Elections ’26 Recap
- ejorigin
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Written by: Jia Jia (26-A3), Barry (26-E1), Belden (26-E1), Nicole (26-E2), Angelica (26-U1), Samantha (26-U1)
Edited by: Steven (25-A4)
Designed by: Jia Jia (26-A3)
Editor’s Note: This article includes excerpts from interviews conducted by The Origin with students from Eunoia Junior College. These excerpts have been edited only for reasons of length and clarity.
Every year, dozens of students volunteer to put themselves under immense public scrutiny. Why?
One of the more common perceptions, particularly among the cynical, is that they do it for the publicity and the portfolio. For the most part, this idea is both unfortunate and vastly mistaken. Naturally, being a student leader comes with its credentials, but that is hardly the key driving force behind these students.
Beyond the campaign trail
Recently, Eunoia Junior College held its elections for the student council and house committee. Throughout this period, every student would have become intimately familiar with scenes of impassioned rallies, elaborately decorated campaign boards and walking billboards.
All this seems straightforward enough — after all, it is the same old ritual repeated yearly. The election season arrives, candidates put themselves forward, candidates get elected, and the election season departs. But have you wondered what really goes on behind the scenes of campaigning?
Over the course of the election season, candidates placed themselves under the spotlight to showcase their personal traits and demonstrate why they should be elected.
Touring the canteen with billboards was one of the ways in which candidates put themselves forward, and Emily (26-E2) admitted that it gave her a completely new perspective on campaigning: “As someone who had watched the council campaigning from the canteen tables, being put in that same position for house campaigning made me realise how intimidating it really was.”
Emily’s experience highlighted that, while standing in front of fellow schoolmates and promoting oneself may appear easy to casual observers, it actually requires a great deal of confidence. Ananya (26-E2) echoed this sentiment, adding that campaigning individually felt significantly more overwhelming compared to doing so within a group (as she had done during the SC elections). “I felt kind of scared by the prospect of rejections when I asked people if they wanted to take a picture with my board, especially because I was alone.” Ananya recounted.
While live campaigning tested candidates’ confidence, the Instagram accounts that candidates ran allowed them an additional, more controlled medium through which they could tell their own stories and share their visions for the Eunoian community. Hannah (26-O6) felt that having this creative freedom was actually one of the highlights of the experience. “It was nice controlling how I wanted my Instagram account to look,” she shared. “And it was more flexible because we could plan and arrange when we wanted to post our own publicity materials.”
Trial by fire
With mountains of tasks to accomplish — with back-to-back deadlines, no less — the campaigning process was a trial by fire. It is almost as if it was designed to weed out those who were less adapted to the rigours of student leadership, and prepare candidates who would succeed for the times ahead.
For the candidates, there may have been times when things seemed bleak and giving up looked like the best option. In fact, for most of them, that is likely the case. But all of them knew they had to push through in order to fulfil their purpose of serving the school. It was that, along with an “undeterred resilience”, that kept many going.
For some, there were also structural challenges. Shi Xin (26-I2) shared that when she was campaigning, she feared that the nature of the college as an Integrated Programme school would put her at a disadvantage, simply because she had arrived via the JAE track instead.
Despite the unique challenge she faced, Shi Xin eventually succeeded in being elected as one of the council vice-presidents. “Don’t shy away from this opportunity for growth and remember that your ability to serve is not defined by your role, but rather by your passion. Believe in yourself and the rest will fall into place,” she reflected.
Support systems
No leader walks alone; they are carried by the support of many. This election season proved exactly that, as none of the candidates could have reached the finish line without the unwavering support of those who journeyed alongside them throughout.
Kathleen (26-E3) shared similar sentiments on the support she received, especially from her class when coming up with the scene to end her presidential campaign with: “I wanted to encapsulate my message of bringing joy and wonder in all that we do, and so we ended up frolicking through the stadium! Though it was only a short moment of filming, I truly had the best time, and it reminded me of why I was even doing this in the first place.”
She also expressed gratitude for the broader guidance she received during her campaigning journey. “Whether it be my classmates, family, fellow nominees, or seniors — especially my mentor Iva — there were so many moments where their sense of care and understanding shone through everything. Iva’s guidance was so invaluable; I don’t think I would have gotten through it without her.”
Every year, dozens of students volunteer to put themselves under immense public scrutiny. Why?
It is not for the publicity or the portfolio. Nor is it just for the power. Rather, it is for the opportunity to serve and bring positive change to the community that surrounds them. These motivations require great self-sacrifice and are truly admirable.
The 10th president of the Student Council, Celine (26-U1), left a note of advice for anyone thinking about running for a leadership position, whether now or in the future: “Do it scared, but do it with your ‘why’ in mind. There are going to be many difficult or intimidating things that come your way, but again, you just have to do it scared, and always remind yourself of your purpose. And finally, treasure your friends, family, and mentors, all of whom will keep you going. It’s important to show how grateful you are for them!”
Comments