Elections are usually exciting, long events, with candidates attacking each other over anything from policy to personal morals. The U.S. elections are one of the most entertaining fiestas around! Yet one election that constantly fails to deliver is ASB. ASB elections are one of the most important events that happen at CHS. Students from all grades vote on who should hold important positions in the student government, such as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer. These roles, and ASB’s role as a whole, are extremely important to the school. ASB is in charge of many school events, such as rallies and dances. ASB also helps organize the many clubs on campus and monitors them to make sure they are meeting daily. However, in recent years, ASB elections have been taken less seriously by students and candidates alike. While the reaction is in part understandable, the only ones hurt by it in the end are the students themselves. ASB needs to carry out more legitimate elections to command the respect it deserves at CHS.
The ASB elections held this school year were some of the most lackluster yet. From candidates showing up and ranting about totally unrelated problems (what do gnats have to do with ASB?) to others foregoing a full speech, the elections felt less like the important filling of cabinet seats and more of a side distraction from classes. The nonchalance has been matched by students as well. ASB elections were always considered somewhat of a popularity contest by the student body, but the feeling seems even more prevalent now. Justin Weiler, a senior at CHS, gave his opinion as to why elections are brushed off now.
“Campaigns should be longer,” Weiler said. “Posters are up for about two days, and then voting.”
Weiler brought up an interesting point. In a school filled with so many students, there are very few opportunities to learn about the candidates running. Most of the information comes from quickly made posters scattered around campus and the speeches given on election day. This gives voters little to work with and makes it difficult to tell which candidate is better than the other. It also helps explain why ASB feels like a popularity contest to many; students vote for candidates they recognize and therefore trust more than other, unfamiliar faces. Roark Chao, another CHS senior, agreed that students needed to know more about the candidates running.
“They should be given more opportunities to speak than just the speech that’s 30 seconds,” Chao said. “ASB elections seem trivial because they don’t necessarily go off the wants of the general public, and instead are just a representation of the popularity of students. Let’s say for instance that someone super capable was shy. There needs to be more ways to showcase their skills, or they’ll lose to the popular candidate.”
Chao and Weiler echo the concerns of many in the student body regarding ASB elections, but solutions remain intangible. There are few ways students can get to know everyone who is running in great detail. Even if longer speeches were allowed, candidates will say what shows them in the best light, making comparisons hard. Weiler voiced a suggestion to bring more information onto the different candidates running.
“ASB candidates should participate in debates,” Weiler said. “It would show off their skills and if they had a joke campaign the student body would immediately know.”
The idea is an interesting one, but it comes with its own problems. Shy, yet qualified students might not run if they knew they had to debate peers. In addition, joke campaigns might just double down on the “meme” aspect of their campaigns during the debates, further solidifying the image of the elections being frivolous. Larger action needs to be taken by the administration and ASB to weed out joke campaigns and encourage more students to run simultaneously. The elections would command more respect if there were at least two students running for every role, instead of one person automatically winning their position because of a lack of competitors. Hopefully the school can work out a way to turn ASB elections into the important event they should be. If large-scale change is not taken, the elections will continue on their downward spiral and the legitimacy of the student government will be undermined.