Last year's student government elections will stand out as one of the fondest and most bizarre time periods of my four-year run here at ASU.
I saw more than one shouting match between the supporters of the Yaser Alamoodi and Corinne Widmer ticket, wearing their symbolic orange T-shirts, and the supporters of David Werner and Aimee Gipper, in their representative blue T-shirts.
At first, the passion each side exhibited was inspiring in a way. I had barely even noticed student elections my first year in Tempe, aside from the occasional advertisement or banner.
Unfortunately, the energy from this emotional high on both sides was not always expended in the most positive way. Competition turned into rivalry, which turned into insults and accusations.
Now, a little less than a year later, one candidate has already started operating off of a platform based on accusations of the current administration's failure.
Criticism should always be promoted in a democratic society - the only problem is that almost all of presidential candidate Matthew Kenney's complaints are just plain wrong.
First complaint: The senate passed a bill taking away money "desperately needed" by religious groups. While a bill was proposed that would take money away from clubs that discriminate unfairly while choosing their leadership, it didn't target religious groups specifically.
Second complaint: USG has done nothing to "support and endorse" voting in elections.
USG has held a voter-recruitment rally and is planning another one. They have brought candidates and legislators to campus. Recently, they paid to put a ballot request form in every single residence-hall mailbox, in addition to handing out the forms and registering voters on campus on a regular basis.
By beginning his campaign with two misinformed complaints, Kenney has set a bad precedent for himself, even though he admits he doesn't know much about student government.
Furthermore, on his Facebook site Kenney mentions his campaign work for state Republican Representative John Shadegg. I wonder if he was looking out for students when he helped out legislators who are part of a party that routinely under funds the state's commitment to financial aid and who, on the national level, seem to give little pause before cutting billions in student loans and Pell Grants on a regular basis.
Kenney, along with almost all of the candidates, claims to be the one voice that will truly represent the student population.
We are part of the biggest university in the country. And yet a pathetically small percentage of students actually vote in student government elections, even in the craziness of last year's blue and orange frenzy.
Students don't show up in droves to open forums or readily respond to surveys circulated by USG.
Granted, we're all busy. But it makes the issue of representation incredibly complex. With a lack of readily available data representing an accurate sample of the ASU student body, how can we expect anyone to fully represent us? And does USG really fail at trying to involve students, or do students simply fail to get involved?
The broad promises and exciting rhetoric offered by political campaigns should be tempered by experience.
After seeing the incredibly cogent arguments on both sides of almost every issue in higher education, the candidates may become less sure of their absolute right as a representative of all that is good for the student body.
Elections should also be held sooner, so that candidates have a chance to learn from the people they replace.
In the mean time, hopefully all candidates will be having copious amounts of information sessions with free pizza.
Ben is a journalism junior. Reach him at Benjamin.horowitz@asu.edu.
