Don’t complain until after you vote for SA
September 19, 1991
It’s time to vote but is anyone going to? Not.
It’s been said a million times before and everyone will ignore what this column is about anyway.
Vote-vote-vote. One more time (to get the point across) vote-vote-vote.
All the students who don’t vote are going to be the ones to complain about what is or isn’t happening in the Student Association.
Contrary to popular belief, voting will make a difference how the government will be run. The SA controls $850,000 of your money that is allocated to most student groups, including minority groups that often complain they are not getting enough funding.
If every student voted, then the majority’s choices would be in government. That is the way our forefathers (and mothers) intended this country to be run.
Students who don’t vote might be jeopardizing things such as their tuitions. If the right SA senators are elected, they can make a difference the next time a tuition increase is considered (probably next semester if President La Tourette has his way).
Students are more excited about turning 21 than voting. The only reason students want to turn 21 is so they can go in somewhere where they weren’t allowed to go before.
When you turn 18, you get the power to do something more incredible than having a few drinks in a designated building and puking on the floor. There is a chance for you, yes—YOU, to do something to make this campus a little better.
There are many excuses not to vote. Here are a few of the more popular, creative reasons not to vote:
‘Last year, only 4 percent of the students voted. That’s equivalent to about 20 busloads of students. The moral of this? Ride the bus 20 times and then go vote.
‘I just didn’t have time. This student probably had the time to do other things. If you think you don’t have time, skip going to the bathroom one time, that’s about how long it takes to vote.
‘I don’t know enough about the candidates. This probably is true in most cases, but it is a voter’s job to at least try to get some idea of who the candidates are and what they stand for. Read the profiles from The Star.
‘It was out of my way. Hell, isn’t everything out of everybody’s way? Students have to pass by Founders Memorial Library, the PowWow or DuSable Hall at least once a day.
‘My dog ate my student I.D. Have it’s stomach pumped.
‘Not an American citizen. Don’t worry, that’s not a requirement in student elections.
‘Felony on my record. That’s not a problem here either.
‘I don’t care. Ignorance is bliss.
‘I was going to but I don’t know who my roommate voted for. Your roommate voted for Daffy Duck or Bob McBob like all the other smartasses on this campus. Be different—vote intelligently and all alone.
Whatever the excuse used, if you don’t vote then you had better keep your mouth shut for the rest of the year and not complain about the SA not doing it’s job because it is, after all, partly your fault.