Wednesday, October 23, 1996
USAC:
Be responsible: before heading to polls inform yourself with
unbiased facts of Prop. 209By Amber Henry
I have had it. My last straw was the front page article "Student
group unites to fight Prop. 209" on the Oct. 15 edition of the
Daily Bruin.
It explained the formation of the Educational Crew as part of
student government, with John Du heading up this special committee
of 15 members from diverse backgrounds. The article then described
that "educating the student population about the November ballot."
was one of this group’s main goals. Yet in the same article, Du was
also quoted as saying "We need to make sure that Proposition 209
doesn’t pass" To me, these two statements are incongruous.
You see, as a student of this university, I like to consider
myself a relatively intelligent person, capable of making informed,
responsible decisions, both in general and especially where
politics are concerned. I admit that politically I’m not as well
educated as possible on the issues, but I definitely plan to be for
the upcoming election. With this as my plan, of course I would
gladly welcome any pains student government takes to present me
with the UNBIASED facts, so that I may become a more informed
voter.
Unfortunately, it seems that they have instead undertaken to
practically vote for me or at least use me as a pawn for
implementing their political agenda, all under the guise of "voter
education." Take Proposition 209 for instance, one of the most
potent issues for California on Nov. 5. In order to feel properly
informed, I would like to read a copy of the original document
(heaven forbid) and then possibly read a discussion of both sides
 one on what the proposition itself and its supporters hope
to achieve, followed by the views of the opponents and their
speculations about its negative effects. Then, I would consider
myself informed enough to vote.
Listening to John Du’s opinion of Proposition 209 informs me of
nothing more than John Du’s opinion. Why should I care what he
thinks? Certainly, I could not consider myself a responsible voter
if I voted solely on the basis of his propaganda. And believe me,
that’s what it is.
We all saw the Death of Education campaign. How balanced was
that? And what about all of the flyers being handed out on Bruin
Walk. I was given one that said "Prop. 209 will threaten … every
student’s right to an education." Really, how will it do that? This
comment is neither explained nor justified. It is simply meant to
scare us with rash and exaggerated judgments. Voting on the basis
of such fear certainly contradicts the goal of being an educated
voter. Ironically, the title of this flyer was "Knowledge is Power"
when all it had was a bunch of short statements telling me that I
must vote a certain way or my very existence as a student is in
danger. Is this a rational voter education?
Of course, we must be proud of our differences, convictions and
political affiliations, and celebrate the fact that we live in a
country that not only allows but also encourages such
diversity.
I had a friend last year who said that this campus may be
diverse, but most people aren’t diverse in their thinking. The
wisdom of that statement still rings true to me. If we don’t open
up and start looking at each other as fellow students instead of
imposing inaccurate stereotypes on one another, then we are only
contributing to the problem and not to the solution.
I trust the students of this campus to fairly contemplate the
issues, the federal government trusts us to participate responsibly
in the election process; so, then why doesn’t the student
government trust us to make up our own minds with all of the facts?
Are they abusing their positions of power to sway student voters?
Do their opinions matter more than ours?
These are questions that each of us needs to answer for
ourselves. I just hope we each decide after careful, intelligent
consideration of all prominent points of view because that’s what
it means to truly be an educated voter.
Amber Henry is a second-year psychology student.