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Until 1865, African Americans did not have the right to vote.
For women, it wasn’t until 1920.
Today, candidates and slates were announced for the 2008 Student Government Association elections and, as every year, few students will participate in the process of selecting the University of Louisville’s future student leaders.
So why is it that many students shirk the right and civil duty of voting when so many people had to fight to receive it?
Although much of the blame can be directed toward a stagnated student government, one must not omit the obvious. All sides can take blame for not improving student involvement and overall participation with issues that directly involve U of L’s student body.
SGA, and its $600,000 goose egg of a budget, cannot properly represent the student body at U of L with university policy as well as funding student organizations. Although much of their budget is appropriated toward U of L’s overwhelming amount of Recognized Student Organizations, including $230,000 to the Student Activities Board in the 2006-07 fiscal year, the financial excuse doesn’t work with the average U of L student.
Candidates continue to run on platforms with stale issues, promising changes to problems such as parking and campus beautification that never seem to improve. The aforementioned promises, along with numerous others, seem to drag on each year without any results, except, of course, the results of garnering enough votes to win these mundane elections.
A student government on a college campus should function as the fulcrum of the university, the point at which students are lifted up to greater heights. But each year our SGA seems to falter on promises and students remain at the same place they were the year before.
However, the blame doesn’t lie solely with a few SGA members. Instead, it lies with all U of L students. A na’ve and uninvolved student body simply breeds ignorance. Students cannot expect their student government to fully represent them and make a significant change without pushing them. One must question one’s government in order for that government to question itself. A student government without student participation will not represent the myriad of voices because they simply do not hear them. Or, perhaps, they simply do not ask them.
The student body must not simply follow; instead they must question and insist upon change. Those who choose not to question their leaders will ultimately sacrifice not just their right as American citizens, but their voices as well.
