Temple Student Government elections are a week away, and the two tickets running are trying to win over student voters so they can lead TSG next year.
The two tickets are profiled this week in The Temple News, and while both are attempting to differentiate themselves and come out victorious, it is hard to see a noticeable difference between the two.
TU Dream Team and TUACTION! each have four platforms that make up the base of their campaigns. Technically, all eight platforms are different, but the wording is so similar with some of them, they seem to be stressing the same point. It is hard to tell which ticket will execute its duties better and how they will be done.
TU Dream Team wants to increase communication and TUACTION! wants to make TSG more transparent to the student body. TSG is already working to get students more involved in student government and the current elections, but it’s difficult to tell whether their efforts are working.
There are more debates this year to get the word out about the elections, and voting for the election will take place online. It doesn’t matter how many debates TSG holds or how the voting is done if the interest isn’t there.
Many students are unaware of what TSG does and don’t know why they should go to a debate or vote in the election. Some don’t see the tangible results of what TSG does.
At other schools, student governments plan events on campus, and that’s how the student body recognizes them. At Temple, we have the Main Campus Program Board. MCPB plans a majority of the events on campus, leaving TSG without the public face that other student governments have.
Members of TSG need to become more visible in the Temple community to get better recognition for their hard work.
Senators and other members of TSG should attend meetings held by other student organizations to find out what is making students tick. The senators are often in the buildings of the colleges that they represent, but sitting at a TSG table isn’t being proactive.
It isn’t enough to invite Temple students to Senate meetings. If they aren’t coming to TSG, then leaders must go to the students.
Being proactive about approaching students and educating them about what TSG does and how it can improve the student experience is imperative to the future of TSG’s success.
Surprise, Surprise—the Temple News disses Temple Student Government elections. Perhaps the reason many students are apathetic is because every year your editorial almost tells them to be. For once, why don’t you encourage people to vote?
As for your obtuse comments about the similarities between the two platforms are ludicrous. Your editorial board picked one issue (communication and transparency) and generalized based upon it. And is it so bad if both tickets recognize the same problem exists? Did Barrack Obama and John McCain both not address the same issues repeatedly?
And what about the rest of their platforms? TUAction and TU Dream Team address different issues and have different plans. For example, you failed to mention that TUAction proposes providing students with several new and important services including shuttles to Center City and legal assistance. On the other hand, you ignored TU Dream Team’s plans on recognizing long term student organizations. Those are just two examples.
How many negative students will run about TSG? How often will insult it? Be responsible in your editorials and in your journalism.
Personally, I couldn’t agree more with this. Honestly, I think ‘Election Fairness’ needs to stop whining about this because everything in this article is true. It’s time for TSG to face the truth: they have FAILED the students; its survival depends on it being proactive by approaching students. Other than in the Temple News, I have not really heard anything about the elections. Where is the advertisement? There is no excuse for even one student to not be aware of the election going on (even if they don’t vote). The problem is that each year the TSG board is elected from the same pool of people that failed the year before by the same pool of people that failed the year before.
The current elections further prove this. While there are most certainly going to be small difference with the platforms, the basic ideas are the same, as they have been for years. What else is the same? The inefficiency of TSG every year. So why do does the student body fund such a failing organization? I have no answer because if it were up to me, I’d keep the money to spend it on something useful. Looking at the platforms, I see all this great ideas, but I question how will these candidates make them a reality. There is no credible plan laid out for anything. Also, if I’m not mistaken, a shuttle to center city already exist. I’ve taken it numerous times, and it drops you off near TUCC. Maybe the candidates need to do a little more homework.
Has anyone ever actually taken the time to read the minutes from the TSG meetings? Recently, I came across a meeting where a new recording for the Temple fight song was proposed because the old one didn’t reflect the diversity at Temple? Seriously? Is that a joke? Frankly, I’m insulted. If TSG wants students to take them seriously, they need to take us seriously. The reason for student apathy isn’t the Temple News (they know how to do their job well considering students actually know what it is and have an idea what the students expect from it); rather, it is TSG own fault for failing to meet the needs of its student body.
How many students do you think give a damn about the reflection of diversity in the fight song? I’m going to take an educated guess and say it certainly is no where near a majority. So why are we wasting time on such things. The answer: inefficient and fragmented leadership. By this, I am not simply referring to TSG alone. Temple administration also fails to provide them with the tools necessary to be successful. I have dealt with Temple administration in a variety of student organizations, and getting simple answer from anyone is like pulling teeth! While I know and like many of the candidates this time around, I think we need to stop fooling ourselves into thinking that more of the same is going to make anything better. In my opinion, we should just cancel the elections, give TSG a semester to reorganize, and give them a clean slate. Much like with GM, TSG needs to show its students that it is a valuable investment. Otherwise, why are we wasting our money?
My response to ‘Election Fairness’: TSG needs to be held accountable for its lack of responsibility. Stop attacking the integrity of The Temple News. They, unlike TSG, are doing their job. Just because you don’t agree with it does not make it irresponsible journalism.
By the way, I am not involved in The Temple News. I am simply a student at Temple who is appalled by TSG.