EDITORIAL: A honogenous student gov't

If students don't want all UA seats filled by members of one organization, they have to get out and vote. But it's not a good idea to have the IFC gaining as many seats as possible on the UA in order to further IFC issues. While we understand that UA members are responsible for their constituencies, this could conceivably give a special interest group on campus a majority in student government. If you don't want to see a unified special interest group gain a majority on the UA, then the tendency of student apathy needs to be reversed. More students will need to vote. In last year's UA elections, only 25 percent of the student body voted. That 25 percent is less than the total amount of Greeks on campus. Approximately 30 percent of the student body belongs to Greek organizations. It is conceivable that the IFC will garner enough votes to elect all their candidates to the UA, especially if all Greek members vote. Although IFC President Matt Baker said the IFC deserves more representation, we disagree. The IFC is already proportionally represented on the UA to their representation in the student body. Ten out of 34 UA members -- about one-third -- are in fraternities or sororities. Regardless of the issue of the IFC, more students should be encouraged to vote in this year's student government elections. For the first time in several years, students will have the opportunity to learn more about the candidate other than what's in the standard two-page NEC elections layout since the gag rule has been lifted. Previously, candidates running for election were not allowed to talk to the press. Not only do we want to encourage people to vote but we want to encourage them to run for positions as well. It's good that IFC members care enough about the issues facing the UA that they want to run for membership. But we'd also like to see students from all types of groups or just those who have an interest in student government to consider running. The more diverse representation the UA has, the greater the likelihood that a greater variety of issues will be addressed.