Hustings, in the Peterhouse MCR

I'm not going to lie -- I was nervous tonight when I took the stand for First Year Representative in the Peterhouse MCR*. Yes, one can say that I had butterflies, at the very least, in my stomach. But, actually, it was more like having Mothra, several of him, in my stomach if I were to be precise. But, I cam across composed, animated, and engaging, I think. It was a simple forum: 2 minutes to pose my position and to charm the members of the MCR present for the hustings, followed by questions from the audience. The audience mostly consisted of former Committee members, who are a friendly lot who care very much about the pulse of the Peterhouse community, and the functioning of the MCR.

Fortunately, I was in the audience of friends. In the US, hustings for positions in the MCR are the equivalent of running for a position in the Undergraduate Council for Students at Brown. It entails canvasing and bombarding student mailboxes with propaganda. At Peterhouse, canvasing is not allowed -- campaigns must be run informally through people-to-people conversations and emails, not mass marketing in the "American sense." No people shouting, with signs saying "vote for blah!"

I was very surprised that hustings at Peterhouse were congenial. My opponent was very sweet and constructive to my statements, and vice versa. I have attended hustings in the Ivy League setting where people literally bite each other's their heads of with their words. Tonight's atmosphere was much more relaxed, and refreshingly convivial.

My opponent's platform was based on having been at Cambridge for undergrad and grad school previously to her arrival at Peterhouse,. She has been a member of three colleges in Cambridge, thus having been a Fresher** for 3 times. Hence, her strength is that she knows what questions to ask. When it came my turn, I turned the tide on her by stating that my strength is the fact that I have NEVER been a Cambridge student before, and that all of my experience is based on my "outsider's perspective" as an Ivy Leaguer, who takes nothing for granted about Cambridge. Moreover, I made it clear to the audience that this year marks the fifth time that I've been a Fresher, having gone to so many universities previously; so, I know what it means to settle in a new setting.

For the most part, I am not sure who won this evening's hustings. However, I am confident that victory in the elections is mine, especially since I have attended so many more events in the MCR than she has, and know so many more people in Peterhouse as a result. I also played up my participation in the Board of Advisors in the education department of the American Museum of Natural History to my benefit, using that as another example of my leadership abilities and potential. I shall now take Pimm's No.1, on the rocks, with a splash of bitter lemon, with a twist, to wind-down. Then, I shall commence with creating my slides for my talk this weekend on healthcare access in northern Nigeria for the upcoming MCR Symposium this Saturday. Oh, yes, I will also be rowing tomorrow. Jolly good!

* MCR is the acronym for Middle Combination Room. This is the name of most graduate societies in the colleges of the University of Cambridge. Exceptions, such as Pembroke College, calls the equivalent of the MCR their "Graduate Parlor." The Committee of the MCR is the leadership of the society, largely responsible for planning and implementing social programs in college. Every graduate student in the colleges of Cambridge have membership to their respective college's MCR. The JCR stands for the Junior Combination Room, which is the undergraduate equivalent of the MCR. At least in Peterhouse, all members of the MCR are also members of the JCR. The Combination Room is reserved for the Fellows and Master of the college. Oxford also has MCRs and JCRs.

** A Fresher is a first-year student in the Cantabrigian vernacular.