Opinion: Problems with the special election being held during finals week

There seems to be a lot of fuss over the issue of the recent special election held during finals week. The election has been criticized for its timing and the lack of marketing done on the part of the USU Student Association to inform students of the issue. Students wonder why the election was not held earlier or at the beginning of next year.

For full, unbiased coverage of the special election, I will refer you to the article written in this paper by Amy Reid. As for what I am about to say, I admit it is critical of the election and the way in which it was carried out, but I hope to bring to light the bigger issues at play in these types of elections.

First of all, I will say that I actually support the legislation to add a Student Alumni Vice President to the Executive Council. Personally, I like the idea that students will have a say in what happens with SAA and I like the idea of better collaboration with the other student organizations that will undoubtedly come from having the SAA Vice President on the EC. That being said, I do have two problems with the timing of the election — the first is that finals week is a terrible time to have an election, and the second has to do with who voted as a result of the election being held during the last week of the year.

Finals week is the most stressful time of the semester for any college student. Not only are we studying for tests and finishing projects, but we are also finding summer employment and moving out. Some students barely have time to leave their study spot in the library and grab a bite to eat. Seriously, I witnessed a student this semester in the corner of the library with a twelve pack of Mountain Dew and a rice cooker. I can only assume that he was planning on being there for days. With everything else going on, I just can’t understand how USUSA officers expected students to study and make an informed decision about the issue between prepping for tests and getting their lives in order. Perhaps this is the reason that only around one percent of the student body even voted on the legislation.

I have another issue with the timing of the vote. In holding the election during the last week of school, outgoing seniors were allowed to vote on an issue that would never even remotely affect them. I have always had a problem with the fact that outgoing seniors vote in student elections. Asking seniors to vote in next year’s election is like asking your gluten-intolerant friend what kind of breadsticks you should order.

There is no reason why outgoing seniors should be allowed to influence decisions for the coming school year. Organizations on campus know and take advantage of the reckless abandonment with which seniors vote. When it was proposed in 2012 that student fees be increased by $150 to fund the new recreation center, the legislation was written in a way that increased the fees gradually over three years, meaning that ideally, three fourths of the students that voted on the legislation would never even feel the full effects of the increase. Current students will pay an extra $300 next year because the students in 2012, most of which are gone, voted for them to do so. As I shell out that money, I’ll wonder why voters in 2012 were even allowed to make that decision.

Outgoing seniors were allowed to vote in the most recent special election because it was held during finals week and not at the beginning of next year. The amendment was approved, but with a margin of less than 100 students. I wonder how many of them won’t even be here next year.

—Cody Scott is a senior majoring in English. He is the station manager at Aggie Radio, USU’s student radio station. You can contact him at codydwscott@gmail.com.