Two weeks out of every year, the AMS steps out of its role as protector of student interests and purveyor of Marbelous cookies to step into the centre of a three-ring circus. As student politi­cians vie for the chance to serve their constituents (or pad their resumes) with a term in a variety of offices, student journalists (more of them, now, courtesy of Voter-Funded Media) stand by to report the mundane and absurd alike.

As Sarina Rehal, AMS elections coordinator 2008/09, read out the results from the elections, she went from least to most contested. It was widely assumed, then, that one of, if not the first elections to be announced would be the vice-president administra­tion’s race. Even here at The Ubyssey, we had placed a joke can­didate in our second endorsement slot, and checking The Radical Beer Tribune’s Endorsement Tracker, we were far from the only media outlet to do so. Crystal Hon’s victory wasn’t marked with the roar from a gaggle of Commerce students that raucously celebrated the victories of two of their own, but with a moment of surprised silence followed by a joyous riot from the corner of the room populated by Radical Beer Faction and AUS hacks.

Hon’s victory seems even unlikelier, in retrospect—a vague campaign from a relative outsider whose major platform point was to reconnect with the large and distant commuter student body, up against an incumbent coming off a strong year with a list of goals and another list of all the ways he’d met the goals he’d set last year.

We stand behind the reasons that Tristan was our pick for the job, but having been proven wrong once by Crystal and the elec­torate, we’d like to issue a challenge:

Prove us wrong, Crystal. Draw on the disbelief and prove us wrong, every day of your term. Revoice the disenfranchised com­muter student, navigate the contentious SUB Renew negotiations and bring us back a building that reflects how students are the heart of campus. Streamline club bureaucracy, enhance AMS link, and bring more voices into high-speed consultations.

It’s a hard job, it’s a big job, and it’s your job now. Go forth and conquer.