Spring quarter is now in full swing. People are donning T-shirts, midterms are starting, warm weather is upon us, and the inevitable approaches: Student Government (S.G.) elections.

Voting is a basic democratic right too often ignored in American society. Many assume that in a nation the size of ours, their vote won’t make a difference. Voting in a student-government situation generally garners a similar lack of interest. This is a shame. Student government offers numerous ways for interested students to affect the environment they live in. As a link between the student body and the administration, S.G. is a potentially powerful and influential institution. Its power, though, varies directly with the amount and quality of student participation in it. Elections offer each year’s best chance to demonstrate strong and widespread support for SG.

The elections will be held online from May 3 through 5. This gives students two weeks to decide which of the four slates running (Slate of the Union, This Charming Slate, Raising the Bar, The Moose Party) best fits the student leadership desired by the student body. To help students make this decision, the Maroon will, as the elections approach, be running a series of articles describing the campaigns, interviewing the slates, running opinions on the elections in Viewpoints, and eventually endorsing a candidate. In the meantime, we welcome any opinions from our readers.

Vote to support a slate, and vote to support a strong student government.