OP/ED The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 5 THE PRIMER ON STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS ELECTION SEASON IS FAR FROM OVER ON CAMPUS. TOMORROW MARKS THE BEGINNING OF MICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS, SENDING STUDENTS BACK TO THE POLLS. THOUGH A NEW PRESIDENT WON'T BE ELECTED UNTIL MARCH, NEARLY HALF OF THE ASSEMBLY'S SEATS ARE UP FOR GRABS, WITH MORE THAN 50 CANDIDATES VYING FOR A SPOT ON MSA. Fixable flaws of MSA elections BY WHITNEY DIBO Michigan Student Assembly elec- tions are upon us again. Just as in years past, the Diag is chalked to perfection, eager candidates are knocking on doors almost inces- santly and posters bearing the faces of smiling University students are seen all over campus. Ju'st when you thought the frenzy of elections had come to an end, it is time for MSA hopefuls to begin their campaign. Unfortunately, I know a fair num- ber of University students who are completely unaware of what MSA is and what they try to do for our cam- pus. For this reason, I feel a brief history lesson is in order. Accord- ing to its website, "The Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) is the cen- tral student government at the Uni- versity of Michigan, representing students from every school and col- lege." Currently headed by seniors Jason Mironov and Jenny Nathan, this year's MSA has brought the stu- dent body such things as a Sept. 11 conference, a visit from filmmaker Michael Moore and the new housing reviews website. Past parties have included the Blue Party, the Michi- gan Party, the ever-popular Students First party and the current frontrun- ner - Students 4 Michigan. While many students do run inde- pendently, there seems to be a recent pattern of a one-party monopoly in the MSA elections. Last year, Students First took 18 of the 24 open MSA seats, including all nine seats avail- able in LSA. The Defend Affirmative Action Party and independent can- didates only received two seats each. Students 4 Michigan and DAAP are the only parties running in this year's election, and considering DAAP is a single-issue party, it is likely that Stu- dents 4 Michigan will take the major- ity of the seats. In a school with more than 35,000 students, I find it hard to believe that one party can encompass every person's interests and agendas. Where are the other parties on this campus? Why is Students 4 Michi- gan running essentially uncon- tested? There is no reason for this monopoly - other than the fact that no other party has risen to challenge Students 4 Michigan. Even Students 4 Michigan was formed relatively late in the election game, just three days before the Oct. 29 deadline. Had this handful of stu- dents not been motivated to estab- lish themselves as a party at the last minute, candidates would have been forced to run independently. The party system of MSA elections was at risk of fading away if Students 4 Michigan had not come forward. I know there is not a shortage of political enthusiasm on this campus. We all saw it this fall during the presidential election; the activism was so widespread it was inspiring just to walk through the Diag. Hun- dreds of students were out register- ing voters, throngs of people went to meetings and rallies and every third person was sporting a button nam- ing their candidate of choice. This campus is not politically apathetic. The irony is that students seem willing to come out in full force for the national cause, but not for their own university. Or perhaps MSA has not succeeded in its efforts to bring students to the polls - con- veniently located online. Last year, a mere 5,139 students voted in the MSA elections out of the roughly 37,000 students that attend the Uni- versity. While the student body must take partial responsibility for this pitiful turnout, MSA needs a stable party system to motivate voters. There needs to be at least two parties with clear objectives and visions. Where are the conflicting opinions, deci- sive issues and hot topics that typi- cally fuel high voter turnout during elections? The frequency by which parties disband is also a factor that hinders MSA elections. A party cannot form a reputation if it disbands every few semesters. Students First lasted three years in MSA, but disbanded just as it was becoming a well-known name around campus. Students were just becoming familiar with the party's bright orange shirts and reputable place in student government when the party decided to throw in the towel. Due to the indiscriminate disband- ing of Students First, student vot- ers are now faced with a brand new party - and no alternative. Imagine if Democrats and Republicans con- stantly changed their name, logos and party platforms just to shake things up every few years. There would be no consistency, no reputa- tion or building of trust, no issues specific to any one party. I have high hopes for Students 4 Michigan - I just hope it doesn't choose to disband after one or two semesters in MSA. MSA needs to work with the stu- dent body to improve this election process, or this pattern of a one- party elections and a low student voter turnout will continue. There should not be a shortage of students willing to run for MSA positions on this campus, or a lack of concrete, dependable parties. As I found out this fall, Michigan students are both willing activists and intelligent vot- ers. In the spirit of our campus, this activism should persist during the upcoming MSA elections. Dibo is a Music School sophomore and a member of the Daily's editorial board. MSA: It's a vicious cycle By STUART WAGNER Last Friday, Jasmine Clair wrote a