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A newspaper bailout is not the answer
Greg Merema | Northern Star
Students should know what they're signing for
Last updated on 09/22/2009 at 12:36 a.m.
College campuses are known to harbor free speech. Here, we allow different political parties to campaign and to petition for their candidates.
Students see candidates and people campaigning for them throughout the year, gathering signatures in the Martin Luther King Commons.
Students should not blindly support politicians when they are unsure of what they stand for.
Even though the opportunity to sign your name on a powerful petition may seem liberating, you should not exercise this freedom through ignorance. Researching and being cautious of your decisions and how they will affect your community is what turns a student into a responsible voter.
“We cannot force people to do that [not solicit petitions]. Good citizens should ask for more information,” said Barbara Burrell, director of graduate studies and professor of Women and Politics, Public Opinion, Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections.
Campaigning parties should be responsible and provide students with ample information on their candidates when asking for students’ signatures. Is the real aim of these parties to educate voters or meet the quota of signatures required for candidates to run?
We, the students who have signed petitions in the past, grant candidates the ability to run for office and potentially the power to control many of the important aspects of our daily lives as citizens.
That’s not to say that the campaigning parties don’t have a place on campus.
“Any political campaigning should be on Martin Luther King Commons,” said Paul Stoddard, associate professor of Plate Tectonics, Geodynamics and Planetary Geology, and faculty adviser for College Democrats. “Historically, college campuses are easier to find people to sign petitions; however, state-wide candidates should be wary of people who sign that are not registered to vote in that state.”
There are no laws forbidding campaigning parties from petitioning on campus, but does this make it ethical?
Both professors agreed that it is ethical to do because it is the responsibility of the signer to know about whom they are agreeing to support.
“A part of [students] getting involved in the election process is being aware of who is running,” Stoddard said.
Students are not entitled to detailed information on candidates, but in order to be considered a responsible voter, you should research anything you attach your name to before signing it away.
If both political camps and students are responsible, they can both benefit from on-campus campaigning.
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