Today marks the last chance for student voters.
Throughout the day, students can choose the 2003 SGA slate thatbest represents their concerns.
During the past few weeks the student body was introduced to theLoving and Manship slates. Both slates have maintained fullschedules making appearances and speaking about theirplatforms.
All too often, students don't realize the amount of work thatgoes into campaigns such as this one. Maybe that's a reason for lowvoter turnout.
Last year only 2,023 students voted, representing 12.3 percentof the student body. That was the lowest voter turnout since 1993.Low figures such as that are not uncommon.
The average voter turnout since 1992 is 2,338 students; thatmeans only one in every 10 students votes. Low turnout can becaused by factors ranging from voter apathy to disillusionment, andeach year candidates address the problem and even offer solutions -but low turnouts continue.
SGA is the student body's voice on campus. Voting willdemonstrate that students care about what happens at Ball State.It'll send a message to administrators that the students have avoice and they want it to be heard.
Judging from the amount of letters to the editor and onlinecomments pertaining to SGA, there are plenty of voices out there.But writing a letter or an online comment doesn't solve anything -it doesn't cast a vote.
A popular phrase is "If you don't vote, then don't complain." Bychoosing not to voice your opinion, you waive the right to complainwhile they are in office (although the letters will no doubtcontinue).
Now is the time to have an impact. Your vote does count -especially in this election. The race between the two slates isclose, and every vote will have an effect in the overalloutcome.
If you aren't sure about the candidates, both offer informativeWeb sites explaining their platforms in greater detail. Loving'splatform can be reviewed at http://lovingslate.tripod.com.Manship's platform is at http://votemanship.com.
Voting isn't a time-consuming process, either. All students needis a computer with Internet access, a BSU username andpassword.
Logon to http://www.bsu.edu/voteBSU and help break the trend oflow voter turnout. Cast your vote today.
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