Student apathy no reason to stop trying

As a political science major, I hate the word apathy. As a student leader on this campus, I absolutely despise it. But yes, it does exist, and unfortunately it is unavoidable no matter where you are ÷on campus or off. Itâs not a reason to stop trying though. This letter is in reference to Dave Flombergâs column in the March 6, 1998 newspaper called ăDefenders of student liberty need to stop crying about apathy.ä

Columnist and copy editor for The Metropolitan and student body presidential candidate Dave Flomberg said people choose to be apathetic because they donât have time to do otherwise. Or maybe they just donât want to care. He said the student government needs to stop caring about what the students think and
ăfocus on the issues.ä

Guess what Dave? I find it quite easy to ăfocus on the issuesä and communicate with the students at the same time. Guess what else? Getting elected to student government (or any other elected position) doesnât give a person free reign to make decisions without consulting his/her constituents, even on a commuter campus with nontraditional students. Back to Political Science 100 or 101 ÷ a representative democracy means elected representatives should keep in touch with the people who elect them.

Thatâs what the student fee discussion panel on Feb. 25 was about. I wanted to make sure the students had access to information and the opportunity to ask questions. I feel that goal was achieved successfully. I did say people complain and then donât come to events like the panel. Maybe that is apathy, but it is also a fact of life. Should I accept that and not try anymore? No.

Maybe I am too idealistic, but even if that event, or any other event on this campus, only helped one student, it was completely worth it. I have a family and a job outside of campus, and I choose to be involved in this campus as much as possible. Maybe the type of campus and institution is a good excuse for the lack of involvement and participation on this campus. But I think many more students are involved in different things going on at this campus than anyone knows.

No, Dave, ăYou donât need an audience to fix a leaking faucet.ä I solve many small problems that are similar to a ăleaking faucetä every week. I donât ask the students to get involved in every decision I make. But when a water pipe has broken and threatens to flood the campus, to continue your methodology, I think as many people as possible should be involved in the discussion to ăfix the pipe. ă

Fee increases are important, and I would never consider making a decision without at least trying to talk to students and get information to the students I serve. You said the SGA needs to represent all 17,000 students, not just the people who voted. I donât have a list of everyone who voted for me, and such a list is no concern of mine. I work hard to serve everyone equally. I donât ask a student if he/she voted for me before I agree to help them. I have enjoyed my time in the SGA. I thank everyone who has helped me in the past year. I have learned a lot, and I would like to think that I made a difference on this campus.

As a sidenote: I find it interesting that Dave Flomberg is using his weekly column to communicate his political views regarding issues on this campus. I question how fair that is to candidates who arenât given the outlet of a weekly column to share their viewpoints. I canât wait until the official, legal campaigning begins on March 9 so I can hear from other candidates. Iâm looking forward to your weekly attempted subliminal message of ăthis is why you should vote for Daveä columns.