Thursday, April 30, 2009
Staying Involved?
It occurs to me that yesterday was the third meeting of the new session, and I wonder how many of the candidates who ran for Senate and lost attended the meetings, or at least voiced their opinions to their elected leaders. This is specifically directed at the S.T.A.R.T candidates. I'll use them as an example. 10 (9 without Maggy) decided that ASUN was so corrupt and over bloated that they needed to be elected to office to fix the problem. As we have said in earlier posts, none were elected (not counting Mr. Maggy who won, then dropped). Have these 10 people done anything yet to fix their perceived problems in ASUN?
Just because you don't have a title doesn't mean you can't make a difference. There is a perception in ASUN elections that the person who lost shouldn't speak out anymore. The idea is that if you didn't get enough votes, you suck and therefore should shut up. I disagree.
I know it's only the third meeting of the 77th session, but I hope candidates who didn't win, especially those a part of the S.T.A.R.T group, go to the meetings in the future. There is public comment period every meeting, and they should voice their concerns. If there is a bill they don't like, or even if they just want to go and bitch about budget cuts, name plates, etc., they should go.
Democracy requires participation. It's a long standing saying that, "the world is run by those who show up."
Throughout the year many Senators will inevitably become lazy or complacent and will get used to being called Senator without earning the title. I implore all who give a damn to go to the meetings, and keep these people on their toes. If you don't think you'll be listened to, or mocked, just look at the resolution the 76th Session did about a random student who showed up to almost every meeting.
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I don't appreciate the way that you have discounted Mr.Owens in this post as a 'random student who showed up'. As any Senator from the last session will tell you, Mr.Owens has a great asset to the group and provided great insights. While he was not an elected Senator, any 76er will tell you that he was indeed the so called '23rd man'. You can argue whether or not it was appropriate to recognize Mr.Owens, but I would argue that since you don't know him and do not know about his dedication, loyalty and great leadership that he provided so selflessly you should not discount him in this blog. He was the epitome of an involved student, and more should be like him. Mr.Owens can certainly illustrate the one student can make a difference.
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