Sacramento State sits miles from the state’s capitol in a city that lives and breathes politics yet the community at Sac State fails to get involved in the ASI system. 

With almost 600 government students graduating since 2008 and becoming a part of the state’s governance, the lack of engagement is ridiculous.

ASI is responsible for funding programs and events that enrich student life such as clubs, the Wednesday Nooner and Farmers’ Market.

Admittedly, the system is broken. 

Electing students and giving them an opportunity to serve their community is mutually beneficial. ASI should be a jumping off point for the careers of future political leaders, but if what turned out to be a one party system election is being boycotted by its constituency, it cannot serve anyone’s interest. 

While ASI is not a perfect solution, rather than handing a paycheck to university employees to serve the same purpose, it is better to pay students, chosen by students, to do a job that must be done.

If ASI was not in place the jobs would still need to get done. The administration could instead appoint student representatives, pay them little or nothing, and hire staff to do the work ASI does.  It would probably cost the same amount, but this would not make students happy either.

ASI rarely asks what students want and students are too busy or lazy to put forth the effort to be informed. Students need to get more involved. It is time for the constituency to make demands of its representatives.

Students have the right not to vote and not to be involved, but the show must go on and ASI will continue to pay for programs students appreciate, no matter what a representative’s political philosophy is.  

Politics has little to do with the elections, so the best thing for an unhappy student to do is get up, and change something, A one-party pony cannot learn any new tricks on its own.