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Staff Editorial

Vote today!

S&B Editorial Staff

These initiatives really can make a difference. Joint Board’s big vote on the future of Coca-Cola this week was introduced to the campus discourse over a year ago as a petition coupled with a student initiative to end our contract with Coke. The Latin American Solidarity Group (LAS) and Students Against Sweatshops (SAS) posted incendiary fliers around campus to draw attention to the issue and Coke was boycotted.

LAS and SAS triumphed this week as a Joint Board resolution to find another supplier when the College’s contract with Coca-Cola expires in 2007.

The average student initiative is not so lucky. As we reported last spring, as many as 15 of the 18 initiatives passed over the last three years have not been implemented.

Last spring, all proposed student initiatives failed because of low student participation. Since student involvement reflects not only student interest in the issues, but also their confidence (or lack thereof) that student initiatives actually produce results, we should examine reasons.

First, students disregarded an important mechanism in the system of self-governance. Second, most students decided that the initiatives on the ballot were less relevant than the demands of their own daily schedules. Third, the lack of an SGA advertising campaign took a high vote toll, but this seems more an excuse than an explanation and SGA is advertising again this semester.

The fourth would include the development of learned helplessness. Students seem to have seen enough initiatives pass to no effect that logging in to Pioneerweb to vote seems to them not to be worth the effort.

There is still no roof over Ganesha, the Hindu god outside Noyce.

Incoming students have never known an Express that offers $3.50 meal replacement.

Three key elements in the success of the Coke Boycott were an active, passionate sponsoring group, a responsive electorate and college administrators willing to work directly with students to research the problem and agree to a solution.

While the level of involvement of the sponsoring students means a great deal, the second element is crucial. It is from widespread support in the electorate that student initiatives derive legitimacy. Joint Board this semester wisely voted down a measure that would make initiatives easier to pass––the language called for voting in favor by 33 percent of all students instead of 66 percent of an at least 50 percent turnout. Though technically the same number of students would have to vote in favor of an initiative to pass it, part of the idea behind the current voting scheme is that those voting are a representative sample. Such a change would have undermined the idea of initiative passage showing overwhelming student support.

President John Bohman ’06 has expressed his personal commitment to seeing this year’s initiatives through. Without student interest, though, administrators will be making our decisions for us, whether they follow through on the initiatives or not.

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