A member of the Ohio University Student Union urges student body to vote for BARE if they want their voices to be heard.
To the Editor,
I would like to take a moment to address the disparity between words and actions on the SOS ticket.
The “Serving Our Students,” or SOS, ticket is led by presidential nominee Gabby Bacha, current South Green senator and, to quote her own letter to the editor, a “leader with strong student advocacy experience and a passion to do more.” A “leader that collaborates well with others to inclusively represent the interests of our diverse student body.” Because “[we] deserve that.”
In fact, Gabby’s commitment to serving students extends all the way to actively opposing a resolution that grants senate voting rights to all Ohio University students. Two weeks ago, this very resolution was proposed in senate and Gabby, as well as many other members of the SOS ticket, was very vocally opposed to the idea, despite offering no constructive criticism whatsoever. The resolution passed, but only in spite of this.
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Their reasoning was that they wanted a chance to talk to students about the resolution first. This argument has never made sense to me. Who better to represent students than students themselves? How better to serve students than by giving them autonomy? Instead of taking this opportunity to act on her supposed ideals, or offering suggestions of how the resolution could be amended, Gabby Bacha voted no. And this is the president you are told you “deserve,” running on a ticket called Serving Our Students.
I write this as a student who has attended almost every senate meeting this year, but is not actually a member of senate. I did not have a vote unless I was proxying for someone who did. While I did have the ability to write resolutions and speak during the meetings, it would have been nice to have the authority to vote as myself, and not have to borrow someone else’s.
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Members of the BARE ticket, one of whom authored the voting resolution, would retain your right to vote in senate next year. They are the ones who have raised awareness of tuition hikes, rape culture and administrative overcompensation on campus. They are the ones willing to fight for you while working with administrators in Board of Trustees meetings, in Student Senate, in rallies and protests and — unlike anyone else — in the streets.
Do not forget about this.
Vote BARE. You actually deserve them.
Liz Masson is a senior studying journalism and French and a member of the Ohio University Student Union.
