You wake up on Tuesday having to mentally prepare yourself for the next two days. Walking through Turlington is already a hassle, but this week is unlike any other — it is Student Government election week, which means you have to perfect your “I’m definitely on the phone right now and not just pretending so you won’t talk to me” face. You’ve been planning to vote anyway, so being stopped in Turlington is not on the agenda for the day.
You make it to campus, pressing your phone up against your ear as you prepare to make your way through Turlington. You have class in 10 minutes, and you can’t let yourself be stopped, no matter how convincing a person is. You’ve almost made it through before you make the fatal mistake of eye contact with someone holding a clipboard. And just like that, they’ve got you. You prepare yourself to have listen to a spiel on elections. You listen, all the while interjecting every few seconds about how you really have to go. Finally, the person pauses to hand you a flier. When you read it, you know it’s your ticket to freedom. It reads:
Darts & Laurels
Our commentary on SG elections this semester is finally ending, with Impact Party taking the executive ticket and 29 Senate seats. Inspire Party won 21 Senate seats. We want to give a laurel out to everyone who voted in the election. This year, about an extra 200 voters turned out to the polls on Tuesday compared to last year’s election voter turnout. This election season was filled with controversy, so we’re interested to see how this new executive ticket handles the pressure of their new seats. After the mudslinging from both Impact and Inspire, the two parties are going to have to learn to get along with one another in SG.
In other election news, North Carolina ordered a new election for the state’s 9th congressional district after evidence surfaced of campaign tampering by Republican candidate Mark Harris’ campaign, convincing him one was needed. A dart goes to Harris’ campaign for causing this major mishap and undermining people’s overall faith in election results. It’s a step in the right direction to call for a new election, but it doesn’t help a political climate that’s already distrusting of election results and the overall system of how elections are run.
Stepping away from politics, we’re giving a laurel to Reggie Fils-Aime after he announced his retirement as president of Nintendo of America. His replacement, Doug Bowser, will begin in April. That’s right, a man with the same last name as the biggest enemy of Nintendo’s Mario will be taking over the company’s American headquarters. The news seems a little too good to be true, but we can appreciate the poetry of it all. If Bowser’s name is any indication of how he’ll do in his new job, we’d say he’s the perfect fit.
In other good news, especially for those who already bought tickets, 21 Savage has been rescheduled to perform April 15. After the rapper’s detainment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his UF performance was up in the air for a few weeks. Many students wondered what would happen to the money they previously spent on tickets that were supposed to be for a February show. The tickets purchased will now be honored on the new date. We can hand out a laurel to Student Government Productions for organizing the new show. Hopefully this one sticks, and 21 Savage will get his crispy chicken wings.
