If the ever-rising cost of tuition irritates you and extraneous costs you pay to groups such as ASMSU feel like a kick when you are down, hold on to that feeling.
Turn on your computer and go to studentelections.msu.edu to vote in ASMSU's election. With just a few clicks, you can save yourself $3 next fall by stopping a proposed tax increase for a student scholarship fund that would raise the total tax paid to ASMSU to $16.75 per semester.
Or if the idea of giving money to other deserving students appeals to you, vote for it. At any rate, just vote. It's your election, your chance to have an effect on an undergraduate student government that's been known to blow money on T-shirts with their logo and leather couches for their lounge.
Perhaps you feel some fresh blood in the system will benefit everyone. Up for grabs are 33 seats on the Student Assembly and 26 on the Academic Assembly. It should be noted that, at print time, there were still 13 seats left open on the Academic Assembly and 17 on the Student Assembly for write-in candidates. That means, if you are an undergraduate student, you can go online and get yourself voted into these assemblies. The people elected to them help make decisions about current proposals and, in general, are the ones who decide on issues that truly affect students.
The Academic Assembly advocates issues that affect undergraduates and their classes. Some of those issues ASMSU is considering now include the creation of a minors program and adding courses to different colleges.
The Student Assembly advocates student life issues on campus. For example, it discussed tailgating regulations on campus last fall and, most recently, the open-alcohol ban passed by the MSU Board of Trustees.
In particular, some ASMSU members weren't too happy with the way the latter issue was handled, after $4,000 proposed to be spent on ads to draw students to the trustee's board meeting was never actually spent.
Another key issue on the ballot is the possibility of amending ASMSU's constitution to combine both assemblies into one. If anyone sees a benefit to having a bicameral system, speak now, or forever grumble if ASMSU completely changes the way it makes decisions.
History has proven ASMSU elections are not generally a very hot vote. With voter turnout ranging from just above 2 percent to about 15 percent in past years, people seem to have been more concerned with filling out brackets than ballots.
ASMSU expects voter turnout to improve this year. It had the foresight to throw a pre-election pizza party for the candidates, undergraduates and current ASMSU members.
Don't miss a chance to vote on things that can have a real effect on your everyday life here at MSU. The election begins at 7 a.m. today and will run until 7 p.m. on Thursday, which gives you about 36 hours to get to a computer with Internet access. Do it in your underwear, do it between class assignments, do it before you go to bed - just do it.
