Wanted: Radical overhaul of the university student council

Student council election season is looming at the university, but it will take on an unusual tinge this year, following student organisation Pulse’s decision not to contest.

“This is not a boycott; we plan to spend time mobilising university students, campaigning to completely restructure KSU and its electoral system,” Pulse president Wayne Sammut told MaltaToday. “As it stands, a lot of university students want to become more pro-active but are put off by the partisan rivalry between Pulse and SDM [Christian Democrat students] and the whole ‘us against them’ mentality. 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 threefold – they want to change the electoral system into one of proportional representation, introduce student referenda, and revamp the entire KSU into a student union.

The left-leaning organisation has long criticised the first-past-the-post system, through which party candidates are elected to the council based on how many votes they can obtain against their rivals for KSU’s 11 posts.

No non-SDM candidate has up to date has ever been elected to the council.

“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 representation system, students will 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 independent candidate will therefore need to obtain only 9% of the total vote to be assured of a seat.

Critics of PR argue that the system will 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 capable of working as a team for the good of the students, drawing parallels 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 majority will still have strength in numbers, 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 university-wide referendum if they obtain enough signatures on a petition. Such referenda – which are held at institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge and the Leeds University - could range from changes to KSU’s statute to university proposals to policy positions on national issues.

As it stands, KSU policy decisions – such as their recent stances against spring hunting and the construction of a private educational institution at Zonqor – are taken following debate among student organisations at the social policy commission (KPS).

The university boasts several organisations, ranging from university course groups to special interest groups. With each organisation granted a seat on KPS, policies adopted by the commission are taken 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 indicative of public opinion on campus.

“KSU’s policy positions on national issues would be politically stronger if they were to be formulated following a student referendum that is preceded by a campaign,” Sammut said, while arguing that students could also use a referendum to stimulate debate on social changes that are currently too controversial for political parties to take a stand on.

Another Pulse proposal to strengthen KSU’s voice on the national arena involves transforming the council into a student union.

“A KSU union would focus on policy and on defending students’ interests, while leaving the organisation of events up to student organisations,” Sammut explained.

Where does SDM stand?

SDM president Ian Zahra told MaltaToday that he will not rule out supporting Pulse’s proposals, but wants to first discuss them extensively 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 introduction of PR in a press release without first discussing how such a system will be implemented in practice. Healthy discussion can take place within KPS , which boosts several different voices.”

Zahra admitted he was left disappointed 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 debate between SDM and Pulse. However, we can’t force Pulse to contest. From our part, we will still issue our manifesto, unveil our candidates, and conduct our campaign as we always do.”