Future politicians take note: Tonight is the night to learn more about campus politics and ask burning questions of current political icons.
The ASUO is sponsoring a question-and-answer session about elections for 2003-04 at 7 p.m. in 16 Pacific. There are 27 positions open, and while tonight’s forum isn’t mandatory, anyone who wants to run for a student government office must decide and file paperwork with the ASUO elections office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Students should come tonight to learn how to serve their student body,” ASUO Elections Coordinator Andrea Hall said. “Everyone on campus has a lot of ideas but very few people implement them. If students are serious about their ideas they should put them into action and run for office.”
ASUO Vice President Ben Buzbee, one of several campus politicians running tonight’s discussion, said he’s welcomed the chance to use his position to make a difference and represent people on campus.
“It’s definitely been a learning experience — what often gets overlooked is (ASUO president) Rachel (Pilliod) and I are still students and we make mistakes,” he said. But, “I would not trade this year for anything.”
Pilliod said students should realize that running for a political position is a lot of work.
“While the position has a lot of professional benefits, there are tons of sacrifices that people will never know about that are part of the position,” she said.
She added that students should only run for office if they’re serious about the experience, willing to sacrifice their personal time and can handle their personal life being placed under scrutiny.
“If I wanted to build my résumé, I would have stayed in classes, gotten straight A’s and slept more,” she said. “People should seriously think about the amount of personal time and private life they’re giving up.”
Even admitted overachiever Mike Sherman, a student senator and Programs Finance Committee member who is a triple major and still able to get almost straight A’s, said students should realize taking part in student government is something of a tradeoff.
“I really enjoyed my work on PFC,” he said. “I just don’t eat and sleep — it’s as simple as that.”