Earlier, I ran a poll on this website asking visitors if they thought ASUO was serious or not. Here is what I came up with:
It's serious stuff: 13 votes (50%)
LOL @ ASUO: 9 votes (34%)
ASUO?? OMGWTF: 4 votes (15%)
So the people that visit this blog and take ASUO seriously outnumbered a group of twitter users who think ASUO is a joke and a group of old school interweb users who think ASUO is a joke. Combine the tweeters with the old schoolers and you get a 50/50 split.
But that poll is misleading. First of all, I'm sure some people voted twice. Second, people who visit this site have some sort of interest in ASUO, but enough of those people think ASUO is still a joke.
Third, the apathetic don't even bother visiting this site. I know that can be inferred from the second point, but I think this point speaks volumes to ASUO general election turnout.
This year, only 20.5 percent of students voted in the ASUO general election. That's an increase over last year. That also means that 79.5 percent of students don't give a damn.
But some of those 4,108 students that did vote still think part of the election is a joke. Here are some of my favorite candidate write ins:
Don't Give a Rat's Ass
That Guy
Dog Shit
Deez Nutz
None of the Above
Clown
Samual Adams *note the spelling :(
The problem isn't outreach; it's that student's don't give a damn.
Hey Bryan,
ReplyDeleteThanks to you guys for running this blog during the elections. I've talked to a lot of people in and out of the ASUO who are appreciative of any additional voices in the conversation about how the ASUO runs and how it could be improved. I haven't always agreed with your commentary, but I've appreciated that both of you have been sparking discussion.
Here's the thing: I agree with you that most students don't give a damn about the ASUO politics - but I think that's true BECAUSE the ASUO doesn't do effective outreach.
Last week when I was talking with some of the other candidates, I made the point that people couldn't care less about "the ASUO", but most students probably would have an interest in having a say in where $600 of their money goes every year or making sure that the services they use or see on campus are maintained or improved. The reason most people are indifferent toward the ASUO is because most of them don't KNOW what the ASUO's function is, which I believe is overwhelmingly the result of poor communication by the student government for the last several years.
When I first got on campus, I didn't realize that my student ID got me free bus rides because my student fees paid for it. I didn't realize that someone purchased my football ticket before I went to the ticket window to pick it up. Like most people, I didn't even know that I was charged student fees.
So long as people think that the ASUO is just a bunch of people standing on the corner of 13th and University for three weeks a year handing out "VOTE FOR ME" fliers, I think we're going to continue to see low turnout and write-in results like what you've described above. Until we can communicate what the ASUO does, how much money it controls, and how many campus services that money pays for, most people won't see the impact it makes on their lives in college. The problem will be exacerbated even more so long as the student government and elections are treated like a big game.
"Outreach" is a really popular word around the ASUO, but it's consistently repeated without any actual, significant improvements in communication by the ASUO. This has been true for years. But I think if you can better communicate to students what services the ASUO provides, how much they cost, and why you need well-qualified candidates to run student government well, you'll see an increase in participation and a decrease in the number of people who think that it's just about t-shirts, giveaways and bickering.
Thanks for the positive comments ambivalentmonk made about our campaign in the post below - we know how ridiculous the elections can look to people on the outside and tried our best to limit the sideshow and the drama. I'm honestly a little shocked to read that at least one of you thinks we ran a decent campaign - that means a lot to me, as I'm sure it does for others that read it.
Thanks again for making this blog,
Curtis Haley
(Former) Senate Seat 8 Candidate with True Blue