Opinion

ASM shows freshmen its inner self

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Related stories:

• Advice for UW's advising (October 30, 2001)
• Earn your right to gripe (October 14, 2001)
• Large freshman class needs advice (June 28, 2001)
• Party etiquette: A freshman disaster (October 3, 2008)
• SJ should reconsider appointment (November 17, 2005)

Also by Badger Herald Editorial Board:

• The Invisible Man Award: Wyndham Manning (May 7, 2009)
• The People's Choice Award: Jacqueline Hitchon et. al (May 7, 2009)
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: ASM (May 7, 2009)
• Honest representation (May 5, 2009)
• Junger for ASM Chair (May 5, 2009)

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ASM elections, like most things ASM does, are largely ignored. Their elections have at least a tinge of corruption and are loaded with rhetoric. This time, ASM somehow convinced an impressive 21 percent of freshmen to vote in last week’s poorly-advertised fall elections. ASM reports this to be a freshman record. But in true ASM style, something had to go wrong.

The 2,000-plus student votes cast were not tabulated. DoIT, referred to by some as “DoNot” for their reputation among students as being largely unhelpful, claims full responsibility for this error.

ASM was almost out of the clear for this mistake and can even improve the makeup elections, mainly by making sure every student actually receives an e-mail notifying them of the elections. But, alas, ASM decides to do the illogical.

The “new” elections will be new in the sense that all the voting for the two freshmen seats, the SSFC seat and the two referendum questions, must be redone. However, they are not “new” in the sense that no new candidates can be added to the ballot. But, they will be “new” in the sense that all the alleged election violations and complaints against campaigning in the original election will simply be dismissed. It will not be “new” in the sense that old violations will go unpunished.

Did you follow all that? We didn’t think so. Welcome to ASM.