered to international students. 

TIP wishes to highlight these points by examining the information offered by electoral and executive board, as their english pages remain outdated. The electoral board's pages remain outdated and lacks information for students to learn more about the elections - despite several requests for updating. The union's executive board's page remains outdated for nearly 2 years despite requests for updating, offering international students outdated versions of the constitution and mission statements with little relation to to the 2010-2011 academic year. 

The point of displaying the images below involves nothing more than to demonstrate a small example of the level of inequality that exists in student politics between international students and swedish students. TIP suggests that the information on these pages be updated as soon as possible.We understand the difficulty of managing information distribution in both languages, but the focus should remain on moving forward and not moving backwards. International students are equally as involved in student affairs at Stockholm University and share an equal vision towards making Stockholm University a more enjoyable and inspiring place to study, therefore they should be offered the same opportunity to acquire information - especially an updated version of the constitution, of all things.

Kyle Verboomen

2011 Election page in English: outdated and lacking info (1 news post)

2011 Election page in Swedish: Updated, but could still use more info (4 news posts)

2010-2011 Student Union mission page: outdated since 2009, lacking updated 2010-2011 documents,
and meeting protocols



2010-2011 Student Union mission page in Swedish: Updated documents, a little better informed, 

but still lacking meeting protocols

Satisfied with what you've got?

What does a "student union" mean to you? For some, by definition, it may mean an organisational body that is composed of students that look out for the interests of the students that they represent - which typically is the students of one particular campus, institution, an entire university, or even more, that have willingly or sometimes, were forced into joining. And for some, a student union may mean a variety of other things: a group of students that assist in with organizing student life, student sports, campaigns, or acts as the watchdog for the university's administration. At Stockholm University, a student union can mean all sorts of things nowadays. In the fall of 2010, our student union was no longer one that you had to join, but joined to stay active in student affairs, have your SL pass cheaper, or to have a spot in line for SSSB. The student union must now find ways to make up for the loss of members, make sure that they keep joining, and really make itself stand out as a body that is in touch with the students it wishes to represent. But judging by TIP candidate Andreas Nordang Uhre's recent debate column in Gaudeamus, it seems as if some actions of the student union weren't well thought out in council meetings, now they're walking backwards on egg shells as the year end approaches very quickly. But who looks out for these actions, and even accepts them? Surely the student council would be more aware of these things.

Take a look at the article here titled "SUS - Selling us short?"

Refering to the article: Some may see a problem with this, and some may not, but for TIP, we believe in well thought out actions coming out of council meetings, and timely actions that relate with the current state of affairs at the university. If students at Stockholm University only view the student union as a discounts and goodies from big companies with questional labour practices, is that the kind of image that we should be satisfied with? TIP doesn't think so, and we'll make sure that our opinions are heard in council when we're elected in May.

Kyle Verboomen

Who cares about student politics?

So, it's difficult to really understand this whole concept of student elections, or rather, who the heck the student council is and why it is important in the first place? What do they do? What have they done for us? Who do they represent? Do they even do their job when elected? If you're asking these questions, then you're on the right track. TIP believes that the 90% of the students that did not to vote last year did so out of a lack of information and, really, a lack of reason to do so. We're out to inform all students of why it's important to have a say in what their money and elected council are doing. Because it is the students that run the council, not the other way around.

Sure, it's so easy to vote when a party shoves an Ice Cream, a Hot Dog, or even a piece of candy in front of you, or perhaps tells you a bunch of really cool things about how they can promise you the moon and the stars - maybe that's enough of a reason to vote if you really couldn't care less about student politics, but that method just turns people off from the whole fun of it all. And that may be what most voters will experience this May. As students, we have the right to practice our democracy on campus, and learn about the many channels that we can influence our studies and our time at University. Your vote is really the most powerful tool you have before the year's end to have a say in how the next year will be for yourself, your friends, and those you're leaving behind.

Learn about each party, and prepare to vote consciously during the May elections.

CUTV interviews (Video) Concordia University students asking them about voting during elections.

Below we have posted the links to all of the websites, blogs and facebook pages of all parties. Take the time to read about each of them.

Kyle Verboomen

Learn how you can become an influential student.

Stockholm University Student Union is hosting a Conference on Student Governance on Thursday the 14th of April.

It is a great opportunity to meet Swedish and international students and learn about how you can influence your courses and your education here at Stockholm University, how you can work with gender equality or equal oppurtunities, or why not learn about your rights as a student here in Sweden.

This is really useful for all students, in particular those who are part (or trying to become part...!) of a student council, and those that are getting into student politics - everyone should attend!

