Yes, the winner of the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) presidential election is Christian Ragland, but take a look at the voter turnout last week and one gets the sense that there was a different winner.
The real winner last week? Apathy. Only 17 percent of students took a minute out of their day last Wednesday to make their voices heard, which equals 6,791 students out of about 40,000.
This data begs the question: Why are Penn State students so apathetic? Is it laziness? Are they not well-informed?
It's not as if voting for UPUA president is a painful process. When we say only 17 percent of students took a minute out of their day, we really mean it.
The process literally takes a minute, maybe more if you've got a spotty Wi-Fi connection to grapple with.
This is just discouraging. Not even a quarter of the student body cares enough to vote for who will lead them for the next year.
But perhaps more discouraging is the complacency that is apparent in some UPUA members. Commisioner for Administration and Enforcement Samantha Miller called the turnout "phenomenal" and indicative of the "progress UPUA has made."
But 17 percent voter turnout is nothing close to phenomenal, and maintaining the status quo is not significant either. This year's turnout amounted to 10 fewer voters than last year. If this year is truly indicative of UPUA's progress, then there is a lot of room for improvement.
We hope this complacency that UPUA is maintaining isn't a sign of things to come with Ragland and vice president Colleen Smith who are UPUA incumbents. There needs to be serious, informed research as to why students aren't willing to take a minute out of their day to cast their vote for student representation.
