Whats the difference between an elected government running a referendum on universal healthcare and implementing the people’s voices and a government that knows the people wants universal healthcare but doesn’t trust the democratic process and stifles it wherever it feels like it would get in the way in order to implement universal healthcare? If you believe the ends justify the means then both of these scenarios are equivalent. If you are like me and believe that the right thing has to be done for the right reasons and the right way then the meddling government of the second example is a problem and a big one at that.
Something similar happened with the smoking ban movement going on at NDSU recently. The smoking ban ‘vote’ passed here at NDSU unfortunately and surprisingly more people voted on the smoking ban opinion poll than the election for the student senators and student body president. Don’t mention this to the Student Government though because they get cranky when you mention that they can’t do their jobs well and write you nasty juvenile letters that you never actually get to see but hear about. But hey at least SG managed to finally fill all of their elected positions for the first time in years, so they get a gold star at least. Sorry, I am getting off topic here.
It seems though the chief architects of the smoking ban, one miss Alstadt, figured that the student government might get in the way of the smoking ban she wants to implement, and I guess some kind of resolution went forward sometime during this smoking ban issue about how student government is required to support. I don’t know if this happened before or after the opinion poll/vote thing on the 6th and 7th, but if it was before the vote this kind of behavior really ridiculous, and if it happened after its still pretty ridiculous.
Because if it happened before the vote, it proves what I have been saying that members of the studetn government are willing to do whatever they can and want in order to get a smoking ban passed because they seem to know more than the rest of us. If it happened after the vote it shows that those in charge of the smoking ban push don’t want dissent and probably can’t handle it.
Since the vote passed SG should implement a smoking pan because thats what the people wanted, I guess. Remember that the ‘vote’ wasn’t binding it more like a survey and out of the 12,000 students on campus only 3,000 actually voted. And the vote was pretty close, so if you do the math and I’m gonna do it fast and err towards the side of caution 2,000 said they were for a ban that affects 12,000 students. I really don’t like 1 person decided how all six people in a group should act.
But getting back to the implementation thing, tying the hands of the senators now that a smoking ban is going to be implemented is pretty stupid. Yes I know right now that there is that dick senator in the ND legislature who is pissing everyone off for neutering Measure 3 and stopping the smoking money from being used as the voters wanted, but the prophylactic solution to that scenario is not tying elected representatives hands and telling them how they are going to act. It would be like the president saying, a poll taken by me shows that 60% of the people polled want free whoopie cushions. If you do not support my whoopie cushion initiative, then I will hold you in contempt of your position as a senator and censure you and find a suitable replacement.
So why are the senators hands and voices and consciences being tied up? Because the dissenting senators want to protect our rights. If the senate is bound to honor the Alstadt vision of a smoking ban, then you don’t have to worry about little things like debate and discussion and even legalities. Because all of those things tend to put a damper on your grand vision of running things your way because you are better and smarter than everyone else, even those that elected you.
Then again this is prolly a good thing is disguise. The Student Senate will ratify some crazy smoking ban plan that isn’t legal and the university senate will shoot it down. And the smoking ban will be dead for another year. Or until SG throws out so many opinion polls that the student body rises up and elects real representatives.
