By Staff Editorial

By Staff Editorial

Student elections are coming up soon… has anyone really noticed?

Does anyone really care?

It seems not.

At a time when the Riverside City College President Daniel Castro wants everyone to take a cue from Disneyland, it’s kind of hard to care because most students are stuck in the land of apathy.

Student apathy toward participation in student government is obvious due to the fact that there is only one student running for president of ASRCC.

Apathy is especially apparent when almost anyone can run for this position, but very few do.

Unfortunately, apathy toward participation leads to apathy in voting.

Why should you, the average student of RCC, bother to vote when the outcome is a certainty?

College pride for one.

You should care about the place where you spend valuable time and a great deal of money, and if you tell people in passing that this is the college that you attend, then you should feel obligated to get involved with your campus because it reflects on you.

But how does one vote make a difference in this election, you ask?

It is your college, and what happens here (the changes that are made) is a result of what you do when you possess the power to change something about this college.

It is your call of duty as a student to vote for your representatives in student government-because they represent you when it comes to dealing with the administration on this campus.

Voter participation sends a message throughout the entire college; students should be taken seriously here.

There has been a trend at this college to not take students seriously.

When this campus conducted a search for its new president, they did not include a student because, according to Academic Senate President Virginia McKee-Leone, the thinking was a student would not have the hours to commit to such a selection process.

More recently, at President Castro’s State of the

College Address April 20, there were sign- in sheets for people to fill out and check a box stating who they were (staff, faculty). Viewpoints students were first to sign in, but noticed there was no area for students to check.

When asked about this oversight, the people manning the sign-in sheets had no idea why there was not a space for students.

Finally, someone there said that they just “forgot” to include a spot for students.

Viewpoints editors proceeded to draw in a column for students to mark on the sheet.

It seems overlooked that without students, there is no Riverside City College.

But then why should the administration and college take students seriously when they can’t even take themselves by electing their representatives seriously?

It’s about time that students take things seriously around here.

Students hold a great deal of power, and it’s time they started using it, and the first step is getting informed and voting.

Sure, Michael Gonzales and Sonia Smith are the only ones running for president and vice president, but all students can attend the election forum on May 17 and tell them what the problems are and what they should do.

Student government is here for the students, so the concerns and ideas of students should be important to them.

Viewpoints spoke with Gonzales recently and we can tell you he is fully aware of the student apathy issue and wants to change that.

Feels great to be on the same page for once, eh?

Let’s assert our power and defy all voter turnout expectations that are already set by the administration and faculty and take the time to vote.

It’s not hard. We promise. It only takes five minutes tops on WebAdvisor.

Not only will the students’ voices be heard, but a major shift in perception of students will occur.

Plus, a chance to win a $25 gas card just for voting doesn’t hurt the students, either.