If you haven't been to the Union, gone temporarily blind, or just came out of a coma in the last few days, let us inform you of an important bit of information. There is a Student Association election going on right now for President, Vice President, and SUNY Delegates.
Like high school, these elections have become something of a popularity contest, with parties being tailor-made to garner the most support from clubs. The party with the support of UB's biggest clubs usually wins.
Unlike our primary school days, however, being in the student governing body isn't largely about planning a prom and some other little events.
No, the people you elect this year will be responsible for millions of dollars, planning massive events, keeping clubs running, and a myriad of other functions.
With a huge amount of SA income coming from our $94.75 Student Activity fee, which each and every undergrad had to pay as part of their bill, it's imperative that we take the initiative.
Sadly, as a student body we haven't really cared about it in the past.
Actually, let's rephrase that: we don't care about SA elections when it counts. Remember back to fall semester, when Fall Fest acts were announced publicly. Flames of rage flew around Facebook and Twitter, complaining about how bad of an act The Fray was and that the remaining two acts were effectively nobodies.
In years past, controversy has often followed SA governments. Stories of unnecessary expenses put on our back and corruption have soured many of us to the workings of Student Government.
Just like every other year, the people who didn't live up to expectations were all elected. Nationally, elections for president have a turnout of around 55 percent, which is certainly pitiful but totally blows us out of the water at UB.
Last year's SA election had a higher turnout that previous years, at 2,680, but as a percentage of student population it was pitiful. Only around 14 percent of undergraduate students voted in the election. That means that only about 10 percent of students actually voted for the candidates that won the election.
We understand that it's not always easy to vote. Not every student goes through the Union on his or her way to class. Some students, mainly science students, might never even come close to the union if they don't need to.
That doesn't remove us of responsibility, however. Not a single one of us has the right to complain about a bad spring fest, useless functions, or bad management of clubs if we didn't inform ourselves about the candidates and vote.
A better knowledge of what exactly SA does would help encourage people to vote, and that would seem to be a natural topic for UB 101, but the class is all but useless except for teaching people about using condoms and spacing out your drinks. On top of that, not many people even take it.
Yet somehow, candidates always seem to bring the class up in their platform as a way to inform students about SA. Just scrap the whole thing and set up a table in Knox and get people to listen when it's a high traffic time before class.
Democracy requires us all to be informed and active to work, or else it becomes a fancy game of name recognition. This year we have three distinctly different choices, a luxury that we don't often get. Take advantage and make a difference.
The Spectrum's endorsements and profiles of each of the candidates can be found on our website, ubspectrum.com.
