Recent comments on the Torch website have prompted me to explain why we are pursuing the student government election results.
This past week, a reader left a comment on the story “Election results overdue” questioning the reasoning behind our coverage. She advised us to “forget getting the results and move onto other things going on[on] campus.”
The commenter also expressed we are “being dishonest to a RSO who put in so much hard work.”
It is clear the Torch and this reader have differing opinions.
“The election is over now, so what?” the reader said.
Please allow me the opportunity to answer that “so what.” Perhaps it will shed some light on why, despite roadblocks, the Torch continues to seek the election results.
In the United States and many other places around the world, it is believed every vote symbolizes a voice. Voting is an opportunity for the person exercising their right to be heard, to hold elected officials accountable for their decisions and to have a say in important issues that affect the community. Democracy is a principle this nation was founded on and continues to value today.
Without election results, which are traditionally readily available for anyone to view and more often than not publicized, why even vote?
We’re not targeting student government or making trouble just for the hell of it. The Torch is simply attempting to uphold its journalistic responsibility to empower ordinary citizens (in this case, students) to participate in the political process.
The Torch believes any governing agency that values openness, transparency and, above all, democracy will not only understand our desire to publish the election results but also appreciate and respect it.