Illustration by Arnie Bermudez

The dust has settled. And although some of the folks intimately involved in the planning of the proposed activity fee that failed earlier this month are quick to assign blame, there's no denying that ASUA made some large mistakes in the execution of its very special election.

Those foul-ups, namely a rushed and arguably biased election, came just more than a month after some hiccups in the election of the student body president. In that process, Elections Commissioner Dan Suh and some former Associated Students of the University of Arizona presidents got all hot and bothered over a little statement candidate Josh Shapiro made. In speaking up, the ex-presidents and an opinioned Suh sealed the election for heir to the throne, Alistair Chapman.

The fee was a great idea, although a bit too expensive and its election ill-planned. The students from inside and outside of ASUA who worked to draw the bylaws and get the referendum going should be pissed at the election crew for botching it all up.

But once they've let out their anger, they should take pride in the valuable, critical services student government provides.

Daniel Scarpinato Columnist

The political plotting by ASUA good-old boys, mismanagement of two critical elections and flakiness on the part of the elected student senate time after time could very well turn you off from student government entirely (provided you get a kick out of it at all).

But it shouldn't because ASUA is one of the most important institutions on campus, maybe even the most important.

It's unfortunate that flaccid tuition proposals, nonsense votes to approve last week's minutes and political hogwash in its offices over the UofA Bookstore are the only things that make the headlines from ASUA. But that's how the world works.

Still, those relatively unimportant back-and-forths represent the minority of what ASUA does and stands for.

Take a look: Spring Fling, SafeRide, the Women's Resource Center and Pride Alliance - not to mention the 400-some clubs on campus - are all made possible through the work of people in ASUA.

It's startling when you think about it. But what's more startling is that most students don't even realize any of this unless they are the president of a club, are involved in student government or work for the Daily Wildcat. Even then they might not.

One internal goal of ASUA, at least according to sound bites from the last handful of student body presidents, is to make students more aware of what the organization does. Well, fine. But the best way to do that might not be through policies and speeches. Instead, they should cut out the ego.

All this election mumbo jumbo, including the race for president back in February, has cast an unfortunate shadow over ASUA - a great organization that is naturally flawed.

That shadow has illustrated something important, however. There is an unnecessary focus inside and outside of ASUA on all the political stuff. Too often elected positions are used as resumŽ buffers and soap boxes. All these elected people tend to think they are far more important than they really are.

That's not to say that all the elected positions should be cut out. Instead, the role of the senate needs to be seen for what it always has been (fairly small), the vice presidents need to be appreciated for the internal organization they provide, the Appropriations Board needs to be watched more closely and presidential candidates should shut up about tuition increases and graduate student problems. Rather, they should focus on the positive, tangible services ASUA provides and express how they will improve those.

If ASUA President J.P. Benedict is looking to leave a legacy, he need not worry. He has already left one, with or without the activity fee. Although not unflawed, J.P. has brought a breath of fresh air to the administration and humanized the role of ASUA president.

He seemed almost bored on the tuition issue (who can blame him?) and half-cocked on the activity fee referendum, but overall, he's depoliticized student government and through his approach, original campaign platform and actions, effectively run a student-centered organization.

As expected, the activity fee isn't as dead as some would like. It's set to make a comeback next semester with the help of some stubborn, relentless soon-to-be ex-senators. Let's hope they learn from the mistakes this year's bunch made.

Just like in real life, politicians can let their egos consume them. But truth be told, the same thing often happens to newspaper columnists.

Daniel Scarpinato is a former Daily Wildcat editor in chief and current editor of The Desert Yearbook. He can be reached at lletters@wildcat.arizona.edu.