By the time this issue is published, the elections for main campus President/Vice-President will be half over. They begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, April 21, and run through 5 p.m. on April 24. Right now, you’re probably saying to yourself, why should I care about somebody at main campus? Because these are YOUR elected officials, they represent YOU and make decisions that affect YOU, and because YOU pay THEM!What? You didn’t know that part of the fees you pay each quarter go to give the main campus Student Body President FREE Tuition, FREE Parking and a FREE dorm room? The Vice-President receives FREE tuition. This is supposed to leave them with more time on their hands to be able to help and represent you, the average student.
This year, there are four separate ‘slates’ of P/VP that are seeking your vote. On Monday, April 21, Team SG brought representatives of each slate to the Muntz Lobby, to explain their platform and petition your vote. Maybe you stopped by and listened to one of them talk, while enjoying the free pizza and pop provided by the main campus Student Government, and maybe they convinced you to go online and vote. EVERY registered UC student has the opportunity to go online and vote for one of these slates to represent them next year. Go to www.uc.edu/elections and use your login and pin that you use to register for classes or check your grades. It’s quick and simple, and it is one of the rights we sometimes take for granted in our everyday lives.
I’m not writing this in support of any one slate over another. I have a definite choice and know things about each of the slates that I can tell you if you want to ask. I just want to see the RW student population have a greater voice in their choice of a leader. Two of the slates asked me to be a part of their election campaign committees. Individuals at main campus are finally starting to view RW as a part of the UC whole, and it is an untapped resource. Last spring, of the 3000+ registered RW students, 19 of them took the time to vote. That’s pretty bad. I heard someone comment that no matter how hard I tried, I could not get more than 100 votes out of RW this year (which is still not a lot, but it is a start). I really hope that you take a moment to help prove them wrong.
Thank you, and I hope to see you voting when our own elections occur on May 5-6!
Tim Bentley, SG President