VOTING
continued from page 1
not alone in their apathy.
"I don't think that student elections
are much different than any other
elections," Melton said. "It's hard to
engage young folks in political
processes ... 1 think that if we could
learn how to engage students in the
political process at large, you would
see the trend of voting go way up."
The dangers of low
voter turnout
Voter turnout on the University cam
pus is low, and many student govern
ment officials and University experts
see this trend as a serious problem.
"It's definitely a problem when
17,000 students on this campus are
affected by the ASUO, and only a
small portion of them realize it,"
ASUO Elections Coordinator
Stephanie Day said.
University political scientist and
survey researcher Joel Bloom said
that when voter turnout is low, or
ganized student groups find it easier
to elect the leaders that will repre
sent their interests. The problem is
those leaders may not represent the
interests of the majority.
"The most obvious impact (of low
voter turnout) is that organized
groups have a big advantage,"
Bloom said. "That's one of the rea
sons the greek system has been so
successful in ASUO elections."
Some think low voter turnout is
not necessarily hurtful to a democ
racy, however. Bloom said there is
one vein of thought in political sci
ence that suggests low voter turnout
may actually be a good thing, be
cause those who refrain from voting
either don't care or aren't educated
on the issues or candidates anyway.
But ASUO President-elect Adam
Nationwide decline in college age voting
Source: Committee for the study of the American Electorate
Career Center
220 Hendricks Hali* (541) 346-3235
http://uocareer.uoregon.edu
O
GOT A STORY IDEA?
Petkun said it's hard to find a stu
dent who doesn't care at all about
housing standards or tuition hikes.
Also, all students, regardless of their
involvement in ASIIO programs,
have a stake in how their incidental
fees are spent.
Petkun said it's easy for candidates
to campaign to students involved in
greek organizations, club sports,
ASUO programs and residence hall
inhabitants, because they are the
easiest to access in group settings.
He agreed with Bloom that this tac
tic can alienate students not in
volved in these organizations.
"It's supposed to be a representa
tive government, and it's hard to say
that you're representing everyone
when only a small number of peo
ple turn out to vote," Petkun said.
Contact the campus/federal
politics reporter
at jaredpaben@dailyemerald.com.
CAMPUS
BUZZ
Wednesday
Men's Center Walkathon Against Sexual As
sault, EMU Amphitheater, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Caregiver Support Group, EMU Board Room,
noon-1 p.m.
Student Travel Fund Presentation, Room 206,
Lawrence Hall, noon-1 p.m.
William Sullivan reads from his book “Cabin
Fever: Notes From a Part-Time Pioneer,"
Browsing Room, Knight Library, 7 p.m.
GIVE
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Run your "for sale" ad (items under $1,000)
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LAZAR’S BAZAR
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57 W. Broadway • 687-0139
Downtown
= ‘select items only
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