Unity is essential after USAC elections

The seemingly endless week of Undergraduate Students Association Council elections has finally come to an end.

This board would like to officially congratulate the newly elected councilmembers and hope that they become agents for positive change in the coming year.

We would like to take the opportunity to offer our reflections on the week’s events, as well as our envisioned scenario going forward.

The onset of USAC elections and the subsequent visibility of candidates and student representatives served as a disappointing reminder of the political hibernation that goes on for much of the year. We therefore implore the incoming class of student leaders to maintain the same level of activism throughout their terms, en route to getting the community involved in making a difference.

Likewise, we hope that the general student population will hold its elected leaders obligated to their campaign promises, even well after this week. Political representation remains meaningless if the constituency fails to keep its leaders accountable, and student government is no different.

The events of last week have also shown the ugly side of political fanaticism. The campus played host to tactics that blatantly disregarded campaign regulations.

Acts of vandalism, like the destruction of campaign signboards, exhibited great disregard for civility and ethical conduct. Such behavior is deplorable, and we hope that the end of election season will also signal the end of infantile bickering and unqualified attacks.

The election also emphasized purported differences between slates that sought to distinguish themselves against the opposition. However, this board questions this focus in a time when unity is so crucial within the community.

The differences accentuated during election week fostered prejudice rather than diversity in opinion. It is our hope that distinctions between the slates will give rise to a council formed around a multitude of ideas, rather than a segmented body that refuses to be cohesive within itself.

USAC must become a unifying body and not simply a special-interest group bent on serving the needs of a few, rather than the many. And just as we expect the candidates to live up to the spirit of bipartisanship, we also expect the student community to abide by the same ideal.

The predominantly slate-based endorsements by a staggering number of student groups is indicative of a strong tendency toward partisan support.

We therefore urge student groups and the undergraduate population at large to respect and work with newly elected councilmembers, regardless of slate affiliation. The slate politics and threats of noncooperation must end if we, as a collective politic, are to come to some consensus as to where we go from here.

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board.