Most students either don’t know or don’t care about what the Union’s elected officers are up to, new polling by The Cheese Grater reveals.
140 UCL students responded to our opinion poll, which quizzed their knowledge about the Union elections and its elected officers, and asked what it is they value most when voting.
The results reveal the scale of the Union’s apathy crisis, and the challenges that lie ahead for the emergent sabbatical leadership.
How we did our polling
Readers may recall being asked to complete this survey via social media or through one of our many low-budget posters plastered around campus in the past week. Fieldwork was conducted for a full week prior to the Leadership Race between 11-14 March.
With a relatively small sample size of 140, we made an effort to poll as wide a variety of demographics as possible.
This was successful in some areas, not so much in some. The gender split, home-international split, and proportion of LGBTQ+ and POC respondents were largely in line with the UCL’s student demographics and the turnout from last year’s Leadership Race.
However, challenges remain, for example, with the vast majority of respondents being humanities students, leaving STEM students underrepresented. It is therefore important to note the potential skews that may be present.
Notably, those who were polled are likely to be more high-propensity voters than the average UCL student, that is, more likely to be politically aware, meaning the Union’s apathy crisis may be even worse than what these results show.
Despite these limitations, we are confident that this opinion poll provides important insights into voter trends and attitudes at UCL.
Most eligible voters won’t vote in every election
Over 60% of respondents said that they intend either not to vote at all or to only vote in some elections that they are eligible to vote for. Given the expected sampling bias in people who responded to the poll, turnout may once again be an issue this election cycle.
70% don’t know really what the sabbs do
Almost 70% of respondents said they were not familiar with what the full-time sabbatical officers are up to, a damning reflection on the Union’s approach to student-facing communications.
This figure was even higher when it came to part-time student officers, where almost 90% responded negatively (below).
In light of these results, it was perhaps to be expected that most respondents did not know how they assessed the work of the sabbatical officers.
90% don’t know really what student officers do
Almost half of respondents had absolutely no clue what the Union’s 15 part-time student officers are up to.
This should come as no surprise as last month the Union admitted it did not realise its own Disability Officer had dropped out of UCL. It said at the time that it tried and failed to contact the officers throughout the first term, only learning in January that they had left the University.
Cost of living still a primary concern for student voters
Our survey also collected responses on what issues students deemed the most important when they head to their virtual ballot box this week.
Our polling shows that the cost of living remains the most salient issue for voters, followed by funding for clubs and societies, then equity and inclusion.
How candidates raise the issue of living costs and material support will be key, especially following the news that UCL is set to hike rent in halls by 3.9%.
Most students have no opinion about the political leadership
Less than half of UCL students had an opinion about sabbatical officers at all, whereas those who did have an opinion were split precisely down the middle as to whether they approved of the leadership. This leaves the sabbs with a net approval rating of… 0%.
This cannot be a sign of a healthy, functioning democracy; without knowledge of the incumbent officers the way in which students vote is in risk of turning into a popularity contest, or worse, essentially a roll of a dice.
These results pose a serious and pressing question as to whether the Union has sufficiently communicated its activities.
The Cheese Grater recently broke the story that outgoing Education Officer Shaban Chaudhary had refused to appear on Union social media for 330 days and faced accusations from within that he had been actively withholding information from his own colleagues.
Elsewhere, we reported how low engagement continues to plague Union democracy, whether it’s Zones failing to meet quorum, a Disability Officer who went missing for a month before anyone noticed, or a slump in voter turnout at the October elections to a three-year low.
While the Union’s struggles with engagement are hardly breaking news, this is the first time the scale and severity of the Union’s apathy crisis are presented with solid data.
Our polling revealed a series of issues surrounding the Union and the elections. The Union must do more to communicate with the students that they represent as to what they actually do, and what they have achieved.
Remember, however, that these results are nothing more than what it is: an opinion poll. Ultimately, all of this is irrelevant until you, the reader, go out and vote.
Voting is open until Friday midday tomorrow. Make your voice heard this election here before polls close.
