Last Tuesday, the Unite Party engaged in some of the most disgusting, blatantly corrupt behavior I have seen in my time in Senate.
To start, the student whom Senate President Andy Mason appointed to the Elections Commission didn't even know what the Elections Commission was, let alone the duties and responsibilities of the commissioners. In fact, this student had no experience whatsoever in the elections process.
It's no surprise, however, as experience has never been a requirement in Unite's corrupt patronage system. Unite senators tried to defend the applicant by focusing on the "personal qualities" she exuded during her interview with Mason. Unfortunately for them, Mason admitted that he never actually interviewed her.
Showing further disregard for students and the election process, the Unite-controlled Senate shot down six amendments to the election codes. All of the amendments were aimed to better inform students about the election process and to reduce corruption in the voting system.
The Unite solution for the election fiasco of last semester? If it's broke, don't fix it; toss it out! Since the supervisor of elections failed to fulfill her duties last semester, they simply deleted the codes that imposed those duties upon her. Now, thousands of students will face even more challenges in educating themselves about the elections this Spring.
Proving once again that Unite leaders are in the Senate for their resumes, not the students, Senate President Mason and other Unite senators prevented the Senate from voting on an amendment that would have added signs to all of the entrances to a polling location. The Unite Party believes it is more important to leave meetings quickly than spend five minutes making sure students know where to vote.
The Unite Party's stance on students could not have been made more clear than it was last night. The members don't want students to know about elections, they don't want to change the corrupt ways by which they manipulate student government and they especially don't want students voting. The Unite Party will never care about democracy or the students, only themselves.
Carly Wilson
Students Party Senator
