Get to know your candidates
Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: Opinion
As students of a major American university, it seems plausible to believe student government officials have more responsibility than simply looking sharp in front of a seal and lectern.
The Student Government Association at Western Illinois University is currently going through the election process, candidates making their cases, all while attempting to seal the deal with their peers and followers.
Among the positions one may see strewn across campus in the form of campaign posters include president and vice president, senator at large and board of trustees student representative. One may simply look at all of these positions as cogs in a machine that must use a series of moving parts collaboratively to achieve determined goals.
Student governmental officials have more influence than one may believe. They are allowed to make recommendations to "the powers that be" on topics such as student fees and future campus construction projects.
In terms of student fees, the SGA takes the initiative to review proposed increases made by the administration, and, in turn, make a recommendation of their own, a recommendation which President Al Goldfarb seriously considers.
Students should seriously consider the responsibility, and, essentially, the opportunity they are placing in the hands of their student leaders. It's not very often that a student gets the chance to make and hone important decisions that may prove to be detrimental to the university as a whole.
There are few pointers that students may want to consider when thinking about casting a ballot.
First, don't vote for a candidate because they're your friend. Make your vote based on a conscious, informative effort to learn as much as you can about each candidate. Talk to them on campus, ask them questions and if you are confused about a point they're trying to make, refute and ask them to clarify.
Furthermore, don't let yourself vote based on how "cool" or how big a candidate's poster may be. They're pieces of paper, folks. There's only so much one can learn from a candidate's picture, such as how they look and how they look smiling, which, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't prove a whole lot.
Finally, perhaps students may find the famous words of the Chicago crime boss Al Capone to be quite useful: Vote early and vote often.
The Student Government Association at Western Illinois University is currently going through the election process, candidates making their cases, all while attempting to seal the deal with their peers and followers.
Among the positions one may see strewn across campus in the form of campaign posters include president and vice president, senator at large and board of trustees student representative. One may simply look at all of these positions as cogs in a machine that must use a series of moving parts collaboratively to achieve determined goals.
Student governmental officials have more influence than one may believe. They are allowed to make recommendations to "the powers that be" on topics such as student fees and future campus construction projects.
In terms of student fees, the SGA takes the initiative to review proposed increases made by the administration, and, in turn, make a recommendation of their own, a recommendation which President Al Goldfarb seriously considers.
Students should seriously consider the responsibility, and, essentially, the opportunity they are placing in the hands of their student leaders. It's not very often that a student gets the chance to make and hone important decisions that may prove to be detrimental to the university as a whole.
There are few pointers that students may want to consider when thinking about casting a ballot.
First, don't vote for a candidate because they're your friend. Make your vote based on a conscious, informative effort to learn as much as you can about each candidate. Talk to them on campus, ask them questions and if you are confused about a point they're trying to make, refute and ask them to clarify.
Furthermore, don't let yourself vote based on how "cool" or how big a candidate's poster may be. They're pieces of paper, folks. There's only so much one can learn from a candidate's picture, such as how they look and how they look smiling, which, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't prove a whole lot.
Finally, perhaps students may find the famous words of the Chicago crime boss Al Capone to be quite useful: Vote early and vote often.
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Bull Dozer
posted 4/08/09 @ 9:13 PM CST
"....major American University..."
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