2008 Woodie Awards
Who Cares About Your Voice, Anyway?
Political Apathy At Colorado School of Mines Fosters Totalitarianism
By Hilary Brown
4/11/07 - Opinion
Political apathy runs rampant at Mines: it's a slow, seething sickness, coughing that "I don't care," and "I don't have time."
Well, it's time to take time. Political apathy on a national level is at least forgivable-you obviously don't know any of the candidates or have any personal connection to the issues. But, when it comes to voting regionally, nay locally, one cannot afford to be passive.
Voting for members of the Associated Students of the Colorado School of Mines (ASCSM) is imperative-such members are charged with representing the whole campus. They communicate with the Board of Trustees, allocate money to clubs and organizations, monitor student publications, approve new clubs, and propose policy changes.
This year, voting occurred on Trailhead and, though there were problems with the system (see News….), it made voting incredibly easy (once I found the voting tab, of course). Students had the opportunity to vote for their ASCSM representatives, as well as the Intermodel Transportation Fee. Yet, only 781 students voted-out of a campus of more than 3000 students!
The transportation fee generated slim controversy, with a few Facebook groups to either promote or impede its progress. However, outside of Facebook, I found no evidence of political debate. Facebook could be the next great political forum, but how hard is it to actually get involved? Show your face at some of the meetings around campus to address student issues. Better yet, run for an ASCSM position.
There are twenty-one elected positions for ASCSM, in addition, there are three appointed positions. This year, five of twenty-one positions (that's almost 24%) were unfilled as of elections: no one wanted the positions. Of the remaining sixteen positions, so many were uncontested (13 positions) that to call what happened last week an election is a disservice to the term. It was like voting in a totalitarian state…sure, you can vote, but there's only one box to check.
Well, it's time to take time. Political apathy on a national level is at least forgivable-you obviously don't know any of the candidates or have any personal connection to the issues. But, when it comes to voting regionally, nay locally, one cannot afford to be passive.
Voting for members of the Associated Students of the Colorado School of Mines (ASCSM) is imperative-such members are charged with representing the whole campus. They communicate with the Board of Trustees, allocate money to clubs and organizations, monitor student publications, approve new clubs, and propose policy changes.
This year, voting occurred on Trailhead and, though there were problems with the system (see News….), it made voting incredibly easy (once I found the voting tab, of course). Students had the opportunity to vote for their ASCSM representatives, as well as the Intermodel Transportation Fee. Yet, only 781 students voted-out of a campus of more than 3000 students!
The transportation fee generated slim controversy, with a few Facebook groups to either promote or impede its progress. However, outside of Facebook, I found no evidence of political debate. Facebook could be the next great political forum, but how hard is it to actually get involved? Show your face at some of the meetings around campus to address student issues. Better yet, run for an ASCSM position.
There are twenty-one elected positions for ASCSM, in addition, there are three appointed positions. This year, five of twenty-one positions (that's almost 24%) were unfilled as of elections: no one wanted the positions. Of the remaining sixteen positions, so many were uncontested (13 positions) that to call what happened last week an election is a disservice to the term. It was like voting in a totalitarian state…sure, you can vote, but there's only one box to check.
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