We ran a social experiment on the Part-Time Officer candidates…

Elections are here, candidates are brimming with excitement at the prospect of running campaigns in the aim to win student votes to become 2023’s Sabbatical and Part-Time Officers. 

However, something that will remain constant at the University of York amongst ever-changing student representatives is the infamous duck, Longboi. 

Whilst devising our set of questions to ask this year’s candidates, a thought suddenly struck me: in 2023, just how relevant is Longboi to students?

In a post-COVID-19 York, is the duck still living rent free in the minds of students as they traipse across a restrictionless campus? Has feeding Longboi and his friends become an unfamiliar pastime? 

I wanted to find out, so I performed a subtle social experiment on our hopeful PTO, NUS, and Accountability and Scrutiny candidates to see if the bird is still the word. 

Asking our candidates “what should the University’s next merch line be?”, I began a secret psychological test through Vision’s Candidacy form, waiting to see just how many of our candidates would suggest Longboi related items. 

The results, I’m afraid, were very Longboi-limited. 

Many students took the non-serious merchandise question in a very serious manner, meaning Vision had some brilliant, yet unexpected, answers discussing the diversity of merchandise needed to reflect the uniqueness of York’s student body:

International student candidate Neo discussed that, whilst there is a large array of University merch from “socks to jumpers and ties”, YUSU should prioritise “celebrat[ing] its great ethnic and cultural vibrancy.”

Celebrating student individuality was also reiterated by LGBTQ+ candidates Freddie and Fran, arguing that “we would support the idea for more intersectional and genderfluid merchandise that represents the increasingly diverse communities.”

BAME candidate Maisze reiterated a similar sentiment, stating that  adding embroidered flags to university merch allows for “representation of the queer community and BAME to showcase heritage.”

Our candidate for Accountability and Scrutiny Chair Taylor suggested that University merch should focus more on giving back to the wider community in the form of a charity line “with designs representing the charities they are raising money for.”

Vision also received other original merchandise ideas that excluded Longboi, including a lunchbox sex as suggested by International candidate Moesha, a Colleges-themed crossword pattern from Francesca, the Social Sciences Faculty Rep, and a “series of t-shirts for graduates simply saying ‘finally’” from hopeful WNB candidates Tilly and Sophie. 

Whilst all of these answers were great, and hopefully implemented in the coming months, I was saddened by the lack of Longboi-friendly answers. 

Perhaps a Longboi lunchbox? Or a Longboi crossword? I was disheartened to learn that Longboi was quickly coming out of fashion for students here at York. 

Vision only received two Longboi related merchandise ideas, from two of our NUS delegate candidates:

Hannah Carley, NUS candidate, suggested a Longboi cuddly toy, a cute yet subtle representative of the famous duck.

Current Community and Wellbeing sabb Hannah Nimmo, in her bid to become an NUS delegate, said “I’m going to stick with the Long Boi theme and say Long Boi slippers, because that way you can be comfortable but in a very iconic way.” 

At long last, it seems that Longboi may be working his way out of students’ minds and simply retreating to a life of quiet swimming in the lake. 

That hasn’t stopped YUSU continuously churning out Longboi related merchandise, however, with their Longboi scarf available at 2022’s Fresher’s Week and Longboi embroidered jumpers. 

Whilst Longboi was featured on the Late, Late Show with James Corden in May 2021, the duck seems to have been replaced in students’ minds, so perhaps YUSU should rethink their next Longboi merchandising.