Failing Democracy 101

Posted by admin on Mar 8, 2006 in Volume 14 Issue 1 | 0 comments

Chris Anquist

23.65 is not a very whole number. 23.65 is not the number of pimples on a freshman’s nose. 23.65 is not how much money it costs to eat an average meal in the cafeteria and contrary to popular belief 23.65 is not the running GPA of your suitemates. So what’s up with this wretchedly horrible looking number? Well, 23.65 is the percentage of the student body that voted in our last TWUSA election.

You do the math: we currently have 2,266 students registered at TWU and only 536 of them voted. This leaves 1,730 inactive, lazy students who didn’t have the energy to lift their index finger and vote online. Let’s think big for a minute: when we look at the national trend of 64.9% voter turnout for the last federal election, one could speculate that the other 35.1% of voters that didn’t vote had good reason. They had to get up off of their butts, walk 20 feet to their cars and drive no more than twelve blocks to vote.

Now to the heart of the matter, why did Trinity Western students not have enough initiative to vote for their student body President and executive members? Was it really too strenuous for us to click on the student portal, and sacrifice all of 45 seconds to vote on the leaders who will be helping run our school next year? Or was that too much to ask? We live in a democracy, which means that we have a say as to how our government works. We have representation and we have an easily accessible way to get our representatives into power through voting. Do Trinity Western students feel that they are too good for democracy? To make democracy work you have to be heard; you have to take the initiative to care.

To put a different spin on things, there are people in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe that are dying for the sake of democracy. They are people willing to die because they want their voices heard! All over the world people are suffering under dictatorships and extreme poverty, and the one thing they have in common is that they see North America as a beacon of hope. Democracy to the oppressed is ultimate freedom, and we feel at liberty to ignore our right to vote!? We don’t know how good we have it.

All I can say is shame on you Trinity Western, shame. But I’m sure you had a paper to write, that you didn’t have time, that you were just too busy, and for some I dare say that you didn’t even know that there was an election happening! Congratulations. 23.65 is the percentage I give you for failing Democracy 101.