My freshman year went by without a single word from the ASUO – that is, until campaign season. Then, everyone’s your friend. People you never knew start smiling and promising, namely because that’s the only time you’re empowered. After elections, though, you get shunned over to the outer side of the impassable ASUO bubble.
Emma Kallaway and Getachew Kassa have my support because they’re refreshingly opposed to all this pretentiousness. With regard to the huge and invisible electric fence around the ASUO, I’ve heard Emma saying, “It just shouldn’t be like that.” She’s right. Most importantly, though, it doesn’t have to be.
This year I applied for student Senate and didn’t get it. I didn’t take it personally, though; it was educational – I got to see the famous dysfunction of the ASUO. It seemed impossible to get a position because I needed experience to be qualified. Hmm, catch-22?
It makes no sense, but that’s the viewpoint held by much of the ASUO now. Fortunately, Emma is different. After the interview process, she was the only one to offer resources for finding other ways of getting involved in student government. I was thankful that someone was finally making sense.
I am backing Emma and Getachew because they didn’t wait until elections to make friends with me. They don’t see students as a way to benefit their campaign, but they carry a commitment to getting people connected. Because of Emma and Getachew, the ASUO can finally open up to students; it opened to me.
Alison Brown
University undergraduate
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