Renegade Rip

Issue date: 3/17/10 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Samantha Garrett "Not voting is the equivalent of putting that $750,000 in a cage with two howler monkeys, and then complaining when all they do is throw feces at people as they walk by."

Pro:

Gregory D. Cook
Multimedia editor

It takes about five minutes, you stand in a short line, make a couple of multiple choice decisions on a piece of paper, drop it into a box and go about the rest of your day, with the knowledge that you have taken part in that most sacred of democratic rituals: voting.

And yet many students pass on this chance to have an active role in choosing who will best represent their interests in the Bakersfield College Student Government Association.

So, why exactly would it be important who gets elected to the SGA?

They are not reforming our health care, making new tax laws and hopefully they do not have the power to declare war on other colleges. In fact, many students on campus have no real idea what function the SGA actually performs, and at least a few of the people reading this are thinking "We have a student government?" So in all honesty, what difference does it make who we elect?

The simple answer is what makes the world go round, it's the root of all evil and some people say it can't buy happiness. That's right, money, and the SGA controls a whole lot of it.

At the end of the fall 2009 semester, the Renegade Rip ran a story stating that the SGA was in control of over $750,000. Most of that money comes from student registration fees, and the good people of your student government, elected by the students that take the time to vote, are in charge of spending it.

They spend it on things like homecoming, spring fling, refurbishing the student center and the new food pantry. They have also been known to give some of it to various clubs and campus organizations to help fund their activities.

Not voting is the equivalent of putting that $750,000 in a cage with two howler monkeys, and then complaining when all they do is throw feces at people as they walk by. I like monkeys as much as the next guy, but even I can think of better uses for that kind of money.

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