Less than a month after the student government tried to act like an actual legislative body by passing a resolution condemning violence in the Middle East, it has turned around and pulled a move that would have any constituency up in arms - calling for an election on less than a week's notice.
The senate voted Wednesday night to send a $30 student activity fee to a special student election beginning Monday. The fee would generate between $1.2 million and $1.4 million for concerts and other entertainment events on campus.
The notion that there is enough time for students to hear about the election, let alone make an informed decision as to which way to vote, is downright absurd. This isn't a school of a few hundred; it's a major university of 37,000.
But don't fret; the Associated Students of the University of Arizona Collaboration Board has a plan to let everyone know about the fee. It plans to set up a booth on the Mall and talk with club leaders. Not only that, members will be sending out e-mails. Sen. Nick Bajema, a business administration senior who has been rallying for a fee for the past four years, believes that by targeting campus leaders, news of the vote will trickle down to the rest of the campus community. That may be part of a reasonable solution, but what about all the students who aren't part of clubs? Where's the voice of Joe Student?
After all, ASUA was only able to muster 3,603 votes in the presidential election, and that was with weeks and weeks of publicity. If only 1,000 people vote in this special election, can the election really be considered legitimate? Is this enough to establish whether students should dish out their hard-earned money? Delay the vote. Give students enough time to come to an informed decision. If necessary, implement the fee next spring. We've been without it for a long time - what's another six months?
It would appear that the senators are trying to pull a fast one on students. As they get closer to the end of the year, they realize it will be harder and harder for the fee to be implemented - if that's what students decide - in enough time for the fall semester. Plus, they are beginning to realize that if they don't get this fee passed this year, they'll have little to show for their efforts and won't be able to leave a legacy.
Not to mention they've got their eyes set on the Arizona Board of Regents meeting later this month, where any student fee vote would have to be approved by the regents. And they certainly won't like a rush job on something that involves so much money and so little thought.
Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Shane Dale, Caitlin Hall, Saul Loeb, Jason Poreda, Justin St. Germain and Eliza Tebo.