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St. Cloud State University
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Commentary
Election stirs political action
Published:
Monday, March 29, 2004
It is tempting to descend into the depths of apathy, into thinking that the world is doomed and that there is nothing you, or anyone else can do about it.
A then-member of the student government wrote a letter to the editor last year, voicing frustrations for the apathy this individual felt had consumed the student body. However, things may be changing.
If the healthy turnout experienced during the vote to approve withdrawing from MSUSA is any type of indicator, perhaps the upcoming elections will show a more active, politically-minded student body.
This is extremely comforting in many ways. Maybe students are realizing that as paying customers to the university, decisions regarding university policy on issues ranging from funding for student organizations to tuition increases affect them directly. They will hopefully also realize they do have a voice and that it can affect change on the system. Just look to the example of student government feeling mistreated by MSUSA. In a year when our nation is facing an election, this message is more important than ever.
Submissions to the opinions page of the Chronicle in recent weeks have shown a wealth of positions on the Bush administration and the presidential race. Public discontent over issues like the war in Iraq are stirring many into action. As reported in last week's issue of Citypages, this outcry is empowering the national media to be more critical. With all of these factors, and with television news coverage bombarding viewers 24-hours a day, there seems to be no escaping politics.
And why should we want one?
America is a country that desperately needs its citizens to become politically active, to practice their democratic right, in short: to vote.
And for those who are intimidated by the practice of democracy on a national scale, those who still feel their voice is lost in a system too large, there's no better place to start than local politics. And for the SCSU student body, this means the upcoming student government elections.
In last year's student senate election, 15 candidates ran for 16 slots. A write-in candidate was elected to the 16th slot. What this means is that anyone - literally anyone - can be an SCSU student senator and can be catapulted into position to make decisions that effect everyone.
Isn't that in itself proof that one student can make a difference? It could be the first step toward realizing the power the individual wields in a democracy, the power that too often goes unused and overlooked.
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