YSaturday, May 19, 2007

ACJC Council Elections (Part Two)

So, on the very Monday morning after week after The Week Of Campaigning was the Hour Of Reckoning. The dreary morning air, along with the shuffling of weary student feet was such a compliment to the mood for the event of that day. The Day That Would Change Lives Forever.

The morning began as always, with the singing of our two favorite songs, the ACS anthem, and of course, the National Anthem. I particularly enjoy Monday mornings, because of chapel service. So anyway, after morning assembly, we usually have about 80 minutes to slack around. However, much to the displeasure of the entire college, 40 minutes that precious time was taken away from us. It was wretched from our grasp! Oh, how I yearn for those precious droplets of time, how I desire to be with them again. I will not bear with this insult, this transgression will not escape justice. I will never let you go, I'm sure that you know. Sweet break time, you will be mine.

Alright, so after the morning announcements, the Elections were set to begin! This was the Moment Of Reckoning. All the Council-hopefuls prayed that their efforts would have payed off, the substantial amounts of money that they put forward to buying candy and printing our little stickers and posters and other thingys had not gone to waste. (But of course, it did.) All they could do now was to to put their trust in us, the most untrustworthy people of all, teenagers. (Teenagers are the most untrustworthy people. Honestly. Sometimes we say that we will do something. Then we just not do it. For fun. We don't forget about what said, we just choose not to honor our words.)

So, the entire college held its breath in anticipation, wondering who they could possibly choose to be their representatives in the future. So we waited. Waited. And waited some more. Soon our anticipation turned to annoyance. It appeared in order to appease us, the current Councilors decided to hold a fashion show, the draw our attention, whilst they made final preparations. However, we, or at least I, came to realize that the people who were walking single file down the middle aisles weren't fashion models. First of all, none of them were stick thin. Second, they were all wearing the same thing.

As the very first Council-hopeful walked on to stage, she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

The next Council-hopeful then walked on to stage, and she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

The next Council-hopeful then walked on to stage, and she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

The next Council-hopeful then walked on to stage, and she was met with applause. Walking up to the mike, she was obviously quite nervous. She managed said a few words, which were met with the laughter and cheers of the school. She graciously acknowledged the crowds cheers, and walked off.

I think you know where I'm going with this. The first 10 or so Council-hopefuls were met with enthusiastic applause. However, there were about 60 of them altogether. The audience's enthusiasm soon waned, and soon what began as raucous roars of approval became mere trickles of pity applause. If a candidate came up with a a hilarious one liner, then of course people would laugh and respond, but if that person's one liner was not funny or very forgettable, then he would be met with UTTER SILENCE.

For example:

Some generic message about loving ACJC and being a nice person and doing the best may have come straight from the heart, and be totally sincere, however, it will have limited impact, and won't be remembered when one is thinking about who to elect as a Councilor.

However, something like "If you want someone who's tall, smart, and handsome. Vote for me. (Pause) I will help you find him".

This is a great one liner. First of all, it captures people's attention. After hearing the first part, people will be shocked. Who the hell does this guy think he is? People then become very attentive. It was also very well delivered, making people laugh. It is also a form self-deprecating humor, showing humility and the willingness to poke fun at oneself. Hence, increasing the likability of said candidate greatly.

Other methods that were used to great success in garnering attention including singing a song terriblly off-key, as demonstrated by JianDa, who was a former SJI boy, and silly wordplays, as demonstrated by SoeMin's "Don't be so mean, vote for Soe Min.".

After the final person finished, there was a final applause, and several catcalls, along with a handful of "woohoos". There was then a lull, as people were deciding out of the 60-odd hopefuls, to whom they would contribute their five votes to. Within a few minutes, the voting process was over. The elections were over. The students streamed slowly out of the hall, and the day was to continue as it usually did. The councilors took about 4 days to count the votes. On the Friday of that week, the results came out.

The results were very unsurprising. Except for one or two unexpected new Councilors, all those who were expected to get in, did get in. This is exactly what made me displeased with Council elections. Mind you, I don't have any problems with any of the Councilors. I'm sure they all are good decent people, none of whom are crazed ax-welding murderers or drug addicts or perverse skirt-chasers. All of the hopefuls needed teachers to endorse them, so thats an indication of the type of people they are. However, I do have an issue with the way the Councilors are chosen. It was a popularity contest. I admit, even I contributed to this. I voted in two of my classmates, two of my old schoolmates, not because I felt they definitely deserved to be Councilors, but because they were my friends. The last remaining vote I just closed my eyes, ran my fingers across the voting slip, and picked a random guy. I forgot his name, but I think he got in.

All the J1s did pretty much what I did. Vote for your friends. That's the way things go. For the J2s, things were even stranger. Since most of them didn't know any of the hopefuls, they just voted for people whom they thought were funny. One of my J2 friends admitted to me, that he didn't care about the person's character, and just voted for people who made him laugh. He went on to say that was what everyone did anyway.

Now how is this fair? The person who may not be the most qualified, but is the most popular gets in? Is that how things should be? Or could it be that being charismatic is part of the qualifications. Perhaps this is just the way life is. Ability is not imperative, and all that one requires to get through life is a pretty face or charisma. All of the hopefuls had to jump through hoops to get as far as they did, and only to be denied at the very last moment. Some of those who didn't get in were unable to hold their tears in, and I can't say I blame them.

Is this the way things should be?

Life sure can be cruel sometimes.

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