Remember, 'united we stand, divided we fall'

Published: Friday, May 12, 1995

By Maita Schuster

"Drowning, in a sea of fears/

Hatred, trying to hide your fears/Living, only for yourself/ Hating everybody else/

'Cause they don't look like you."

Hootie and the Blowfish

Well, for one of the few times in my life I am not quite sure what to say (and for those of you who know me this is a pretty hard thing to do.) For three years I have been reading the Daily Bruin, especially the Viewpoint section, and I am so overcome with anger I feel compelled to write, to jump on the bandwagon and voice my opinion on this whole USAC election/runoff controversy.

I was recently listening to the Hootie and the Blowfish CD, where the above lyrics come from. If you have not heard Cracked Rear View yet, just listen to track seven, entitled "Drowning."

"Why must we hate one another/When all that matters is we gotta live together." Does anyone else see any truth in these words? Why must every campaign be based on why the other candidate is no good, rather than why this candidate is the best? Tell me what you have done previously and what you intend to do, not what that "other side's" candidate does or does not do, why they are not a qualified candidate or a moral person or whatever.

No wonder students here are so apathetic and we have such a low voter turnout. I can only speak for myself, but personally, all the mudslinging and name-calling makes me not want to get involved at all and to avoid Bruin Walk at all costs.

One year ago last week, I was waiting on the steps of Kerckhoff Hall to hear the election results. I was also there last week waiting in front of Wooden. I heard the cheers from one side last year, and this year, I heard something that I probably was not supposed to hear.

Members of the Students First! slate gathered in a circle while people gave pep talks. I guess I was standing a little closer than I should have been, but it was not until I heard someone use the words "right-wing fascists" to describe the group I was standing among that I began to realize the absurdity of this whole "our side" vs. "your side" that has taken over our campus.

Now, call me crazy, but I personally do not consider myself a fascist, and hopefully, those of you who know me can back me up on that. Think what you will, but I must say that I was offended by that comment. "Fascist" is not a term to be used lightly and I took the comment to heart and was deeply hurt, because many of my relatives died in Europe living in a fascist regime because of a well known fascist leader named Adolf Hitler. Ring a bell?

What also boggles my mind is the fact that, as John Du and Dan Ryu put it in a May 9 viewpoint entitled "Overturn of election results violates democracy," "Although some have characterized these elections as 'greeks against nongreeks,' that distinction no longer seems relevant."

I am sorry to say I would have to disagree. It saddens me to think that the only thing that truly separates this campus is the greek system, and it makes one wonder how much power the greek system actually has, but I think it has become more of a reality than most would like to admit.

Everyone cares that registration fees are increasing, while grants and financial aid are being cut. I believe that every student here is affected by the rising deficit, the cutting of classes, housing shortages, affirmative action, construction, the lack of resources and every other topic that ANY of the candidates have addressed. (Yes, I know that was a run-on sentence. I did it on purpose.)

So, what separates one group from the other? Take away the whole greek issue and you are left with NO DIFFERENCE. How do you like them apples?

So quit griping about who said what to whom, who endorsed whom and who paid for what. For those of us not wise in the ways of Kerckhoff Hall lingo, tell me in layman's terms why I should vote for you. Don't bother to tell me why I should not vote for them.

I also wholeheartedly agreed with Du and Ryu when they wrote "'Does this sound patently ridiculous to anyone else?'" in regards to the recent turmoil surrounding the J-board in deciding whether or not certain offices are going into a runoff.

MAKE UP YOUR MINDS AND STICK TO YOUR GUNS!!! There is too much riding on this election than most people realize. I know how scary it can be to realize that four people can have that much power. But it just doesn't seem fair, and I'm wondering how I can get a job like that. But then again, I never did too well in any political science classes here. Guess that's why I choose to study the past ...

Schuster, a junior history student, just wants to remind everyone that we all go to school together and that regardless of what happens in the runoffs, as Honest Abe put it, "United we stand, divided we fall."