Beyond The Slates
I would like to take this opportunity to express a few of my opinions during these elections, as there are healthy decisions to be made and these decisions extend beyond mindlessly picking a side and snacking on it.
I hope that everyone is aware of all the problems which this election is plastered over, and that everyone has the critical thinking skills necessary to see past shiny posters, sweet promises, lollipops and greasy character attacks.Further, I would also like to encourage any voter to carefully consider all the papers, videos and letters over the past year to determine some of the important developments that have occurred.
If you feel the media is biased, read between the lines. Word of mouth is also an important tool in gauging the situation. So while we’re asking around we should look to the graduate students that cannot run or vote but who still care greatly about the Concordia community and can serve as mentors and soothsayers. Their voices will help all of us to consider the strength and commitment of each candidate.I stress the word each, for I also feel that voting for an entire slate is not ideal, among other ridiculous, traditional practices (which see candidates forced to physically grapple with one another for campaign space, majority voting which crushes important opposition and unaffiliated candidates being buried beneath ink and cardboard instead of given a loud microphone). It separates us into two camps and a false dichotomy takes shape, in which excellent candidates are made to look terrible, and awful candidates are made to look too good to eat.
My support lies with those who have been active, engaged and responsive to real student problems, those who offer genuine representation to each faculty and group. I will not vote for a stranger who just appeared a few days ago, or a familiar face who has remained silent on important issues. I will not vote for recycled candidates who have shown themselves incompetent, dishonest or unaccountable (and by unaccountable I mean constant excuse making, aggressive behavior, cocky attitudes, attacks on the press, bullet dodging, begging the question, closing the session and hiding in their offices).
This means looking beyond the slate paradigm. I will try my best to identify the bad apples in each bin and prepare a shopping list with everything I need.
We all know what happens when you go shopping on an empty stomach.
—Jamiey Kelly Undergrad in Philosophy
This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 28, published March 29, 2011.
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