▼ EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Steven Asbury
MANAGING EDITOR:
Thom Schoenbom
NIGHT EDITOR:
Jennifer Schmitt
EDITORIAL EDITORS:
Ashley Bach & Brian Diamond
mm
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ASUO fails to connect with students
■ OUR OPINION: Campus
apathy relates solely to
student government, not
general activism
As we listened to the
ASUO Executive can
didates spout their
various ideas and
thoughts about the student
body, two things were repeat
ed over and over again.
1) Students don’t care
about student government
and 2) Students are always
willing to volunteer for orga
nizations like Saferide, Sexu
al Assault Support Services
and other causes they care
about.
Both of these statements are
true. Students are apathetic to
ward the ASUO and general
EMU community. And they do
volunteer for common causes
like making campus safer and
helping victims of crime.
But none of the candidates
seemed to comprehend the trou
blesome relationship between
the two truths, and ultimately
the reason why nobody cares
about what they do or who wins
this election.
People in the ASUO com
plain the average student has no
idea what they do. They are con
vinced they affect the student
body in important, even grand
ways. Therefore, it is their job to
educate the student
Day on the deci
sions they make
and general
k ly mo
& noto
*
nous lives they maintain.
The problem is, the ASUO, as
it is now, will never fulfill this
goal. It will never convince stu
dents that student government
is something they should be in
terested in.
Much of this argument lies in
the “average student” we all like
to throw around as an example.
This person is not involved in
any student groups, unions or
government. He or she ventures
into the EMU only to study, if
that. And he or she does not give
a rip what the people in the
ASUO Executive, Student Sen
ate, Programs Finance Commit
tee or innumerable other com
mittees do. Why? Because it
does not affect his or her life.
This is even more important
because this average student
makes up the majority, or at
least a large part, of the student
body. The ASUO cares about
these people and wants to reach
them. But they say they are up
against a self-proclaimed, wide
spread “apathy.”
This apathy, however, begins
and ends with student govern
ment. Students care about is
sues that affect them, their
friends and the perception of
the greater good. They are will
ing to volunteer for organiza
tions like Saferide and SASS be
cause they feel they are making
a difference and can see tangible
results of their labor.
To the average student, noth
ing student government does is
tangible. Even big moves like
the roping off of 228 seats at a
men’s basketball game only af
fect a small number of people.
If any concern does exist
among students, it would
probably
lie in the ASUO’s handling of
incidental fees. With an estimat
ed total allocation this year of
more than $6.3 million, stu
dents would be dumb not to
care about the ASUO’s financial
activity, right? Wrong.
Most students don’t care®
much about where their /
incidental fees go or even Y\j
its minute fluctuations in
amount. The fee increas- Of
es by less than $20 a Aa
year, not nearly enough /
to make the average stu-i' / 4
dent care.
This all paints a sad I
picture, we know, but I
it’s reality. Students \
aren’t apathetic. \
They’re just smart \
enough to realize that the \
ASUO isn’t worth worrying
about on a daily basis. It’s
necessary to keep the Universi
ty going, of course. And many
student government positions
and duties are important. But
they aren’t part of students’
lives.
We hope the candidates real
ize what they’re up against. I
They can try to “reach out” to /
the student body all they want,
but will be hard-pressed to do /
much good. As it is now, the /
ASUO is a centralized opera- /
tion, not given much of a /
thought by many students, /
toiling away and “fighting for/
student interests” in obscu- /
my. miu unui genuine re
form occurs, this fact will
never change.
This editorial repre- J
sents the opinion of / J
the Emerald editor- /
ial board. /
READER VOICES
What makes your ticket the most qualified to be ASUO president and vice president?
“We're the most willing to go in
there and make some noise.
We’ve done it all year, and we'll
do it next year.”
Ben Unger
“I really think it’s time to get
somebody in there who wants to
make things interesting.”
Ed Madrid
‘twill not sleep until the library
stays open until 12 and we’ve par
tied with Ric Flair, the nature boy."
Brad Smith
“We feel we have more solid
program ideas. Instead of just
talking about campus safety,
we’re going to push for a cam
pus watch program.”
Ryan Ositis
J
“Through our combined experience
on the Student Senate, Constitu
tional Court and various student
programs, we know what needs to
be changed [with student govern
ment] and howto change it.”
James Boyd
“We've been through the elections
before. We’ve all heard the same
stuff last year. We have feasible
strategies that you can actually sit
down and explain to people.”
Brandon Lee Smith
WINNERS
Tiger Woods
The 21-year-old golf superstar set nine
records on route to winning the Masters,
including youngest winner and widest
margin of victory.
Walter Cronkite
The 80-year-old broadcaster is quickly
recovering from quadruple bypass
surgery and says he is in excellent shape.
Linda McCathern
A jury awarded the Portland woman $7.6
million after ruling that the Toyota 4
Runner she was driving was to blame for
her paralyzing car crash.
Douglas C. Engelbart
Inventor of the mouse and 20 other com
puter patents, Portland inventor Douglas
Engelbart won the $500,000 Lemelson
MIT Prize for 1997.
LOSERS
Wall Street
Fears of inflation sent the Dow plummet
ing 134.38 points last week and made in
vestors uneasy about the market’s fu
ture.
President Clinton
The President’s
line item veto
power was ruled
unconstitutional
by a U.S. District
judge.
The CIA
The CIA admitted that its own intelli
gence mistakes may have led Gulf War
soldiers to demolish an ammunition
sight filled with dangerous chemical
weapons.
Walter Conte
The high school principal was arrested
on charges of voyeurism after videotap
ing 16 cheerleaders changing behind a
two-way mirror in his home.