But Klatt says he'll cast a vote for BARE.
To the Editor,
It’s election session once again. My guess is the vast majority of the campus is excited that this year the campaign only lasts two weeks instead of four. This year’s campaign should be interesting, with much of the vote coming down to whether or not students support expanding Student Senate voting rights to all students.
This policy was spearheaded by candidates of the BARE ticket, the same group of students who spearheaded students’ right to vote on their confidence in the administration’s ability to fairly manage Ohio University during this year’s student government election. Many of the members of BARE were involved in organizing last week’s Bat Rally, which brought together between 400-600 students, faculty and staff who oppose the unaccountable and self-serving priorities of the administration and trustee board.
I’m disappointed that Keith Wilbur, the Kasich-appointed student trustee representative, won’t be on this year’s ballot. While I don’t agree with most of Wilbur’s positions, I think his Greek life-centered party TIME brings an important perspective that belongs in the debates. You might also remember Gabby Bacha, the presidential candidate of SOS. She is closely tied to the folks from the ONE ticket from last year, and one of the individuals named as an accomplice in the alleged theft of a number of Post papers during the student government election a couple years back.
I think this year’s diverse set of parties shows the kind of growth our campus has gone through in the last couple years. There are many tickets to vote for, and I hope people consider all of them. I, for one, will be casting a ballot for BARE, the ticket that’s demonstrated that raising student worker wages should be a priority, along with opposing OU’s tuition hikes. BARE has demonstrated that they can mobilize large sections of the campus body to hold the university accountable. In all reality, that’s really the only power Student Senate has ever had. I’m going to vote my Bobcat values and vote BARE, along with voting no confidence in the trustee board and the administration.
Will Klatt is a second-year MPA student at Ohio University.
