Editorial
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 27, 1997

A lesson in meaningless rhetoric

The first "A" in ASUA might as well stand for apathy.

That's because most of the Associated Students representatives give the students at the University of Arizona very little reason to care what they are up to.

Case in point: The resolution passed at last week's Senate meeting. The resolution supposedly endorses a $40 student fee to pay for the renovation of the Memorial Student Union.

Fact is though, nobody up in ASUA seems to know what the resolution means.

Sen. Cisco Aguilar said the resolution is "up to everyone's own interpretation."

"It is very vague wording in favor of the referendum," Aguilar explained.

Aguilar is partially correct. The wording is clear enough, however the intent is vague.

The resolution establishes the following points:

• The Student Union is important to students.
• The Student Union is in need of repair.
• The University should devote attention to those repairs.

ASUA approved a referendum to allow the student body to vote on a self-imposed Student Union fee.

Nowhere in the resolution, though, does it state that ASUA supports a student fee.

The resolution states, "It is hereby sworn by the affirmative vote of the ASUA Senate, elected by the students of this university, is in [sic] total support of the aforementioned requests regarding the MSU. This resolution will be the official policy for the Associated Students in regards to the University of Arizona MSU."

What requests? What policy?

Vague indeed.

A reasonably informed reader may discern that the resolution establishes ASUA's support for its own decision to allow students to vote on the referendum.

When did student representatives start drafting resolutions in support of their own decisions? Now that's effective government!

They spent the time to draft the resolution. They spent the time to debate the resolution. They spent the time to pass the resolution. Too bad they didn't spend the time to figure out what they think about the proposed student fee.

This sort of thoughtless meandering in government is what ultimately breeds apathy among the public. After all, why get excited about inactivity? If senators support a "yes" vote on the referendum, they should say so. A vaguely worded resolution that dances around the point is a waste of time.

ASUA President Gilbert Davidson - who wrote the resolution - has worked tirelessly for the past two years to draw attention to the Student Union's problems. Davidson has done the research, studied the options and come up with a solution: a student fee.

Davidson shouldn't be afraid to stand behind his own ideas.

If ASUA representatives want students to care, they must show some resolve. Otherwise, ASUA is no more than a playground for bureaucrats in the making.