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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2008)
6 Clackamas Print Wednesday, May 7, 2008 EDITORIAL The proper role of student government The better the checks and balances are in a system of government, the better chance it has to improve and avoid corruption. There are no checks and b< Clackamas Associated Student Go and no importance is set on fairness. As a result, Clackamas’ ASG is a poor pie of what a student government can be. It’s not even a government. It’s a club. The only difference ASG has club pertains to the magnitude oi It would be interesting to see how much gr the Global Activism Club could do with over a budget in the hundreds of ASG could be a great resource 1 Instead, it has become a bimonth’ * -a burger stand paid for with student fees. To the knowledge of most students, this the only thing ASG does. It is important to acknowledge that ASG 1 raised funds for many charities over the yean The Gaekamas Print has seen first-hand the good student government has done for students. It’s important for a student government to improve its community, but it should not aban don the community. ASG could earn back a great deal of good will by increasing grants and loans to students who can barely afford the $5-per-credit-hour increase it chose to support last term. It would also benefit the student body if ASG made its services a little better known. Perhaps energy could be spent on letting students know that ASG can offer them a wide array of emergency loans. This neglect of student interest is a direct result of the manner in which student govern ment operates. It ignores questions and critiques, and sys tematically expels any persons who suggest new ideas or ask hard questions - tactics remini scent of some of the worst and most crooked govern ments the world has ever known. How can a government ensure stability and fairness when the president of ASG handpicks all officers and senators except for the vice president? What if the president of foe United States was able to handpick the members of Congress? If the president wasn’t a completely upstanding individual, he or she could get away with any thing, as the people selected to supervise would not object In order to run for ASG president, a person must be a member of student government. In order to be a member of ASG, he or she must be selected by ASG. The college no longer offers leadership class es for students to take that would qualify them to run for president without first being selected. That is not democracy. That is a joke. Most student governments within United States colleges and universities have a much larger number of elected offices than simply the president and vice president If s not entirely those student governments tend to substantial services for their student body. Those who advise officers and senators at Clackamas should be more concerned about the kind of fixture politicians and government officials they are grooming. Clackamas is a mi thecoantty.lt may just be a student gov in teeny tiny Oregon City, but one of these these people will take office in the real carrying all of their bad habits and se -perpetuating tactics with them. For now, ASG has lost si of its real pur- pose: to serve students. Instead, it seems it is mserv- ing burgers. The Clackamas Print The Clackamas. Print 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 503-657-6958, ext. 2309 Youth apathy and the vo J ohn H urlburt THE CLACKAMAS PRINT In junior high school, I was a fanatic about politics. Politics became what I read, what I obsessed over and what I wrote songs about in my first “band.” At one point, a group of friends and I started a protest against foe war in Iraq, which at the time was just beginning. Tn the protest we all wore armbands that had “impeach W” printed on them. Five years later, it seems a lot has changed, and I am finding it really hard to get motivated about politics. Hard to care The problem’s not merely mine, though; all over the nation, college students are finding it difficult to care about politics. Youth apathy is a feet made brilliantly clear when you look at the percentage of young people who choose to vote. According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, in the 2004 presidential elec tion, the percentage of registered voters under the age of 25 who cast their vote was 54.4, whereas the percentage of voters age 25 and older was 74. Why aren’t youth motivated anymore? In the ’60s and ’70s, students were among Dear Editor: I want to start with a thank- you for recognizing Kate Gray for making the decision to ride her bike, but most importantly, her leadership on helping all of us by reducing her carbon foot print. I think this is such a big problem, and most of us are not even aware of it The more we talk about this, the more we educate and, in turn, can make a big difference. Going green, carbon foot prints and global warming are a few topics I’m