Letters to the editor...
The right reasons to run
RE:“More Than Apathy Turning Voters Away,” by Darius Mirshahi. March 17, 2008.
Firstly I want to say thank everyone who took the time to vote in the FSU elections, many of you already know Fanshawe broke a record this year with 2,800 votes. Even though we broke that record, I still find myself reading an article by Darius Mirshahi entitled “More Than Apathy Turning Voters Away.”
The article claims quite a lot of students said they would rather not vote. Well, in the same way you have the right to vote, you also have the right to simply not vote if you do not want to. If you read the bios of each candidate in The Interrobang, if you watched the speeches, and if you noticed the campaign posters and you still just did not care who won then it was more honest of you not to vote at all then to just randomly pick a name.
If you did care enough to vote I am certainly glad you did. Whatever your reason for choosing to vote for a particular candidate was, it was your reason. In a democracy you have every right to vote for whomever you want based on whatever you want.
Another claim the article made is that certain candidates bribed voters with “processed meat tubes” [most people just call them hotdogs] as well as candies and baked goods.
I ran for VP External & Academic Affairs and I gave out free cookies and free cupcakes with “Vote Rach” written in icing. Was I bribing Fanshawe students? Well, actually I think attempting to bribe an adult with a cupcake seems a little ridiculous. I just wanted campaign week to be fun. I could have stuck to writing “Vote Rachel” on campaign posters, but frankly I think cookies and cupcakes taste better.
The last paragraph of Mirshahi's article states the following:
“In any case it's politics as usual. The candidates make all kinds of promises they have no intention of keeping, buy as many votes as possible back from their constituents, and a small tussle between hopefuls ensues over who will be the next to suck at the teat of power.”
If that is how Darius Mirshahi views the Fanshawe Student Union, is that the reason he ran for the Student Union last year? Last year he ran for VP Entertainment and made some promises of his own during his speech. Did he have any intention of keeping those promises if he had won? Or did he run last year so that he could “suck at the teat of power?”
I hope that is not the reason he ran. I doubt that is why most people run for Student Union. I ran because I thought VP External & Academic Affairs sounded like something I would be good at and because I like helping people.
I'm proud that Fanshawe broke a record this year and I hope that next year we have even more voters and definitely more candidates.
Is my opinion of this year's election bias because I ran in it? It might seem that way even though I tried to remain as objective as possible. Either way, feel free to express your opinion by emailing a letter to the editor. I look forward to reading it in the opinion section of The Interrobang.
Rachel Oakes
2008/09 FSU VP External and Academic Affairs
Thanks for the support
As a candidate for the position of VP Internal in the recently held Fanshawe Student Union election, I would like to extend my thanks to all of the students who got out and cast their ballot in record numbers, from approximately 1,400 last year to almost 2,900 this year. In some people's eyes I was unsuccessful because of the fact that I did not win, but in my eyes my campaign was successful for a number of reasons.
One of them being the increase in the amount of students voting something, which can be attributed to a high profile election campaign. Two, after a year of having no female representation on the student union, we now have a student union comprising mostly of women, so it will not be an all guys show anymore. Third, my platform obviously spoke to the 1,184 people who chose to support me, and I thank them for showing their support for me during this busy period of the year. After the results were known I had numerous people approach me who I'd never met before indicating their disappointment at the loss, and encouraging me to continue to run again. I will have to consider my options about whether I'd run for either the SAC again this fall, or again for the Student Union early in 2009. I will be returning this fall for the post-graduate program in Television News, and I will still be as helpful and visible on campus as I have always been, so don't be shy and say “hi.”
Finally, I want to congratulate all the candidates who ran and had the courage to put their name and reputation on the line, and how we all win or lose collaboratively worked together to bring out more students to vote, and that is something we can all be very proud of. I also want to congratulate all the students who exercised their democratic right by voting. My hope is that there won't be as many spoiled ballots next time around, since every vote does count. I wish the Student Union for 2008-2009 much success working on behalf of all students. They made a lot of promises and I am hoping they will be able to deliver upon them, because the hard work is yet to come. Reflecting on my campaign a thought comes to mind that this is never the end, and only the beginning, and me that is so true. Thank you again Fanshawe for your support.
