Page 9 April 1, 2009

Panther Post

550 University Ave. Room 218 Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3 Tel: 566-0629 Fax: 566-0979 pantherpost@ gmail.com

Editor-in-chief

Lucas McInnis _ Production editor Sebastian Baglole Business manager Martha MacIntyre

Sports editor Kate VanGerven

Reporters Andie Bulman Whitney Bysterveldt

Jarrod Yeo : Contributors Cassandra Bernard Peter Corbett Shavado Gibson Danielle MacDonald Adelee MacNevin Paige Matthie Laura Yorke

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OPINION

n a career that appears to demand competition and ani- mosity, it is certainly fortunate to see that our campus politi- cians have remained good natured through the duration and comple- tion of the most recent elections.

The debates were an eye-opening experience to those in attendance as each candidate portrayed to the best of their abilities the problems that demand immediate attention.

No problem presented by any candidates, whether it be Presi- dent, Executive VP or VP Activ- ites, should be ignored, and that is something I hope next year’s council keeps in mind.

I’m certain they will.

For those of you who have not read pages two and three of the paper you are currently in posses- sion of, I sincerely suggest you do. Upon reading the words it becomes all too obvious the candidates are quite good-natured and are in the

The Other Si of the Story

by

Lucas McInnis

best of spirits following the elec- tion. Those who emerged victori- ous are naturally riding on a cloud, and even more enlightening are the candidates who failed to walk away from the election with the quantity of votes necessary to win. They, too, are also strutting around campus with a certain glow.

As they should be.

Votes don’t lie (usually) and the fantastic voter turnout is a direct indicator of the immaculate work all candidates did, win or lose.

As candidates they represented the basis of their platforms perfectly and regardless of how many or how

PANTHER POST

few votes were received, all candi-

dates should look at their numbers

and realize there is a population on this campus that agrees with you.

There’s no point in running with

a vendetta in mind and through

these candidates it has become

abundantly clear the number of dilemmas currently encompassing our fair school.

Any student looking to run in fu- ture campus elections should look to this year as the proper way to run an election. I’m certain that in any circumstance: this school would have had a council that has only the most professional interest in mind.

Of course, there are no doubt exceptions to the words I’ve just written. Animosity is to be ex- pected, but I am positive that any disappointment currently running amuck at UPEI will soon pass as the candidates realize that whether they won their election or not, they have problems to address, people to

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us

By Sebastian Baglole Panther Post

was a bit disappointed

with the results of our most recent election. I don’t take issue with the impressive voter turnout, in fact I hope we con- tinue the trend.

I’m more bitter that the animosity generated over the course of the cam- paign, something that plays no small part in voter turnout, dissipated immediately following the results. We are spec- tators in an arena, we want to be entertained, so we can make judgments and take sides over which gladiator we’ ll place our bets on. We want a good guy and bad guy, and ~

naturally we hope our good guy takes the cake. Now this is a bit vague, so allow me to elaborate. The entertainment drawn from the defeated in an election making a — stand over their defeated politics should be a requirement, in such an institution as our own, as in a federal or provin- cial election. We need to establish an opposition; a collection of grumbling Gorgons, the unpaid elite among the unelected so that they have nothing to gain or lose from their tantrums, who feed off the success of the Student Union committee as well as their failures, and pro- pose their own superior politics. For what is more entertaining than dysto-

pia within democracy? If you’re going to form

a respectable democracy within an institution of learning, make it inter- esting for the rest of us. Fuck up, make a few poor decisions, and claim accountability -- make all of your actions known to us, the students. Without that element of integra- tion that stems from Union disorganization, we will never get suf- ficient student feedback into policies that shall govern them, and cre- ate laws we can respect. Because everyone has an opinion when it comes to politics. And that makes everyone’s opinion equally invalid.

Sebastian Baglole is the production editor for the Panther Post

help, and absolutely no rea- son to think that the dedica- tion they showed during the election is any less vital now than it was before and during the election.

Lucas MclInnis is the editor- in-chief of the Panther Post

Letters to the editor and guest opinions must bear the signature and class of the author. The author’s name will be published. Letters must be 350 words or less. The editor will edit for length and reserves the right of editoral discretion in the publication of the letters. Letters should be sent to: pantherpost@gmail. com. Copyright in let- ters and other materials submitted to The Panther Post and accepted for publication remains with the author, but The Panther Post and its licensees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other forms.