With a consistently low voter turnout at elections like the student mandatory fee referendum and once-bustling Student Association forums being cancelled due to lack of interest, sometimes it feels like the only thing students know how to do is to complain about an issue rather than commit to enact change; and it is nice to see, even though it is only a small portion of the UB student body, that some students are trying to do something for an issue that they feel strongly about. The least of what we can say about this situation is that it is far better than the student apathy that typically inhabits a college student body, but the keyword in that statement is "least."
The new group UB Anti-War is a non-Student Association organization composed by students that have genuine concerns and passions concerning the concept of war and its place in present-day society. The group has established a set of guiding principles about war and they certainly have a lot to say about it. They represent an opinion about our nation's actions in Iraq, and these opinions are surely ones internalized by an alarming number of students, but they take it one step farther; they act of these internalized beliefs.
On Tuesday they marched through North Campus as a protest. The march involved more than 100 students, and that number only increases when you include the countless number of people who watched them during a peak time of the school day. They did not put a huge administrative change into motion or radically change the outlook of the war in Iraq, but they did draw attention to the group and they did open some eyes.
The spirit is there and the organizing is beginning, but much can still be done to turn this organization and movement into something much more far-reaching and influential. Establishing a Facebook group and chalking the sidewalks with advertisements are a first step, but if they are truly passionate for change they need to look beyond that. How many of these members are attending forums and meetings with administration and other influential members of the community? While spending their time marching this Tuesday, how many got around to voting in a significant mid-term election with grave consequences about war on the line? They can break down barriers and demand change, but they must realize that to make change they must follow rules and work within the preexisting constructs of our community.
Potential is a dangerous thing, and that is one thing UB Anti-War certainly has in abundance. But of course potential isn't everything.
Wield the power you've earned
Newly elected officials need to capitalize on their new beginning
The day has come and now gone and all we can say is we're done; we're done with making voting decisions, watching questionable TV spots trashing the competition, and we're temporarily done with the surmounting scandals that won't resurface until the next election. With new individuals in office and a new balance in political party presence, lets put campaigning behind us, mop up the mud and get to work.
Congratulations to the hard-working politicians that earned their newly elected positions, and lets only hope that those subject of scandal and over-the-top mudslinging who still were elected will settle down and take on the issue changes the people need and want. For those with a previous track record of success like Elliot Spitzer, continue with the same vigilant drive for change as seen in past years; and for those less experienced in the political realm may you find the right track early and often.
At every midterm election we must embrace the changing of the guard. Lame duck politicians who feel they are elected for life cannot be allowed that comfort anymore. Politicians need to bring better efforts and bigger ideas to the table, and they need to seek change when a law or an action is not working. For some strange reason this concept is thought to be of an idealist, but that is certainly not the case. Politicians should be expected to change things if they are not working, that is very simple, and in our current state there are many broken things in need of fixing.
Get a few good things done - things that could not have been possible with past political imbalances - before more change arrives again in '08.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
