Community College Politics

I attended Pasadena City College, lately famous due to Kerry's bad joke, and served in the student government. I saw many things I disagreed with - nothing in particular was wrong, either ethically or legally - I happened to be on the other side of the political spectrum as some (almost most) of my colleagues. I spoke out and made a difference. As was my duty - I was elected to do so.

But, as someone who served a few years ago in PCCs student government, I can say that the actions of Orange Coast College's student government are nothing new. Our meetings (unlike the Board of Trustees) did not include the pledge of allegiance. A few of the student body VPs had Che Guevara T-Shirts on display in their office.

The trouble was not that the students were less educated, like Adam Carolla likes to say. The trouble is that most of the students at the school could care less about the student government and that conservatives are vacating the area. Out of 30,000 students we would get no more than 700 to vote. I happened to be one of only three conservatives who served in student government - and the other two decided not to run again. Without regular people caring to run or vote, "radicals" will be the only ones running the show.

If anyone needs convincing that not enough people run, this year's PCC student government only had two positions that had more than one candidate. At least when I ran, I had two opponents.

To be fair, most community college students are there to get an educuation and get on with their life. Taking the extra time to serve in student government is expensive - it does affect your grades and ability to take enough classes in a timely manner.

So why the blog on Community College Politics?

I'm really glad that we had several people voting in this mid-term election. I didn't vote (because I didn't register in time for overseas balloting -- I was busy and lost track of time, I know I know, poor excuse) so I can't say much about turnout. I can, however, say that for all those people who are disappointed with the candidates running for office, perhaps they can evaulate if THEY want to run. While the money surely is an issue, perhaps voters would like to see more choices for candidates. I'm sure you could even run a grass-roots-style campaign in '08 that would be based on leaflets/pamphlets that direct voters to internet blogs where they could interact with the candidate and help decide what issues to campaign on.

The minimum ages for national positions are: 25 for the House, 30 for the Senate, and 35 for the President (and native-born).