I’ve previously alluded to how embarrassing this particular election cycle has been, not just for the University as a whole but also how it has left me angry and dissatisfied on a personal level.
But finally, the entire community can collectively breathe a sigh of relief that it is over (thankfully the end to the nonsense is more permanent for myself). We Are Oregon has prevailed in the “new” primary and students won’t have to endure an unprecedented fourth week of campaigning.
It’s all over. Or is it?
Those of you not graduating or planning on going to graduate school at the University will have to endure yet another round of elections come next spring.
Yet, there is hope. The We Are Oregon slate has wisely made it their task to bring real, tangible benefits to current and future students at the University. This move from the abstract and idealistic to concrete and attainable obviously resonated with voters. Of course, when your main competitor is revealed to have been complicit in a phishing scheme, it makes winning much easier.
To say that Katie and Alex’s indiscretion was the sole reason We Are Oregon won would be devaluing their platform. Sure, it’s nice to have a candidate that doesn’t win by “any means necessary” but instead tries to stay focused on the issues they can make real progress on.
With We Are Oregon’s election, hopefully students — regardless of political affiliation — will realize that some things can be accomplished by their student government. Namely regarding issues in which the ASUO can actually make a decision on and/or affect.
This shift in thinking has the opportunity to occur now that the executive (and just about every other electable position this year) is now occupied with individuals that accept the limits of their influence and haven’t promised the University community things that would never occur in a decade of work, much less in nine months.
When the current executive took office, many of the promises made were generally platforms that people could get behind. I mean, who doesn’t want lower tuition, a gun-free Department of Public Safety and input in key renovation talks?
Except DPS has their guns, tuition actually rose and renovation for the EMU and Student Recreation Center will undoubtedly happen no matter the manner of sabotage.
Even if it weren’t for the policy failures of this executive, the mere fact that in his final days as ASUO President Mr. Eckstein is presenting his defense before the Constitutional Court against his removal from office speaks volumes to how ineffectual his administration has been.
Now that a slate that hasn’t resorted to using empty rhetoric and making empty promises has won, it provides a blueprint for future slates on how to properly conduct a campaign based on real benefits.
And for the ASUO to actually deliver something of value and worth to students outside of the clubs and programs that receive incidental fee funds will truly be a watershed moment for the University.
Unfortunately, all the lessons learned weren’t derived from pleasant, prideful events. In fact many of the lessons have come via some of the most egregious, offensive and unethical behavior to grace any political campaign, much less one for the ASUO.
Perhaps the most prominent being the false dichotomy between so-called “progressives” and “conservatives.”
For someone who has labeled himself as either liberal or progressive for almost his entire political life, I’ve never been more ashamed of the “progressive” candidates.
In fact it wasn’t until this election that I learned that I wasn’t a “progressive.” Apparently I’ve been living a lie all these years — I fooled myself into thinking that I wasn’t a fascist, racist, militaristic, oppressive conservative all this time.
According to the “real” progressives, I am all those things and then some because I didn’t believe in voting for candidates who didn’t represent real, attainable change and progress.
Cheap, offensive rhetoric like this has only revealed that if being that staunch of a liberal or progressive is the only manner in which to be considered one, then I’d rather not be.
If anything the progressive demographic should reject people who stoop to levels previously unfathomable in a misguided effort to win than double-down and march on ahead blind to the corruption.
This election has provided everyone with invaluable lessons on politics — please don’t squander them.
