Posted by Katherine Dedul in Question for the Candidates - About Questions

Posted by Admiral Joe P (Election Coordinator) in Question for the Candidates - About Questions
This question is for any candidate who chooses to answer.

I was in a conversation with someone discussing the election yesterday, and at one point my interlocutor expressed the following sentiment:

If only questions mattered other than to piss off the candidates…

1. Do you agree with this sentiment? Why or why not?
2. If you were in a conversation with someone and they said something like this, how would you react?
3. Do you think this sentiment is indicative of a larger problem with our club? If yes, what is the problem and what (if anything) would you do to solve it? If not, why not?

Joe

Hi Joe, thanks for the question.

1. I don’t agree with this sentiment. You should be able to ask a candidate legitimately how they intend to tackle X (basically whatever issue matters to you as a voter).

Ok. I think you expanded upon this with Nathan, so I won’t ask more about this now.

1. I would be disappointed, but voter apathy isn’t something unique to STF, it’s something that exists pretty much anywhere where people vote. I would probably try and find out why that person said what they said and maybe keep that in mind when discussing a bylaw or any general discussion in command.

2. It is something that Sage and I have pledged to try and combat, by trying to encourage people to bring things into command and communicate.

Again, as I said, voter apathy is something that modern democracies face. Particularly younger folk, I don’t have figures for other countries, but in Canada in our last federal election only 66% of eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted (and the figures are usually worse at the provincial and municipal levels). It’s not completely out of left field to assume there is some voter apathy that exists in club structures, similar to voter pools in governments.

-Kat

Yes, 66% participation is actually very high compared to most other groups and countries; I think the US is in the mid-fifties overall. I think the typical STF election has about 40% participation any given year, with 66% being seen in unusually high turnout elections.

Thank you for your answers, Kat.

Joe