A message from your Students’ Association: To the Unwashed Masses
Why should you vote? It won’t matter anyway… or will it?
Tristan Smyth
SAMRU Vice President Academic
Don’t vote.
That’s what your gut is probably telling you, I know mine is. Voting is a lot of work: finding the nearest polling station, bringing the necessary identification, making an informed decision. On Oct. 27, I will be curled up in a blanket watching Netflix, and then something will trigger my memory, it’s the byelection. Unmotivated and reluctant, I will have to put on pants and then schlep to some community centre to vote — all the while, crossing my fingers my vote will even mean anything.
The thing is, it does mean something. Individually, no Albertan’s vote means anything, whether you’re Jim Prentice or Joe Schmo. However, collectively those votes elect people, sway opinions and overthrow governments. In the past SAMRU election 2,503 votes were cast, which is 23% of the eligible vote. To put it in perspective: less than 2,500 votes have been the difference in three of the past four elections in the Calgary-Elbow riding. Nearly 2,500 votes would have changed the results in the past three elections in both Calgary-West and Calgary-Foothills. All of these are ridings, which are facing a byelection on Oct. 27.
Your gut, that source of cynicism and sloth, would point out not every Mount Royal student lives in those ridings, nor is every student eligible to vote. Yes, that sourpuss may be right, but we are far greater in number than 2,503. There are 12,577 credit and 24,673 non-credit students at Mount Royal, with most people having family, friends and colleagues. The university also employs 2,305 people, who probably also have family and friends. If your gut is still telling you that voting doesn’t matter, it is dead wrong. Don’t just vote in the byelection; convince five others to do so too.
