Candidate forum flops

Wednesday, the IDS Editorial Board attempted to hold a candidate forum with the intentions of endorsing candidates for Tuesday's election. We called -- hardly anyone came.\nWe aren't sure if it's because historically, IU students don't vote. Perhaps the generalized view that all college students maintain a stagnate state of apathy toward the political arena was the driving force behind the no-shows. We only gave them two and a half weeks notice before the event. Maybe that wasn't enough time and their schedules were already booked. \n All we know is that we offered a prime opportunity for these candidates to speak indirectly to nearly 37,000 possible voters and most of them didn't think it was important enough for their presence (or so it seems). Regardless of possible prior obligations, these candidates could have made the time. We even offered to meet separately or reschedule if our time wasn't feasible for a majority of those invited.\nOf the four who actually showed up, all were third party candidates. Libertarian Secretary of State candidate Rebecca Sink-Burris, Libertarian State Representative Dis. 61 candidate Clark Brittain and U.S. Representative Dis. nine candidates Al Cox (Libertarian) and Jeff Melton (Green) should be commended for caring enough to directly inform us about their goals and issues. They proved you don't have to be bipartisan to be passionate.\nWe invited all candidates for Secretary of State, U.S. Representative candidates for districts nine and four and State Representative candidates for districts 61 and 60. \nState Representative candidates for district 60, including Peggy Welch (D), Jim Billingsley (L) and David Sabbagh (R), as well as Matt Pierce (D) for district 61, are all residents of Bloomington, the same city where the forum was held. Our Mayor and Democratic Secretary of State candidate John Fernandez didn't show either. Other candidates from Ellettsville, Ind., and Nashville, Ind., could not find enough pressing reasons to drive 30 minutes into town. \nHowever, this is all water under the bridge. For whatever reasons our forum was a flop, the fact still remains that we are interested in what happens on Nov. 5 and we want to encourage all of you to share this sentiment. But Wednesday night we couldn't vote for endorsements. We didn't feel as if we were informed enough about the candidates and the races to accurately represent the views of the IDS. So we're doing our homework, and next week we will begin introducing you to who we think will represent the best interests of students.\nIt's our democratic duty to vote, because as students who fall in that 18-24 year old category, we will never be able to prove we care if the numbers aren't there to support our claim. As disheartening as it was Wednesday night to feel as if IU students weren't important enough to campaign to, we still have to rock the vote -- because obviously, no one else is going to do it for us.\n-- Meghan Dwyer for the Editorial Board