On the rainy morning of May 5th, in the extremely professional recording studios of Radio Bocconi, I had the opportunity to have a small conversation with the three candidates running for the CNSU in next week elections. In this brief live interview, which Tra i Leoni realized in collaboration with Radio Bocconi, we have explored the backgrounds and the stories of these three candidates, getting to know them better just before the electoral days, on the 14th and 15th of this month.
Giovanni Bracci was born in Rimini and lived on the Riviera Romagnola until 2023, when he moved to Milano to study in our university. He studied classics in high school, in the liceo Dante Alighieri. He is currently enrolled in the second year of Cleam, starting in Bocconi in my same year. What attracted Giovanni to our university is the concrete knowledge that it can give, allowing us students to achieve all our dreams. The level of the teaching is, according to him, extremely high, as most of our professors are outstanding.
Giovanni is well aware that the odds are against him and his list, Student Office. They are a new association, founded just this year by him and some other friends: a small group of people that didn’t recognize themselves in any existing association. Being the new face in town can be both positive and negative for an electoral campaign and, after running alongside Blab in last month’s election, Student Office decided to run alone in the CNSU’s one. Giovanni himself feels very proud for being the front runner of this new experiment, as he thinks that he can bring to the table both a vision for all the students and the skills to implement it.
As we did in the last interview for the Board of Directors’ candidates, we asked Giovanni to describe himself with three words and to pick a song which could tell us something about this election. Giovanni stop for a moment to think, touching his leg with both hands, and then started to talk again. Genuine, as he is always truthful and honest; determined, embarking on difficult tasks if necessary; dreamer, because he doesn’t only look at the odds of something, he fights to make it happen. As a song, Giovanni picked Try by Pink, a call to action, driven by desire and courage to achieve one’s dream, just like Student Office. As the rhythm starts to shake the warm environment, the candidate can relax for some minutes, breathing more slowly.
After the break we arrive to some technical questions, trying to explain to our listeners and our readers what the CNSU is and what role it plays in the governance of Italian universities. The National Council of University Students is the most important body for student representation in Italy, working directly with the Ministry of University and Research. The 30 elected representatives express opinions and bring proposals forward, even though it is only an advisory body. Giovanni believes that in this institution students can really make their voice heard, with the final result being meaningful change in the whole country.
Now everyone is thinking about the nationwide election coming up next week, but last month was totally dedicated to the internal competition between Astra and Blab, which peaked of course during the two electoral days, April 14th and 15th. As a young and recently founded association, Student Office role was not a primary one, as the list decided to run under the same banner as Blab. Giovanni believes that, notwithstanding the fact that they were running against well established forces, their impact on the electoral results was crucial. He personally felt extremely grateful for all those that put faith in him and in all the ideas he sponsored. This expiring experience in Bocconi election gave Student Office the desire and motivation to participate in the national elections.
The majority of the students ended up choosing Blab, even though the difference between the list’s votes was, in the end, minimal. Next week’s results will tell if Student’s office votes were, indeed, decisive for Giulia Gambardella’s victory: if Giovanni Bracci will only have to divert a few hundred votes from Alessandro D’Avino to make Astra’s life much easier. In this unpredictable three-way race, all the candidates involved are working hard in these days before the election to catch your vote. Giovanni, in particular, faces a tough challenge, as he has to convince people of his list’s worth, in the first time they are running under their own symbol.
I asked Giovanni to describe both his former Blab ally and his other opponent from Astra. They are experienced and effective communicators in their role for their association, but he chose two different words. Alessandro is prepared, as he was involved in students’ representation for many years; Carmine is determined, because he strongly wants to win this election and he is extremely focused on them. It is very clear how well the three candidates know each other, as they all used similar words in our little game.
On May 16th the election season here in Bocconi will be finally over, and consequences of the campaign, with all its promises and events, will unravel in front of those that will remain. Our university will not be the same after these two intense months of electoral competitions, especially after the unprecedented level of participation and activism that we saw. Giovanni pledged to honor all the trust that student will put in him, and he is committed to do so whether he gets elected or not. Student Office is here to remain, making his job to build up their reputation even more important.
Giovanni concluded like this our conversation. As he left the room, the interview program that Tra i Leoni and Radio Bocconi had prepared ended with him, marking the conclusion of this fantastic morning. On Tra i Leoni website you will find the others two interviews we realized on that day, don’t miss out on them.
