The virtues of voting in ASUA elections

The whole elections process may seem nothing to get excited about to all but the actual candidates involved. The average student can choose to pay little or no attention to the sunburned politician hawking for students' votes. But after all the hoopla is gone, students will realize this is not the government they wanted.

What happened to accountability, accessibility and all the other campaign slogans students were bombarded with during the elections? Soon the newspaper will be full of the exploits and machinations of ASUA's elected officials. We will read commentaries decrying the end of responsible student government and recommending that students revolt in order to form a new government. It's as if this campus goes through the same routine of apathy and disillusionment in the same fashion that influenza spreads during winter.

During the next two days, some students will throw up their hands and say what's the use in voting. Many students will reason that elections are simply a waste of time and money, where nothing is really accomplished but to elect the next student figurehead. However, there will be many others who will declare that it is your constitutional right and duty as a citizen to vote. You will hear dissertations on why voting is so central to democracy and that without democratic elections our whole society would collapse. But the average student should take a step back from these extremes and look at the basic fundamentals of voting in their student government elections.

The main focus of this election is to select your next student leaders. Putting aside some people's whining and screaming, these students will represent you at every level, from the university to the federal government. They will interact with university administrators, faculty and with students like yourself to help decide policies such as tuition rates. Important student life issues such as the new Student Union and childcare facility will also be addressed by these new student leaders.

ASUA has already made great strides through the efforts of some ASUA officials. Students will not be saddled with a fee to pay for Student Union renovations. Many other individuals in ASUA are doggedly working to get a childcare facility on campus, to make sure that students have a voice in the new Student Union, and to constantly remind the legislature that education should not be the first cut on the chopping block.

When you're at the ballot box, you will have the opportunity to select which policies you want implemented through a vote for a candidate. Sadly some of the most popular policies on the agenda are never addressed because a minority often makes choices for the majority. There are also several underpinning concepts that would be addressed if you vote. There are many students who feel that ASUA has drifted too far from its roots - the students. ASUA has simply lost touch with the students it was supposed to represent.. Like one candidate said, ASUA is like a car with all four wheels gone.

If ASUA has strayed from its original purpose, put them back into place. Send a message through the ballot box that this campus has had enough of the juvenile politics and that it is time to address the serious issues that the average student faces. The students have already demonstrated their powerful voice when they resoundingly said no to a Student Union fee. It doesn't take much for the students to speak but when they do, it is heard loud and clear.

While the ASUA President and Elections Commissioner can lecture you on the virtues of voting, the ultimate power lies with you. ASUA would not be here if a few thousand students hadn't cared enough to vote in the last election. Your student leaders are your leaders regardless of if you voted for them or not. At least take the opportunity to select your choice on the ballot. Your voice is your vote.