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Halftime Highlights

If there’s one thing the 2010 University Students’ Council presidential election needs, it’s a little bit of fun and humour. In order to add some levity to their situation we have humbly put forward our favourite election moments thus far.

The Gazette loves candidates who don’t take themselves seriously. With our third annual presidential skills competition being held in the University Community Centre atrium for the first time, we had some excellent opportunities for candidates to make total fools of themselves.

So our first shoutout goes to all the candidates. We were lucky enough to watch six grown men attempt to navigate around a Twister pad, with hilarious results.

The fun continued as candidates attempted to navigate through Western’s school song — with Mike Tithecott emerging as the undisputed winner. While we’re on the subject, Tithecott impressed us when he managed to remain a cheery personality throughout questions about tampons during last Friday’s media forum.

Marshall Goldfarb’s ability to weather a hail of questions about Student Magazine was impressive, though he made us all cringe with his “I have female friends” defence to a question about female equality on campus.

Fellow yellow candidate Ray Park has also proved entertaining throughout the campaign, from an innovative campaign sign that actually used recycled materials to an … unusual video. For those who haven’t heard, Park’s singing voice is sure to become legendary.

However, his voice may not prove to be as legendary as Jeff Rutledge’s hips. In a shocking move, this candidate proved to be a rock star when at hula hooping, undoubtedly winning over dozens of voters in the process.

Normally, one would expect soon-to-be politicos to be a little reluctant to take part in our fun and games, but candidate Matt Hyland should be commended for being such a good sport. Fighting through illness is part of every campaign, but this candidate still managed to put up good responses while looking mildly uncomfortable during debates.

This campaign has also seen some innovative campaigning ideas, with Matthijs Van Gaalen’s springing to mind most quickly. Though there could be more transparency for the connection between “tagging a soph” and voting for this candidate, Van Gaalen has also added a texting campaign to the annual election gimmicks.

It’s not all unicorns and rainbows though — while the candidates’ interpersonal relationships seem friendly, there has certainly been a dark undercurrent with instances of repeated sign vandalism.

More than anything though, we feel the need to give ourselves a shoutout. This year’s Gazette election coverage is better than ever, with videos, commentary and ridiculous events leading the charge. With the campaigns entering the final week we hope the light atmosphere is maintained.

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