Apathy Replaces
Idealism in Student Government
Surprisingly low participation numbers in
recent elections raise the question ‘Why don’t students get more involved in
politics?’
BY. JESSICA DIFFER
I am the first one to admit that
my generation isn’t as active in politics as it should be, but I don’t think
that the fault is entirely our own. After all, don’t we learn from our elders?
Here at Hollins we get to see politics in action with our own Student
Government Association. This is an organization designed to give students a
voice in their education and community, but is that being exploited to its full
potential? Are we the students using our full potential and exercising our
voices?
After November’s Presidential
Election there was one generalization that I kept hearing from members of older
generations: “If more young people voted, things would have been different.” In
other words, it’s our fault?
For those of us who are lucky
enough to go to college Student Government is our first exposure to politics.
It is that first opportunity to look inside and see how the wheels turn.
“I think the biggest
responsibility of student government is listening to the concerns of the
student body and relaying them to the appropriate campus organizations,” says
current SGA vice-president Lisa Bower
If SGA is
an outlet for students, why then was there so little interest and for that
matter so little competition in the recent SGA elections? Several candidates
including next year’s SGA President Gwen Fernandez ran unopposed. Even in the
categories where there were opposing candidates, voter participation was so low
that neither candidate was able to capture the amount of votes needed for a
victory. It was only after a run-off election that the victors were decided by
a majority vote, but I cannot help but wonder how much of a majority was it? If
this is our university and our education why do we have so little interest?
“I don’t know what class officers
do,” said junior Sophia Koinis. “I know that they
can’t do anything about the fact that my tuition keeps rising, so what exactly
do they do for our class?”
One issue that has proved the
contradiction in regards to lack of student interest is the Clean-Slate Review.
It could be that the review, which cut several sports from varsity status, has
lead to some bitter feelings between students and the administration. Clean
Slate states that sports demoted from varsity status can exist as club sports
and will be eligible to petition SGA for funding after two years. Fencing,
which was cut from varsity status two years ago, is eligible for such funding
in the fall term of 2005.
However, in the coming year sports
such as field hockey and volleyball have no source for funding and therefore
cannot exist as functioning teams. When students attempted to petition for
partial funding for these athletics they were stonewalled by the administration
who pulled out their pockets to show the lint. When you break it down, it seems
like less students are upset about the varsity cuts, than the hypocrisy of the
administration in the execution of Clean Slate Review which
????.
“They told us that the varsity
sports would still be getting support from the university,” said junior Nicole Jupp. “I guess they meant emotional support, because they
didn’t mean financial support.”
In the spirit of fairness I
attempted to contact several members of the administration including Dean of
Students Alison Ridley and Hollins President Nancy Gray, but oddly enough no
one in the administration had anything to say to a student regarding the Clean
Slate Review. Some students might say that these women are very busy and don’t
have time to be bothered with questions about the Clean Slate Review. These are
probably the same people who believe that you shouldn’t question your
government. I disagree. I pay tuition to this university; I pay for the
valuable time of the administrators, just like taxpayers pay for the right to
question their leader.
From the perspective of a
frustrated student, this is how I see college politics: the students do the
research and leg work and submit a proposal, the administration snowballs those
it doesn’t like (usually those that are more costly), the
students are forced to accept it without a forum for open debate or problem
solving. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Athletic department cuts,
Medicaid cuts, it’s all relative.
If you want to
understand why my generation is so apathetic look at the examples that we’re
learning from. As I recall, the United
States Constitution states that the will of the majority cannot be used to
deprive the right of the minority. Maybe they should have amended that to say
that it is null and void if you’re an athlete at a Women’s
We no longer believe in the power of
our vote because it feels like a joke. No matter what we want, there will
always be someone higher up making the opposite decision. Some students have
the will to fight and make a difference and I applaud them for their efforts,
but we’re not all so strong. At the end of a day of classes and work-study
facing a long night of homework most of us just don’t have the brainpower to
think about politics. We don’t want to think about how our interests are or
aren’t being represented.
It translates into the real world. How many
people have the energy to read a New York Times from front to back after
working and dealing with kids, dinner and housework? The American lifestyle is
designed to keep people from getting involved. It takes an explosion in your
backyard before people get involved. Apathy isn’t a trait that’s created; it’s
a behavior that is learned. If you don’t like our apathy and cynicism take a
look in the mirror, because it didn’t start with us.