It’s that time of year. A fresh batch of juniors, both young and old, decided to play with fire and run for UNC student body president. I already know who I am voting for — the one who loves Carolina the most!
The Romney/Obama showdown has finally come to a close, and most students are probably more than ready for a break from politics. Juxtaposing the race for the presidency, the most high-profile office in the world, against the relatively meager office of UNC’s student body president reminds me of a very important principle: local governance.
Too often we get caught up in the glitz and glamour of the presidency, myself included. Predictably, candidates running for the U.S. presidency are the best: they run the best campaigns, raise the most money and are the most exciting to watch. Just because the 2012 election is over, however, doesn’t mean government or elections stop. And it doesn’t mean we should stop caring.
It’s ironic that most Americans care the least about the politicians that most closely serve us. For example, 34 percent of Americans can’t name their state’s governor.
In local governance, representatives can be more responsive to their constituents: they are neighbors, friends and colleagues. It also means decentralized governments — at the city, county or state level — can learn from each other. It’s better to experiment with new policies on a smaller scale; show other districts your policy is working so they will adopt it.
You see this now as we look at other schools in assessing the chancellor’s role, compensation and responsibility. Local policies can and should affect our lives more closely. Does a farmer in Iowa care about the same things as a software developer in Silicon Valley?
With student elections season ramping up, while avoiding petition gatherers in the Pit, students should make note of what this process accomplishes. Student government, while mostly a powerless institution, does give students the chance to try electoral politics, understand how elections are won and lost and what it means to govern a constituency.
Who knows — maybe one day Mr. Leimenstoll will be the first U.S. president to smile no matter what. Full disclosure: Will and I are best friends. Even fuller disclosure: he doesn’t know yet.
In all seriousness, these student elections probably won’t affect campus policy too much. School elections are a special case, however. They’re practice grounds. Working to elect a state senator, for example, can do a lot of good, and it’s much easier to directly influence the process. I don’t expect anyone in the class of 2013 to replace David Axelrod right away, but, crucially, the barrier to entry is much lower in local races.
