It's student union election time here, and the undergraduates are out campaigning. Every noticeboard, wall, tree, and slow-moving academic has been plastered with posters in bright primary colours, promising esoteric and wonderful things with clip art and novelty fonts. (Nobody's campaign pledges include 'getting a literate copy editor for the student newspaper', sad to say.) Mostly they look like every other student union election campaign poster designed in the past few decades, but one pinned up by the bus stop made me pause for a second:
"NO MORE DODGY LANDLORDS!"
It's not that I don't agree with the sentiment, but in a student town where rented housing's in short supply? Good luck with that one, kids. Imagine what else that campaign could include: "No more grumpy bus drivers!" "No more flatmates who listen to trance music while you're trying to lie in!" "No more rain on Saturdays!"
Ah, the idealism of youth...
They had student union sabbatical elections here recently. All that happened is that several of my students (who were standing for election) failed to attend their seminars. Can't we make a rule that poor attendance prohibits you for running? (like in the States where poor grades mean you can't play football?)