Congratulations are certainly in order for the new members of the CSA Executive. We’ll give credit to any individual who enters student politics, runs a campaign, and signs on to a position where being publicly criticized might as well be a part of the job description.

Have a drink. Go celebrate.

But, once the party is over, before looking into the changes you want to make to your portfolio, take a good, hard look at one number: 4344.

That is the number of undergraduate students who voted in this year’s CSA elections.

Beyond all else – the Universal bus pass, the Canadian Federation of Students, Employment Equity – curbing student apathy should be of the utmost priority.

We’ve said it all year, but repetition can be one of our most effective tools.

And now, we’ll be frank: it should be your prerogative to make uninteresting issues seem interesting.

If you’re in this job to merely pad your resume, consider yourself a contributor to the status quo. As a representative of the undergraduate student population, find a way to reach out to even the most apathetic of students.

The outgoing CSA made inroads in reaching out to otherwise uninterested students with their relentless coverage of the bus pass issue in December. Over 7, 000 individuals joined an interest group on Facebook. Social networking at its finest.

Take heed of this example. Whether or not you think that social networking is an informal way of soliciting attention, you can’t argue with its history of success. Rarely have U of G students been so collectively devoted to a single cause related to student politics. The passion and commitment was refreshing, but this should only be the beginning.

Despite this large group of concerned individuals back in December, the momentum seemingly failed to hold through last week’s elections.

Our suggestion: advertise yourself – and your mandate – like you would advertise a business. The best piece of wisdom is that the old system is not working.

Everyone can say ‘think outside the box,’ but why not actually do it? Network, using various mediums and techniques. Use style, wit and personality. Appeal to interests. Create a brand for yourself. Engage.

In many ways, a newspaper struggles with the same types of problems as an organization like the CSA: we must present issues, and our ultimate goal is getting participation; in this case, in the form of people reading our newspaper. We take seemingly boring issues and try to bring life to them with catchy leads, great photos and graphics. Essentially, we try to attract students to information by personalizing it and making it relatable.

Why not find out what students are really interested in and brand yourselves as something more than just a political organization?

But, for almost the entire year, all we’ve really seen is a dialogue between student politicians and a small percentage of students who live, eat and breathe student politics.  Clearly, a new lead is needed. You’re missing thousands and thousands of students.

The groundwork is in place; will it be built upon, or be left in obscurity?

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