Editorial: USAC must not forget its political voice

In voting to pass a resolution against a United States-led war
on Iraq, the Undergraduate Students Association Council made an
admirable decision. Well, half of it did.

Five of the eleven members present at last week’s USAC
meeting voted to pass the resolution. Dahle does not vote outside
of situations where there is a tie. The other five abstained, some
saying they believed USAC taking positions on outside political
issues would unavoidably alienate some of the campus and so should
not be done.

But USAC is a government entity ““ its job is to reflect
the opinions of its populace and lead as such with its policies.
USAC members are elected every spring partially on their own
political stances. It would be counterproductive for council
members to abstain from advocating once in office.

Regardless of whether its opinion will have any real
implications (this one certainly will not), USAC needs to make its
views heard. Its function is largely symbolic ““ it is not
granted any real authority over even university affairs. The only
power USAC has lies in its ability to campaign on behalf of
students on issues confronting this campus and distribute
funding.

President Bush may not be listening to USAC’s resolution,
but students here are. If USAC neglects to lead this audience, it
forfeits most of its influence.

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