I usually don’t post about things not related to environmental or media topics on here, but I felt compelled today to write about something that’s been on my mind lately.

The University of Michigan will be having its annual Central Student Government presidential elections in less than a month, and students have begun announcing their candidacy over the last few weeks. I’m not involved with the Central Student Government, nor do I write for the Michigan Daily, nor am I a member of any student political party, nor am I blindly supporting any of the current candidates. But I am a student at the university, and I am among the less than 20% of the student body that actually votes in student government elections. So I guess you could say I have a voice, just as the other 40,000 students here do, and I choose to use it.

But why do so many others stay quiet? A voter turnout under 20% indicates a large lack of interest in student government. By comparison, the US national voter turnout rate in federal elections in the last decade or so has wavered around 50%—though even this is rather low among democratic nations of the world. But why do people vote? When it comes to federal elections, people may want to help control where their tax dollars go, what individual rights they have, or what kind of environment they live in. While patriotism may play a role, it seems reasonable to say that one out of every two eligible voters in this country votes because they believe their government does something that affects them, and they would like a say in that action.

In terms of patriotism at the college level—school spirit—the University of Michigan is probably unparalleled. The fact that we can fill up well over 100,000 seats at every football game season after season alone can attest to that. But that school spirit doesn’t translate into exercising voting rights. And why? Unlike a national, state, or even local government, a student government does not have the power to actually make things happen.

Cue the outrage. I’m sure many past and present members of student governments can quote resolutions they’ve passed and point to figures that have increased or decreased in their favor since they began some initiative—and that’s great. It’s important that students get involved in campus affairs. But it’s not right to say that student government has real power, because at the end of the day it’s the university administration that will call the shots. If I ask for tuition to stop being raised right now, can student government pass a resolution to guarantee it? If I sue the university for not letting me live with a student of the opposite gender, can student government ensure that I am able to present my case? If my academic interests don’t align with anything already offered at the university, can student government go ahead and create a new department or major?

Sure, student government doesn’t have these abilities, and maybe no one expects them to. Then why the promises, the rhetoric, the politicization? There are currently three students who have announced their candidacy for next month’s presidential elections. All three are individuals who I happen to have met personally in the past, and all three are committed, motivated, and capable people. But it’s a college election. And there’s already mudslinging via social media and heated debate on the candidates’ Viewpoint articles in the Michigan Daily. Political parties are accused of being “machines” and campaigns are chided as being “hasty”. All this, for a position that doesn’t guarantee any kind of power or influence?

I’m not here to substitute my democratic voting rights with cynicism. I’m a strong supporter of students caring about and getting involved in what happens on campus. Administrators do in fact care what students think, and they are swayed by student government representatives. But with less than 20% of the student body voting, one can hardly say that these people are truly “representative” of anyone other than themselves.

I haven’t chosen a presidential candidate to support yet. But I will continue to follow their campaigns, read their platforms, and examine their marketing; and come election day I will make a decision and cast my vote. Whether others will or will not largely depends on whether student government means anything to them. It’s one thing to promise to make student government more relevant to students in campaigns, but it’s another thing entirely to make it relevant enough to get them to vote in the first place.