What is a successful society without great leadership that involves carrying the people along with their plans in moving the society forward?. The department has been buzzing with various activities this week in readiness to electing executives that would chair the affairs of the department and because the department just had her 50th-anniversary conference. I hereby commend every student reading this article for their active participation in all of these activities.
The electoral activities started on Monday, 27th of September, 2021 with the screening of aspirants by the Archaeology and Anthropology Independent Electoral Commission (AAIEC). The following activities include press/manifesto night conducted by AASA press and which occurred on Tuesday, 28th of September, 2021 and it is the main focus of this article, and the election proper which took place on Wednesday, 29th of September, 2021. A press/manifesto night is being anchored by the press for the general public to make known through the aspirants’ manifestos, the laid down plans, and how the aspirants plan to achieve the plans once elected. This has been a tradition in this great department.
According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, a manifesto is a statement published by a person or group of people, especially a political party, or a government, in which they say what their aims and policies are. The press investigates more on the manifestos of the aspirants to detect the feasibility and actualization of the plans amongst other things which I will make known to you as you progress in the reading. Let me share a small secret with you, I hope you will keep it, I attended the AASA press/manifesto night for the very first time on Tuesday and I am in my final year, and I was able to attend not just as a press member but also as a beneficiary of the administration since I am an AASAITE. Why did I say this?. Attending the press night would enable me to see for myself whether an aspirant is worth being voted for or not. Electing good leaders to lead the activities of the department is indeed a plus to the department because it affects how the department is being seen from the outside considering that the executives are the voice of the students to the lecturers of the department.
One thing the press/manifesto night does for the public is that it enables the public to see for themselves whether a particular aspirant understands the role that he/she is running for, and this is achieved once the press can probe the candidate through thought-provoking questions to reveal whether or not the candidate truly knows and understand the role he/she is aiming for. The public is also encouraged to ask the candidates questions and express themselves. The press also checks the plans of each aspirant and tries to find out how feasible the plans are to avoid rinse and repeat as seen in past administrations. The press night and manifesto night through the press also check for the logic and intelligence of the aspirants by asking impromptu questions involving situations concerning the department to see if any logical response(s) would be given. Also having press/manifesto night also helps to show to the public how confident, composed, well mannered, etc, an aspirant is. Debates are also taken by opponents running for the same post to help the public to see the stronger opponent through their performance and to also detect loopholes in the aspirants’ plans.
In summary, the press night is very useful to the public in aiding their decisions in choosing who to vote for since the public would be getting first-hand information about their preferred candidate(s) and their plans. It is also an avenue to learn and rub minds together as intellectuals to move the department forward. So here is my advice, if you plan on voting for someone, do yourself good by attending the press/manifesto night to aid you in your decision-making concerning the candidate. Also, don’t forget to prepare your mind and your questions too when going. It is all for the greater good.
AASA PRESS UI 