column, humorous and partially true, which articulated the disjunction between student government and the student body. First, I would like to start by thank- ing Clair for voicing her feelings and those of others. Next, as a represen- tative and candidate, I would like to address Clair's concern and find a way to fix the problem. Jasmine criticized a candidate for putting his cell phone number on his flyers. Well, that was me, and I provided my most personal contact information because I wanted voters to be able to contact me with their concerns and interests (If you have a question, contact me at (248)-346-6130). If a senator put his personal cell phone number on his cam- paign materials, wouldn't you appreciate the opportunity to speak directly with him? Clair also complained about campaigning tech- niques like sending out infor- mational e-mails, knocking on doors, and approach- h ing students as they passed through the Diag. Yet, what Clair and the rest of the student body fail to realize is that these futile attempts are the only ways student government representatives and can- didates can inform the students of what student government has done and what it is working on. Students have varying complaints about why they don't like student government and its elections, yet most students ignore honest attempts to remedy their grievances. Claims like student government doesn't do anything, the representa- tives only want to pad their resumes and student government turns a blind eye to student groups pervade our campus. These claims, for the most part, are stereotypes. Although some- times these perceptions are true, it is prejudicing to generalize all of stu- dent government without having fac- tual support. Student government candidates fruitlessly try to educate the students on what student government has done and can do to get students interested. I have spent hours with many of the candidates campaigning and work- ing with them on projects. Although I can not honestly speak for all of them, most are truly interested in helping the University and students. The candidates work hard. For two weeks, they skip classes, neglect their studying and sacrifice their health, grades and social lives for their campaigns. They go to resi- dence halls and stand outside on the Diag in the cold for hours to talk to constituents. Many times, students fail to realize that while they get 10 seconds of attempted conversation on the Diag, the candidates spend most of the day in the cold. More- over, the harder candidates try to reach out to students, the faster con- ages them from future outreach. In my experience on government, com- munications for government activities and elections are met with the same frustrating response. In the words of Fat Bastard, "It's a vicious cycle." There are important issues that affect every student on this cam- pus. It's laughable to compare the recent presidential election to this week's student government elec- tions, but it is all relative. Although the issues aren't nearly as impor- tant, they still affect our lives. The collective voice of student govern- ment carries more weight than any individual or student group. At the same time, that voice lacks legiti- macy and power without the sup- port of the student body. That voice is weaker when it tries to appeal to hh4 the University Board of } Regents to fight funding cuts to student servic- es, fight changes to the Greek system, or fight for any other issue without >rt student support. * What came first, the chicken or the egg, the '£> pissed off student or the irritating candidate? How can student government candidates get out their message and receive input from constituents without communicating with their constituency? I honestly don't have an answer, but I know it will take effort on both parts. Students need to be more receptive to campaigning so they can elect representatives who will support their concerns and not be merely resume builders. Repre- sentatives also must maintain abet- ter connection with the student body so pieces like this are not responses but initial actions. It's all on the table now, and it is up to you to decide who you want to represent you. Check out the websites, talk to candidates, find out who represents you and vote. Whether you vote or not, stu- dent government will still be around. However, if you vote, you are making sure government is working for you. Wagner is an LSA sophomore, former Student Counsel to LSA Student Gov- ernment and a candidate with Students 4 Michigan as an LSA representative in MSA. stituents run away. We know you have better things to do than talk to us, but please respect our effort and sacrifices to make the school a better place for everyone. So students don't want us to knock on their doors or stand outside in the cold for hours to let them know what we are about. We respect that and try to let them learn about the issues on their own schedules through e-mails and flyers. Candidates spend hun- dreds of dollars of their own money on flyers that take 20 seconds to read. We send out e-mails to student groups to let them know of our goals and remind them to vote. Addition- ally, candidates' platforms can be seen on the ballot at www.umich. edu/-vote. These efforts are met with similar criticisms. Unfortunately, students' critical responses to the "irritating" cam- paigning tactics perpetuate represen- tatives' lack of connection with the student body. When candidates see the lack of interest and sometimes insult- ing reactions to campaigns, it discour- i'S: .: k: ' r_ }r'i:. j. . iia n ., i -j kh Tj 101% ARM 3. W -M. W too AN M A, "It of m on to lira 0 C'