EDITORIAL: Reforming the system

To really improve studentTo really improve studentgovernment, the NominationsTo really improve studentgovernment, the Nominationsand Elections CommitteeTo really improve studentgovernment, the Nominationsand Elections Committeemust introduce issues intoTo really improve studentgovernment, the Nominationsand Elections Committeemust introduce issues intothe campaigning process-To really improve studentgovernment, the Nominationsand Elections Committeemust introduce issues intothe campaigning process-and let candidates speak toTo really improve studentgovernment, the Nominationsand Elections Committeemust introduce issues intothe campaigning process-and let candidates speak tothe press.To really improve studentgovernment, the Nominationsand Elections Committeemust introduce issues intothe campaigning process-and let candidates speak tothe press.______________________________ What have we learned from this process? Well, as much as we criticize the Undergraduate Assembly for its inefficiency and inability to get things done, students seem to be pleased with the UA's structure and its potential to allow their voices to be heard. In fact, UA members have shown that, on occasion, they can effect change, as in the creation of an express lunch line in the Stouffer dining hall. Before the election process rolls around next year, the Nominations and Elections Committee needs to take a serious look at its system. As currently constituted, the NEC procedure for student government races reserves no place for constructive discourse on campus issues. Instead, it compresses candidates' ideas into one-paragraph sound bites in a Daily Pennsylvanian ad. They can't talk to the press, and they can't debate policy with each other on UTV13 (forgetting for the moment that at least half of the undergraduate student body doesn't have access to that station). Students go to the polls and cast votes based almost solely on name recognition, or on whatever candidates' proposals sound most outrageous -- remember Evian machines in the gyms? Additionally, the allotted "campaign period" is ridiculously short. Candidates get more time to gather signatures on their nomination petitions than they do to promote their ideas and tell voters why they are better qualified than their opponents. Style, not substance, is emphasized. Even students who receive electoral mandates from their peers don't really represent the views of undergraduates at large. At some of our peer institutions, student government accomplishes great things. Cornell's student assembly, for example, has created a scholarship fund from a small percentage of student fees, to help undergraduates who are on financial aid. Students here have the same potential to revolutionize student life, through innovative thinking and teamwork with administrators. Unfortunately, none of this potential will be realized until the right people start running for the UA. And that won't happen until the NEC wakes up, and adjusts its system to reflect the realities of the present day.