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Page 6 Clark Atlanta University Panther April 16, 1991 Lifestyle Page 6 Clark Atlanta University Panther April 16, 1991 Student Elections Review Panther Spotlights Candidates Ready, Set, Go By WILLI A M B LA CKB URN Staff Writer The rules were set, the applications were in, and the starting gun was sounded. The only thing missing, however, were the candidates. As the hand hit midnight, symbolizing the start of election campaigning, only a couple of teams could be seen dashing through the moonlight to be the first to distribute election paraphernalia. Tara Hines, a candidate for Miss Sophomore, had her team of political workers ready to attack any available bulletin board. "I'm getting a good start by being one of the first people out here," said Ms. Hines."This is an exciting experience." As Ms. Hines's staff tacked down several colorful poster boards, the one woman team of Keysha Vaughn tried to keep pace. "I'm trying to get the jump on the other candidates," said Ms. Vaughn, a candidate for undergraduate SGA president. "This is so suspenseful." Though the sight of 12:01 a.m. ignited the excitement level for some candidates, the overall turnout was significantly lower than in past years. A fact that may be attributed to the new regulations imposed by the Student Election Committee. The SEC passed a controversial ruling that prohibits candidates from placing any of their campaign items in places other than bulletin boards. Thus, paving the way for potentially dirty politics as 48 candidates will attempt to place their posters and flyers in positions to stand out among the rest. In addition, the SEC banned all forms of give aways. In the past, candidates handed out a variety of goodies to gain support for their campaigns. Ms. Hines felt that the new restrictions played a key role in the number of candidates who turned out for the beginning of four days of politicking. "Candidates have to go through some much before the election process even starts that it can put a damper on some of your enthusiasm," said Ms. Hines. The candidates had written permission for all buildings on the campus to be open in order to hang up their campaign slogans. However, when the official starting time arrived, the buildings were found locked and no one to open them. "If it ain't one thing it's another," said Ms. Vaughn. As the time began to move deeper into the night, the candidates anxiously awaited the disappearance of the moonlight. For with the new day comes the opportunity to found out the impact of their midnight prowling. Stand Up And Be Counted By SHERYL KENNEDY Lifestyle Editor When the idea to do a series of articles dealing with the plight of the Clark Atlanta University Student Government Association first came to mind, the intention was to spark some attention. Honestly at that time attention didn't take on the form of being positive or negative, just something to make everyone think of the one organization that holds the greatest amount of power — student power. Like any reporter, you lurk behind walls, start a conversation among friends or initiate class room discussions to find out how much people know about the association or if they know that it even exist. Those efforts proved to be startling and yet saddening. On the average most people didn't know Mary Lacey from "Mary had a little lamb” or Jamyee Pleasant from actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Tyra Boyd from Eamelle Pritchett, which was not only a disgrace, but a down right embarrassment on behalf of the administration all the way to the members of the student body. We as students always find the need to complain or our favorite thing to do is point the finger, just out right blame someone else for our lazy excuses and 'whatever' attitudes. We are faster than a rabbit when it comes to spreading rumors or crying about what needs to be done or what should be done while an SGA official is in office, but can't tell a visitor how to get to the SGA office to save our life. We are certainly reliable when it comes to going back to our clicks and telling them what this click is doing and what our click should do in order to upset that click. We are faithful members of the organization called WCF which stands for We Criticize First. As a member of this organization we seek out all the bad before we give the good the time of day, with slogans like "I don't think the SGA president has done anything" or "He only looks out for his friends while we suffer." If we as students would capitalize on the power we have as a body and not as an individual we could accomplish many things. By combining all the radical thoughts with all the subtle approaches to the let's do something about it students, we could be a deadly and effective student body. Maybe that way administration would finally realize that we are not a group of spoiled brats that need them to make all our decisions, just maybe they'll realize we can make a few decisions of our own. With student elections awaiting us around the comer we can make a difference. We must educate one another on the importance of supporting the SGA. We can do this through voting and participating in the election activities. We should become more aware of our student leaders and their roles in campus life. So please vote. Pass the word to fellow students to vote and destroy our reputation of being ignorant and unconcerned.