Cast a vote for responsibility

Student government elections on this campus have become -- for many of us -- something of a joke. We flip through the DP and look at people telling us about their strip-club encounters or how they just wanted to get their picture in the newspaper. They flyer the campus or get URLs of their full name in order to promote themselves. "Meet the candidates" turns into "free food" with very little interaction taking place. Are these the reasons we don't take the UA seriously? Well, I can always throw in the lack of interaction with the student body, the lack of influence it seems to have on campus and the lack of views and opinions represented. Not to mention that some individuals seem more interested in padding their resumes than doing anything for the student body. So maybe the UA is a joke. Well if it is, it's the only joke I know with a big fat wallet. The UA's decisions affect virtually every performer, Greek, intramural and club athlete and organization member on this campus. The body helps administrators decide whether our drunken offenses become public record. They bring rooftop basketball courts to parking garages and El Diner to Walnut Street. And once elections are over, they do all of this absent of any direct, mandatory participation from the rest of us. Whether we realize it or not, the UA does have plenty of power on this campus. And at this time every year, we decide which individuals we're going to hand that power over to. Actually, let's correct that: 30 percent of us decide who's going to command our million dollars and a lot of influence on this campus. Thirty percent of this campus is not a big portion. And I would hardly say it's representative of the entire student population. Most only vote if they are friends with someone running, or have some vested stake in the outcome of the election. Which means that you 7,000 people who aren't voting let nepotism elect your student government. The worst part is that nothing ever changes -- every year the same people get elected to UA, the same "interpretations" of what students want are voiced and the UA really just furthers its own agenda. Because the 30 percent of us who vote elect the same people! Obviously nothing's going to change as long as the same cycle repeats itself. So with that said, let's move on to what can be done. The first step is to make the conscious decision to vote, if only to alter the status quo. Second, decide if you really like the way things have been going. If not, don't re-elect any of the incumbents. Next, learn about who you're going to vote for. I sat and read the candidate statements about three times. I probably could reach a more informed decision by reading their horoscopes. At least Sydney Omarr tells you about what's going to happen instead of what he did when he was president of Student Council in eighth grade. Sometimes the candidates exude off a sense of entitlement, as if we owe them a vote simply because they're putting out the effort to run. If anything, they owe us. What are they going to do for Penn? Find out what they plan on doing in the future. Send them e-mail and see who responds. Then look around -- there are so many ways in which this University could better serve its students. That's what the UA is here for, as long as we keep them on task. Let them know that this isn't just an extracurricular for their resume. If they want to represent 10,000 students, it's time for them to go to work and individually take responsibility for the voices of the Penn community. But there's a flip side to that responsibility. It requires us to log on to PennInTouch and take the five seconds to vote. If you're sick of hearing the same promises every year from the same people, make the effort to shake things up. Because, ultimately, the 20 minutes you take to make an informed vote will result in a UA that can honestly say it represents the needs of the student body.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.