It’s that time of year again; a time where campaign posters decorate noticeboards and lamp-posts on campus outlining who’s running for what Student Union role and why you, the students of the University of Galway, should vote for them. A lot of students don’t partake in voting polls because they either aren’t too into the political side of things or they feel changes won’t be implemented, but there is an importance behind it; that being that every student has a right to a voice and whether or not they want to use it in the voting process is entirely their decision, but we all have a right to vote for those who we want representing us when it comes to certain changes that need to be made. Every student has needs, every student has views and worries about certain subjects and they approach their chosen Student Union representative with these worries and the hope that they can bring about change even if it’s a small one.
How would we bring about change for the things we want to correct if we don’t have people to go to that can help us bring about that change? Who would we talk to in regards to these worries in the first place if we didn’t have a Student Union? The Student Union President, the Student Welfare Officer, the Student Education Officer and every critical role in that office is vital to students and that is why we need to vote. Voting exists for a reason, doesn’t it? Yes. To make a change for the greater good.
Rachel Garvey is a Co-Editor for Features for Student Independent News for the year 2023/24. She works full-time, but dedicates her free time to writing and being involved in SIN. Rachel has been a contributor to SIN since 2017.