Associated Students, Inc., President Terry Martin gave his State of the Students speech on March 8 in the University Union. While Martin gave an interesting speech on ASI and how students are doing on campus, there were few in attendance to hear him.

There are around 27,000 students at Sacramento State, but there were only about 30 listening to Martin. Even worse, a third of those were from ASI. For a speech from the ASI president, that turnout is pathetic.

The people who were listening were enthusiastic, possibly due to the free pizza. Martin gave his speech in the middle of the Union but only drew a small crowd. Is student apathy really that high?

Martin said the attendance was better than it has been in previous years, but thought this year’s attendance was “good.” He said that the Hinde Auditorium, used in previous years, drew an even smaller amount of students to speeches.

This is an improvement? With all the students walking through the Union at noon, why didn’t more people stop and listen? It is hard to believe they were all going to class, and were unable to spare a minute to stop and listen. The long line outside of Jamba Juice had a steady flow of customers, all without a care for what Martin was saying.

Sadly, those too preoccupied with “important” things missed a speech full of content that might interest them. While his points were sometimes hit or miss, such as blaming the lack of students graduating on poor academic advising and not on fewer sections of crucial classes, he did speak on what ASI is doing in the coming months. There will be a Teeter-Totter-A-Thon, which last year brought in more than $1,000. Also, ASI took part in the March 14 march for higher education that ended at the Capitol. Martin also noted there are going to be quite a few openings in the upcoming ASI election.

Perhaps it was because they did not know what was going on, despite the fact that there were plenty of signs around campus announcing the speech announcing free pizza. The signs have been sitting around for a few weeks, on major walkways, and were nearly impossible to miss. Maybe students in the Union couldn’t hear Martin, as the ambient noise from the Union canceled out his speakers, making it hard to hear him from even 20 feet away. Martin was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, so students might have assumed the speech was unimportant. Perhaps they missed the two tables, sound system and blasting music that were set up in advance.

Anyone walking through the Union had to have known something was going on. There is no other explanation for the poor turnout than apathy in students.

We just don’t care anymore. In last week’s editorial, it was revealed that students care more about getting a degree than in getting an education, and this apathy plays right back into that notion. So many students are single-minded in getting to their destination, and listening to Martin talk about ASI just slows them down. After all, who can take 20 minutes out of their day to listen to Martin when they could be spent listening to Pandora and using StumbledUpon in between classes?

Martin appealed to students to both run for office and vote. About 2,356 students registered to vote in the ASI elections last April, which, while better than the amount of people who showed up to the speech, the number is still dismal compared to the number of students on campus.

Do we really not care about what ASI does for the students? Martin signed into effect a new scholarship on March 9, giving $1,000 for student advocacy, with the requirements of not being on student probation and having a 2.5 GPA. But who was there to hear about this?

Students need to get more involved on campus. Go and vote in the ASI election starting April 26. Or, sign up to be a candidate; there is still time. The final mandatory workshop for those wanting to sign up is Thursday in the Oak Room of the Union. The election packet, which can be found on the ASI website, is due on Friday.

Stop being an apathetic student and go make a difference on campus, even if it just means showing your support for those that taking an active stance by going to speeches. Close your laptop and join the march.

Or just let college your college life pass you by, with you never making an impact on your surroundings and being a real student. The choice is yours.

Cole Mayer can be reached at [email protected].