One hundred and thirty-eight UB students voted on campus during the Nov. 5 election. In a display of student apathy, students living in the Governor's Complex and Hadley Village, part of the 105th Amherst District, and in the Ellicott Complex, part of the 93rd Amherst District, chose to disregard their civic duty and stay home. According to the Office of Residence Halls and Apartments, there are 5,300 total students living in Ellicott, Hadley and Governor's, including residential advisors and community advisors.
According to the Erie County Board of Elections, the total number of voters in those residence halls and apartments is 1,009, calculating to a turnout of roughly 10 percent. In the 61st State Senate District, the seat UB student Marla Greenberg (D) was seeking, the total voter turnout was a weak 47 percent. This statistic alone is discouraging, but when taking into account that the total turnout was almost five times higher than the student turnout, an epidemic of apathy is apparent.
The fact is that more students are interested in showing up for events such as the annual Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Alliance Drag Show than they are about voting, both of which are held in the Student Union. The Spectrum has, in previous editorials, bemoaned the lack of interest students show in taking a voice in their governments, and our point remains - if UB students want the government to take themselves and their generation seriously, they need to pack the Student Union during Election Day.
With events like "Rock the Vote" helping to increase participation during major election years, similarly entertaining and informative campaigns need to be organized on campus. While groups such as the New York State Public Interest Group and the SUNY SA delegation were extremely active earlier in the semester during the voter registration drive, there was no one in the Union on Nov. 5 encouraging students to vote when the election was actually taking place. If the voting booths were more visible and people were out promoting the election as they do during the Student Association elections, a greater turnout could be expected.
Students do not realize that local elections have a far more immediate impact on individual lives than national elections. Turnout is traditionally higher when the presidency is at stake, but state, county and local elected officials deal with issues facing their citizens' communities. During these elections, a single vote tends to have much greater impact on election results due to the smaller pool of voters eligible to cast a ballot.
This lack of participation, coupled with voting inequities and scandals, leads to a deterioration of the democratic process. There can be little doubt that the taste of the Florida scandal during the 2000 presidential election still lingers on the palate of prospective voters. This serves to give students the impression that disenfranchisement is a fact of life in America, and they seem to choose removing themselves from the system entirely.
As it stands, students at UB that live in Ellicott, Hadley, or Governors have no excuse not to vote. The voting machines are centrally located in the Student Union, with signs leading to the polling place. The egregiously apathetic nature of UB's turnout will not aid in remedying the age-old complaint that politicians do not care about young people. Why should they, when their jobs do not rely on young people?
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
