Students might win the argument but lose the battle if they don’t fight some DeKalb leader’s suggestions to create two at-large alderman.

DeKalb will have to redraw the ward maps soon to accommodate the 1990 census and the hottest idea around is to have five ward aldermen and two city-wide aldermen.

In this scenario, students would probably constitute a majority in no more than two wards. Due to the majority of votes the rest of the city has, the two city-wide aldermen would almost certainly not be students.

This would effectively reduce student representation on the council from three to two out of seven.

There is nothing inherently undemocratic in having city-wide aldermen, but the problem with the proposal is its intent.

Mayor Sparrow says the at-large proposal was spurred by the dismal voter turnout in the student wards. What is being hinted at is that students should be represented according to their voting habits and not their numbers.

But to reprimand students for not voting is like restricting their freedom of speech for being silent.

Non-student DeKalb voters will probably not take this reasoning too seriously, though. Many DeKalb voters also feel students have less at stake in the community because of their temporary status.

Now students must drop their apathy and prove the city’s residents are wrong if they want to keep their current representation.