Student Senate President Kyle Triplett put it best: We’ve (seemingly) crossed the bridge.
After almost four weeks, the Ohio University Student Senate finally took a vote on a controversial resolution condemning the wording of Ohio Senate Bill 5. The final verdict: The vote failed to pass, 21-20, with Triplett using his tiebreaker vote to trump a deadlock.
With the debate apparently ended for now, there are two clear takeaways from the most contentious Student Senate resolution we’ve covered during the four years I’ve worked for The Post.
The first is that students care — maybe not about senate politics, but certainly about the issues that are affecting their educations and families livelihoods. Past senates have complained about a lack of student involvement, and voter turnout for the endlessly long Student Senate elections is pathetically low year after year. But by fighting for their cause, the almost 100 different students who made their voices heard showed that OU students aren’t as disengaged as we make them out to be.
Moving forward, it is key that senate harvests the enthusiasm and emotion of these students. Some, who campaigned for the senate to not weigh in on the controversial state issue, might be tempted to sit at home and rejoice in their victory. The dozens of students involved in We are Ohio who have been pressuring senate to condemn Issue 2 are understandably frustrated. Many of them will likely give up their senate sit-ins, while others scheme for their next move to persuade senate to pass a similar resolution.
But I hope neither group chooses those options.
The debate over Issue 2 isn’t finished. But more importantly, the struggle to encourage student turnout in the Nov. 8 election is just beginning.
The results of this fall’s vote will, without a doubt, affect students at OU, so it’s my hope that motivated students from both sides of the aisle will consider joining with senate for a “Rock the Vote” campaign. Passing a senate resolution would have been one way for the student voice to be heard. However, the most effective way will be having heavy turnout at the polls.
However, these groups won’t be able to productively work together unless they can bury the vitriolic bickering they’ve engaged in for weeks. Which brings us to the next point.
Student activism is often a display of the best a college campus has to offer, and there is no doubt that the passion of students on both sides of this issue has been inspiring. But at the same time, the hostile, immature and personalized demonization of senate executives and those who opposed passing the resolution has represented the worst part of political involvement.
Let’s put the political bickering aside because working together is the only way to achieve a better educated and politically engaged student body — which should be the ultimate goal.
Wesley Lowery is a senior studying journalism and editor-in-chief of The Post.
Send him your thoughts at wl372808@ohiou.edu.
