Edward Snowden bids to become Glasgow University rector, the student body have a raft of decent candidates to choose from, but Snowden stands head and shoulders above their achievements

Dear All

Most Universities of note have someone who stands for the position of Rector of the University.

The University of Glasgow is no exception, in the past there have been some fine Rectors, the best in my opinion was Johnny Ball.

He was an excellent choice and the students were certainly spoiled when he did his tenure.

Now, it seems that Whistleblower Edward Snowden has agreed to stand as a candidate for rector.

The position of Rector is a serious position, the person is a voice for the students, as such it is helpful if the Rector can do surgeries.

If elected Whistleblower Edward Snowden wouldn’t be able to fulfill the duties required however he would be a good choice if his circumstances were different, people of principle such as him are sorely needed.

As he is in a foreign country and wanted by the Americans, it is doubtful that he could come to Glasgow.

If the Americans don’t grab him in transit then the British authorities would certainly ship him off n cuffs to the US of A.

Edward Snowden is a hero, he gave up his country to stand up for all of us, then ripple effect of his actions means that the US President Obama now says that the US will not spy on its ‘allies’.

Sounds good in theory, but in practice I think most people would say that is a crock of shit.    

Snowden became a wanted man when his leaks brought to light secret National Security Agency documents which revealed widespread US surveillance on phone and internet communications.

Everyone suspected but his leaks verified it.

Wrongly the US took the decision to revoke Snowden's passport and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Being in sunny Russia, the people at the Kermlin was handed a free gift which they milked on all four tits, standing up for the little guy.

PhD student Chris Cassells said:

"We got in touch through his lawyers and have been communicating through them, and he has agreed to take part and was happy to support what we're doing. Our position is that voting for Edward Snowden first of all shows support for his plight at the moment and it also sends a message to governments that the intrusive practices of state security are not acceptable and are not something the students of the university agree with."

Cassells added:

"The university has a long history of electing political rectors like Winnie Mandela or Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, so this campaign is along similar lines to that. It's only gone public today but so far we've had nothing but support from other students."

Others standing in the race include former champion cyclist Graeme Obree, writer Alan Bissett and Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow, are also standing in the vote.

Of that list, I say to students don’t vote Alan Bissett, recently he said that Scotland’s unpopular deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon should win ‘person of the year’.

If I had a vote I would cast for Edward Snowden, his act in exposing the US spying mission probably makes him one of the greatest Americans of our time.

He stood up for what he believe was right, and in this case he was right as Obama’s changes clearly signal.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University