Monday, March 20, 2006

Maybe We Need Blue Ink and Thumbs

Now, last time Saddam was elected with a 100% majority and only 3 % of the people voted, there were murmers. Wouldn't it stand with only a very minimal ammount of the student body voting that there might be some eyebrows raised at giving our student council a $27,000 per salary? Yet, I see no eyebrows raised, I see only a plethora of ineffectual, ridiculous posters papering the halls of our mediocre institution of learning, littering the ground outside, more likely to provide fuel for a homeless person than fuel for discourse in the school.

These posters tell me nothing. "Set up MacEwan Chat"?? Obviously it's needed, considering the poster for this candidate offers no other campaign information or even an explanation of the ones he's offering. I've not seen any of these candidates in the hallways, none trying to meet the students - in all honesty, I'm reduced to voting (because then I can complain) on a purely aesthetic motive - Jamie Tauber wins for her original and artsy posters. The campaign speeches were mediocre and tepid, uninspired, and frankly dissapointing for students that will be getting $27,000 dollars a year and 4 free courses. I'd like to see some actual campaigning! Bring me muffins, flyers, talk to me, damn it, I demand that you skip your classes and stand in the hallway and talk to me.

And what exactly have I recieved from this years elected officials? Nothing. I mean, honestly? I paid this student activity fee.. but what EXACTLY have I got? Well.. nothing. The big party at the beginning of the year was put off to build an expensive crappy cafeteria with painfully slow service that I don't use, and the end of the year party was put off because, well, our current student life rep couldn't find a band. What about the hundreds of bands WITHIN THE SCHOOL that would probably love to play to a big audience? What exactly will my student activity fee be used for?

Or were the old reps only paid $25,000 last year? And they found some extra money?

I'm sick of sitting in my poli-sci class, hearing about democracy left right and centre, hearing students complain about an ineffectual provincial and national government - and our student government, the future - can't even mount an effective enough campaign to get our voter turn out to remotely rival that of pre-war Iraq.

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