Editorial: Welcome to Kindergarten

Staff Editorial
April 15, 2004, Page 4

In the real world, the public is told the voting numbers.
The number of votes a candidate receives is released to the public. It doesn’t matter if the candidate gets five votes or 500.
At Doane, students don’t know how close Student Congress races actually are. Doane politicians are apparently too sensitive and fragile for numbers to be released.
Back in the real world, those who choose to run for public office are subjected to scrutiny. The election results are analyzed and feelings get hurt. But they get over it.
So should Doane.
What are the people withholding these numbers afraid of? Our egos should be used to being injured by the time we reach college. Life is full of competition. Students were pitted against each other before they enrolled in Doane when scholarships were awarded.
Doane should be preparing students for the disappointments of life just as much as the successes. Students who are considering politics should be learning how to handle losing.
Students can learn just as much from the process of running for office as from being elected.
Without knowing the numbers, only speculation is left. Sheltering students by not disclosing figures only draws students further away from how the world actually works.
Doane students deserve to know the StuCo results. Are students too stupid to understand voting numbers? Will a student’s life be ruined by publishing how many votes they received? No.
Doane students are being fooled into believing that the real world election process is a safe haven for the weak hearted. It’s not. If a politician cannot handle the constant polls declaring him or her a certain percentage above or below his or her opponent, they should not be running for office.
How much longer will this foolish process of withholding voting numbers continue? Students should not stand this dulling of defeat and victory.
Students deserve to be treated like actual voters and competitors.
We’re in college, not kindergarten.