There have been three elections in the past year, so I don’t blame you if you’re tired of having the word “vote!” shoved down your throat. Between municipal, federal, provincial, SCSU and other clubs’ elections, voting can become a pain in the ass.

Reporting on the fact that students just don’t like voting has been done to death. In this issue, we try to examine why students don’t show up to the polls. The common perception is that we are just plain uninterested, but this is a really half-ass explanation that undermines the intelligence of students. Isn’t it possible that politics is the problem and not students? Or both?

In trying to put this issue together, news editor Ranziba Nehrin and I started with the question: do politicians really care about students? We still don’t have an answer.

You would think that politicians would jump at the opportunity to connect with a student demographic, especially since tuition is such a hot topic in this election. But for the most part, we had to fight tooth and nail to get the interviews we have in this issue.

No names mentioned, but some provincial candidates simply “didn’t have enough time” for a ten-minute interview, while others kept us hanging until the very last minute. When our news editor mentioned to one MPP candidate that rising tuition fees is one of the leading issues in the election, he/she replied, “Well, that’s your opinion.” WTF?

Overall, the interviews were a mixed bag. Some politicians were excited to talk to us, others “didn’t have time” and a few made us question the intelligence level of individuals that are allowed to run in an election. (Yes, one politician used the word “ghettoize” in a sentence.)

One thing was unanimous — they all sounded like they were reading off a script. And then they wonder why students call politics inaccessible. (Almost) every politician we talked to sounded like a robot with a programmed speech that pretends like it’s answering your question when it’s really not.

People will tell you that not voting is an insult to democracy, but maybe the fact that students aren’t voting should be an indication that politicians are doing something wrong. Why does it have to be students that are the problem?

My philosophy is that if you want to complain tomorrow, vote today. And I love complaining, so I’ll definitely be voting. As someone who believes that everyone should vote, it’s hard for me to understand why people wouldn’t want to. But after working on this issue, I think I have a better understanding of why some students shun the political system, and it’s probably because the political system shuns them.

On Oct. 6, election day, I don’t think that students will suddenly flock to the polls. But I hope that instead of rambling on about student voter apathy, politicians will stop playing the victim and take some responsibility.

Sincerely,
Aly Kassam
Editor-in-chief, The Underground

Aly Kassam

Editor-in-chief, The Underground