Preliminary schedule for the day:

09:30- 10:00 Registration and coffee at the Glass Room

10:00-12:00 Seminar on how to work in a student council.

12:00-13:15 Lunch, SUS provides sandwiches

13:15-15:15 Seminar on your rights as a student.

15:15-15:45 Fika!

15:45-16:30 Lecture (In Swedish)

16:30 – Barbecue on campus!

If you wish to join the conference, please fill out the form found below and e-mail it to utbildningar@sus.su.se with “Conference, your name” as the subject line. To learn more about the seminars please reference http://www.sus.su.se/en/seminars (seminar 1 and 2). More information will be sent out with the letter of acceptance.

To ensure that as many seminars as possible will be held please send in your form before the 7^thof April. Late applications will be taken until the 12^th of April as long as there are places left.

------------------------------------------

Application form for SUS Conference on Student Governance Spring 2011

Name:________________________

E-mail address:_______________________________

Telephone number: _______________________________

I am a member of _____________ (if applicable; student council, student association, and/or student party.)

I study at _____________ (department, institute, and/or program).

Please answer the following questions

I can attend for Seminar 1 kl.09:30-12:00 _­___

Seminar 2 kl.13:15-15:15 ____

Final lecture (in Swedish) and barbeque from kl.15:15 ____

I want a lunch sandwich ____

If you have any allergies or food preferences please list them here ______________________________

Leipzig example: You get what you give

“A basic tenet of a healthy democracy is open dialogue and transparency.”

This quote from Peter Fenn, a Democratic political strategist from the US, shows what a good democracy, and thereby also a student union should consist of: openness and transparency.

But I know, from my three year experience as a student representative at home, that university structures and student representatives sometimes show a lack of these important basics. They tend to create exclusive networks and thereby not only exclude the majority of the students from access to information, but also copy the rigid structures of student-excluding university circles they want to break up.

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Leipzig Uni. demonstrations against restrictions of student participation in decision making, Nov. 09

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To avoid these situations, the student union at my home university in Leipzig set strict rules for student representatives and how the work has to be done. For example:    

• Announced meetings open for everyone and documented for everyone
• Student money has to be used in a transparent and responsible manner
• Representatives have to be present in every meeting of university institutions and publish meeting protocols/minutes as soon as possible

Many critics argued that these changes make the work much harder and more time consuming. The critics were right at the beginning, but after having this system running for 20 years now, it became a great success and in the long-run work became easier, because students are much more interested in university politics now than ever before. Participation in elections doubled and people support their representatives with input about problems and spreading the word about information they received.

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Leipzig Uni. demonstrations against restrictions of student participation in decision making, Nov. 09

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This finally led to a better atmosphere on campus and a feeling of belonging together, where students squat the chancellors office when he tries to cut back representatives rights and several thousands demonstrating when the student union calls for them.

I am engaged in TIP to let it become reality in Stockholm University what the three musketeers once promised: “One for All, and All for One”!

Jan Schubert

UBC keeps their students updated

I attended the University of British Columbia (UBC) for my undergraduate degree. UBC provides excellent services keeping students updated about campus events and career opportunities. Their student union aslo provides services such as tutoring and mentorship.

UBC have recently started producing weekly update videos on youtube; what an awesome way to learn about what's happening on campus every week! These videos are a new exciting medium that engages students, keeping them updated and providing them with opportunities to be involved on campus. It's just 45 seconds, but super interactive and engaging. Don't you find?

Connecting with students through different mediums online and on campus is something that TIP plans to do here at Stockholm University. We want to improve connectivity between the union and students and using video updates is a new cool way to do it!

What do you think of having a weekly video update in Swedish with english subtitles? That would be a WIN!

Elissa Berrill

Response to 04/01 Gaudeamus article

www.gaudeamus.se

The International Party was mentioned in Gaudeamus today as a result of an unfortunate misunderstanding involving the submission of party registration documents of TIP and several others. This article explains the scenerio where certain actions strayed from SUS bylaws, and provides internal statements from the electoral committee supporting, as well as criticizing, their decisions. The article demonstrates the high standards of our electoral committee, reinforces the notion of healthy political activity at SU to its student audience, and highlights the interest of student media in our 2011 elections. TIP stands firm behind the statements of party representative and ombudsman, Sebastian Lindholm, and also supports the opinions of the SUS electoral committee. 

Good job to Gaudeamus for covering important student topics in a timely manner and for keeping the student body informed.

- Kyle Verboomen, TIP Representative

• Click to read Geadeamus article titled "Godkända partier och kritik inom valnämnden"
• Translate with google translate. Copy/paste the text.













*Gaudeamus is the Stockholm University Student Union newspaper