"Daily lobo columnist"
If any lesson should be learned from last year’s presidential election and the resulting chaos, it’s that every single vote really does count.
These days, it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd. When a hundred million people are voting, it’s easy to shrug your shoulders and say, “What difference would my vote make, anyway?”
Well, this past November taught us what kind of difference it can make. Even so, I know that most of you reading this aren’t going to vote in the election next week. I can hear you now: “Election? What election?” I can’t blame you, really.
The first two years I was at UNM, I never paid attention to what was going on. I just shuffled back and forth between classes, eager for the day to be over so I could get as far away from campus as possible.
If that’s how you feel every day at school, read on.
In exactly one week, on April 11, an election will be held on campus to decide who will hold numerous positions within the student government for the next year, including senate seats and the presidency. Constitutional amendments that have been passed by the Senate and signed by the president are also up for approval by the student body.
Back in high school, the student government didn’t really do much. They planned the decorations for prom and sold pizza to raise money for T-shirts, but that was about it. Here at UNM, things are a little bit different.
Remember the extra money you had to pay for “student fees” with your tuition? The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico decides what happens to a lot of that money — and when you add it all up, it comes to hundreds of thousands of dollars. That money is apportioned out to student groups and organizations that the Senate thinks deserve money.
So if you’re a supporter of something such as environmental activism and only senators who think that’s a waste of money get elected, those student groups probably will have a difficult time getting any money.
All student groups that want funding have to apply to the Senate Finance Committee and hope they can convince them to give their group some cash. It’s the only easy way to get the kind of money a student group needs to operate — if the committee likes you.
One of the big topics of debate around campus right now centers on an amendment to the ASUNM Constitution regarding funding for the Daily Lobo. Right now, the constitution assures that the Daily Lobo gets exactly 8 percent of student fees every year, no more and no less. The amendment — which is up for approval by you, the students — would force the Lobo to apply for funding the way other student groups have to.
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Supporters claim this will free up funding for other student organizations. Opponents counter by saying it will force the Lobo to guard its words about the Senate carefully if it hopes to get funding, thus endangering the paper’s role as an independent campus newspaper.
Either way, the student government has decided that this is what it wants to do. The Senate passed it, the president signed it and now it’s up to you. Vote for it, vote against it, but at least vote. Any time you don’t vote, you are giving that much more power to those who do.
I would wager that most students don’t know who Jennifer Liu is or could name anything she’s done as president over the past year. Fewer still could name all the students in our senate. But these are the people who represent you and your University to the world at large.
If nothing else, at least realize that it’s your money. Whether we’re talking about ASUNM, Albuquerque, New Mexico or the entire United States, what you’re really doing when you decide not to cast a vote is telling someone they can spend your money any way they like. It’s no different than tossing your credit card into a crowd at the mall and shouting out your PIN for all to hear.
So care when it comes to the ASUNM elections. Take 30 seconds out of your day next week to drop by Zimmerman or any of the other polling places to fill out the little bubble sheet.
Better still, do some research before you go into the polls and know who you’re voting for and why. That money you paid for student fees isn’t just gone forever. You still have a say in what that money pays for.
If that’s not enough incentive, don’t forget that, if you don’t vote, I’ll be the one deciding where your money goes.
