EDITORIAL & OPINION: A call to get out the vote

Elections begin today for student government. Vote, and take the time to learn about the candidates. A crowded field of candidates, 53 in all, are vying for your votes, competing for 25 positions on the Undergraduate Assembly. Candidates for class boards are also on the ballot. We encourage all students to vote between now and March 29. And we hope students will take the time to learn about the candidates before casting their ballots. One excellent opportunity to do so is tomorrow's Get Out the Vote party, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on College Green. Free food is the least of the reasons to show up and meet the candidates, or at least hear them speak. We know full well that in years past, students who took the time to become educated about the candidates before voting were in the minority. Indeed, only a third of students voted at all last year -- and that was considered a spectacular turn out. But times have changed and so have the number of excuses for failing to cast an informed vote. This year, for the first time, the Nominations and Elections Committee will be conducting on-line balloting. Additionally, the NEC will be using the World Wide Web to publish position statements at a greater length than in years past. While the NEC will continue to operate polling stations for the time being, the move toward on-line elections stands to save the organization considerable amounts of money that can now be put toward voter awareness campaigns rather than election-related paperwork. But more importantly, on-line voting and on-line candidate statements make it easier than ever to cast an informed vote for the students who will represent you over the coming year. Of course, you can choose not to participate in this process. But if you don't vote now, please don't expect the UA to represent your interests later. In a year when only the Nursing School's UA seat is uncontested, we hope all students will take advantage of the NEC's move to cyberspace. Just point your Web browser to http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~nec/vote.html, and take a moment to ensure that our student government represents you.