Vision for BU may have been celebrating following their victory on Friday, but the fact that only about 1,500 students voted in the election is nothing to celebrate.
The low turnout comes as no surprise. In an election with no other official candidates, voter turnout is expected to be lower than if a real competition was at stake, but to have fewer than one out of 10 students vote to decide who will represent the student body is simply shameful.’
Voting could not have been made any easier. Students had a week to vote from the comfort of their own computer and could have been done with the whole process in less than five minutes.
What is apparent from such a low turnout and the dozens of frivolous write-in votes, which included Bo Obama and Philip Markoff, is that the future of the Boston University Student Union is not of great importance to BU students.’ Even Lauren Prince’s last-minute write-in candidacy for president, though it added some drama to an otherwise dull race, failed to energize the BU community enough to make students go to their virtual voting booths. More than 400 members joined a Facebook group in support of her campaign, yet she did not even capture that many votes in the election.
The blame for such student apathy falls upon the Union. Too many students, especially freshmen, don’t understand what it is the Union does. If the Union cannot command the respect of the student body, then it cannot expect the administration to respect it either. Only through an enthusiastic and active General Assembly that has meetings filled with students who depend on the union to solve campus problems will this student advocacy group ever gain respect. Activism and attendance were sorely lacking this past academic year.’
To be taken more seriously by the administration, Union needs to have the weight of the student body behind it with every decision it makes. Vision for BU has promised to increase Union visibility on campus, and if the new slate follows through on this pledge, it will go a long way toward becoming a more powerful advocacy group. If Vision for BU can prove to students this year that Union is indeed a relevant organization, then hopefully BU will never see a turnout as pitiful as this year’s ever again.
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