This year, despite restrictions Felix ran its annual Felix Meet the Candidates or hustings event. This was a broadcast event where candidates for major roles were able to speak directly to their voters and audience in a way that would otherwise have been very difficult to do. I was very proud of it and also of the candidates. Despite not being able to do many of the things that make being a student volunteer worth it there were still candidates for nearly all of the major roles. 

However, this was less the case in the less senior roles. We face a case of ‘cultural long COVID’. Many societies face decline, a huge loss of expertise and potentially even ceasing to run. This is because many people have looked at the trouble of running for a committee position and have decided that they won’t bother. I would plead with anyone reading this. You will have benefitted from student run activities and it is our responsibility to pay that debt forward to the students that come after us. 

With many AGMs around now and the summer elections coming up, there is a frequent refrain “Everything is rubbish” that can be heard. I have said it every election time and I will say it again this time; if you want something done better, go and improve it yourself. 

Obvious career benefits aside, many of us have a once in a lifetime opportunity to redefine ourselves. A victim of severe brain trauma once wrote that for her it was not only the head injury that changed her personality and led her to leave her home town in the US and remake her life. It was also the long time spent in recovery that allowed her to re-evaluate what she felt was important. 

All of us now have that chance too. If you didn’t like who you were, you have a chance to change that. I know what I sound like but I am filled with the zeal of the convert. 

Felix made me who I am today. There are societies out there that will do the same for you. You only have to go out and find them. 

[email protected]

@feliximperial

fb.com/FelixImperial

felix_imperial