Rob McGarry
Past candidate for VP Internal, Fanshawe Student Union
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
RE:“More Than Apathy Turning Voters Away,” by Darius Mirshahi. March 17, 2008.
Firstly I want to say thank everyone who took the time to vote in the FSU elections, many of you already know Fanshawe broke a record this year with 2,800 votes. Even though we broke that record, I still find myself reading an article by Darius Mirshahi entitled “More Than Apathy Turning Voters Away.”
The article claims quite a lot of students said they would rather not vote. Well, in the same way you have the right to vote, you also have the right to simply not vote if you do not want to. If you read the bios of each candidate in The Interrobang, if you watched the speeches, and if you noticed the campaign posters and you still just did not care who won then it was more honest of you not to vote at all then to just randomly pick a name.
If you did care enough to vote I am certainly glad you did. Whatever your reason for choosing to vote for a particular candidate was, it was your reason. In a democracy you have every right to vote for whomever you want based on whatever you want.
Another claim the article made is that certain candidates bribed voters with “processed meat tubes” [most people just call them hotdogs] as well as candies and baked goods.
I ran for VP External & Academic Affairs and I gave out free cookies and free cupcakes with “Vote Rach” written in icing. Was I bribing Fanshawe students? Well, actually I think attempting to bribe an adult with a cupcake seems a little ridiculous. I just wanted campaign week to be fun. I could have stuck to writing “Vote Rachel” on campaign posters, but frankly I think cookies and cupcakes taste better.
The last paragraph of Mirshahi's article states the following:
“In any case it's politics as usual. The candidates make all kinds of promises they have no intention of keeping, buy as many votes as possible back from their constituents, and a small tussle between hopefuls ensues over who will be the next to suck at the teat of power.”
If that is how Darius Mirshahi views the Fanshawe Student Union, is that the reason he ran for the Student Union last year? Last year he ran for VP Entertainment and made some promises of his own during his speech. Did he have any intention of keeping those promises if he had won? Or did he run last year so that he could “suck at the teat of power?”
I hope that is not the reason he ran. I doubt that is why most people run for Student Union. I ran because I thought VP External & Academic Affairs sounded like something I would be good at and because I like helping people.
I'm proud that Fanshawe broke a record this year and I hope that next year we have even more voters and definitely more candidates.
Is my opinion of this year's election bias because I ran in it? It might seem that way even though I tried to remain as objective as possible. Either way, feel free to express your opinion by emailing a letter to the editor. I look forward to reading it in the opinion section of The Interrobang.
Rachel Oakes
2008/09 FSU VP External and Academic Affairs
Thanks for the support
As a candidate for the position of VP Internal in the recently held Fanshawe Student Union election, I would like to extend my thanks to all of the students who got out and cast their ballot in record numbers, from approximately 1,400 last year to almost 2,900 this year. In some people's eyes I was unsuccessful because of the fact that I did not win, but in my eyes my campaign was successful for a number of reasons.
One of them being the increase in the amount of students voting something, which can be attributed to a high profile election campaign. Two, after a year of having no female representation on the student union, we now have a student union comprising mostly of women, so it will not be an all guys show anymore. Third, my platform obviously spoke to the 1,184 people who chose to support me, and I thank them for showing their support for me during this busy period of the year. After the results were known I had numerous people approach me who I'd never met before indicating their disappointment at the loss, and encouraging me to continue to run again. I will have to consider my options about whether I'd run for either the SAC again this fall, or again for the Student Union early in 2009. I will be returning this fall for the post-graduate program in Television News, and I will still be as helpful and visible on campus as I have always been, so don't be shy and say “hi.”
Finally, I want to congratulate all the candidates who ran and had the courage to put their name and reputation on the line, and how we all win or lose collaboratively worked together to bring out more students to vote, and that is something we can all be very proud of. I also want to congratulate all the students who exercised their democratic right by voting. My hope is that there won't be as many spoiled ballots next time around, since every vote does count. I wish the Student Union for 2008-2009 much success working on behalf of all students. They made a lot of promises and I am hoping they will be able to deliver upon them, because the hard work is yet to come. Reflecting on my campaign a thought comes to mind that this is never the end, and only the beginning, and me that is so true. Thank you again Fanshawe for your support.
Rob McGarry
Past candidate for VP Internal, Fanshawe Student Union
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
