Grab hold of the chance: vote

In one week, IU students can log on and cast their ballots for next year's IUSA leaders. We expect a clean election with results that will accurately reflect student votes. \nLast year there was a mess in which the ticket receiving the second-highest vote total won because the leading ticket broke campaign rules. Unfortunately, that confusion probably has increased at least a few students' cynicism toward IUSA elections.\nThis year there are new tickets, new issues and 6,000 potential new voters. There is a new opportunity to ensure the election is fair and open. Most importantly, this is a chance to turn IUSA toward a new era of productivity. With a fresh election cycle, students must decide to participate in elections for the leaders who will represent their interests in the coming year.\nOnce students hear about the issues, they deserve to participate in elections where their vote will count. Without a doubt, too few students vote, but those who do should be commended for using the ballot box to influence the direction of the campus.\nIt's tempting to whine that our elected leaders don't do enough. Professional politicians and student representatives alike can always do something more to solve a given problem, but for a moment, let's turn our critical eye upon ourselves as the student body. Do the students give its representatives sufficient impetus to push hard for change?\nIf you vote, by all means, hold your representatives accountable for following through on their promises next year. If, however, logging on to a Web site is a bit too challenging for you, don't be surprised when IUSA fails to meet your expectations. \nOf course, politicians, IUSA leaders included, can be faulted for not giving us a reason to vote, but change must begin with ordinary IU students. \nLet's make this campus extraordinary by breaking the circular logic that stagnates even national politics. When IUSA has an undeniable reason to respond to and act on student needs, the administration and others will listen and help achieve student goals.\nLow turnout, of course, does not in any way excuse IUSA from energetically advocating for the whole student body, but we cannot force student leaders to change things like parking, OneStart or book prices if we do not vote. IU students need not follow the poor example set by the 50 percent of the American public that chose inaction on election day. \nWe all know IU is a special place to go to school. Next week we can take a big step toward making the campus better for every student: We can vote for our leaders and then demand results.