Talking on the phone with a friend recently, the subject of the general election came up. She eagerly told me that she had attended an Obama rally at her school the other day and was extremely excited about voting in not only the primary but the general as well. Her story got me thinking, why isn't Ball State University a political campus?
Why aren't politicians speaking to our student body? Is Muncie that boring or is it just Ball State? I ran through the reasons in my head but two kept sticking out every time I tried to work through this: the administration and the political activity of this campus. Sure, our administration is political when it comes to matters of the university, which is completely understandable. However, why not try to bring in a national political figure for Emens who will do a question and answer session? There is no doubt that the theater would be sold out, if not overflowing with students, faculty and members of this community and surrounding communities. Ball State would not only benefit from the media coverage but it just might make some money selling $10 tickets to see a presidential or congressional candidate. Yes, it is true that Gov. Mitch Daniels has been here this academic year, as has Rep. Mike Pence. However, they came to speak at to very small gatherings of people in unpublicized locations.
Yet, again, the answer was staring me right in the face. The students at Ball State are not political enough to even gain interest from major political figures. Besides the fact that I have seen the name "Ron Paul" randomly chalked onto sidewalks, there hasn't been a lot of political movement by the student body. The Ball State College Republicans have been at the Scramble Light a couple of times to register voters and collect signatures to place conservative candidates on the ballot. However, I have not seen a single event sponsored or led by the University Democrats or any other political organization.
Last week was Super Tuesday, which many people know. There was a group of telecommunications graduate students who were working on a project concerning politics. The team, headed by Iris Antonietti, contacted all political organizations on campus for interviews. According to her, the College Republicans were the only organization to answer the call. She spent Super Tuesday with her executive board collecting footage while they watched the primary returns and then had an afternoon of questions with the same group of people Wednesday.
I believe that a major part of the weak political voice on campus comes from the static actions of the political organizations here. There is a very easy way to remedy this situation: have the political groups be more political. Here's an idea. Let's have a debate between any and all student political groups on campus. If your group only has two members or if it has 100 members, you are welcome to come. We set a time and a place and we have the student-run political organizations debate the issues currently being discussed on the national scene. What better way for students to not only see such groups in action but learn the platforms and stances on the hot-button issues?
It concerns me that our campus' political voice is as loud as a shy seven-year-old's. Ball State is overflowing with knowledgeable faculty and eager students; why is it like pulling teeth to get this campus involved? There is not much more the faculty can do in class to drive the point home, so how can we bring the point to life? Bringing a politician to campus is one way to discuss what is going on with your vote, your taxes, your military, your education and your social security. Personally, I believe that Ball State is ready for the next step - the step that involves having our voice heard and getting our vote out.
Robert Burgess is a freshman political science major and writes 'The Right Word' for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper.
Write to Robert's at rkburgess@bsu.edu
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