Opinion

David beat Goliath

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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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In a time when many students have become disillusioned with the political process, it is heartening to see that money does not, in fact, buy everything.

Last week marked a clear win for opponents of the casino referendum, sending the proposed DeJope expansion down by a nearly 30-point margin.

But the victory was not an easy one. No Dane Casino faced an opponent that spent at least $1.3 million in advertising, push polling and many other techniques common in modern media-driven campaigns. No Dane Casino spent approximately $60,000 in a grassroots effort to stop the Ho Chunk Nation’s proposal.

And for that grassroots effort, the victors of this brawl received 93,535 votes, or 64.47 percent. That comes out to about 54 cents per vote. And the Ho Chunks? A bit less efficient: 51,543 votes, or 35.52 percent, at a cost of around $29.10 per vote. Apparently the old adage that whichever campaign has more money will inevitably win, isn’t much of a rule.

Truly, we find this victory inspiring. Volunteers, experts, prominent local officials and students came together to get the message out one person at a time, or through an equally efficient means — open forums. Their hard work in the face of an overwhelming financial juggernaut stands as testament to the power of the individual voice. People can, when working together for a common cause, be the Davids that overcome Goliath. Nothing is impossible in a democracy that allows the freedom of speech and association.

With so many media pundits and paid consultants trying to convince students with flashy messages and advertising, the campus acted independently and examined the facts. And it turned out against the casino by a decisive margin.