It’s no secret that our campus suffers from what I call SGApathy, a condition in which members of our student body tune out SGA elections and ignore voting all together. Though polls close Tuesday April 3 (TOMORROW) at 11:59 pm, only 15 percent of students have voted. If 20 percent (3270) don’t vote by then, the election is turned over to SGA, whose 60 senators will make the decisions themselves.
I bet more than 20 percent of our student body bought mega-million tickets last week.
I have my own personal problems with SGA, a group I consider disconnected, lacking students of color, and maybe even elitist. However, the only way I can voice my opinion in their disconnected state (aside from the Chick-Fil-A meeting at which I spoke) is to vote concerning the future of the organization.
I don’t care about SGA, you’re thinking. Maybe you can’t even name the current SGA president (Mike Sabo) or the current candidates (Chris LaColla and Pete Petrin for President, and Terry MacCormack and Nick Naraghi for EVP). You can read about them here.
Don’t like what either of them has to say? You can vote No Confidence.
But maybe even more important than president, for your purposes, are the referenda questions.
You’re probably sick of getting SGA’s email pleas encouraging you to vote. But you’re also probably sick of a slow sign-in process, housing policy not allowing you to sign in more than three guests, and tuition hikes. Maybe you’ve even had a “friend” who has gotten in trouble for having a bag of weed in their dorm room, and you think their penalty was a little harsh. (Damn OSCCR.)
For those of you who haven’t read ANYTHING about the current elections, here are the Quick n’ Dirty facts, below. (You should do more research, but here are Spark notes.)
Question 1 refers to the recycling program on campus.(Save the planet)
Question 2 refers to an opt out of the Renewable Energy Free. (Save your money!)
Question 3 refers to equalizing the penalty for possession of marijuana and underage possession of alcohol.(Save your ass!)
Question 4 refers to freezing tuition, room, and board.(Save more money!)
Question 5 refers increasing guests allowed per resident(Save the time you spend trying to fool in the proctor into thinking you only have 3 guests signed in.)
Question 6 refers to making sign-in faster and more tech savvy. (Save more time!)
I’ve heard 100 percent of my peers complain about SGA and/or some kind of policy at Northeastern. 98% of them have never been to an SGA meeting or know who their senator is. (The latter is a fault of SGA, I’d like to point out, but also a symptom of SGApathy.)
What pisses you off about Northeastern? It’s not hard to solicit an answer to that question. But somehow, when the chance comes to say something about it that may actually result in change, everyone shuts up. So let’s use some positive peer pressure. Next time a friend complains about the SGA president or an NU policy, ask “Did’ja vote?” I hope that they did. Otherwise tell them put their vote where their mouth is.
I hope Northeastern can overcome SGApathy. I don’t expect a 100 percent turn out tomorrow, but I do hope for more than 20 percent. I also hope that SGA will find
a way to engage more students and will not have to beg students to vote next year. Until then, use the two minutes voting takes and tell SGA what you feel. And if it’s “No Confidence” then tell them that-otherwise we place full confidence in 60 members who will decide this election for us.