Yahoo.

Yes, it’s true, last week’s Student Association Executive Board elections did set a voter turnout record. A whopping 3,800 student voters came out to the polls during the two-day election, more than a thousand above last year’s turnout.

Ah, but let’s hear percentages, you say. OK. What a 3,800-voter turnout means in percentages is that roughly 85 percent of the student population did not come out and vote.

Complaints aside, the increased turnout is something that should be recognized. It means, at the very least, that students are becoming interested in the elections themselves, something which could never be said in the past.

Granted, some of this interest might be due to mudslinging and rumors of dirty campaigning, but that forced students to delve deeper into the issues at hand.

Moreover, an increased turnout perhaps means that students are becoming much more interested and concerned with the issues that affect them and the political people who are in a position to deal with these issues.

In addition, it hopefully means more confidence in the SA and more attention directed to it by the the student populace. And that can only make the group stronger. Students seem to be enthused about the SA now, instead of not caring whether it’s around at all.

The SA has to take advantage of this renewed enthusiasm and interest in the issues and keep it fresh.