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Show 4 Signpost-Friday, May 4, 1984 EdhoRiAl Candidate Debate Is A Waste Of Time by Rae Dawn Olbert Managing Editor To most people, two minutes is a relatively short time. To the ASWSC candidates who spoke at the "debate" Wednesday in the UB lobby, it must have seemed an eternity. It was for me. The majority of the candidates couldn't speak for much longer than one minute, let alone the allotted time of two minutes. Maybe that's because most of them didn't have the slightest idea what they were talking about or what they were doing there. I, too, wondered why they were there. Why was the audience made to suffer through numerous speeches of "Hi, I'm . . . vote for me because I'm cute." Those speeches were tolerable, at best, considering they came mostly from candidates who were running for an uncontested office. They had no need to take a stand on any issue as they are practically "shoe-ins" for their offices. However, I expected a little more from the candidates who are running against someone for a particular office.Apart from Sheldon Allred, Jon Southwick and Jim Harvey, the candidates seemed to think the ASWSC elections are little more than high school popularity contests. Besides the three already mentioned, the majority of the candidates mentioned goals and objectives, but were never specific. They referred, instead, only vaguely to "reforming" or "unifying" student government. Some didn't even mention goals or objectives. After the candidates for president, executive vice president and academic vice president were introduced, these candidates answered, or tried to answer, questions from the audience. I doubt if some of the candidates even understood what the questions were. While many in the audience still had questions to ask of these candidates, they were not given the time to ask them, as the candidates for senatorial seats were herded across the stage. I realize that the elections still have a lot of "bugs" to be worked out what with the structural changes in ASWSC. One of them must surely be a better form of meeting the candidates and learning their positions on the issues. ASWSC has reformed student government. Next year's officers will have to work on reforming the elections process. Not really getting to know the candidates through this poorly organized "debate," I can't say whether they will have the integrity to produce the needed changes. Sponsoring a debate between the candidates is a good idea, but the candidates need to debate, not just introduce themselves. The candidates who don't have opponents can debate each other. At least that will let the studentbody know the candidate's position on issues. If future debates are planned, the elections chairman needs to take charge of the election. Sitting on the sidelines and watching the action progress into a three-ring circus is not the appropriate role of the chairman. Ground rules for the debate need to be established. Students should not be allowed to ask undirected questions. Time limits should be placed on the responses of the candidates to ensure that more of the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions. All in all, the "debate" was poorly organized and poorly run. It was a waste of time for both the candidates and the audience. If a higher voter turn-out at the polls is desired, students need to know the candidates and their stands on important issues. A well-organized debate is one way. Let's hope that next year's election chairman learns something from this year's fiasco and institutes the appropriate changes. by David C. Wright Staff Reporter Weber State Students Need To Wake Up have made a mockery a travesty of the election process. So, you ask, what's the point? In 1980, 53.9 percent of all voting age Americans actually went to the polls. On our level, a recent vote to ammend the ASWSC constitution drew an embarrassing five percent of the voters. Why such apathy on a campus so diverse as ours? Why do the vast majority of our students sit back and allow but a handful to choose who will represent the whole? The issue of the effectiveness of our student government is an old one, yet, how effective can a studentbody officer be if five percent of the voters put him there? They have no power because they have no backing, no constituency. An attempt to stand up to the administration can hardly be taken seriously when a handful of the Union Building regulars chose the representative. Weber State College has an unusually large "non-traditional student" population, and this is one of the reasons used to explain the lack of student involvement on campus. I want to emphasize to those students the power of their position. Thanks to the new form of government, our "non-trads" will have a representative in the senate, and if they want something done, they can surely get it done. All the students at WSC have a voice, but for some reason it has been voluntarily silenced. Our rights and responsibilities as citizens begin here, at Weber, our micro-society. If we cannot learn to excercise these rights now, then I fear we will not use them, or have them, when it really counts. The studentbody elections are upon us. The many hopefuls have hung their fliers and posters like wallpaper. At this level there will be no heated debate, no fiery speeches and no mudslinging. The nation, as a whole, looks toward July and the finale of the hotly contested democratic primaries. I would like to use one of these three democratic hopefuls to make my point. The Reverand Jesse Jackson, I feel, is a candidate with goals loftier than the presidency. Jackson's vision is not blurred by dreams of the Oval Office. I'm sure he is fully aware that he will not be living in the most famous mansion, the White House, in 1985. So what makes Jesse run? Jackson recently made a speech in which he said that he would win delegates, that more blacks will win office this year and above all, that blacks will have their self respect. The black voice and vote has suddenly come alive in this country. The bullet that silenced Martin Luther King seemed also to have silenced a powerful electorate. Not since King rallied the blacks in the turbulent sixties has their vote been such an issue. Jackson, if nothing else, has given American blacks bargaining power. Their votes will count. The Soviet government, with their so called "elections," have made a hallow attempt to show the world that their citizens enjoy freedom. Their propagandized efforts to pacify the cry for human rights Letters to the Editor Policy The Signpost welcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be typed, double spaced and not exceed 250 words. The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel, and the right to refuse to print any letter deemed inappropriate. Each letter must include the name, address and signature of the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Letters may be submitted at the Signpost office, UB 267 or mailed to the Signpost, mail code 2110. |