'Incredibly important': Why these students are running for office

For one week every year, the main concourse at the Australian National University (ANU) is known as "the gauntlet" as students navigate their way past their peers who are vying for votes.

Many turn down offers of pamphlets and how-to-vote cards, but for Leila Clarke, that hasn't deterred her from running in the student elections.

"The university is supposed to serve students; we are here to learn," the third-year law and international relations student said.

"If they are not listening to what we have to say, a lot of the time they get things wrong."

It is a sentiment shared by fellow candidate Audrey Clementine, who said many students want to contribute to the future of their university.

"I really think that student democracy has an impact," the second-year student said.

"The student population can be so powerful if we unite under shared goals."

Colourful campaigns 

This year's campaign has featured slick social media videos and eye-catching stunts, which has included some candidates jumping into Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin and the creek that runs through the ANU campus.

One of the candidates, Seamus Giveen, was dressed as a beer to entice students to vote.

"Having a diverse range of campaign methods from handouts to shirts and, in this case, a massive beer costume, really sort of ticks every box,"

he said.

But beyond the colour of student politics, many argue it's a crucial platform for students to air their concerns and to get institutions to act.

At the ANU, a record number of nominations were received this year, which follows a tumultuous time at the institution.

The university had embarked on, and later abandoned, a $250 million cost-cutting endeavour which sparked staff and student protests and badly tarred the university's reputation.

Genevieve Bell stepped down as vice-chancellor in September last year, followed by Julie Bishop resigning as chancellor in May.

The current president of the ANU Students' Association Charley Ellwood said students haven't shied away from being assertive with the university.

"University management will try to do things which seem to be at odds with what students want," he said.

"We are on this campus every single day, we experience the failures of university systems every single day and that is why our voice is incredibly important in fixing them."

Career stepping stone

The relevance of student elections is often drawn into question, with only about 10 per cent of the student population at the ANU voting.

There is also longstanding criticism that, for some, student politics is just a stepping stone to a career in politics.

"Broadly, you can see a bit of a trend of people getting involved as a way to start off their political career,"

fourth year student Iz Coombs said.

"I think the student union should primarily be for the purpose of helping our students and letting their voice be heard."

For Mr Ellwood, having students at the table when the university is making decisions is essential.

"We have seen many examples of where students and student unions have pushed back against things that universities, but also politics in general, have done," he said.

"There have been plenty of times where our input has been disregarded, where I have personally felt quite undermined.

"Sometimes the university listens and sometimes they need to be forced to listen."