The great thing about living in America is having the right to choose.

We have the right to choose where we eat, what we say and who we associate with. We also have the ability to choose whether we vote.

Unfortunately, this week’s campus election shows that is the only political choice we have at NIU. Sure, we can choose to turn in a ballot or we can choose to further the lazy college stereotype and not voice an opinion.

But that is it. Why? Because of the eight positions that will be determined by this week’s campaigns, only one is contested. That’s right, seven candidates are running unopposed.

So yes, we have the right to vote or not. But we don’t have a choice in who we vote for if we exercise that right.

How does a college with more than 25,000 students provide only nine people interested in the executive positions in the Campus Activities Board and the Student Association?

Even high schools with just 100 people have contested races for class president.

Yet only the Student Association vice president position has more than one person interested. This creates an environment where candidates don’t feel pressured to perform.

Sunday’s Student Association meeting is a perfect example. A mere two days before the official “election,” candidates joked that there wasn’t even a race taking place this week and seemed otherwise uninterested in the looming decision.

If an open election is meant to ensure the best interests of students, there should be more than one option. With the various lifestyles and views on a campus as diverse as NIU, it is naive and unfair to assume one candidate can represent everyone. An environment without choice is an environment of apathy. And being this apathetic is pathetic.

These limited candidates may be the best people for the job, but they should never be the only people for the job.