As I began to fill out my BHSEC Student Leadership Team intent-to-run form last week, I came across something that made my throat dry. In parentheses next to the section that asked why I wanted to run for the SLT was a warning that read: “This statement will appear next to your name on the ballot. NO SPEECHES WILL BE MADE THIS YEAR.” Looking down at the remaining space, enough room for about ten short sentences, I gulped and thought to myself: ‘Uh oh, these ten sentences better be really good.’

As the elections approached, student campaigns boomed: in stairwells and on bulletin boards, candidates posted flyers calling for Bardians’ votes. My mini-feed on Facebook was filled with status updates telling me which students were running for Student Union. A Year 1 candidate even made a series of campaign videos on YouTube that included a self-composed rap. But while posters filled the halls, and candidates came up with creative ways to rake in votes, one element was still missing from the race: speeches.

On this year’s ballot, my statement was no different from the countless others that read:

My name is (insert candidate’s name) and I am running for (insert position). While I am the one fulfilling this position, it is your opinion that matters. Here are some of the ideas that I have to make the school better (insert, a bigger and better community day, a quieter library, more free periods etc).

My qualm with this election system is that Bardians were forced to choose between candidates with only ten sentences to represent each. The voters did not have any way to assess their candidates in detail.

It’s true that in the past we’ve all thought about skipping that Dean’s Hour meeting when candidates from each grade promise to bring back the elusive student lounge, but there is still something to be said for speeches. Anyone can make promises on a piece of paper. But the ability to get up, look the entire student body in the eye, and make those same promises is what separates the winners from the losers in the election. Once elected, candidates will need to use their words to put their ideas into action. If a candidate can persuade the entire student body to support his views, surely this candidate can articulate his opinion to the administration, which ultimately has the power to make change in BHSEC.

When there is no way to distinguish between all the candidates, what does the election become? Student perceptions of each candidate are shaped more by personal opinion than by the candidates’ positions on the issues that BHSEC faces. With no speeches, there is no opportunity for a candidate to plead his case to voters.

In a school that pushes me to think outside the box, the elections did not even give me a chance to change my opinion of the candidates. Without speeches, this election became—dare I say it?—a popularity contest. Why not vote for your friends when no one else has given you a solid reason to vote for him?

Ultimately, I was elected to the SLT, but I’m unsure of how to feel about my victory. In the end, I guess I made those ten sentences really, really good.