|Quinel Ming- Hilltop Trumpet Journalist

The United Student Movement 2019-2020 regime has not been performing nearly to the standard the students have expected them to. Instead, the pin on their success bar has been alternating between stagnant and digressional since their first week in office.

Promises to raise the bar and take things one notch higher are looking more and more unattainable as the days roll by and, if one should only peruse the individuals’ manifestos presented by the members, you will just receive information that would enable you to speak more confidently on the unfulfilled promises and unsuccessful ventures that were to be undertaken by various offices in the movement.

The assumed reasons for the negative performances are few but, they are consistent amongst the student body. Many believe that certain members weren’t ready for the magnitude of work required of them as an officer of the movement and that some are too arrogant and disorganized, thus they are under-performing.

However, these are my two reasons; firstly, with months to go in their tenure, the council members are yet to become a unified body. For successful leadership, a group of people must become a team however, this council has failed to do so and the evidences of disunity among them are clear.

Secondly, their efforts aren’t publicized. Even though they have not done nearly enough, it would be unfair to say that the movement has done absolutely nothing. However, it would be quite understandable if students believe that the council has done nothing to benefit them apart from sharing out free soup.

It is simple, if we don’t know what you have done for us, then we will believe that you have done nothing. Thus, if the student body isn’t aware of the efforts of the movement then they have the right to believe that the USM has been a complete waste of votes. So, the charge is clear, “Let Us Know.”

On the other hand, if the movement intends to improve their performance and change the student’s view of them, there is no better time to do so than now. We are aware that the USM’s involvement in the planning and execution of pre-sports day and sports day activities are pertinent to its success. My suggestion is that the movement and specifically the Sports Directors increase their level of serious, put individual issues aside and raise the standards in their execution of all future activities.

To the Sports Directors, unfortunately, the pressure on you to perform will be turned one notch higher as you become two of the most important members of the council. This is because your task is not only to execute the sporting events, but to also ensure that they are executed properly in order to basically- ‘save the movement.’

This season of sports is the last straw, your last chance to make an impact on the student
body. We need to see a team, we need to see leadership, we need to see a unified United Student Movement.

To all the other members who have been a waste of uniform cloth, office space and university finances, we need for you to get your acts together. With just a few months left, you can no longer afford to waste time.

The views of this article does not express the views of the Hilltop Trumpet. They are solely the opinion of the writer.