passionate about and have been studying in depth. I’m proud to be a student at a college that is trying to make a difference in such big issues. When people like Kate start doing things like riding her the most boisterous groups. Now, we have relegated ourselves into a dingy comer of a whorehouse, where our voice doesn’t matter because we’re too silent to be heard. I can’t speak for the millions of voters out there, but many individuals my age are discouraged or apathetic toward the political process. What I have noticed is a feeling of hope lessness. Some don’t feel like their vote makes a difference, and for a lot of reasons Ibis is understandable. Our country doesn’t vote democratically. Instead, we have a system in which citizens vote for a representative and the representative votes for the president Originally, the electoral colleges were insti tuted to give every state a fair say, but foe system has become dated. As opposed to promising a fair political process, the colleges ensure that Americans don’t technically vote for foe president - foe representative who foe people elect votes for foe president. What is the pant? Not only does it mean foe popular vote isn’t meaningfill, but the representative dected to vote for the nation’s leader can change his or her vote and earn foe title of “faithless elector.” The mudslinging campaigns that we endure every four years spread so much disinforma tion that it becomes difficult to decode the candidates’true character. This has resulted in foe general public get ting stuck watching two actors in a Wild West showdown in which whoever has the best bike 12 miles from Sellwood, it inspires me to start making changes in my attitude and life style. Thank you for foe inspira tion, and I hope to see more ar ticles like this. - Jackie Wheeler Dear Editor: The fact that Hillary Clinton is one of “the agents of change” for our country is, in my opin ion, very foolish. This reminds me of old-Eng- lish monarchs with the office re maining in the family over the years - similar to Bush senior and Bush junior. The policies that Bill Clinton represented for his wife were things such as the problems in the economy, healthcare and trade. Editor in Chief: Megan Koler Copy Editor: Colleen Watkins News EditonuLydia E. Bashaw A d M anager : Meredith James A&C Editor: Emily Walters Sporte Editor: Andrea Simpson • Feature Editor: Kyle Steele Photo Editor: Kayla Berge Opinion Editor: Armondo Borboa Photo Associate: John Shufelt Kenton Benfield, Robert Crawford, Matthew Garrison, John Petty, Lisa Sellars, Jess Sheppard News Associate: John Hurlburt campaign and the most money i When voter turnout for you high in foe ’60s and ’70s, there v cast ballots, and it was called the The issues today have very I young voters. Rather, politicians pay attend lems that affect most of foe in make foe effort to fill out a ballot of this is prescription drug costs to the elderly vote. The result of foe current red tern is that Americans are no paradox. Young voters aren’t voting have no passion for what candid ising. At the same time, topics fa foe youth vote are being ign candidates do not want to waste money on a demographic that their campaign. Lying liars It’s true that candidates oftet themselves. It’s also true that ot necessarily be a factor in foe big Regardless, I believe we nee We need to exercise that rigl way important issues will be t with foe power to change them When I cast a ballot, I am sa voice, and it needs to be heard." In all honesty, I am going to1 party in foe upcoming election, been told is a throw-away vote. To me, that’s not what it is. show what you stand for, not fi willing to settle with. He said that “she has the best ideas, the best record of achievement and the greatest likelihood for turning this econ omy around.” Hillary Clinton’s foreign policies seem to reflect other not-so-pleasant outcomes. Her statement recently on “obliterating” Iran would basi cally continue the Bush admin istration’s policies: keeping the economy crippled, healthcare impossible to uphold and trade an absolute mess. Our nation is already drown ing in war debt, and “obliterat ing a nation will jack the debts up to an unbelievable level. Due to these circumstances, I believe that the Clintons are not in the business of change, but of simply keeping the presi dency in the family. - Rachel Schreindl P roduction A ssistant : Mallory Bashaw S taff W riters / P hotographers : D epartment A dviser : Melissa Jones D epartment S ecretary : Pat Thompson Dear Editor: I am writing a i majority of what’ today’s (Wednesc paper. Plain and simi The only aiti was worth readini covering the top« der individuals. While foe spe pertaining to CO the rest just seemi I believe that much better witl esting topics like so expensive yet manufacture. This is parti) USA’s high reliai trucks for food events in foreign« G oals : The Gaekamas to report the news in ai unbiased, professional necessarily its faculty or The Print. edu.
